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The Hayworth-Miller 2019 Debate About Brain Preservation - ogennadi
https://brainslab.wordpress.com/2020/09/11/archiving-the-hayworth-miller-2019-debate-about-brain-preservation/
======
russfink
What if consciousness requires an active synapse loop to be maintained, kind
of like a magnetic field, with little hysteresis eddies etc, but one that if
it loses all power, it disappears forever?
~~~
ogennadi
Hi @russfink. That can't be the case since, as mentioned in the debate, there
are medical procedures [1] where a person's neural activity ceases and the
patients recover their (long-term) memories
[1]
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/001346...](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0013469489900333)
~~~
ralfd
Hm. The cessation of electrical activity is just that which is measured on
scalp EEG; ie, we can only really be certain that the most superficial layers
of cortex aren't firing and what we are measuring.
~~~
porejide
Very fair point. There are other examples that go beyond DHCA, though, and
point clearly in the same direction. One example is that sometimes people
suffer cardiac arrests and lose consciousness for minutes to hours
10.1016/j.resuscitation.2014.06.015. Coordinated electrical activity stops
after a few minutes following cardiac arrest, but people can (rarely) be
revived with their apparent memories and personality intact.
------
gruez
If a "backup" is made of your brain before you died, and it's restored
afterwards to a new body, wouldn't that new copy be totally disconnected from
the original. The brain in the new body might behave identically to the
original, but the entity (or "soul", for lack of a better word) experiencing
it won't be the original. This is trivially demonstrated by using the same
backup process to make a clone (ie. restoring the backup but not killing the
original). Clearly you won't be having the experiences of both bodies, would
you?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletransportation_paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletransportation_paradox)
~~~
ben_w
If you believe the soul is a separate thing to the body, then it naturally
follows that duplicating the body is merely a cargo-cult version of
immortality.
If you believe that there is no separate thing which is a soul — that all that
we are is just a particular arrangement of matter — then duplicating some
particular arrangement from a backup is like forking from an old git commit:
just because you can label one particular branch “master” doesn’t make it
genuinely special, and any special treatment you give to one branch is merely
your convention.
~~~
gruez
>just because you can label one particular branch “master” doesn’t make it
genuinely special, and any special treatment you give to one branch is merely
your convention.
It does matter, depending on your motivations. If you think the reason for
living is that you're a great person whose continued existence will benefit
society and/or your loved ones, then sure, it doesn't matter as long as the
copy is identical. If you simply want to stay alive and _experience /enjoy_
more of it, then having a bit-for-bit identical copy might not achieve your
goal.
For the latter option, consider the following thought experiment: suppose say
you want to do an enjoyable activity, such as going on a one week vacation,
but you can't afford it. Would you pay 50% of the cost (which you can afford)
so a clone of you go on vacation?
~~~
compscistd
In many respects, I think you already break your stream of consciousness when
you sleep or are knocked out. When a copy of your brain is made, that copy
will experience what all of us do after a good night’s rest in a train: waking
up to an unfamiliar environment, subtly changed by random firing of your
neurons when you were asleep. The “you before sleep” is effectively not the
“you after sleep” because there was a break in the chain.
Thus, there’s no benefit to the “you that didn’t go on vacation”. There was a
benefit to the “you that did go on vacation”.
~~~
gruez
So you acknowledge that in the event of a brain transfer, two versions of your
consciousness will exist, and that the "original" one will be lost, but it's
fine because neither would be able to tell (ie. the original will be "going to
sleep", and the copy will be "waking up")?
~~~
danbmil99
Exactly. I would put forth that you can take it even further, and assume that
every moment In time represents a recreation of your conscious experience of
the past up until the present.
Under that perspective, Consciousness is like the illusion of motion on a
computer monitor. There's some sort of framerate, related to the minimum
period of time in which you can perceive a conscious thought, and the sequence
playing back at a high frequency creates the illusion of continuity.
------
steve_g
Coincidently, I've just been re-reading Neal Stephenson's _Fall_ , which is a
fun story about simulating uploaded minds (or brains, or whatever).
[https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Dodge-Hell-Neal-
Stephenson/dp/00...](https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Dodge-Hell-Neal-
Stephenson/dp/0062458728/)
------
geofft
> _A terminal patient choosing brain preservation with the hope of future
> revival via mind uploading is making the same type of rational judgement
> –faced with the alternative of oblivion I choose to undergo an uncertain
> surgical procedure that has some chance of restoring most of the unique
> memories that I consider to define ‘me’ as an individual. Hopefully this
> makes clear that I am rejecting a ‘magical’ view of the self. An
> individual’s mind is computational and, just like with a laptop, an
> imperfect backup copy is better than complete erasure._
Doesn't this argue against the entire brain preservation enterprise? That is,
without a "magical" view of selfhood, why attempt to preserve a partially
faithful replica of one's self instead of finding other ways to do the things
that you'd want to do in the future once revived?
I don't really back up my laptop in a conventional sense. I do git pushes of
my git clones, I copy some files to rsync.net, I do a lot of work on cloud
services like Google Docs and Trello, etc. A lot of what's on my laptop is
transient. This is nice, because I'm not backing up _a Mac_ ; if I decide to
run Debian or switch to a Chromebook or whatever, I can still achieve my high-
level goal of not losing work without the low-level implementation of
restoring a Mac. And certainly I don't back up servers at work in the
conventional sense, either; most of those "servers" are now just Kubernetes
pods anyway, represented declaratively, and that's a lot better than a backup.
I think in the same sense, I do have a plan for immortality, and that plan is
to change the world for the better while I am alive, now, as conventionally
defined, in lasting ways. I don't really know what I would do if I were
resurrected many centuries in the future. (I would expect at least as much
change in the world as between now and many centuries in the past, and I can't
really imagine even the greatest thinkers or doers or heroes of ages past
productively helping the world today. Should Arthur return from Avalon to save
Britain today, he'd have a lot of trouble recovering the throne in a largely
pro-democratic society, and he'd have no idea what to make of "Brexit.")
Meanwhile, there's quite a bit I can do _today_ to improve the world, to
improve the lives of others, to try to improve by a fraction of a percent the
chances of human society even existing a few centuries hence, etc. My self -
my life and physical conscious existence - is just a tool for accomplishing
whatever goals I have; it's not the goal itself. My laptop is also a tool; if
I can keep doing the work that was on my laptop, I don't need a clone of the
laptop itself.
It seems to me, then, that the only argument _for_ brain preservation - for
attempting to preserve one's "self" into the future and for investing in the
ability to make it happen - is seeing one's self in this "magical" way, in
believing that there's _more_ value in the very fact of one's existence, and
in fact even a partial and inaccurate continuation of that existence - than in
what you do with that existence.
(And it does not save you from having to influence the world and engineer its
future. At the least, as we can see, you have to spend a fair amount of your
life today convincing society that it should develop in a way so that, in the
future, they build the means to restore you.)
~~~
Baeocystin
I'm pretty sure historians from every category would positively salivate over
the prospect of being able to interview an actual person from a few hundred
years ago. And it isn't like they'd stop being interested at just one.
And in terms of work one can do to improve the world- the tools available
today amplify the work someone can do by orders of magnitude compared to
centuries past, particularly mental work. I see no reason to think this trend
won't continue. Who is to say that, given enough time and development, a
society of the future might have an entire pathway for the freshly-revived to
go back to school, so to speak, and become able to do things those of us now
can only dream of?
~~~
geofft
The first one is a good point, although it doesn't quite sound to me like the
folks advocating for preservation are doing so with the intention of being
valuable to future generations _for the interests of those generations_. If
they were, then they'd get themselves comfortable with being revived multiple
times (either re-preserved or terminated and re-cloned, whatever's easiest to
future society) and would prefer to be revived as far in the future as
possible, and they'd accomplish what they intend during this life. But most of
the motivation I see around this seems to be focused around trampling down
death by cryopreservation and continuing to live your life in the future.
You could also imagine that, in a future where we are close to being able to
revive human brains, we can just _query_ human brains via simulation without
bringing them back to life. The ethics of that are different, but - at least
with consent from the person while they were be alive - it doesn't seem
obviously wrong.
Re work improving the world - why do we imagine that someone from the present
would be more effective at using those tools than someone from the future?
Again, take the example of Arthur: if he returned, what would he do? What
would you have him do? Or if even Isaac Newton were to return, would he be
able to keep up with the brightest minds of the present generation of students
who all took calculus in high school? I'm not doubting that he'd still be a
sharp thinker, but would he be doing anything groundbreaking and world-
changing like he did in his natural life, or would he "just" interview well at
FAANG?
I'm not disputing that both of them would do things beyond _their own_ wildest
dreams during their lifetimes. Honestly, I think Arthur would have a lot of
fun being in the House of Lords (which is probably where they'd put him) and
Newton would get a blast out of being an entry-level engineer at FAANG. I'm
disputing that they would do anything beyond what the natural-born of today
would do, and that unless you have a sentimental correlation between your
revived self and your old self, there's not really a point in one more average
or even above-average person existing in the future.
~~~
Baeocystin
>The first one is a good point, although it doesn't quite sound to me like the
folks advocating for preservation are doing so with the intention of being
valuable to future generations for the interests of those generations.
They probably aren't. But that isn't incompatible with both them desiring to
continue to live and them contributing to whatever society they are reborn in
to. After all, people today are primarily concerned with their own lives first
and foremost, yet we manage to work together to build societies just the same.
>why do we imagine that someone from the present would be more effective at
using those tools than someone from the future?
Diversity of thought. That doesn't mean that revived-person-x is going to be
better at any particular productive activity than someone who was born in to
the future in question. But simply by being from a different era, I like to
think that there is potential to be able to contribute meaningful value. Or,
put another way, while it is true that the world benefits greatly from those
who are the best of the best, it is also true that there is a place for a
large number of competent but not exceptional people to do the bulk of the
work, and that their lives have positive value, too.
~~~
geofft
Would it not be more feasible, more robust, and more effective to ensure
diversity of thought for the future by building mechanisms into society to
sustain them on their own (e.g., value and uphold communities that take both
strongly positive and strongly negative views towards modernity) instead of
relying on developing the technical ability to unfreeze people from the past
and then promptly putting them to work in average jobs?
(It seems _silly_ , leaving aside the ethics of it, that we may find ourselves
in the position of wishing we had the "diversity of thought" of peoples that
we had long since either wiped out or pushed to assimilate into what's rapidly
becoming a single global dominant culture.)
I mean, it rather sounds like we have changed the pitch from "If you desire,
you can avoid death" (and the specific form of "If you have a terminal disease
at a young age, we can freeze you until the disease can be cured, so you can
live out the rest of your life") to "It is good for society that we build
mechanisms to clone large numbers of people from the past into the present to
lead average lives," which at the very least is a whole different ethics
ballgame.
For one, there's the question of what happens if turns out that we can clone
people from the past, en masse, even without them having been prepared
specially. (Perhaps certain types of embalming cause enough stability in brain
structure. Perhaps we can revive people who froze to death, like the hundreds
on Mount Everest or similar mountains.) Going back to the idea that we only
need a partial restoration and that there's no magical "self," is it ethical
to clone them, if it is helpful to present society? Is it ethical to clone
_parts_ of them, if that's a technology we develop and it's beneficial?
Also, it seems pretty unlikely that humankind is on its path to having a
vastly lower population than we do today, and we have yet to be assured that
we will be able to colonize other planets. Lives have value, but when we have
reached the capacity of Earth, how do we weight the potential value of cloning
millions of people rom the past?
------
gwern
What an extraordinary pain to read. This really demonstrates why Twitter is
awful for debates. This can be made readable, but you'd have to rewrite the
entire thing, more or less, to pull out the individual points, consolidate
broken up thoughts, and create consistent formatting per author so you can
follow it instead of being a sea of text with occasional implicit author
switching.
(It also demonstrates why you shouldn't have light-gray text on gray
background, pale green links, and dashed underline links.)
~~~
porejide
I apologize and wish I could have presented it better. I first compiled this
in 2019 and had been planning to summarize it more. Alas, I recently realized
that I wouldn't have the energy for that and that I should simply publish as
is.
I'm surprised that people care at all, but perhaps I underestimate how many
are as interested in the content as I am.
Regarding the formatting, I will try to update the background to something
more readable using wordpress, although I obviously lack your skills in this
area. In the meantime, you're free to copy it onto your website or elsewhere.
~~~
aperrien
I've learned several new things from this conversation. Thank you for saving
it.
| {
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} |
3Blue1Brown: Hamming Codes [video] - eindiran
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8jsijhllIA
======
Buttons840
Interested viewers might also enjoy this free book:
[http://www.inference.org.uk/mackay/itila/](http://www.inference.org.uk/mackay/itila/)
An early chapter talks about Hamming Codes.
I've only worked through the first few chapters, but I recommend it. It seems
to be a unique book.
~~~
abhgh
I recommend the book in general, and also his lectures. He has a quirky sense
of humour, compares his book with Harry Potter here:
[http://www.inference.org.uk/mackay/itila/Potter.html](http://www.inference.org.uk/mackay/itila/Potter.html)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Machines shipping with Windows 10 may see OEMs enforcing Secure Boot - arnieswap
http://www.linuxveda.com/2015/03/21/no-love-lost-microsoft-tries-block-linux-windows-machines/
======
umurkontaci
I think the post pretty speculative, given the past and current efforts of
Microsoft to get together with OSS and Linux community; using a single slide
to come to a conclusion of "Microsoft stopped doing that or has been lying
about it" is very speculative.
I think we should give credit where it is due, MS is really trying to work
with OSS community.
Also, a lot of enterprise customer would want always on secure boot, and it is
up to OEM to decide whatever they want. How is this MS's fault?
~~~
plesner
Is there any evidence that MS's recent OSS efforts are a reflection of
anything other than the fact that Ballmer, who was ideologically against OSS,
has left and so now MS can act rationally and use the OSS community the same
way many other large companies do?
If working with the OSS community is in their own immediate self interest --
and I'm curious whether someone can point out something they've done that
isn't -- I don't know how much light it sheds on an area such as OEMs where
their self interest is best served by locking linux out.
------
lnanek2
> If Microsoft’s stance on this issue is not reversed it’s possible we will
> see a spike in sales by manufacturers such as System76 and ZaReason who ship
> computers running Linux out of the box without any signs of Secure Boot at
> all.
Come on. I prefer BSD based OSX and Linux myself, but to think that a large
enough number of buyers care about Linux support to "spike" sellers is just
silly. It's done well on servers, but it's a very small market for consumers.
Not to mention Ubuntu and RedHat are compatible, so it isn't even an issue for
some of the biggest distributions.
~~~
pXMzR2A
> I prefer BSD based OSX and Linux myself, but to think that a large enough
> number of buyers care about Linux support to "spike" sellers is just silly.
Hopeful rather than silly, I'd say.
Many people like you (who prefer BSD and Linux over MS) are still voting for
MS with their wallets (dealing with majority MS manufacturers/sellers) and
their discourse (the variations of how it all is "silly").
------
mark_l_watson
Ubuntu, Redhat, and other distros are compatible with secure boot.
I understand the concern, but the flip side is that if secure boot makes my
future Ubuntu laptops more secure that could be a good thing.
Linux is here to stay. Relax.
~~~
byuu
Serious question: how does Secure Boot make you more secure?
How many times has a virus latched onto your computer by executing before your
system booted up? I've never heard of this happening to anyone I've ever
known.
The only scenario I can imagine is having a PC set to auto-boot from
peripherals, and a USB key having something bad execute before invoking your
hard disk's boot loader. And that is obviously possible, but terrifying more
complex to pull off. But that seems a lot more like a local, physical attack
that's much less useful and more targeted than your ordinary viruses that
install after executing inside your OS, where viruses seem to have no problems
pulling off privilege escalation exploits to gain kernel access then. Plus you
can easily block this and then lock down your BIOS already.
It really seems like Secure Boot is solving a problem almost no one ever had.
I may well be misunderstanding the point, so please elaborate on how this is
useful and absolutely prevents a class of attack that could not be done
otherwise.
~~~
krylon
I read an article a couple of months back (like October-Novemberish 2014)
about the NSA putting a virus into the firmware of a RAID controller on some
Dell servers that would patch Windows Server 2003 (R2?) during startup.
So it is not entirely without precedent.
Then again, this did not touch the OS bootloader itself, strictly speaking and
might not have been prevented by "Secure Boot". Also, once you're diddling
with a devices firmware, you might as well tamper with "Secure Boot" as well
and defang the checking of the bootloader or even make the firmware live-patch
the bootloader...
So, while I am by no means a security expert, I have been wondering the same
thing. The entire "Secure Boot" stuff just seems like a lame excuse to allow
vendors control over what operating systems you can boot on their devices.
~~~
krakensden
> I read an article a couple of months back (like October-Novemberish 2014)
> about the NSA putting a virus into the firmware of a RAID controller on some
> Dell servers that would patch Windows Server 2003 (R2?) during startup.
The NSA and the PRC will get their payloads signed with the appropriate keys.
Everyone else will do something cheaper and simpler, like reading their
target's gmail accounts.
> So, while I am by no means a security expert, I have been wondering the same
> thing. The entire "Secure Boot" stuff just seems like a lame excuse to allow
> vendors control over what operating systems you can boot on their devices.
Yes:
[http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/20187.html](http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/20187.html)
[1]
[1]: It's worth noting that mjg59 is a big secure boot fan, and did most/all
of the Linux implementation.
------
BinaryIdiot
I don't really understand the concern here. Microsoft is simply saying it's
optional for its hardware partners to display the option to toggle it. I could
see plenty of enterprise systems wanting to not allow users to change this
setting. Microsoft isn't trying to block anything here.
If you want to use linux simply vote with your dollar and go to the vendors
that will let you install it (I imagine most will). That or use a linux distro
that is actually compatible with secure boot.
~~~
venomsnake
The problem was IIRC that you need something signed with MS key to be able to
boot whatever. If you are able to set your own keys - then there is almost no
problem (still usb flashes and so on will be harder to boot)
~~~
BinaryIdiot
> If you are able to set your own keys - then there is almost no problem
Doesn't this make the feature useless from a security standpoint? If you're
able to create your own keys then malware could create its own keys. Maybe if
manufacturers could do it that would be handy.
~~~
tbrownaw
I would assume that these UEFI machines have a built-in settings screen the
same as BIOS-based machines do (and that screen would be where the setting
we're discussing is found). If the only way to add keys is thru that screen,
then you'd need physical access and malware adding keys wouldn't be an issue.
~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
But that's not how UEFI works. Unlike your traditional BIOS, the settings can
be edited from a normal OS by command-line utilities and such, too. In fact,
often the only way to do anything useful, given how broken many UEFI setup
pages are, is to edit the settings directly.
~~~
makomk
You're not meant to be able to edit those settings from anywhere other than
the setup page. In practice, that's as broken as everything else in modern
UEFI implementations, and some allow userland processes within Windows to add
signing keys.
------
jacquesm
This whole discussion is misguided. It's not about Linux on 'windows
machines', there are no such things as 'windows machines', there are only
computers. Giving microsoft the ability to lock out their future competition
(emphatically _not_ linux) is where it goes wrong. Computers are universal
machines, this idiocy makes all this hardware an extension of a single
(software!) corporation that gets to decide after you buy the hardware what
you can do with it. If I decide to roll my own operating system I'm chanceless
to get the kind of support I need in order to get off the ground in the first
place.
Imagine Microsoft had had this capability in the early 90's, it would have
been a complete disaster. That server you're running linux/FreeBSD/OpenBSD on
today would have been running Microsoft software instead.
~~~
venomsnake
Well it was apple that started it and now everybody is just following suit ...
If people demanded root on the original 2007 iPhone when realized what really
were the capabilities of the device the walled garden model would have been
DOA.
People are well trained by now with consoles, tablets, phones and thermostats
that it is totally ok for someone else to tell you what to do with the
hardware you own ... and only a couple of old (30+) farts like us that
remember the wild west years of the internet and computing are kicking against
the trend.
------
kedean
Honest question: what's the defense that makes this not monopolistic behavior?
This is MS going around trying to get all of the vendors for hardware to
switch over to a system for which they are both the client AND the gatekeeper.
The end goal is clearly to prevent anyone from entering the consumer operating
system space without their express permission, giving them full monopoly over
the consumer OS space. This would be like if in 98, they hadn't just been
making it difficult to use other browsers, they had been asking all of the
other OS vendors to add IE to their systems and disallow everything else that
they don't like.
~~~
pgeorgi
The defense is that other vendors can get their key signed for $99, and
Microsoft promises to only retract it in case of security issues.
Redhat made Linux compliant to this scheme (through Shim), so there's an
example for the concept, and "choice".
------
arthurfm
I think the reason Microsoft are allowing OEMs to enforce Secure Boot is
because Dell, HP _et al_ are going to sell Windows 10 PCs that only run
trusted code. [1]
> With Windows 10 Enterprise edition and specially configured OEM hardware,
> administrators will be able to completely lock down devices so that they're
> unable to run untrusted code.
> In this configuration, the only apps that will be allowed to run are those
> signed by a Microsoft-issued code-signing certificate. That includes any app
> from the Windows Store as well as desktop apps that have been submitted for
> approval through Microsoft. Enterprises with internal line of business apps
> can get their own key generator, which will allow those apps to run on their
> network but won't work outside the network.
[1] [http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-reveals-audacious-
pla...](http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-reveals-audacious-plans-to-
tighten-security-with-windows-10/)
------
PaulHoule
A few things.
One possible direction the industry could go in (suggested by Win 8) is that
the "laptop" as we know it could be replaced by tablets, and potentially these
could be very low cost devices.
The fly in that ointment is that vendors are not that excited about selling
inexpensive machines. For instance, going with the "only a USB 3.1 port"
approach would make a lot of sense for a cheap tablet but Apple did it first
on a premium laptop because the PC industry had a "who moved my cheese"
freakout over Win8 and at the moment the industry has abandoned the race to
the bottom.
These super-cheap devices will have very different economics (they'll get a
free or cheap Windows license) so a major change in the contract between
manufacturers and users is possible.
The negative impact is not on the average Linux user who just runs a distro,
but it will be bad for anyone who wants to compile and run their own kernels.
~~~
danieldk
_The negative impact is not on the average Linux user who just runs a distro,
but it will be bad for anyone who wants to compile and run their own kernels._
It will be bad for the average Linux user, because whoever has the signing
keys can decide what Linux distributions a user can run and what versions not.
Let's not forget that e.g. Mint also started out as a distribution with a tiny
user base. They are now big, because users could install and try Mint. In a
UEFI world without unlockable boot loaders it's game over for OS competition,
because parties can be excluded because they are too small, too competitive,
or just because.
------
gcb0
the only reason my home does not have 4 ms surface pro is because Linux
support will be poor.
if they already sold it with dual boot i mighty even be tempted to switch to
use windows mostly with time, but on blind faith it ain't going to happen at
all.
------
everyone
That is really shitty. Though its only an OEM thing? If you build your own
machine your still ok I guess.
~~~
BinaryIdiot
> That is really shitty.
They're simply easing restrictions on their hardware partners especially since
many enterprise customers only want signed software running on their machines.
This is really not a big deal.
~~~
everyone
Yeah I've been reading some more of the informed comments here. The uefi thing
turned out to not be that big of a deal. I certainly dont know much about how
the hardware sector works. I am just a consumer. I guess I will not panic
until I hear more about this. Though I will now been checking any laptops or
mobos I buy for this.
------
powertower
It costs $99 to sign the software. I'm sure most of the distros can afford
that (unless they take a die-hard stand, in which case, just don't buy a
Windows pre-loaded PC from the OEM that disables the option to run Linux
with).
~~~
stonogo
And who gets that $99? Microsoft.
Some of us are not okay with one company charging a gatekeeper fee for access
to hardware we already bought from a different company.
~~~
caryhartline
If you buy from an OEM that pre-installs Windows then you are already paying a
fee for the Windows license. If you don't want to pay a fee for software then
just buy a from a company that pre-installs Linux.
~~~
stonogo
My organization provides the disk images to the manufacturer for the computers
we buy. This isn't about "paying a fee for software." It's about the fact that
Microsoft has used its industry influence (and cozy relationship with Intel)
to attach itself like a parasite to the process of bootloading in UEFI.
We currently pay our manufacturers to install _our_ signing keys into UEFI;
this is fantastically expensive. It's a damn shame that it is literally
impossible to buy a consumer UEFI device without Microsoft's keys in the image
unless you pay to have yours put in.
In short: it sucks that they are the default, and it sucks that Red Hat and
Ubuntu rolled over on the issue and pay the (latest) Microsoft tax. I would
have preferred a more flexible solution.
~~~
pbz
How much are we talking about?
~~~
pgeorgi
$99 (not sure for which time period) and the risk of losing your cert whenever
Microsoft thinks you compromised their platform.
Canonical uses kernels without signature checking, where you can just load new
kernel modules. In principle this allows to hack into a "Secure Boot" Windows
in a day or so (rough draft: have a kernel module, eg. kexec, that runs
Tianocore, which can load and run Windows, and pretend the system is "secure"
while there's random crap running in the background).
I think Microsoft is silent about Canonical's use of Secure Boot for now, but
they might change their tune (and once there's a PoC, they certainly will).
------
tbrownaw
[https://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/windows/dn168167.aspx](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/windows/dn168167.aspx)
"All Certified For Windows 8 PCs allow you to trust a noncertified bootloader
by adding a signature to the UEFI database, allowing you to run any operating
system, including homemade operating systems."
That's listed separately from disabling secure boot, which is what this
article (and the previous Ars Technica article) are about.
Is there any reason to think that this part has changed?
~~~
pgeorgi
There are two ways to edit the key databases:
1\. Without Secure Boot they're open to whatever you want to write.
2\. With Secure Boot, they're open to whatever you want to write, as long as
it's signed with a key that's trusted by the current database.
So if you can't disable Secure Boot, you need to ask Microsoft to sign your
key data, before you can add it. Might as well request a directly signed key
(within the MS trust chain) then - from there, you can also overwrite things
to honor a new trust chain, and Microsoft is probably more used to requests of
this kind than to the other.
------
hurin
For some reason I thought it would be interesting to keep Windows 8 on my
laptop to a dual boot with linux. Three hours of blank screen boots later I
realized it was the microsoft boot-loader's fault (which absolutely refused to
load Linux correctly or to link to a different bootloader, even with secure
boot disabled) - and deleted it's entry in the EFI shell.
For the average user installing an OS is hard enough, without the gotchas of
figuring out how to correctly adjust BIOS, UEFI and switch bootloaders.
------
sctb
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9240135](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9240135)
------
cssmoo
Plenty of ARM SoC and even desktop class machines now. The problem will solve
itself pretty much instantly. No tears will be shed.
------
wolf550e
Personally, I'm waiting Matthew Garrett (@mjg59) to explain.
------
arvinsim
Well, at least VM's are still available.
------
wantab
While some are saying it's only optional and up to the hardware vendors, isn't
Microsoft giving Windows7 users a free upgrade? Is this the reason? A
potential lock in?
~~~
BinaryIdiot
> A potential lock in?
Secure boot is part of the BIOS so nope.
~~~
cwyers
I have no idea why people are downvoting you.This is about requirements for
new PCs, not upgrades - nobody is going to get their ROM updated by upgrading
to Windows 10.
------
ams6110
_If Microsoft’s stance on this issue is not reversed it’s possible we will see
a spike in sales by manufacturers such as System76 and ZaReason who ship
computers running Linux out of the box without any signs of Secure Boot at
all._
So... not a problem. If there is a market for non-Secure Boot machines, they
will be produced.
------
cwyers
The headline is sensationalist to the point of being false. Microsoft is doing
nothing to block Linux on Windows machines. Microsoft is allowing OEMs to ship
devices that no longer have an option to disable SecureBoot. Given how they're
positioning Windows 10 as a Run All The Things operating system, that's
probably just catering to people making low-end IoT devices and tablets and
whatever else. Dell and Lenovo have not been chomping at the bit to ban Linux
from their laptops, and I doubt they will change anything they're doing now.
~~~
sctb
We updated the title to something more informative from the article.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Bike Share Program Opens in New York City After Long Delay - ck2
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/nyregion/bike-share-program-opens-in-new-york-city-after-long-delay.html?_r=1&&pagewanted=all
======
rm999
I had a chance to do five 10-40 minute bike rides yesterday (it was a
beautiful day) using the new citi bikes. Here are my thoughts on the program:
I had to meet some friends in soho, which normally takes about 25 minutes by
subway or 10 minutes by cab - I casually biked there in 12 minutes. It was
great being able to leave my bike a block from where I was meeting my friends
without worrying about locking it, and it was great that I could pick up
another bike several blocks away to go home.
The bikes themselves are clunky and built like tanks, which seems right
because the bikes will be used a lot and are always outside. The bikes ride
slowly, which again seems right for a commuting bike in a crowded urban
setting.
The bike stations are still having some issues that I hope will be ironed out
shortly. Every time I tried to take out a bike the station would abort with a
flashing red light the first three or four times, which was annoying. The
station map was down all of yesterday, so I had to search around a bit for
stations. That said the stations are nearly ubiquitous in downtown manhattan
so it really wasn't a big issue.
Overall I'm really happy with the program and plan on using it a lot.
~~~
michaelochurch
_The bikes ride slowly, which again seems right for a commuting bike in a
crowded urban setting._
I actually prefer biking fast in NYC. The traffic lights are synchronized to
30mph traffic. It's not easy to sustain 30 mph (you need a racing bike or to
be in very good shape) but I try to get up to 20-22 mph to limit my time spent
at lights. Of course, this isn't an option if I need to be presentable and not
sweaty whereever I'm going.
~~~
rayiner
When is there ever 30mph traffic in Manhattan.
~~~
fennecfoxen
Manhattan traffic is mostly bad in peak traffic (weekdays during rush hours,
major holidays when people are trying to leave, etc) on the approaches to
bridges/tunnels and in the downtown/midtown core where said approaches are
interacting with each other. Anywhere else, anywhen else, and it's not so bad;
there's more traffic capacity on the island than there is to get on/off of the
island.
------
kh_hk
[Shameless spam plug, hope it's relevant here]
Just today I have added New York's Citibike to my bike sharing project [1].
Feel free to give it a spin!
List of juicy features:
- Android version
- Push notifications for stations of interest
- Distraction free map!
- HTML version [2]
- Hacky goodie: realtime world map [3]
[1]: CityBikes - <http://citybik.es>
[2]: <http://api.citybik.es/citibikenyc.html>
[3]: <http://citybik.es/realtime/#citibikenyc>
~~~
mapleoin
That looks pretty awesome. How do you get your data? Do all those bike sharing
services have real-time public APIs that you connect to?
~~~
kh_hk
Some have (for instance NYC, kudos to them!), other services do not have
anything, and data has to be scraped from their website. Most of the time it's
a pain in the ass that involves many different dodgy tricks.
I have a python library available at <http://github.com/eskerda/pybikes> that
unifies all the data from different sources into the same model.
~~~
mapleoin
Awesome! Thanks for making that opensource!
------
kh_hk
I wonder what will be their position on visualization, statistics and user
contributed projects reusing their data.
Their data feed is available [1], but in the terms of use [2], page 1, point 4
it says:
4. Proprietary Rights in Website Content; Limited License to Access and
Use Website.
All content that is on the Website or that is available through the
Website or any of the Affiliated Websites, including all designs,
text, graphics, pictures, video, information, applications, software,
music, sound, and other files and their selection and arrangement
(collectively, "Website Content"), is the exclusive proprietary
property of Alta and its Related Parties, with all rights reserved by
Alta and its Related Parties. [...]
[1]: <https://citibikenyc.com/stations/json>
[2]: <https://citibikenyc.com/assets/pdf/terms-of-use.pdf>
~~~
peatmoss
As a techie turned urban planner (starting a PhD in the fall!) I am constantly
amazed by the level of interest in urban planning issues that the tech
community has. Within the ranks of practicing planners, I feel there is the
oldish guard, who maybe groks a little GIS, but otherwise doesn't understand
the democratic potential of data and information systems.
Then there is the new insurgency of people who are "wizards" who come to the
field with a high level of sophistication about coding, visualization, and
analytics. To some of the older guard, these people are intimidating, because
the new guard believes intuitively in open access to data through useful APIs,
and repeatable analyses that consume the same data that everyone else gets.
Contrast that with the clickety-click Excel/ESRI paradigm that we're waking up
from. Data is "public" but not accessible. Analyses are performed by an expert
who you simply have to trust that they did things right, because all you have
is a finished map.
I love the new direction that's coming in planning. In my city, we have a
happy confluence of relatively sophisticated planners, a big tech scene, a
lots of ped/bike/transit advocates, but there is still a gulf between what The
People want in terms of data services, and what the various transit, city, MPO
agencies have capacity to provide.
This pre-coffee ramble is a long winded way of saying, "keep fighting the good
fight, and doing cool and interesting stuff with urban data."
~~~
toomuchtodo
How does one move into urban planning from being a techie?
I ask only because I want to solve social issues with tech.
~~~
peatmoss
I did a masters degree. It was strange going back to school after being out in
the working world for a number of years.
------
ams6110
Sounds like this is a bike rental program, not really a sharing program. My
town (naively) tried a free bike sharing program years ago. They bought about
a hundred bright yellow bicycles and set up racks around town. The idea was
you go to a rack, take a bike, ride it to the rack nearest your destination,
and leave it there. Of course within weeks all the bikes were either
vandalized beyond repair or stolen.
~~~
jzwinck
The same system NYC just deployed has been in use in Montreal and London for
years. You have to use a credit card or similar to get a bike, so there's some
disincentive to mess about (they will charge your card if you steal the bike).
That said, in the first few months after London got theirs, several of the
kiosks were vandalized or stolen. That problem seems to have subsided (maybe
the fools figured out there was no real money in it). But cycle theft in NYC
is more rampant than in London, so we'll see how it goes. My fingers are
crossed, because I've used the sibling systems and they're great.
------
nissimk
I just took one out and back. The bike was good, but it whistled a little bit
in the rain. The three speeds are great. I did have trouble docking the bike
on my way back though and I had to go to a different station. I called the
number but it was busy so I sent them an email.
This is still the best thing to happen to NYC in a while.
------
nissimk
I'm pretty pumped up about this. I brought my helmet with to the city today
and I have my key. I'm going to ride to my appointment at lunchtime. This just
made those fold up bikes that people bring on the railroad obsolete.
~~~
zalew
you have obligatory helmets in ny?
~~~
ck2
I don't think they are mandatory in nyc but it's dangerous for even
experienced bikers, so good for them to be smart about it.
I mean you don't really survive even the first impact and sometimes when you
think you do, an hour later you don't:
<http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/03/18/brain.injury/> (aka "talk and die")
~~~
zalew
for the city bike helmets are snake oil, especially on those town bikes where
you don't flip. it's almost like wearing a helmet to walk your dog. unless you
wear a downhill one, then grab the full armor too and pick up a fight with
drivers.
in other words: the kinds of injuries an average helmet from the market would
protect in some low margin of cases - probably won't happen. in the ones you
fear the most - won't help you anyway.
~~~
Cthulhu_
I've been cycling almost daily for all of my life and only once had an
accident where I hit my head, back when I was 6.
Disclaimer: I live in the Netherlands, bikes are everywhere.
The main difference is that here, you have experienced cyclists (you learn to
walk, then you learn to ride a bicycle), dedicated bicycle lanes, and car
drivers that know there's cyclists around and look out for them.
As for helmets or not, it's very much a factor of speed, risk of accidents,
and the nature of the accident. Hit your head at a high enough speed (iirc,
anywhere above 30 KM/h) and you'll get a concussion, even with a helmet. Maybe
no cranial fracture, but still. Helmet won't protect you from breaking your
neck or getting run over by a semi either.
tl;dr, I don't wear a helmet, I don't need to, and I live in a country where
cyclists are common. You do see people wearing helmets, but they're usually
children in busy cities or speed cyclists. Sometimes both.
~~~
recursive
FWIW, I had two bike crashes in the span of one week where I hit my head. They
were both in races though. However, I was going more than 30km/h, and I got
zero concussions. I am glad I was wearing them.
~~~
bosie
Did the helmets break?
~~~
recursive
They were both visibly compressed and/or cracked.
------
mike_esspe
If you are in the city without bike sharing program, I recommend you to try
folding kick scooter.
They are lightweight, you can carry it everywhere, your speed will be 2-3
times faster, than pedestrians.
Getting a kick scooter literally changed my life :)
~~~
mapleoin
That's pretty cool, especially if you live in a city which doesn't have cobble
stone everywhere. I don't :(
------
Thrymr
13,768 miles in 6050 trips by 5pm yesterday:
[https://citibikenyc.com/blog/2013/05/27/citi-bike-day-one-
re...](https://citibikenyc.com/blog/2013/05/27/citi-bike-day-one-recap)
------
stcredzero
Whoever did the JavaScript for the photo: you broke vertical page scroll
gestures. Also, horizontal swipe on the photo changes the photo, but then we
get moved to another article a half second later. Experience broken on the
iPad.
------
digitalengineer
Nice. Now all NY needs is some bike lanes and your rush hour will look like
the Dutch: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-AbPav5E5M>
~~~
potatolicious
We do have bike lanes. A lot of them in fact - though some of them are still
pretty scary. I rode a Citibike up 6th Ave in the bike lane in the middle of
the afternoon yesterday and it was a little hair-raising.
One of the _very_ cool things about this program is that all the bikes are
equipped with GPSes, and combined with the data from the docking stations
themselves, there's a stated intent to use this data to determine where more
bike lanes and bike lane improvements will go in.
~~~
Cthulhu_
Don't worry, bike lanes in the Netherlands can be scary too, ;). Especially if
you're a tourist and compete with natives that will go faster. Perhaps even
moreso on a wintry day when it's slippery.
~~~
potatolicious
Ah, it's not the bikes in this case, but rather that you're riding in a
painted lane on a road occupied by a sea of extremely aggressive cab drivers
;)
Some roads have protected bike lanes where you're separated by traffic via a
concrete divider, potted plants, or parking spaces, and those definitely feel
a lot less scary.
------
chsonnu
Interesting visualization of Boston's bike sharing program:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMBXdKj4iDQ>
------
EricButler
There's an organization working to start a bike share program in Seattle too!
<http://pugetsoundbikeshare.org/>
------
jaibot
WIth DC and NYC both implementing similar programs, I can now dream of a day
when the entire Acela corridor has a federated bikeshare system.
------
Apreche
It started yesterday.
~~~
ck2
Ah I missed the date.
Sadly it seems a bike was stolen in the first hour it was live too.
~~~
brnstz
Someone stole a bike before it was initially locked into the rack, which is
pretty much a one-time event.
Not to mention the bikes have GPS and can be tracked down.
[http://www.businessinsider.com/first-citi-bike-has-been-
stol...](http://www.businessinsider.com/first-citi-bike-has-been-
stolen-2013-5)
~~~
stcredzero
I take it the citi bike program has taken steps to ensure there is no market
for citi bikes. (Like _never_ selling them.)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
3 Steps to a Great LinkedIn Invitation - andrewkkirk
http://facethebuzz.com/2011/06/07/great-linkedin-invitations/
======
iamdave
Here's one step that encompasses them all and should be in your wallet at all
times: be authentic.
Point, set.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Seattle lab uncovered coronavirus outbreak only after defying federal regulators - btilly
https://theweek.com/speedreads/901405/seattle-lab-uncovered-washingtons-coronavirus-outbreak-only-after-defying-federal-regulators
======
btilly
The plural of anecdote is not data, but here is an anecdote that should give
pause.
Yesterday I took my sick daughter to a hospital to see a doctor with a fever,
cough and sore throat. We were screened for strep, told it was viral and sent
home with no further testing. Talking to my ex (an urgent care doctor) she
said that she is still trying to find out how she can even _get_ a test for
patients of hers who fit the symptoms for COVID-19.
This is in Orange County, CA. Which has only 5 confirmed cases, but lies
between Los Angeles and San Diego. Both with known community spread. I'm now
more amazed that doctors in Los Angeles and San Diego were able to get tests
to verify community spread than I am confident that Orange County does not.
There is a lot of theater around COVID-19. You can't even show up for a
hospital visit without being asked whether or not you have the symptoms for
coronavirus. But the show of looking for symptoms combined with the failure to
follow up when you find them makes me think that it is mostly theater. We are
taking lots of action to make you aware that we are containing the spread, but
we are also avoiding finding out any potential bad news that we don't want to
hear about.
Going forward I am calling this what it is. "Public health theater."
~~~
HumblyTossed
We're at war. War against the "foreign" coronavirus. But instead of fighting
the war, we're sticking our fingers in our ears and shouting "lalalalalala!"
because for some reason, lower numbers helps certain people politically.
It is criminal.
------
bart_spoon
Among the eye-opening deficiencies across our efforts to contain the disease,
the most stupefying is the the inability to conduct adequate testing. It would
appear there is a variety of factors at play, including red tape, bureaucracy,
logistical failure, and incompetent decision making. But it really has been
shocking at how utterly disastrous this aspect of the response has been.
Especially so given that the entity appearing deserving most of the blame for
this particular problem is the CDC, which I think many of us considered
unimpeachable up until now.
It's striking how the hubris and organizational failure in the decision making
process developing these tests seems to mimic some of the fiascos that occur
in the tech industry, though in hindsight I don't know why any large
organization wouldn't be susceptible.
~~~
HumblyTossed
The White House wouldn't let the WHO tests be used. They also delayed allowing
new tests to be developed.
I'm sure the CDC is to blame for some of this, but the WH is more so.
~~~
jfnixon
Cite, please. The FDA and CDC bureaucracies are the groups hewing to the
Business As Usual rule following. No need for the WH to reject WHO tests, the
FDA is happy to fill that role.
The WH is ultimately responsible for the FDA/CDC, but if the Cabinet level
needs to intervene to get the massive Federal government acting with urgency
to this sort of threat, we should eliminate Civil Service protections and give
Agency heads a bigger stick pour encourager les autres.
------
archi42
Not much better here: You're only tested for the virus if you had contact with
someone who has previously been tested positive. That's the policy. A
colleague comes back from an conference (embedded systems, international
attendees,...) and develops symptoms the next week - but because no-one at the
conference was a confirmed positive case, he's not tested (just sent home, no
quarantine). I'm now also in home office, but developed symptoms on the last
day at the office (not saying it's corona, more likely my slight cold just
spiked randomly).
I understand it's unlikely and not everyone who has a cold needs to be tested
[-> no need to test me], there is just not enough capacity. But missing a
single case like these conference-goers wreaks real havoc when combined with
that policy... Well, at least the number of infected in the state stayed at
14/1M the last few days. Not sure how that's possible with exponential spread
and the first general containment measures only starting next week (though
today it "finally" increased to 29).
~~~
Svip
Where is here? The Danish government has moved from testing people with
symptoms and people returning from high risk areas, to just testing people
with symptoms. And encouraging those with mild symptoms to avoid calling
hotlines, rather focusing on those who have severe symptoms, since the
government no longer believes it can contain the spread.
~~~
huffmsa
As they should. Most people will be okay following the same protocol as they
would the flu.
Stay hydrated, keep your fever down, relax. If your fever is uncontrollable
and you're having trouble breathing, you need more serious attention.
"Testing" and figuring out that the cause of your symptoms is/ is not
SARS2-CoV doesn't change the course of treatment. There's no wonder drug.
~~~
archi42
The difference is in the quarantine: If I have to assume it's SARS2-CoV, I
don't leave the house, my partner should stay at home as well because she's
most likely also infected by now; also we need to get someone to bring us
supplies some time the next week before ours run out. We just had that very
drill a month ago due to a viral infection (medication only eased symptoms,
all we had to sit it out and follow the usual hygienic/no-social-contacts
rules not infect others).
Question is: What's the threshold? Can I trust external data or do I need to
assume it's too imprecise?
Now if I knew that I'm most likely not infected (-> potential importers
tested) I would still stay at home (in home office now anyway) and reduce
social contact, but I could get supplies for family/friends who are
quarantined. If I knew I wasn't infected prior to staying at home (-> everyone
tested), and if I started developing symptoms, I would know that it's highly
unlikely that I was infected and could thus reduce the load on the
doctor/hospital (edit: I have "respiratory precondition", hence it seems I
can't just say "well, I'm young and healthy, worst case I sleep it out").
------
gmichnikov
The NYT article linked in this article has a lot more, posted here:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22542662](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22542662)
~~~
34679
The NYT article is behind a paywall.
~~~
samsolomon
Coronavirus coverage is no longer behind a paywall for the NYT. They've made
it free for everyone.
[https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/coronavirus](https://www.nytimes.com/news-
event/coronavirus)
~~~
34679
That may be, but when I click on the NYT link for the article, I get the
following: [https://imgur.com/aionwnv](https://imgur.com/aionwnv)
Not technically a paywall, but certainly a wall.
------
tmaly
What happens to all of the other people who need surgery if hospitals face a
thundering hurd problem when thousands of people find out they have COVID-19?
I am on the fence with knowing or not knowing. The lack of information is
causing panic buying. I went to Wholefoods this morning and people are
cleaning out the shelves. They are buying stuff they would not normally buy.
The butcher told be when they order 100 cases from a distributor they are only
getting 50 or less. This panic buying is really creating a problem. If shelves
go empty and stay empty, what happens?
~~~
jfnixon
The vast majority of infections are mild. Roughly 15% require medical
intervention (beyond self-quarantine), and of that, less than 1 in 3 require
ICU care. 100K infections is roughly 15K medical intervention, with 5K in the
ICU.
------
notacoward
When this is over, there will be a list of heroes who helped make this less
bad than it could have been. A lot of scientists are going to be on that list
- including Dr. Chu, the people who sequenced and characterized the virus, the
people who developed medications and vaccines, etc. Some will be governors and
mayors and health directors who also defied the national government to take
stronger measures than that government was recommending. Still others will be
doctors and epidemiologists on the front lines, physical therapists helping
people recover, industrial engineers and logistics specialists who increase
supply of necessities, etc.
I regret that I don't know many of the names, even those who have already made
noteworthy contributions. (Feel free to add some.) My real point is that, as
we stew in our collective fear/anxiety, we should also take solace in the fact
that this situation is also bringing out the _absolute best_ in a great many
people. Think of them.
------
WaxProlix
A possibly better source here [https://theweek.com/speedreads/901405/seattle-
lab-uncovered-...](https://theweek.com/speedreads/901405/seattle-lab-
uncovered-washingtons-coronavirus-outbreak-only-after-defying-federal-
regulators)
Mynorthwest is sort of an AM radio/crackpot theories/nasty racist comments
section kind of place. Some of their articles (and this seems to be one) are
solid, but as a rule it's a highly suspect source of news.
On topic: Hard to imagine how much more fucked we'd be if we hadn't sampled
and found the virus for another 2 weeks or whatever. Good on these guys, just
another way that the flu project is paying off up here.
~~~
throw7337
The week seems okish. I love article how Senegal in Africa can have test
results in 4 hours, and now they develop handheld device for testing
Not sure if it is real or parody.
------
claudeganon
Thankfully so because this likely forced officials hands to take stronger
action. Unfortunately, sick people, including those with direct COVID-19
exposure, are still being refused tests:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/coronavirus-testing-
ch...](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/coronavirus-testing-
challenges.html)
------
huffmsa
She broke HIPPAA and a variety of other laws regarding patient consent.
We shouldn't throw the rulebook out the window during a panic. That's how we
ended up with the TSA and Snowden in exile.
Congratulations nonetheless, Dr Chu.
~~~
bart_spoon
It is apparent that the rulebook as it stands is perhaps the largest factor in
impeding the ability to respond to this crisis, so yes, at least some of the
rulebook clearly needs to be thrown out.
~~~
huffmsa
I don't disagree. So call your congressman and tell him you want it changed
------
cryptica
It's possible that the government had to make sure that the Coronavirus would
take hold in the US first. Otherwise the Fed would not have had a sufficiently
good excuse to justify their $1.5 trillion cash injection into the financial
system.
~~~
shadowgovt
[citation needed]
~~~
cryptica
Citations require studies. Studies require funding. Funding requires
institutional support. These kinds of accusations against institutions are not
fundable; does that mean they're not worth discussing?
Speculation is better than silence because there are gaps in the system which
can easily be exploited by institutions to serve their own interests.
~~~
shadowgovt
In an era where people have demonstrated an inability to responsibly fact-
check for themselves, I think it's actually an open question whether
speculation is better than silence (depending on what forum one is operating
in).
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
13 year-old invents doorbell that tricks burglars into thinking you're home - NonEUCitizen
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1394448/Doorbell-tricks-burglars-thinking-youre-home-invented-schoolboy-Laurence-Rook-13.html
======
gr366
This sounds like a great solution for the problem of package deliveries while
you're not home.
I'm skeptical about the burglary prevention angle — I imagine they would just
switch to knocking on the door to determine if you're home or not.
------
Unregistered
great idea coupled with an unfair advantage FTW
"his parents, showed his plans to family friend Paula Ward, who was crowned
the world's top female inventor in 2004"
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Hungry for New Content, Google Tries to Grow Its Own in Africa - jsm386
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/technology/25link.html
======
quant18
_Translation could be the key to bringing more material to non-English
speakers. It is the local knowledge that is vital from these Kenyan
contributors, the thinking goes, assuming that Swahili-English translation
tools improve._
As alluded to in the paragraph following this quote, the only way "local
knowledge" gets successfully added to English Wikipedia is if it was already
printed in an English newspaper which also puts its articles online. If it's
uncited, or cited to a blog, "anti-vandal" patrollers remove it. And even if
it's cited to a Swahili (or worse yet, other local vernacular) newspaper,
plenty of Wikipedia editors will claim it's "not notable" because they
personally can't read it:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Notability/Archi...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Notability/Archive_37#Are_English_sources_required_for_notability.3F)
But aside from the quirks of Wikipedia, I'd agree incentivizing Swahili-
English bilinguals to put content online in English, and then Google or
whoever translating it themselves into Swahili, is probably a more effective
way of getting Swahili content for the foreseeable future. The main point is
that most Swahili-speakers with internet access are bilingual in English too,
and so have a choice of what language to use to generate content that others
might search for. (And their choice of language is heavily influenced by the
topic domain.)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Turkish Citizenship Database Leaked - ponyous
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turkey-political-hacktivist-leaks-citizen-database-containing-50-million-personal-records-1553123
======
ttn
TR citizen here, for the last 10 years only those who are really close to AKP
got the government contracts including software like this etc. for stupid
amounts of money with no know-how. Therefore this is absolutely normal -at
least for us-, only thing that surprised me about this leak is this got into
front page of HN.
Those software "companies" take millions of liras, usually for stupid CRUD
stuff, develop it in like years and result is goddamn vulnerable, unaesthetic
pieces of garbage.
I'm on that list as well. With that info, a terrorist can buy a SIM card for
my name, use it to proxy-blow up a goddamn bomb aaaaand I'm in jail.
~~~
istoica
Not only there, in other countries in Europe too, in Romania they are
prosecuting the boss of the biggest software company we have, he has to sell
his paintings and artwork for not being arrested(bail).
The usual opinion is that they all got rich with state contracts building
stupid and expensive things that young kids would do in no time for nothing.
As a government agency, of course one would not prefer to hire kids, but these
countries, they have good IT persons, they have universities that are
struggling with funds and finance(as education is for free there and state
universities are way beyond the private factories of diplomas that are known
as private universities).
Instead of throwing that money, they could have helped education and develop
infrastructure in the same time. Nobody has bloody consciousness any more!
~~~
mikeehun
that sounds like hungary to me
~~~
0xdada
Do you have any anecdotes you can share? I'd be interested.
~~~
mikeehun
Our government bought two $1M+ websites in the past years. It's not that the
websites would pose as a security risk, or store any valuable information,
it's just plain corruption ...
500k only for the planing and teaching how to use $1,2M total, for a site what
is essentially a video sharing website:
[https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korm%C3%A1nysz%C3%B3viv%C5%91....](https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korm%C3%A1nysz%C3%B3viv%C5%91.hu)
$1,7M for the new site of the chamber of agriculture
[http://index.hu/gazdasag/2016/02/03/agrarkamara/](http://index.hu/gazdasag/2016/02/03/agrarkamara/)
fun fact in general, the corruption consumes 50% of the eu funded government
investment in Hungary according to Transparency International, which means
11.6 billion euro currently
------
staticelf
Interesting, in Sweden this kind of data is already public for anyone to view.
There is also several sites that provide this information like a search
service and it's perfectly legal:
[http://www.merinfo.se/](http://www.merinfo.se/)
[http://www.ratsit.se/](http://www.ratsit.se/)
~~~
more_original
Interesting. In Germany this database does not even exist. Each town keeps its
own data and they are not connected. I think the reason for this are the evil
uses of data bases by the Gestapo during Nazi times.
~~~
kafkaesq
_In Germany this database does not even exist._
That seems highly doubtful. How do the EU countries know you're a citizen,
then, when you cross the border?
~~~
more_original
Here is a source on Wikipedia:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_registration#Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_registration#Germany)
"Unlike common belief there is no central administration — except for
foreigners (see Central Register of Foreign Nationals (Germany)) — the
resident registration is run by 5283 local offices throughout Germany."
For passports, I'd guess that there is a different database.
~~~
kafkaesq
_For passports, I 'd guess that there is a different database._
OK, so that makes sense. So at the national level, they only have your
_Meldeort_ (place of registration), as it appears on your ID card -- but not
(in theory) your residential address.
------
ponyous
In case it goes offline:
#Turkish Citizenship Database
Who would have imagined that backwards ideologies, cronyism and rising religious extremism in Turkey would lead to a crumbling and vulnerable technical infrastructure?
This leak contains the following information for 49,611,709 Turkish citizens: (IN CLEARTEXT)
- National Identifier (TC Kimlik No)
- First Name
- Last Name
- Mother's First Name
- Father's First Name
- Gender
- City of Birth
- Date of Birth
- ID Registration City and District
- Full Address
**Lesson to learn for Turkey:**
- Bit shifting isn't encryption.
- Index your database. We had to fix your sloppy DB work.
- Putting a hardcoded password on the UI hardly does anything for security.
- Do something about Erdogan! He is destroying your country beyond recognition.
**Lessons for the US?** We really shouldn't elect Trump, that guy sounds like he knows even less about running a country than Erdogan does.
[Example Data]
[Download URL]
~~~
zo1
What an odd place to put an anti-Trump comment.
~~~
ponyous
I really don't care about US politics. I came across the link on Reddit and
found it interesting. Make out of it what you want.
~~~
everythingcli
What sub did u find it in?
~~~
ponyous
Link to Reddit thread:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/4d9f22/turkish_ci...](https://www.reddit.com/r/security/comments/4d9f22/turkish_citizenship_database_dumped/)
~~~
everythingcli
thx
------
mathetic
This data is being circulated for a while now.
This makes me so angry. It is good that you show the infrastructure is bad,
but how stupid does one have to be to say "do something about Erdogan" to the
people who are facing identity theft directly due to one's actions?
Many companies use date of birth and address for authentication. The only
thing that is missing is mother's maiden name, which then would be enough to
access confidential information at most banks (though they wouldn't be able to
transfer money without authorisation code).
~~~
eveningcoffee
_Many companies use date of birth and address for authentication. The only
thing that is missing is mother 's maiden name, which then would be enough to
access confidential information at most banks (though they wouldn't be able to
transfer money without authorisation code)._
Maybe they should learn a lesson from here - information that you do not
control should not be used for authentication. Especially the one that is in
its essence public.
~~~
MatekCopatek
Exactly! This is about as secure as having your first dog's name as a password
reset hint. I either already know or can simply ask about the birthday,
address and mother's maiden name of practically anyone I know.
~~~
sbarre
I've always hated the mother's maiden name security question because _my
mother kept her maiden name_ so it's not exactly a hard thing to figure out in
my case.
I think that one will go away sooner than later though, because taking a
husband's name is becoming less common in a lot of societies.
~~~
fvargas
Pro tip: You shouldn't be answering those questions truthfully.
~~~
vinchuco
But you have to remember the answers correctly. How do you keep track ?
~~~
fvargas
The lazy way (which is still arguably better than answering truthfully) is to
use the same answer for all the security questions. The better way is to treat
each answer as another password and encrypt and store the answers somewhere
safe.
~~~
thirdsun
Realistically how many people outside (or even inside) HN are going to do
that? No matter how you spin it, security questions are a very bad "security
pattern" in my opinion and we should get rid of them.
~~~
karlshea
I do that, the security questions and answers just get added to the site's
entry in 1Password.
------
throwawayturk
The leak reported to be from YSG [1], organization that manages the election
registers.
Software used by them developed by Cybersoft [2]. Cybersoft was part of the
system who developed the new identity system in Turkey. The practices used by
Cybersoft reported to be horrible. I know someone who worked on that project
(about 15 years ago), reportedly they were really bad, playing games on
servers where the all identity data of the citizens are stored. I do also know
that any employee who was part of the project had access to the query systems,
so it was possible to query the database for all citizens of Turkey, not sure
how much data it revealed but it revealed the number of people with that name
and surname ever born for sure.
Now, I'm not a fan of Erdogan but Cybersoft was developing stuff __before
Erdogan even got elected __. So yes, maybe the government who started to work
with Cybersoft was corrupt, maybe the current one is too but let 's not just
use every single baseless argument to attack Erdogan, it doesn't help
anything.
[1]
[http://www.ysk.gov.tr/ysk/faces/Anasayfa.jspx](http://www.ysk.gov.tr/ysk/faces/Anasayfa.jspx)
[2] [http://www.cs.com.tr/TR/](http://www.cs.com.tr/TR/)
~~~
ratbertovich
I've been working for Cybersoft for the last 20 years, and I know we have not
developed that system, whatever system is in question. We never had contracted
work for either the NVI - Nufus Vatandaslik Isleri (General Directorate of
Civil Registration and Nationality
[http://www.nvi.gov.tr/English,En_Html.html](http://www.nvi.gov.tr/English,En_Html.html)),
the owner of the data on Turkish citizens, or the YSK - Yuksek Secim Kurulu
(Directorate of Elections [http://www.ysk.gov.tr/](http://www.ysk.gov.tr/) \-
they lack content on the English page) the state organizer for elections, and
a client of NVI for voter information.
As far as I know, development of the NVI system for "Central Population
Management System (MERNİS), Identity Share System and Address Registration
System" was contracted to and is still maintained by Kale Yazilim
([http://www.kaleyazilim.com.tr/EN/Pages/Haberler.aspx](http://www.kaleyazilim.com.tr/EN/Pages/Haberler.aspx)).
Likewise the development of the YSK system was contracted to and still
maintained by HAVELSAN ([http://www.havelsan.com.tr/ENG/Main/urun/2321/the-
supreme-el...](http://www.havelsan.com.tr/ENG/Main/urun/2321/the-supreme-
election-council-election-information-system-secsis)). Both projects were
contracted when AKP was ruling, though I'm not sure why we are discussing this
aspect. If the software leaked information, it is the usual suspect: the
Turkish government awards contracts on price-point and the easy way to build
cheap software is to forgo testing and quality assurance. As Murphy's law
states: "Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder." You get
what you payed for.
As a reference system we developed, check out the General Directorate of
Revenues' automation for its 1000+ tax offices and the 2003 ComputerWorld
Honors winning Internet Tax Office.
Last, we have English content at
[http://www.cybersoft.com.tr/ENG/?q=node](http://www.cybersoft.com.tr/ENG/?q=node),
where you can check our references.
------
marinabercea
This is the product of self-righteous activism. You'd have to be pretty
deluded and starving for attention to think effectively releasing tens of
millions of private individuals' complete identification data is justifiable
in some way.
~~~
nsajko
It could positively influence bad auth practices.
~~~
halukakin
Hardly so for Turkey. Important positions in Turkish bureaucracy are being
filled by people who have close ties to the ruling party. I guess this is
somewhat normal in many countries given that you have some appropriate
filters, unfortunately such filters are diminishing every year. Just last week
the prime minister announced they would hire 750k long term government
employees bypassing the regular procedures and by creating adhoc exams for
each position. Regularly Turkey has this nationwide exam called KPSS which you
would have to pass to be a government employee, bypassing this exam will even
further reduce the government quality. I don't see how people without the
necessary qualifications can improve these systems.
~~~
nsajko
It is bad that decision makers can't on their own see that change is needed,
but leaks like this could change public opinion, which is what influences
politicians and businesses.
------
dmitriid
Quoting a Turkish friend:
\---start quote---
Luckily there’s no really valuable data, other than personnummer. But i am
sure with a little bit of digging it would be super easy, during Gezi police
had a pwd like 12345
The important thing with the data is national stats, which is super important
commercially. And that is for free now. More spam in the mailbox for everyone.
Obviously, for stalkers, sickos, or pedophiles this is an open source to
attack. That is another security concern, because there was no db as in Sweden
where you can access someone’s address this easy
\---end quote---
~~~
reitanqild
personnummer? Sounds very Scandinavian to me and quick googling doesn't yield
anything particularly Turkish about that word?
~~~
kolme
My guess is German (because of the historical links between Germany and
Turkey).
~~~
bluecmd
The word exists in Swedish exactly like that and also is a very common word.
Means "person number" or "person ID" basically.
------
dang
Some readers have complained about this data being posted here. That's
reasonable, but so is the community discussion. So we changed the URL from
[http://185.100.87.84/](http://185.100.87.84/) to the least bad news article
we could google. If someone has a better URL, we can change it again.
~~~
krapp
Why bother removing the URL only to post it again in a comment?
~~~
dang
Taking it out of the story link was the important thing. At that point HN was
no longer broadcasting it.
Not to include it the comment, especially since we always include the previous
url in a comment, would have invited accusations of suppression, which would
only call more attention to it.
------
peter303
Only a matter of time before the whole US SS/IRS database is dumped into the
public domain by political hackers too. Pieces of it have been liberated by
sloppy corporations and medical databases. But not the whole thing from the
government.
------
accommodavid
Checked my girlfriends family. Some of them are army officials and their info
is in there as well. With that info you could actually do some serious damage.
Also, based on address info we know this dump is 2-6 years old.
------
koolba
_Note: I wrote this up as a reply but the parent was deleted in the interim so
posting at the top level instead._
> Which server is this? A Whois lookup returned nothing.
The whois command works on domain names, not IP addresses.
To get the DNS name associated with an IP address you can try a reverse
lookup:
$ dig -x 185.100.87.84
Unfortunately that only works if the the reverse record has been set up and it
hasn't in this case.
You can still see where the server is located via tracepath:
$ tracepath 185.100.87.84
[truncated]
12: lon-tel-01c.voxility.net 86.537ms asymm 16
13: buc-ird-01c.voxility.net 147.516ms asymm 17
14: buc-ird-27sw.voxility.net 136.914ms asymm 18
15: buc-ird-46sw.voxility.com 149.699ms asymm 18
16: 185.100.87.84 143.626ms reached
So most likely the server is hosted on voxility.com which looks like an IaaS
provider.
~~~
eimann
What do you mean by "whois does not work on IP addresses",
$ whois 185.100.87.84
Abuse contact info: [email protected]
inetnum: 185.100.87.0 - 185.100.87.255 netname: FlokiNET-Romania descr:
FlokiNET ehf country: RO admin-c: KW2732-RIPE tech-c: KW2732-RIPE status:
ASSIGNED PA mnt-by: FlokiNET created: 2015-12-15T13:52:42Z last-modified:
2016-02-05T18:53:56Z source: RIPE
person: FlokiNET ehf address: P.O. Box No 4 address: 121 address: Reykjavík
address: ICELAND phone: +3544150300 nic-hdl: KW2732-RIPE mnt-by: is-
flokinet-1-mnt created: 2015-05-13T15:26:09Z last-modified:
2016-02-01T06:46:24Z source: RIPE
route: 185.100.87.0/24 descr: FlokiNET ehf origin: AS200651 mnt-by: FlokiNET
created: 2016-02-05T18:52:09Z last-modified: 2016-02-05T18:52:09Z source: RIPE
~~~
koolba
Wow I didn't know you put IPs directly in there. If so, it returns back the
ownership info of the IP from ARIN. Not quite the same as getting the contact
info for a domain name but still quite nifty. Thanks!
------
devy
Does the publisher of this leak really think the other politicians are better
off in keeping private citizens' information private? S/he must have not heard
the Clinton's own email server leak issue. Yeah, yeah, it's a cliché, but it
shows exactly how much they care about security.
~~~
eli
Clinton's email server didn't leak anything, so far as we know. The emails
you've read have been released by the State Department as public government
records.
~~~
devy
FBI hasn't officially concluded the investigation. We'll see.
------
diminish
A criminal thief putting personal data online and giving political lessons,
shame on you really.
When your true goals are phishing, criminal activities, spamming to robe
innocent people, at least be honest and do not make such grandiose statements.
/rant
------
whalesalad
So the folks who did this complained about a bad DB (needing indexes) but then
failed to convert the DOB's to date types.
~~~
yAnonymous
Maybe it's really stored as text?
~~~
whalesalad
Yeah but a simple query can add a column, copy the data while parsing it into
a native date and then drop the original column. It can all be in a
transaction too so that if there is a failure nothing is lost.
I was mainly referring to the high and mighty attitude about fixing their
broken db. If you're gonna fix it, it's all or nothing in my book.
~~~
yAnonymous
True. Although showing how unprofessionally the data is kept makes a good
point, too.
------
return0
Interesting, but to be fair a typical facebook page has more information.
~~~
fabulist
If you choose to sign up for facebook with real information, sure.
You don't have much choice in the data your government loses about you.
~~~
AimHere
You don't have much choice when your friends or relatives post about you on
Facebook either, and there, lying to Facebook is out of your hands.
Privacy isn't transactional, it's environmental.
~~~
macintux
I do not know, but strongly suspect, that my absence from Facebook means I'm
rarely mentioned there. Certainly I'm mentioned less than if I had an account.
Even if I am mentioned there, Zuckerberg & friends don't have any account to
cross-reference to target me with ads, etc.
So, my absence from Facebook is nonetheless a significant enhancement of my
privacy.
~~~
fabulist
It is worth noting that Facebook maintains "ghost" profiles for people who
aren't members, but of whom they are aware. I'm having trouble finding a
reference, but I remember it came out that when your friends ("friends") give
Facebook their email contacts so that they can locate other people using their
service, Facebook remembers contacts which do not yet hold accounts. I
speculate this information wouldn't be valuable if they didn't attempt to
infer that particular posts mentioned these non-member profiles.
------
rmc
You shouldn't share this around. This is going to mess up a lot of innocent
people's lives.
~~~
mavdi
It's too late for that. Criminals have access to it already. I would argue we
should indeed share it around so that at least average Turkish citizens are
aware their data has been stolen.
~~~
amiraliakbari
Really right! Even there should be a wiki containing all data leaks, at least
the description if not the data.
~~~
sxv
And we shall call it.. WikiLeaks. Oh wait.
------
aorth
It's interesting that the data doesn't have values with the Turkish dotted or
dotless I, ie the one in İstanbul, İbrahim, or Diyarbakır. Seems pretty
important to store people's names correctly.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotted_and_dotless_I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotted_and_dotless_I)
~~~
kafkaesq
Then again -- if they can't figure out how to index their databases... then
most likely they probably can't out how to do locales and character sets
properly, either.
~~~
aorth
Ah! And this ironically relevant 2008 post from Coding Horror about testing
your code in the Turkish locale.
[https://blog.codinghorror.com/whats-wrong-with-
turkey/](https://blog.codinghorror.com/whats-wrong-with-turkey/)
------
amingilani
Why host the dump on an IP instead of a domain?
I mean, I suppose skipping a domain means one less company that knows your
personal information, but doesn't this mean Voxility[1] can lookup the
customer for this IP?
[1] koolba's comment:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11420959](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11420959)
~~~
Matt3o12_
A domain adds another point of failure (we want to take you down, we can just
block the domain vs the server). As other have pointed out the abuse report
for that hosted is quite terrible, so it might take a while to get taken down.
Also, a domain name costs money, and you get little use of it (just paid $20
for a domain that gets taken offline in a few days). And even if there was a
domain name, what should it be? Turkish-citizenship-dump.com? What values does
it add if the site only sticks around for a few days?
~~~
darkhorn
Well, they have blocked the IP within few hours.
------
bediger4000
Isn't the real lesson here twofold?
1\. Governments can't keep this kind of data secure.
2\. Massive troves of information that identify individuals are a very
tempting target.
This sort of breach argues against big centralized (e.g. NSA's "sniff it all")
data stores. They're just too easy to get into the wrong hands.
------
eatsfoobars
A user named testing123123 wrote about the dump on ##crypto, on Freenode. He
claimed to be the one who dumped the database. It happened yesterday, on
Sunday.
Log: [http://pastebin.com/EgKhCj6z](http://pastebin.com/EgKhCj6z) (Time is
EEST, UTC +3)
------
id122015
Where others see a weakness, I see an opportunity: that's how we could send
traffic-tickets straight to policemen's door. Enjoy watching "Rémi GAILLARD vs
POLICE"
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJMLS4RDAzk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJMLS4RDAzk)
------
georgiev
How illegal is it to download this database?
~~~
Biganon
About 4
------
amelius
Does it contain the addresses of citizens with a double nationality who now
live abroad?
~~~
darkhorn
If you were a voter in 2010, as far as I know. But I don't know if it contains
foreign home addresses. Some people say that it was fetched from ysk.gov.tr .
Normally MERNİS has more detailed database, so they say that it cannot be
MERNİS. MERNİS stands for Central Citizenship Administration Center, it
contains even pre-Turkish Republic "citizens", like from Ottoman Empire. YSK
stands for Supreme Electoral Council. A friend of mine had access to MERNİS,
he once said that the leaked data is not directly from MERNİS.
------
darren0
If a structural engineer builds a bridge that collapses and kills someone,
they are liable in one way or another. What if the same was applied to
software engineering. That would sure change how seriously you take PII.
~~~
tomschlick
New attack vectors come out every day. The one they used may have not even
been related to THE application that someone built for this. If you built
something 4 years ago for the gov't to use and they didn't keep the server
patched how is that your fault as a software engineer?
------
muratbiskin
Gulenist police provide data to them to take revenge from Erdoğan.I expect
more to come since Erdoğan is still alive.Gulen said Erdoğan will be poisened,
he must have a spy near Erdoğan.
------
IndianAstronaut
Somewhat interesting to think that this very personal information of tens of
millions of citizens is just 1.5 gigs in size.
Are the implications of the National identifier similar to an SSN in the US?
~~~
mathetic
Not to the same extent.
------
ommunist
Is this the Russian answer to Sukhoi plane incident?
------
karangoeluw
What are the ethics around analysing the data here in aggregate form (not
individual info).
------
hemre
I guess this data is leaked from inside. Like most others.
By the way, why the heck is this in ASCII?
~~~
darkhorn
In order to bit shift it?
------
jug
How do the citizens of Turkey deserve this?
------
doomwelcome
ну ахуеть теперь...
Guys, tell me, please: If I add this base and create UI for find people to
search by Name, birth date, etc. Is it legally?
------
leo1187
I think that as well!!!
------
leo1187
that's what I think as well!!!!
------
3bbc
nb
------
PaulHoule
seeds!
------
supremeanger
It doesnt seem too reasonable to compare a businessman to someone who supports
terrorism and radical islam.
~~~
sspiff
I wouldn't put it past Trump to encourage radical christian violence, whether
that would be terrorism is in the eye of the beholder.
Erdohan certainly is using the situation to crack down on national opposition
and get as many separatists killed while the rest of the world is focusing on
the Syrian civil war and its exports of violence. That's simply realpolitik
though, not ideology.
That said, the tone and message accompanying this leak is ridiculous.
------
feylikurds
On the behalf of all Kurds worldwide, I would like to congratulate the
wonderful people who did this hack and released the information. You guys are
just like those who opposed Nazi Germany. We Kurds shall be forever grateful
to you.
To any Turk that may read this: Ne Mutlu Kürdüm Diyene (Happy is he who says I
am a Kurd :)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX4y9qUG8is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX4y9qUG8is)
~~~
dang
This comment doesn't belong here. Please keep nationalist politics off Hacker
News.
------
e-sushi
Cryptographers: 1 -- Idiots: 0
~~~
fabulist
The winners here are fraudsters and the losers are the Turkish people.
Cryptographers never enter into the equation.
~~~
e-sushi
I definitely agree. If only a single cryptographer would have been part of the
equation, no one would have had a reason to write “Bit shifting isn't
encryption” . Looking at my comment again again, I guess it was simply too
short to be understood as a cinical “read it with a smile” kind of thing. Just
to be sure no one gets me wrong: I surely did not want to hype any of the bad
guys, nor make fun of the victims… the innocent Turkish citizens involved.
Yet, I can’t help to shake my head that a Turkish governmental agency was
stupid enough to use a near to “xor-by-one” snakeoil crypto thingy instead of
well-vetted and security proven cryptographic algorithms and protocols. If
they would have, there wouldn’t be a problem – just a blob of encrypted data.
Which is why I said: “cryptographers 1 – Idiots 0”… which was merely meant to
be interpreted as “roll your own crypto, eat your own poison – no
cryptographer would have stepped into the stupid pitfall of using home-brew
toys instead of well-vetted algos & protocols”. Hope that somewhat is able to
explain what I meant with my comment. If my cynical comment was misunderstood
due to its minimalism – my bad. Downvotes correctly punished me accordingly
for my comment being too short to be understood upon first glimpse – next
time, I’ll be sure to be clearer.
------
venomsnake
I am imagining what PKK could do with that info.
~~~
mathetic
Not much. Not their style of warfare really.
------
Grue3
Is this HackerNews or DoxingNews? How is doxing the whole country an
acceptable submission?
~~~
StreamBright
You think that if it is not getting posted on HN than nobody will notice it?
What would you qualify HN worthy submission? I did not read the URL just read
the comments but it was quite entertaining, HN is not responsible about the
content of the submission URLs but it is a great place to discuss the subject
with other people.
~~~
Grue3
>What would you qualify HN worthy submission?
Something that doesn't dox random people, for starters.
~~~
s_dev
The problem was the creation of the list and the subsequent negligent
protection of the data not it being passed to HN after it's been published to
the internet.
It's like the Ashely Madison leak - Hacker News discussed it happily as well
even though that was a complete dox list of individuals.
~~~
diminish
No it is not similar to Ashhley Madison nor panama offshore accounts.
It is similar to me dumping all HN users' personal IDs and addresses as well
as birth certificates. Or similar to dumping all Irish citizen's driving
licenses, addresses and ID info and linking them here on top.
I have seen HN crowd being careful for a single person's privacy just to keep
his mood up.
~~~
StreamBright
HN did not do that though. Again, we are talking about the dump not executing
it. Just because you are not talking about something bad it still exists. I
got the Turkish page at least on 3 different channels, yet got the most
meaningful comments on HN.
------
RussianPazanful
Thank you so much. Downloaded for 15 minutes. File-torrent. Archive 1.5 GB.
There is evidence of Erdogan and Ahmet Dobutoglu.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Noble or savage? Hunter-gatherers - zoltz
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10278703
======
motoko
Q. Why does misery and inequality seem to coincide with technological
progress?
A. Because the dead don't fill surveys.
------
zoltz
The current Economist issue contains a letter on this story by Stephen Corry,
Director, Survival International, London. From the letter:
"The Sentinelese are not the only tribe of hunter-gatherers who still resist
contact with the outside world ("Noble or savage?", December 22nd). There are
over 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, many of them hunter-gatherers. Nor are
the Sentinelese warlike. They defend their tiny island with good reason--
intruders have shot and killed Sentinelese, and neighbouring tribes have been
wiped out after contact with outsiders."
[http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1...](http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10530066)
------
edw519
Darwin was almost right. Technology enables the weak to survive just long
enough to breed. How else would you explain cancer, obesity, and Britney
Spears's child custody battle?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Simple Security - dcope
http://www.neglectedpotential.com/2012/12/simple-minded/
======
joshstrange
I think you are blowing things a little out of proportion. As you mentioned in
your blog post you say that ever other bank's app you have tested has had the
same "shortcomings". That said I would venture a guess that none of your other
banks are anywhere near on the same level as Simple.
I have been a Simple customer for a couple months now I absolutely LOVE the
service. I have dug into what happens behind the scenes on their website and
yes, they do pass more data back and forth than is always needed but they are
using SSL so I'm not too worried.
You say you reached out to their security team and waited 8 days for a reply
before following up, why didn't you just use Simple's support? I have reached
out to them multiple times and always received a response within an hour. One
of those times they redirected me to their engineering team so I could talk
directly with one of their programmers, we exchanged 3-4 emails that same day.
Should they have monitored this security email address you sent to better?
Yes, but they provide the best support of any bank I have used in the past.
Pretty much I don't feel like the "concerns" you raised are all that important
and in fact the whole post smells of FUD IMHO.
~~~
mattyohe
Keep in mind not everyone that submits articles to HN are the article's
author.
~~~
joshstrange
Sorry, I often write my comments in reply to the whatever was linked. I should
have written it differently.
------
zampano
While most of this can be forgiven thanks to Simple being a newcomer to
banking, having all that extra information sent along (ssn, dob, etc.) just
seems like a horrible oversight. As a recent Simple convert, I sincerely hope
they listen to the feedback from their members and rectify this as soon as
possible.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Stack Exchange tag correlations - mwsherman
http://clipperhouse.github.io/stack-correlation/
======
mholt
How do I correlate questions tagged "go"?
~~~
mwsherman
Should be good now: [http://clipperhouse.github.io/stack-
correlation/#stackoverfl...](http://clipperhouse.github.io/stack-
correlation/#stackoverflow/go) (may need to clear cache)
------
chrisamiller
FWIW, doesn't seem to allow me to look at the tag 'r'.
While I won't argue that R is an awful name for a programming language, it's a
legitimate tag:
[https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/r](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/r)
~~~
innoying
Opened a GitHub issue: [https://github.com/clipperhouse/stack-
correlation/issues/1](https://github.com/clipperhouse/stack-
correlation/issues/1)
~~~
mwsherman
Thanks, this should be resolved (after GitHub’s cache clears). I was returning
a limited # of results, and both R and Go ranked low enough not to appear.
------
achy
Interesting. What about including a second column showing the back
correlation? An example: 'WPF' appears 6% of the time for 'C#' questions,
while 46% of 'WPF' questions include the 'C#' tag. Would be interesting use
this to identify ontological hierarchy trends.
------
mey
[http://clipperhouse.github.io/stack-
correlation/#stackoverfl...](http://clipperhouse.github.io/stack-
correlation/#stackoverflow/security) is an interesting result to me at least.
------
danmaz74
If you're also interested in the correlation between Twitter hashtags, we show
those on [http://hashtagify.me](http://hashtagify.me) \- in a visual way; a
table is coming soon.
------
TrainedMonkey
Huh, C++ apparently not correlated much with anything.
------
cnlwsu
very nice! might want to remove api_key from source though :)
~~~
mwsherman
Thanks! The key is not private, it‘s simply a ‘favor’ to the API to identify
where the requests are coming from. The app gets a higher rate limit in
exchange for registering.
~~~
delinka
Still, it means that someone else can copy your API key and abuse the API on
your behalf.
~~~
y0ghur7_xxx
I don't think so. Stack Exchange checks the referer header.
~~~
delinka
Which can also be spoofed.
~~~
y0ghur7_xxx
This is a client JS API key. If you want to spoof the referer you have to hack
into all users of the web page and change the referer header their browser
sends. And for what? Makes no sense.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Python Debugging Techniques - edw519
http://aymanh.com/python-debugging-techniques
======
spahl
The first one with 'import code; code.interact(local=locals())' is priceless.
Is there a way to attach a python shell to a running process? I saw something
similar for ruby but could not find a python equivalent.
~~~
amix
People that find code.interact useful should check out IPython* (which is an
interactive Python shell with auto completion and a lot of other features).
Here is how I launch a shell for my projects (it tries to use IPython, if it
isn't working it uses code.interact): <http://paste.plurk.com/show/17110/>
* <http://ipython.scipy.org/moin/>
~~~
timwiseman
IPython is great and I used to be a huge fan before I found Spyder (formerly
Pydee.) It is somewhat a matter of taste, but when working interactively I
think Spyder is one of the best shells. It is available at
<http://code.google.com/p/spyderlib/>
------
amix
If you do WSGI web-applications then I can recommend following for debugging
memory leaks:
* Finding and fixing memory leaks in Python's WSGI applications: <http://amix.dk/blog/viewEntry/19420>
This is a more general technique on debugging memory leaks using objgraph.py
(that can be used in non-WSGI applications):
* Tracing Python memory leaks: [http://www.lshift.net/blog/2008/11/14/tracing-python-memory-...](http://www.lshift.net/blog/2008/11/14/tracing-python-memory-leaks)
------
jacquesm
Talk about timely :) Thank you!
Debugging python in a server environment is a different kettle of fish though,
I keep running in to situation where something goes wrong under water and
there is absolutely no hint of where the problem lies. That's one of the most
frustrating bits of django/python development as far as I can see.
In PHP it is a very rare occurence to get an error that does not immediately
pinpoint the problem spot. In django/python _if_ you get an error message at
all chances are that it will send you off on an hour+ tour of the
documentation trying to figure out what is up.
For fun have an alternate_name on a foreign key that ends on _id, you will get
errors that have absolutely no bearing on the location of the problem.
------
danohuiginn
oh, and another one. pycallgraph is a good way of getting your bearings,
visually, when confronted with a chunk of disorganized, unfamiliar code:
<http://pycallgraph.slowchop.com/pycallgraph/>
<http://www.ohuiginn.net/mt/2009/01/pycallgraph.html>
------
danohuiginn
re: logging vs. print. If you do get stuck debugging something that uses
print() for all its logging, remember that in extremis you can still redirect
it elsewhere:
import sys
old_stdout = sys.stdout #store the real stdout
logfile = open('/some/file', 'a')
sys.stdout = logfile #redirect output to a file
#code you're debugging here
sys.stdout = old_stdout #restore the real stdout
[Obviously using logging from the start is _far_ preferable]
------
Grekker
Winpdb supports embedded python and remote debugging, is free and cross
platform. (<http://www.winpdb.org/> is down for me right now,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winpdb> has some info)
------
req2
Though I don't know of an effortless way to disable debug prints, you can
easily redirect to a file.
import sys print >>sys.stderr, "STDERR is fun."
There's not too much that suggests using this instead of logging.
~~~
Jebdm
If for some reason you wanted to do this, you could just do
import sys
def debug(*s, sep=" ", nl="\n"):
print >>sys.stderr, sep.join(map(str, s)), nl,
pass
debug("There was an error on line", 10, ":", nl="")
debug(1,2,3,4,5, sep="-")
And then comment out the line with "print" to disable it.
Of course, by that point you may as well use the logging module.
------
bcl
hmm, it would be really handy if you could connect code.interact to a socket.
Then when an error is raised you could telnet to the process and do a post-
mortem on it...
------
ivankirigin
Can you run code.interact from a django view if you've set your server to run
not as a daemon?
~~~
far33d
I believe so - I use pdb.set_trace all the time in my django views (during
debugging) and prefer it to code.interact
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Advice on a passion project in a small (but growing) market - dbla
tl;dr; I'm building a fitness tracker for rock climbers[1] that will be sold though rock climbing gyms. The climbing gym market is small and we have heavy up front costs to bring to market. I'm looking for advice in getting past this hurdle.<p>Two years ago I gave a talk at a tech conference called "Lessons learned prototyping a wearable for rock climbers with Node." I'm an avid rock climber and I was looking for a way to connect climbing with my passion for tech as well as find a project that would give me a chance to learn more about hardware and embedded systems programming. I continued working on the project after the talk and have made a good bit of progress but I'm at a critical point where I need to decide if I should continue with this project and if so, how to fund it.<p>The climbing industry is still relatively small (~600 gyms in the US, thousands more in Europe). The sport will have a debut in the 2020 Olympics and there are a number of new rock gyms that are sprouting up each year so the overall outlook of the industry is positive. I have 20 prototypes that I'm currently testing at one gym and three more gyms that have offered to test.<p>My buddy and I both have full time jobs and do this for fun on the side. I'd be happy to continue to bootstrap this project, but we have several hefty costs (in the hundreds of thousands) that we're going to get hit with if we want to bring this product to market including injection mold tooling costs, FCC certification, first batch of units, some (expensive) final engineering work, etc.<p>Does anyone have experience getting over this hurdle in a hardware project? The original intent of the project was to build something cool with no real dreams of turning it into a business, but in order to actually make the idea a reality I don't see another path. We need gyms to be on board and in order to do that we have to be able to provide them with a polished (not 3D printed) product.<p>[1] https://www.climbalytics.com
======
tlb
Can you not build this as an app for an Apple Watch using NFC tags? Or any
other commercial wearable. That'll save you a boatload of money, and probably
be more appealing to climbers who usually do other sports as well and would
rather have a single device.
When it comes to raising money, investors will want to know how big your moat
is. For instance, if in the future Garmin or Apple added a climbing feature to
their product, can you keep growing?
~~~
dbla
I wish we could use NFC on an Apple watch. It would have saved a lot of
trouble. Unfortunately the read range of NFC is too short to work on a
climbing wall. The climbers wrist will sometimes be up 12+ inches away from
the closest point on the wall. This was the challenge that I ran into with our
first prototype.
As for moat, I think we have some patentable IP (another potential large cost
to file for that patent) and because our model hinges on a relationship with
the climbing gym, the big guys would have to establish a salesforce to sell
into these gyms, which I think for the size of the market would not be worth
it for them. If we can solidify a decent market share it would probably be
more likely that they'd try to buy us out rather than fighting for those
relationships, but I'm not certain about that.
~~~
matt_the_bass
You might want to consider alternate technological approaches. Have you
considered using an IMU to deadreckon the route and detect rests and falls? I
think this would be an perfect application. Then you wouldn’t need the rfid
tape. You could also probably use an existing 3rd party hardware. I think
developing the hardware and managing its production will kill you in the end.
Plus, who wants yet another doodad to buy and wear.
Another possible method is to use computer vision and video to capture the
climbers motion.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Epstein Was a Known Sex Offender. Bezos, Musk and Brin Dined with Him Anyway - smacktoward
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/peteraldhous/jeffrey-epstein-bezos-musk-billionaires-dinner
======
codeddesign
Who cares. As long as they weren’t engaging in illegal sex activities and were
all there conducting business then how is this even news. It seems more like
random character assassination. Unless Buzzfeed is trying say that all sex
offenders should not be allowed to work, eat, or associate which anyone
regardless of the circumstance and likewise you should never associate with a
sex offender regardless of the circumstance whether you knew they were a sex
offender or not. This is all complete rubbish. Shame on you Buzzfeed.
~~~
DoctorOetker
we're not talking about a random sex offender, he blackmailed people, and he
associated with our tech leaders. so he potentially blackmailed same tech
leaders.
this is a different observation than some random non-blackmailing sex offender
sitting 2 spots away in the bus.
When Epstein was in prison, Alfredo Rodriguez tried selling Epstein's black
book for $50k. Until he was arrested for obstruction of justice. The
government had a list of all the victims (and in all likelihood the clients /
targets).
[https://vault.fbi.gov/alfredo-
rodriguez/Alfredo%20Rodriguez%...](https://vault.fbi.gov/alfredo-
rodriguez/Alfredo%20Rodriguez%20Part%2001%20of%2001/view)
speaking of character assassination, remember when Musk was calling one of the
cave divers a pedophile? (he saving kids stuck in a cave, and provided
feedback that Musk's device was useless)
why wine and dine with Epstein, but then call a cave diver who actually saves
children a pedophile?
why did Musk dare insinuate the diver was a pedophile, but did he not dare or
care to say the same about Epstein?
this Epstein creep was really intelligent in his blackmail targets: he seems
to have focused on people with stable positions of power like tech leaders
(also business, academia?), as opposed to politicial leaders or party
affiliated people as dumber blackmailers usually try: blackmailing partisan
people is guaranteed to backfire sooner or later since roles switch by
election every term or two.
~~~
jobigoud
> as opposed to politicial leaders or party affiliated people
It blew up in the news because of his ties with Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and
Prince Andrew.
There is a famous quote: "I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy… He’s a
lot of fun to be with. He likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of
them are on the younger side." \-- Donald Trump.
~~~
DoctorOetker
1) To be clear I was not intrinsically trying to redirect attention to
apolitical leaders, only trying to connect the dots to what _Epstein seems to
have focussed on_ , and _therefore_ direct my attention towards apolitical
leaders, not intrinsically.
2) Prince Andrew is not elected, princes don't have terms where new princes
get rotated every term.
3) The fact that that 2 out of 3 _were political leaders_ only seems to prove
my point, and Trump, Clinton (and possibly others) would have been Epstein's
"mistakes" from the perspective of the strategy.
(I upvoted your comment, because it adds to my interpretation)
------
scohesc
What a good headline. It totally doesn't make it look like these billionaires
or billionaires-to-be knowingly went to this dinner even though Epstein was
there, despite how the article a few paragraphs down says "they didn't know he
was there" or "don't remember".
Outstanding journalism from a company known for their top 10 cat picture you
_just can't resist!_
~~~
DoctorOetker
who cares if they didn't know on the way? I'm not proposing it be illegal to
stay upon learning Epstein is there, but similarily most of us don't
understand why you would _want_ to stay? most of us _would go home_ and feel
disturbed for the rest of the day.
if you are at a party, and some partypooper is present, do you actually stay?
~~~
datapunk
These people are not like you. Where you would be uncomfortable and leave.
They were extremely focused on why they were there and not let the presence of
someone else ruin the entire night.
~~~
DoctorOetker
I would not necessarily leave, typically in a situation where theres an
annoying person present, me and my friends would try to get rid of the
annoying person, and if that keeps failing, leave for home...
------
morelisp
Since the "how could we know!" bullshit is already out full-force in this
thread:
The dinner was organized by John Brockman, literary agent for many of the
figures who bragged about his ties to Epstein to his clients (e.g.
[https://newrepublic.com/article/154826/jeffrey-epsteins-
inte...](https://newrepublic.com/article/154826/jeffrey-epsteins-intellectual-
enabler)).
Brockman organized the dinners as part of his running the Edge Foundation, a
foundation funded substantially (reportedly some years entirely) by Epstein.
> As Brockman himself put it after one such dinner in 2004, “last year we
> tried ‘The Science Dinner’. Everyone yawned. So this year, it’s back to the
> money-sex-power thing with ‘The Billionaires’ Dinner’.”
[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/07/jeffre...](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/07/jeffrey-
epstein-mit-funding-tech-intellectuals)
"How could they know" he was there? Because this was _Epstein's dinner_.
------
howeyc
So what? Even if they did know, this is retarded.
As soon as you know someone is "ex-communicated" from society you must go out
of your way to never ever possibly see or interact with them forever for life?
Get real. I'm not turning around to go home every time I see an "ex-
communicated" individual.
Who keeps track of this list of individuals, where do I go to get an updated
list so I can immediately vacate when one arrives? What happens if someone is
added to the list after I have met them?? Am I on the list by association??
This is bonkers.
~~~
zaphod4prez
If I went to a party, and saw a guy there who was well-known as a convicted
sex offender and convicted pedophile (Florida convicted him of soliciting an
underage prostitute), I would leave.
I believe that the list of individuals is available online in real time, it's
called the sex offender registry.
------
Udik
There's a lot of fuss about which institutions accepted money from Epstein,
and who dined one evening at the same table with him.
There is much less interest, it seems, on the big picture: we're talking about
someone who had been convicted for sexual abuse of minors and sex trafficking,
with about 34 minors involved; convicted for just one case, allowed to benefit
from a non-prosecution agreement, given a joke sentence and let go. The judge
who allowed this said "I was told he belonged to intelligence and he was above
my pay grade". I had a hunch this judge might have died later in mysterious
circumstances, so I googled him. He's not dead: he became the US Secretary of
Labour with Trump.
So Epstein was free to fly around with his private jet full of underage sex
slaves, to and from his private island, and to keep meeting and forming ties
with powerful people from all over the world- industrialists, politicians,
presidents, royals. In his safe they found money, diamonds, and a fake
passport with stamps from many countries.
The other day I was reading a random conversation on the internet from a
couple of months ago. One person was recapping these facts, another was
replying: "if this is true, Epstein's life in prison will be very short". A
few days later he was dead. The guards were not watching and the cameras were
not working.
The picture that is forming is that of someone managing a high end
prostitution ring, for many years, probably with the intent of collecting
blackmail material, and probably working for some foreign intelligence.
That Elon Musk, Minsky or anyone else might have met him at a dinner table
should be absolutely the last of our concerns.
------
datapunk
'Epstein did business in America, the world demands why America didn't stop
him!'
See, I can do that too
------
paulddraper
There's got to be a better news source than this.
------
AndrewBissell
Look, how could Bezos have secured those contracts for Amazon from the CIA if
he refused to dine with one of their best assets?
------
nikolay
Well, all these rich assholes were fascinated by the opportunities he opened
to them... If the Clintons were on the Lolita Express bandwagon, why can't
they ride it as well?!
------
heyitsguay
I know it's against the rules to post inflammatory stuff and i want to be
civil, but @dang, do you really feel ok representing a community where the
prevailing opinion seems to be it's no big deal to have dealings with a known
child sex trafficker, it's just societal shaming, etc? It's so disappointing
that this is apparently how the minds work for prominent voices on this hub
for the tech community.
~~~
hgoel
On the contrary, do you really feel okay peddling this obvious attempt at a
hit piece relying on guilt by association as evidence that all these other
rich people were involved in some manner?
No one's saying that what Epstein did wasn't wrong, everyone's saying that
people who interacted with him weren't necessarily involved, nor was it their
responsibility to cause a ruckus about it.
~~~
nullc
You should edit your post because you meant "what Epstein did wasn't wrong".
(and maybe no one _here_ because I'm sure in some awful corner of the internet
there is a conspiracy theory that makes a hero of him...)
~~~
hgoel
Ah yes, you're right. That's a pretty big typo on my side. The app I'm using
doesn't seem to let me edit though.
~~~
dang
We've edited it for you.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Is there an easy way to attach notes to each pane in tmux (or screen) - soulbadguy
I am heavily multitasking (as a way to hide the latency caused by ridiculously long compile/test cycles) using multiple tmux sessions and panes. I find myself constantly trying to remember what i was doing in each pane so i am looking for an easy way to attach a note/memo to each pane.
======
sevensor
You can set the name of a window using the comma (control-b ,) I often do this
to keep things straight. Harder to do this by pane though. But I rarely find
myself doing more than ten things at once.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Facebook is not worth $33B (2010) - rl12345
https://signalvnoise.com/posts/2585-facebook-is-not-worth-33000000000
======
rl12345
It is easy to be a critic of private venture backed companies valuations as
these investments are done considering where the world _could_ be in the
future vs where it is now. These kind of bets requires not only financial
models but also unique vision and a lot of guts -- traits hard to train but
present in most of mankind's big achievements. So it's no wonder those bets
pays really well when they succeed.
Of course, if you're not a fan of how the private venture backed companies
game works, you can always do a traditional business and use profits as the
only source of growth. That's the beauty of our current system: it's not
perfect but it still allows you to choose whatever path you want to and still
have a good chance to make it work.
~~~
simonh
Quite. Facebook's net income for 2014 was about $3B and it's current market
cap is $294B. I'm not saying it's current market cap is sensible, that's for
the future to decide, but looking at the historical facts clearly it's
valuation at $33B in 2010 has turned out to have been well judged.
~~~
foldr
How much of that 3B was profit?
~~~
simonh
All of it. Net is after cost of goods, tax, etc. Their revenue was about $10B.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Anyone interested in a Sydney HN Meetup? - jlangenauer
That's Sydney, Australia - though I'm sure the one in Nova Scotia is lovely.
======
andrewtj
You guys might be interested in the Sydney Silicon Beach drinks — see
<http://siliconbeachaustralia.org/>
------
CyberFonic
Could be interesting. I'm at Sydney Uni - so inner west or Sydney CBD would
suit. Please e-mail me any more info : [email protected]
------
jlangenauer
Sounds like at least some people are keen - I'm happy to organise. I suspect
somewhere in the city would be best for everyone?
------
hellotoby
I would definitely come along to a Sydney meet and I know a few other people
who would be keen as well.
------
ozanonay
I'm interested. Could probably also work out a room/projector/wifi/beer
arrangement in Surry Hills.
------
andre3k1
I too am at Sydney Uni. Would be keen for a meetup!
------
peterwnicholls
Id be keen! [email protected]
------
huwshimi
I'm up for it. Are you organising?
------
ryszard99
count me in.
------
3KWA
indeed!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Yahoo appoints Google's Henrique de Castro as COO - ximeng
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19957779
======
ximeng
"According to a regulatory filing, de Castro will receive an annual base
salary of $600,000 and a one-time retention equity award comprising $US18
million in restricted stock units and $US18 million in performance-based stock
options. He will get a $1 million bonus for leaving Google and restricted
stock with a target value of $US20 million."
60 million USD package according to
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/world/yahoo-to-
pay-...](http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/world/yahoo-to-pay-new-coo-
henrique-de-castro-us60m/story-e6frg90o-1226497025098) (paywall unless you
come via Google)
Better article at allthingsd:
[http://allthingsd.com/20121015/yahoo-confirms-hiring-of-
goog...](http://allthingsd.com/20121015/yahoo-confirms-hiring-of-googles-de-
castro-as-coo-like-i-said/)
~~~
001sky
interesting => package is 100x reported base salary
------
confluence
$60 million dollars for a sales exec! WTF!
Am I the only one that thinks this is completely ridiculous?
Yahoo! needs products and you could've hired 250 highly paid full time
developers for 1 year for that cash. Hell - you could've pouched a nice sliver
of Google.
I mean doesn't Yahoo! suck at engineering and not sales as compared to Google?
They're second in search and still pulling billions - I thought all they
needed were more products?
~~~
001sky
COO is slightly different, if that is in fact his role. at $20B mkt cap, $60MM
is like a 0.03% stake in the company. Basically a rounding error. In the last
10 years, people learned that value destruction is the same as creation, when
it comes to leverage in these scenarios. If you don't pay them $XYZ, they will
destroy value or sit idly by as entropy does it for them. The mathematical
equivalence of marginal productivity (what they teach in school) and marginal
malevolence (street smarts) is elegant in its simplicity. That's how the game
is played. One of the downsides of "maximizing shareholder value" as your
guiding principle.[1]
With that in mind, look at a comp for COO pay:
Exec Comp Consuultant > _American businesswoman and the Chief Operating
Officer of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg, has an estimated net worth of $1.6
billion_
Not justifying it, just pointing out the facts.
______
[1] A Mature company is completely different dynamic than a (0,1) innovation
scenario/startup, IMHO. And there are more and less sophisticated ways to
understand even "Maximizing X value" at the Board Level, stage agnostic.
~~~
guelo
Net worth after an IPO is not the same as a compensation package.
~~~
001sky
Apologise, as I was not more precise in my data. But, in this case, most of
Sandberg's net worth was from her compensation package at FB as COO. [1] It
was really more for order of magnitude: $60 vs $1,500. You could cut that in
half and divide by ten and still be 25% higher. When you think like this, the
fact that packgage $60M is 100x $0.6 salary gets lost in the shuffle. =D
_________
[1] In 2009, FB was $10-15B company. She had some money, though, from google
as well presumably.
------
manaskarekar
Reminds me of this old discussion : "Why do business analysts and PMs get
higher salaries than programmers?"
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4138086>
------
franze
i'm wondering what yahoo will be in 5 years? are there any cases where an
established big company / big player in decline re-invented itself
successfully? (ok, any company other than Apple ...)
~~~
seivan
No chance. Why would a developer want to feel his contribution is less than of
a sales exec.... Good luck building great products Yahoo.
~~~
freehunter
At which companies are developers paid more than executives?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Creating old school illustrations for physics book programmatically - codedokode
https://github.com/jemmybutton/fiziko
======
codedokode
More awesome image examples:
[https://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=ht...](https://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=https://habr.com/post/423571/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming - acjohnson55
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-31/no-one-saw-tesla-s-solar-roof-coming
======
philipkglass
I had serious misgivings when Tesla/SolarCity announced a switch of focus to
building-integrated PV. Historically, BIPV is where a PV technology goes to
die after it's failed to compete against incumbent module designs.
But these have _far_ better aesthetics than previous BIPV efforts. They look
better individually and they aren't clumped in one odd shiny patch on the roof
like past BIPV. Search for images of solar shingles and you'll see what I mean
about previous attempts.
On Friday's thread someone here mentioned the 30% tax credit for solar
installations. That made the financial proposition click for me. If the _whole
roof_ qualifies as a solar system, that's probably how they can make it
financially attractive. Unlike past module-atop-roof or even patch-of-roof-
BIPV offerings, you'd be able to get a tax credit for the whole shebang. Add
the usual solar motivation of reducing retail electricity purchases, plus
getting a roof that's more durable and attractive than the typical asphalt or
wood shingles of American roofs, and it looks like Tesla/SC may have a better
offering than competitors for new home builds in areas with lots of sun and
expensive electricity. It wouldn't take a whole lot of builds per year to soak
up all the capacity of their Buffalo factory.
Just a few days ago I was saying that I couldn't see how any of the solar
installation or manufacturing companies were going to build decent, defensible
profit margins because panels and installation services are so commoditized.
This could be the advantage that was missing: assuming decent patent coverage,
SC will be able to have a monopoly on these modules and their installation for
a long time to come.
~~~
tajen
But is it carbon-neutral now?
Let's remind the whole picture here: We want to come back to global greenhouse
gases emissions on 1990, because they were balanced by nature's absorption. It
often happens that the cost of building solar panels, transporting them to the
location, disposing them before their estimated time-to-live and getting rid
of all their chemicals emit more carbon than we save by using electricity from
the solar panels.
Another bias is: By making energy cheaper, does it encourage the use of said
energy, thereby offsetting the gains? "I've saved 20% of carbon emissions
compared to having a petrol-based SUV" tells another story than "I don't have
an SUV".
Greenhouse gas ecology is hard. The only way to avoid doing those analysis
would be to tax carbon emissions for the side effects they produce. Then we
would be able to just by the cheapest, which would also be the most energy-
efficient.
~~~
philipkglass
1) Anthropogenic CO2 emission rates in 1990 were greater than natural sinks
could offset.
2) Under any reasonable set of assumptions, rooftop solar PV has significantly
lower emissions per kWh than the cleanest fossil sources. In 2014 the IPCC
estimated a median value of 41 gCO2-e/kWh for rooftop PV generation vs. 490
for combined cycle natural gas generation.
3) Perhaps some of the CO2 avoidance will be squandered eventually as solar
becomes cheaper, thereby encouraging use of more electricity, but so far total
electricity use is uncorrelated or even anti-correlated with the presence of
rooftop solar generation. "Rooftop solar" and "energy-thrifty building
construction/operation" cluster together, so far, rather than displacing each
other.
~~~
redcap
2) Does that include the carbon cost of manufacturing, distributing and
installing the tiles?
~~~
tux1968
You have to manufacture, distribute, and install tar shingles too. Is there
some reason to think these costs would be higher for solar tech?
~~~
redcap
I presume there's a difference in manufacturing between these tiles and normal
tiles.
I also presume there's CO2 costs involved in manufacturing solar cells that
aren't present in normal shingles.
~~~
tux1968
Perhaps, although i'm quite skeptical about a difference in distribution and
installation. And even in the case of manufacturing, one must only consider
the delta between them rather than full cost of manufacturing solar.
------
wojcech
I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like this is possibly the iphone
moment of Solarcity/Tesla: an old-ish idea, made _sexy_ and tasty to
consumers, together with technology reaching a tipping point(and also Musk
_again_ finding a way to maximally exploit government subsidies for clean
tech.)
The tesla car itself could count as well, but felt less "design driven" imo.
If this fails, everyone will call it obviously due to bad tech. If it
succeeds, I'd say it was because the tech was barely sufficient to keep up
with the excellent luster.
On a side note, I wonder whether or not the heavy government subsidies will be
forgotten in the lore of clean tech, just like silicon valley seems to have
forgotten the complete and utter reliance on government funding in it's
infancy(or possibly even today)
~~~
aerovistae
Another side note: it always annoys me when people insinuate that Musk using
government funds is a bad thing.
The government is literally just US....it's our money and a collection of
individuals from among us who we've appointed to handle the general
administration of us and the space we take up.
Why should American entrepreneurs, particularly ones doing such an outstanding
job of moving technology in a positive direction, not get our financial
support (a.k.a. the government's support)?
Who exactly is losing out when we support our own business initiatives with
our own money?
~~~
KKKKkkkk1
Please do not use the word we in this context. Half of my colleagues are
paying very hefty federal and state taxes but do not have the right to vote.
~~~
aerovistae
Why don't they have the right to vote? DC?
~~~
scaryspooky
Probably they are in the US on work visa's.
------
GregBuchholz
I'm curious if anyone has stats on what percentage of houses have an
unobstructed southern roof (for those in the Northern hemisphere)? My house
has seasonally adjusted nanotechnology self-replicating shade "panels" that
block considerable sunlight in the spring and summer months (MTBF: 100+
years). The big downside is cleaning up the unused panels in the autumn.
~~~
fweespeech
That has to be the geekiest explanation of a tree I've seen in awhile.
~~~
GregBuchholz
How about from a marketing perspective?
Solar 'Sorb(TM) -- The revolutionary shade technology which keeps you cooler
in the summer and warmer in winter. Innovative "cell" technology is at the
heart of the Solar 'Sorb system. Proprietary nanotechnology utilizes clean
solar energy, water and air to fill your yard with beautiful fractal-inspired
spires, that not only look great, but save you money. And there is no
complicated setup or programming. The Solar 'Sorb keeps track of the seasons
by monitoring the length of day, and adjusts it shade profile to match. Some
of the features included in each base model :
Seasonally Adjusted Shade
Evaporative Cooling
Low Annual Maintenance
Provides shelter for fauna
Wind resistant
Limited Lifetime Warranty
The Solar 'Sorb comes in an exciting array of styles, each specifically
adapted to your particular environment. And if you have a sweet tooth, you may
be interested in our food bearing models which produce tasty and nutritious
food packets for you and your family.
You can purchase fully functioning Solar 'Sorb units at one of our many
worldwide distributors, or the do-it-yourselfer can order our starter kit pods
direct from the factory. StarterPods(R) unfold gradually after installation
and provide shade generation precisely where you need it.
Solar 'Sorb is a strong advocates for the environment, and that's why all of
our products are certified "Green", and carbon neutral.
~~~
fweespeech
Lol. :)
------
jaggederest
I think it's interesting looking at it from the other end - as a homeowner, I
can tell you that roofing is an expensive proposition.
If this can be competitive with traditional roofing and have a longer life
expectancy, I'd buy in a heartbeat.
It has the potential to displace thousands of tons of asphalt shingles per
year with the equivalent of recyclable glass, which is pretty fantastic. The
embodied energy of production for the tar hydrocarbons in current roofing
materials are pretty nasty, and they don't just disappear when they wear out.
~~~
pfarnsworth
I need to replace my roof and I've been quoted almost $20k. If these are
within $5k of that price, then I will jump on it.
~~~
sbov
From my experience, the price of installing solar on 1/4th of your roof is
more expensive than installing a full, brand new roof. Beyond that, not all
parts of the roof are created equal for solar - some will generated much less
energy than others. E.g. a neighbor's tree blocks a fair portion of our roof
from the sun.
You can already get a $0 electricity bill without having full roof solar.
I can't see it being anything but a waste of money for the practical consumer.
~~~
sliverstorm
It's already obvious this isn't targeted at your garden variety practical
consumer. As the article points out, the demo'd roofing styles are all luxury
roofing.
------
olivermarks
'No one saw Tesla's solar roof coming...'
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle)
Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar panels or solar
modules designed to look like and function as conventional roofing materials,
such as asphalt shingle or slate, while also producing electricity. Solar
shingles are a type of solar energy solution known as building-integrated
photovoltaics (BIPV).
There are several varieties of solar shingles, including shingle-sized solid
panels that take the place of a number of conventional shingles in a strip,
semi-rigid designs containing several silicon solar cells that are sized more
like conventional shingles, and newer systems using various thin-film solar
cell technologies that match conventional shingles both in size and
flexibility. There are also products using a more traditional number of
silicon solar cells per panel reaching as much as 100 watts DC rating per
shingle.[1]
Solar shingles are manufactured by several companies[2] but the two main
manufacturers of solar roof shingles are Dow and CertainTeed.[3] Other active
companies in the US include SunTegra Solar Roof Systems,[4] and Atlantis
Energy Systems (asphalt and slate systems),[5]
Unisolar went bankrupt a few years ago....
~~~
whiskers
There is no claim that "solar shingles" are new, just that it wasn't what
people expected Tesla to be announcing. From the article... "Like previous
attempts at solar shingles..."
~~~
stormbrew
Also the joke is that they didn't notice that the buildings had solar
shingles. Literally people didn't see them.
------
sremani
Roof top solar is critical for electrification of transportation since more
demands would be placed on grid. SolarPV and EV go hand in hand. This product
addresses many of the objections about aesthetics of Solar. TSLA has solid
vision, hopefully they execute it and execute it well.
~~~
lutorm
_Home_ PV and EV doesn't go hand in hand for everyone that uses their EV to
commute to work, though. I guess that represents a significant fraction of the
vehicle park.
~~~
elihu
It might be better to say that home PV and EV and battery storage go hand-in-
hand (since that allows you to dump your surplus battery into your car at
night), which appears to be Tesla's strategy. It would help if the battery
storage were big enough to fully recharge an EV, but that's not strictly
necessary unless you do a lot of driving.
Solar panels on cars are another option. I used to think that was a bad idea,
considering that an electric vehicle uses vastly more power than solar panels
could ever hope to generate. Then I thought about my own driving patterns; On
a typical work day, I drive about three miles to work, park in the sun for 8
hours, and then drive three miles home. With an electric vehicle and a solar
panel on the roof, I might not even have to plug it in except on long trips.
Even if that wasn't true, if a solar panel could save me, say, 10 full charges
per year, it's probably worth a little extra weight and cost.
~~~
derekp7
I ran calculations recently on solar panels on electric cars. Taking Tesla's
numbers, I figure it about .3 kwh per mile. A car is 5 feet wide, there are
about 5 feet on the hood, 3 feet on the roof, and 2 feet on the trunk. So 50
sq feet, at 10 watts per sq foot, is 500 watts total. So 4 kwh per 8 hours,
gives you 13 miles range. Or more likely, about 10 miles, once you count
charging efficiencies.
------
myrandomcomment
My wife and I purchased a house in 2015 and remodel it. The roof is 25 years
old and needs to be replaced. We have patched it up and have been holding off
because I knew this was coming. Everything in the house is LED and Engerystar,
etc. The 2 big power items are the hot tub and the heated floor in the
bathroom. My power bill in my area has 3 levels and the 1st level is not
enough for any reasonable usage. With the fully efficient house, removing the
hot tub and heat floor I am still pushed to the 3 level of pricing which make
my bill $300 per month. This as my new roof + the power wall is a no brainer
for me. Where do I sign up ;)
------
whiskers
This appears to be a great implementation of an idea that's been kicking
around a while. I love the detail of engineering that's gone into this and I
really hope the numbers stack up to make it viable.
It's the first Tesla product where I've thought to myself "wow, I really want
that" and I hope that I'll have a roof like this at some point. However I
remain skeptical that the efficiency when taking into account to the
manufacturing inputs and compared to a standard roof solar install will make
sense.
I do think it's incredibly important to make technologies superficially
acceptable to gain mass adoption. That's where I believe this stands above the
alternatives, let's hope it pans out.
Disclaimer: I'm super excited about SpaceX (well, space in general), I'm not
all that bothered about the Tesla car range, though I hope they release
something I like at some point.
~~~
compute_me
Let's hope that this was a genuine iPhone 1 moment! :)
------
JoelBennett
I'm curious - I still haven't seen any details on how these are installed. How
are things wired - does the wiring run under the shingles themselves? Also,
how does it work with odd sized/shaped roofs - e.g.: something that isn't
exactly a multiple of 1/2 a shingle?
~~~
erikpukinskis
There are probably electrified tracks which are screwed down onto the rafters,
similar to the way wooden risers* are put down for clay tiles to attach to.
The tiles attach using metal clips or nails. SolarCity acquired Zep Solar a
while back, who designed quick installation solar mounting systems. I assume
they're using that team to design something fully integrated and fast to
install. You'll probably just snap the tiles onto the rails after they are
screwed (bolted?) down. The tracks would just plug into each other like
Christmas lights.
They said they're producing plain tiles without panels inside for edge pieces
and north/east/west roof faces.
* [http://www.topnotchgenconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/20...](http://www.topnotchgenconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/clay-tile-2.jpg)
------
hnnicker
When adding traditional PV panels to my house a few years ago, I talked to the
designer about PV shingles. He said the problem is that PVs are black and get
hot in the sun. Traditional panels are raised a few inches above the roof with
a gap that allows air flow (stack effect) to cool the panel. Also, the panel
shades the roof, keeping the attic cooler (less A/C). With shingles, when they
get hot, the attic gets hot (more A/C).
------
lifeisstillgood
That's brilliant. It fixes that huge objection we all have to solar on our
houses - and it is not the product itself but that it is a innovative solution
to a problem "everyone" has looked at and said "nah I don't want that rubbish
on my roof" and nearly turned it on its head
It's just one more example of why discounting Elon might be a bad idea.
If only I had bought tesla a few years ago ...
~~~
lutorm
_nah I don 't want that rubbish on my roof_
I literally haven't seen my panels since the last time I went up on the roof.
Granted, this depends a lot on how steep your roof is, but the _appearance_ of
the panels did really not go into our decision to install them.
~~~
icefox
Had a door to door solar salesman not notice my panels, that is how little
people actually look at your roof.
~~~
lutorm
That's pretty hilarious.
------
lxmorj
I wonder - if you run current through these when they're covered with snow,
will they heat up and melt it away?
~~~
dimfeld
Musk recently posted to Twitter about using dedicated heating elements in the
tiles for this purpose:
[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/792218248917811204](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/792218248917811204)
------
robterrell
Side topic, but I wonder if there's a pivot point coming where household
appliances could be offered in DC versions. It would be great to avoid the
inverter efficiency loss / point of failure. Could there be a standard DC
interior wiring system with line voltage for the fridge / dishwasher / laundry
machines and let's say LED lights, phone chargers, etc? The need for AC power
is just an artifact of long transmission distances, right?
~~~
Filligree
High-voltage DC is actually more efficient for long-distance transport, and
makes it easier to interconnect grids. Efficiency is not why we use AC.
Installation cost and history is, because you need converters everywhere you
connect it to an AC grid.
Up until recently a lot of standard pieces of equipment weren't practical for
HVDC lines. Electrical breakers, for instance: They existed, but tended to
have short lifespans. That's because DC lines never go to zero power, whereas
AC lines do so a hundred times per second.
Modern technology has changed that. The equipment is still more expensive, but
that would be made up for by the reduced transmission losses... if we were
starting from scratch. We're not.
------
austincheney
Hope it is insured against golf ball sized hail. If so people in Texas will
buy this in droves just for the durability. In not it will never sell in
Texas.
~~~
ne0n
Did you see the announcement video? They dropped a kettlebell on it and all it
got was a small crack.
~~~
makomk
Now think about what will happen after water makes its way into that crack and
goes through a few hundred freeze-thaw cycles.
~~~
TheGRS
So this technology is useless because years of wear and tear will make you
need to replace the roof eventually? Isn't that pretty normal for any house?
~~~
pwinnski
Texas resident here. There's a guy who's been riding a Segway around my
neighborhood looking for weather damage from recent storms, and his pitch to
homeowners is that they don't need to replace the _entire_ roof, just the
section where things are--or will soon be--leaking.
It's probably more efficient to replace the entire roof at once, and insurers
would almost certainly prefer the entire roof to be the same age, but asphalt
does have some advantages for situations in which nearly every storm tears up
just a few shingles.
------
speby
This is really nice to see an innovation on something "old but new again" like
a roof. Roofs are not exactly the industry/product space we see a lot of
innovation in lately. The typical asphalt/cedar/steel/terracotta roofs we know
of today have mostly been serving the needs of homeowners reasonably well for
a very long time.
Tying to beat those materials out on functionality, cost, reliability, and
longevity is a tall order, to be sure. Mixing in the ability to grab the sun's
energy and use it to power your home and mechanicals and devices is a
compelling option. But because electricity is electricity is electricity (To
most people) the economics of this are going to be absolutely key.
Whereas the iPhone really did bring significant usability innovations to
people's lives, as in the ability to do new and useful things that were
previously harder or more annoying in the past, this type of roof doesn't
necessarily provide more functionality. Though the heated roof certainly could
be useful in cold climates. But again, I think that the economics are going to
be very critical to seeing wider adoption for this.
------
prewett
Pet peeve: meaningless projections into the far future. The "battery prices
keep tumbling" chart is a complete fiction. They took two data points and
extrapolated a smooth e^-x function, which portrays a untruthful appearance of
accuracy. Two points fit whatever curve you want to fit. Including this graph
is worse than having nothing.
Question: how would I complain to Bloomberg about this?
~~~
erikpukinskis
The range on the graph isn't necessarily the entirety of the data used for the
model.
------
patkai
I think I understand what Musk is doing, but I need to ask: what is everybody
else doing? Soon all innovation will be Tesla/ _
------
ZeroGravitas
There's some new houses being built near me that were designed from the start
to have solar panels built into the roof. The panels are inset so they roughly
along with the tiles around them and the panels themselves appear black so
blend in color-wise too.
You can see the panels but they're not actively ugly, which seems a good
compromise. This seems like more a Tesla level solution, where you're paying a
premium but it's better than a normal roof. The ones near me are the GM Bolt
solution, where it's about as aesthetically pleasing as any other generic home
and are priced accordingly. It's probably good to have solutions at multiple
price points though.
------
intrasight
What I find most clever about these roof panels is that is will likely silence
a lot of HOA critics. While more and more states are considering "solar
rights" laws, it is still better for all involved not to have to fight that
battle.
~~~
jonstewart
I live in a historic preservation district, with a south-sloping roof. I'm not
permitted to put up solar panels because they'd be visible from the street,
but these have a chance of getting past the historic preservation authorities.
That would be fantastic.
------
patrickg_zill
Asphalt shingles need to be replaced, depending on climate and other factors
that cause them to degrade, every 10(?) to 20 years.
Thus at least 5% of the total roofing market in existing residential houses,
is a potential customer each year.
~~~
majewsky
Assuming that everyone uses asphalt shingles, which is definitely not the
case. For example, the German Wikipedia article for asphalt shingles describes
them as "a typical GDR roofing". Germans tend to prefer clay/ceramic tiles on
their homes, which can easily last 50 years and more.
~~~
patrickg_zill
The asphalt shingles are very popular in the USA, which is what I assumed
their first market would be, since contractors apparently have to be trained
in their installation.
~~~
majewsky
That seems likely. I just wanted to point out that the market looks quite
different in other countries.
------
Udik
I'm curious. From a global warming + CO2 perspective (and total costs, maybe),
are we better off:
\- by making mirror roofs that bounce as much light as possible back towards
the sky (therefore not trapping heat, and reducing the need for A/C in the
summer);
\- or by using heat-trapping solar roofs that produce electricity but act as
heat-sinks and require more A/C usage in the summer?
And what about shingles that go from mirror to black from summer to winter, to
decrease the need of winter heating as well as summer A/C?
What if we take in account the amount of CO2 needed to manufacture the solar
roof?
------
ZeroGravitas
Is there a solution where you just use existing panels as giant tiles instead
of putting them on top of an existing roof? I can imagine say a carport, which
is tilted so that you don't really see what it's made from (though I've seen
relatively cool looking solar panels anyway). Might work on modern new builds
too. Seems like there would be a market for that a well as these "fake" tiles
that seem sized based on the traditional materials.
------
brownbat
Elon develops solar and rocket tech with a company named after an inventor
known for wireless power transmission.
Alright, fine, how long until Tesla launches satellite power systems?
------
davidklemke
It will be interesting to see how it competes against more traditional solar
systems. Right now I can get a 10KW system, with an inverter and installation,
all for AUD$9000. If Tesla could be competitive at that price point, both in
terms of raw cost and the capacity of the system installed, then I'd be all
over it. Otherwise I might just go the regular route as not many people look
at my roof.
Heck I barely do!
------
cybernytrix
This is an awesome product and a big disruptor. Has anyone done the math on
the revenues and profitability for Tesla? On the one hand it will sell for
more than the typical 10-20K roof job. But then it is supposed to last
50years. What are the chances that Tesla will even be around in 50years?
~~~
erikpukinskis
The way SolarCity works, you don't own the panels SolarCity does. So
ostensibly you would finance the roof and then pay a locked in price per kWh
which would be recurring revenue for Tesla even after the roof is paid off.
------
maximilianburke
I would really like something like this, however the roof of my house has a
really shallow pitch which makes it unsuitable for tiled roofs, be it glass
(solar), ceramic, or asphalt.
I guess panels are still an option, though it would be nice to never worry
about the roof again :)
~~~
jaggederest
A well made flat roof (for your low pitch) should last close to 50 years.
They're commonly more expensive but much more durable than pitched roofing.
I'd probably consult with the solar folks before getting your roof redone
though. You'll probably save money if you make sure the roofers and the solar
installers are coordinating correctly before either goes to work.
------
smoyer
If the solar shingles last far longer than my current shingles (which actually
need to be replaced soon), what about the degradation of the solar cells
themselves? Traditional PV panels degrade and have to be replaced sooner than
many roofing materials.
~~~
philipkglass
There are a lot of different degradation mechanisms that affect silicon based
PV modules.
[http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/pvrw2010_wohlgemuth_s...](http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/pvrw2010_wohlgemuth_silicon.pdf)
Most typical failures are thermomechanical fatigue and chemical breakdown of
encapsulant and backsheet materials. Musk said that these are made of quartz
(vitreous silica?) which has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion and
should reduce thermomechanical fatigue on connections. By all appearances
these are glass on both sides, no backsheet polymer layer, hence no backsheet
breakdown possible. These small modules are going to be more robust against
mechanical damage than modules with larger surface areas.
Both Silevo and Panasonic* base their cell technology on n-type
monocrystalline silicon, which exhibits negligible light induced degradation
over time (an optoelectronic effect which can gradually reduce efficiency of
more common p-type cells). The glass-all-around design also eliminates the
chances of potential induced degradation. The median degradation rate for
crystalline silicon PV modules as a group is only 0.5% per year (meaning 86%
of original rated output after 30 years) and these modules look like they can
achieve significantly lower degradation rates than that. Poor execution can
ruin any concept, of course, but these really look like they could work for
several decades.
*SolarCity acquired PV startup Silevo and originally intended to ramp the technology up to gigawatt manufacturing scale in a new factory in Buffalo, NY. More recently they've stated that Panasonic will run the Buffalo factory and the cell tech will be some kind of blend between Panasonic and Silevo; both companies' cell technology are based on heterojunction cell designs on n-type monocrystalline silicon substrates.
~~~
igravious
Thanks for the informative comment. Tesla/SolarCity and Panasonic seem to be
increasingly joined at the hip, don't they? That's be some merger. Who'd
swallow who?
------
awqrre
To me, the solar roof is the most interesting project coming out of Tesla so
far... and of course it combines nicely with their other products. But when
will it be available and for how much? I need to replace my roof soon.
------
Animats
Huh? Solar shingles have been around since 2005. Dow and CertainTeed Products
are the big makers. Here's a nice example of a house with a solar shingle
roof.[1]
There's been an aesthetic problem with mixing solar and non-solar shingles,
because the colors didn't quite match. But that was mostly because solar
shingles were a retrofit, not original equipment, and not an entire roof
replacement.
[1] [http://texastinyhomes.com/integrated-
solar/](http://texastinyhomes.com/integrated-solar/)
~~~
dagw
OT. But I find it amusing that a "tiny home" in Texas is the same size as a
normal home in most other places.
~~~
jmiserez
And the same size as a large or multifamily house in Europe.
------
walrus01
Nobody expects the spanish tiled roof inquisition!
------
jlebrech
it's more like the manufacturing process is what makes this product unique,
not the product itself.
------
gwbas1c
You've got to be kidding!!! Just look at those ugly solar panels on roofs, and
it becomes obvious that someone is going to make solar shingles.
I've been joking with my family that someone will come out with solar shingles
in the next few years.
Obvious!
------
atmosx
I wonder if this is a good time to buy solar city stock.
------
OliverJones
"No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming"
Let's rephrase that headline. "No one to whom a lazy journalist named Tom
Randall spoke saw Tesla's Solar Roof Coming."
~~~
erikpukinskis
Everyone knew it was going to be a solar roof. Musk said so. What no one
predicted was that what they actually introduced, which is roof tiles
indistinguishable from slate or terracotta.
The headline is about the specific Tesla Solar Roof, not the general idea of a
Tesla solar roof.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
I Constantly Lie to Get Airplane Upgrades. Is That Unethical? - dpflan
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/is-lying-to-get-an-airplane-upgrade-so-bad-2014-12-05/?
======
davelnewton
(It confuses me that someone even asked the question. Isn't it obvious?)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Is economics a science? - zootar
http://www.theguardian.com/business/economics-blog/2013/nov/06/is-economics-a-science-robert-shiller
======
saosebastiao
Of course it is a science, but most critics of it should remember that it is a
social science, and comes with all of the difficulty of proof that all social
sciences suffer from. There are some common principles of the field that have
strong theoretical and empirical foundations, and the rest of them are trying
to make do with the constraints forced upon them by virtue of working with
humans.
The principle of Supply and Demand is one that has so much historical
empirical evidence that it might as well be called a physical law...but we
can't call it that because the principle relies on human cognition, culture,
and other non-deterministic influences. Trade theory also has an extremely
strong empirical evidence. A lot of microeconomics is also very emprical, and
even has a lot of experimental control mechanisms for which macroeconomics
does not. Still, we can accept these ideas as true beyond any reasonable
doubt. However, we have an extremely long way to go before the rest of the
field catches up to the same standards.
~~~
bayesianhorse
Which "law" of supply and demand are you thinking of? To my knowledge, there
is no single such law, just a general rule of thumb. Simple mathmatical models
in economy, in which "laws" can be proven often don't predict the real markets
all that well.
~~~
saosebastiao
I explicitly did not call it a law, and even explained why it cannot be called
such, so I have no clue why you are calling me out on that.
Regardless, I take exception to the claim that they "often don't predict the
real markets all that well". They can predict real markets very well in most
scenarios. Most theoretical-basis predictions of price ceilings and floors
(such as rent control or minimum wages) are perfectly sound, but there is
plenty of ambiguity in the results that critics seem to misinterpret as proof
of the failure of Supply and Demand to predict outcomes.
Price ceilings tend to result in shortages, but occasionally result in no
effect at all. But that isn't enough evidence to say that Supply and Demand
doesn't apply to this scenario. In order to disprove the applicability of
Supply and Demand, you would have to show that a price ceiling _increased_ the
quantity supplied. Such scenarios are as rare as black swans.
~~~
collyw
>They can predict real markets very well in most scenarios.
Amazing that we are in the longest recession in years, and back in 2006 most
economists were saying the only way is up.
~~~
saosebastiao
Amazing that you would claim such a thing when the majority of economists
never bother to publicly make a single macroeconomic prediction.
------
raverbashing
Questions like "is X a science" looks often like the "True Scotsman" fallacy
Or better, if you want to keep strict, to things that can have an experiment
"perfectly reproduced" infinite times, then you have physics and chemistry for
that.
Biology? No. A simple example, the LD for a substance. At LD50 you have 50% of
samples dying. Here you have a substance with a very strong effect (death), at
a high dose (because it kills 50%) and still, the chance of it effecting the
sample is 50% (ok, 50% by design of experiment, and you'll have an spectrum of
reactions)?
An electron suffers a force inside an electrical field, 100% (exactly) of the
time. Some things have some probabilities, like nuclear decay, where it decays
to substance 1 A1% of the time and to substance 2 A2% of the time, but that's
it, no in-betweens.
~~~
lutusp
> Questions like "is X a science" looks often like the "True Scotsman" fallacy
True about Scotsmen, false about science. Science is easy to define, therefore
easy to detect.
Either a field has testable, falsifiable ideas -- ideas that can be compared
to reality in practical tests, indeed are compared to reality, and are
promptly discarded if they fail the test -- or they do not. End of story,
fini, full stop.
> Biology? No.
Biology, yes. Either DNA is the source of heredity or it isn't. It's testable
and falsifiable. Either natural selection produces new species or it doesn't.
Again, testable and falsifiable. Biology can make and test empirical claims,
and it does, and it discards those ideas that fail the test. That's science.
Look at prions. At first no one knew what was going on, so they did some
research. They took body fluid from one victim and passed it through a filter
that would have stopped a virus, but the prions got through. This forced the
explanation that something smaller than a virus was reproducing and causing
fatal illnesses. This led to a much better assessment of what prions are. A
falsifiable test was performed, the test succeeded, prions are real. Mad cow
disease, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and a handful of other diseases would have
remained unexplained, except for the science.
> An electron suffers a force inside an electrical field, 100% (exactly) of
> the time.
It's easy to describe physics as a science, for the reason that it is very
much a science. What's hard is comparing physics to other endeavors that might
or might not be sciences. But there's no reason to use physics as a science
yardstick -- all one needs to do is ask, "what theories have you tested,
falsified, and discarded?"
[http://xkcd.com/435/](http://xkcd.com/435/)
~~~
raverbashing
> Biology, yes. Either DNA is the source of heredity or it isn't.
As always, it's more complicated than that. But you can definitely test (and
confirm) for DNA being a part of it.
But that's one part of biology, confined to planet Earth, and we're not sure
it's the whole story.
Yes, it is proven, according to science rules that, (for all biological
entities known) DNA (and RNA) conveys hereditary information.
But biological proofs are weaker than physics proofs. "Oh, you proved humans
have this thing called blood cells and they're round?" Until you find people
with congenital Anemia, and look, their blood cells are not round, because
this makes them immune to Malaria. So it's not possible to generalize as much.
In Physics I am confident that the electrons (and chemical elements) in my
computer are 100% indistinguishable from the ones in the Sun (albeit in
different quantities and temperature of course)
And speaking about physics, light was a wave and this had been tested and
verified multiple times. Until it wasn't.
~~~
lutusp
>> Either DNA is the source of heredity or it isn't.
> As always, it's more complicated than that.
No, it isn't. All one need do is demonstrate that DNA is not the source of
heredity, i.e. falsify the claim. That's how science works. Epigenetics
doesn't disprove the role of DNA, it augments it, in the same way that
conduction and convection stand alongside radiation as mechanisms for the
transport of heat energy.
> But biological proofs are weaker than physics proofs.
Not the scientific ones.
> And speaking about physics, light was a wave and this had been tested and
> verified multiple times. Until it wasn't.
That's misleading. There was a debate about whether light was a wave or a
particle -- evidence supported both views. Eventually a new theory combined
and fully validated all the prior observations by showing that light is both a
wave and a particle. That theory is the best-supported and most powerful
theory devised to date, and is the crowning achievement of 20th century
physics. And it will eventually be replaced by an even better theory, one that
explains more, with fewer preconceptions and arbitrary axioms.
That is science at its best, science driven by evidence, evidence that shapes
theories, theories that must survive testing or be discarded.
~~~
raverbashing
> All one need do is demonstrate that DNA is not the source of heredity
Oh, I'm not saying DNA isn't the source of heredity. I'm saying that there are
other smaller factors. (you can google them). Heredity in the strict sense,
yes, it's DNA, in the broader sense, well, you can have two different
fenotypes with the same genotype.
> There was a debate about whether light was a wave or a particle -- evidence
> supported both views.
Not before the 20th century, diffraction of light (amongst others) firmly put
it as a wave.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light#Wave_theory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light#Wave_theory)
And the wave theory of light is still widely used (when it's applicable of
course).
~~~
lutusp
>> There was a debate about whether light was a wave or a particle -- evidence
supported both views.
> Not before the 20th century,
Yes before the 20th century. I refer you to the debate between Newton and
Huygens as well as Hooke, his contemporaries with respect to these ideas.
[http://www.studyphysics.ca/newnotes/20/unit04_light/chp1719_...](http://www.studyphysics.ca/newnotes/20/unit04_light/chp1719_light/lesson57.htm)
Such debates persisted from then until the shaping of quantum theory.
------
lutusp
I'm astonished that these questions get asked again and again, about fields
that are obviously not sciences.
Fields that can and do test their theories against reality in practical,
empirical tests, that discard falsified theories, and that have a corpus of
supporting evidence that forces all similarly equipped observers to the same
conclusion, are sciences. The rest are pseudosciences whose status is clearly
shown by innumerable articles whose titles end in a question mark.
[http://xkcd.com/435/](http://xkcd.com/435/)
~~~
eru
Microeconomics is a science by that definition. Mathematics is not (or not
really).
~~~
mike_esspe
Mathematical proofs are falsifiable, and there are a lot of hypotheses, that
are not proved yet:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_m...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_mathematics)
~~~
lutusp
> Mathematical proofs are falsifiable
No, they aren't. A mathematical proof is by definition unfalsifiable. If an
error is found in a proof (as with Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem),
that it isn't a proof ... yet. And mathematical proofs aren't empirical,
another requirement for science.
Scientific theories are falsifiable in perpetuity because the possibility
always exists for new empirical evidence to show up that falsifies an existing
theory. This possibility doesn't exist for mathematical proofs.
------
atmosx
You can't apply the scientific method and when coming back in the real world
leaving models and presumptions aside you see that economists never play an
important role. They easily justify their failures no matter how big. You
can't even trust history books to tell you if the X policy was a success or
failure.
In order to understand economics in my view, you have to know how politics
work. Politicians and nations or people in power at any given time can turn a
debt to 0 or to a war. Of course in a democracy it's more complicated, but
generally that's the main idea. The their puppets try to justify the move.
It is what is happening in Greece, in the USA, in Italy and in other parts of
world.
Rationality and math has little to do with economics. So since economists
never predict anything really (when they do they get a Nobel), I hardly see
this as a science.
As for the argument that physics or biology is not a science, I can know this:
the same experiment can done time and again giving the same result. Try it in
real-life economics...
~~~
yetanotherphd
Lacking predictive power is indeed a big issue of economics.
However you are completely wrong about sovereign debt. It is a minor issue,
and defaults almost never result in wars. Argentina defaulted or restructured
its debt 4 times since 1980.
------
yetanotherphd
I love to hear Schiller speak, even though I don't subscribe to his particular
behaviorist ideas (they are quite outside the mainstream of academic
research). He is very measured in his criticism of the mainstream, and his
article is a very fair summary (in my opinion) of how scientific mainstream
economics is. Schiller is a moderate dissenter in that he thinks the current
ration-agent-model approach is flawed, bout doesn't advocate abandoning
mathematical models.
Like Schiller, I believe that it is possible to test and validate theories,
but at the same time we cannot have the same certainty as in physics, and the
"irreducibly human element" will also prevent the same deep mathematical
theories that we see in physics, ever being developed for economics.
------
forgottenpaswrd
No, it is not. Nor it should be.
Economist call their discipline "social science" basically because they suffer
from "science envy". They want to believe that there are simple things like
"water molecule is the bonding of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen". But in
economy they are not, as economy is about the most flexible thing on Earth,
humans and the relationship between them.
Economy is about dogma, there are Keynesians dogma followers(that look like
never read a book of Keynes), Austrian dogma followers, and so on. Nothing to
do with science but with power grabbing. Today all institutions are dominated
by keynesians ands as everybody can see they are making the world a worse
place.
------
downer99
It's Science as much as any social science is Science.
The only reason we can't transform social sciences into hard sciences is
because it would be horrifically cruel and unethical to exert rigid,
inflexible rules on thinking, breathing, feeling human beings.
You can't turn human beings into raw predictable numbers without killing them,
or throwing them in jail (however intangible such a prison might be, loss of
choice and free will is enslavement).
------
acd
It is a social science with assumptions on how things works. A lot of economic
theories are just that assumptions, assumptions on how the market works.
If you have the time watch Professor Steve Keens one of the economists who
predicted the 2008 subprime bubble criticize main stream economics.
Especially the Federal reserve system which is privately owned by the biggest
banks. Read on Edward Griffins google the creature from Jekyll island. In that
information you will find that the FED was created by a among others senator
Aldrich who's daughter was married to one of the banks who created the FED.
Thus private banks create debt out of thin air more now so than ever they are
backed up by central banks. In the European central bank, the head of the bank
comes from Goldman Sachs. There is a documentary called 97% owned which states
97% of all money in circulation are now debt just 3% is cash.
Ever wonder how the rich gets richer?
------
grogenaut
No. Social sciences aren't sciences. They're "Social" sciences. That doesn't
keep it from straying into the real sciences, just like computer science
sometimes strays into real science.
~~~
j2kun
Are you saying that computer science isn't a science?
------
jokoon
You can hardly innovate in economics if politics don't follow.
Economical decisions are so much entangled and tainted with politics, that's a
big reason why it's not really scientific. The theory is sound, but practice
is awful for many reasons, mostly political and because of the human factor.
Capitalism is a decent and somewhat balanced practice of economics, but the
fact that it's not a hard science shows that there is a disconnect between
theory and practice.
------
troymc
I once thought that large-scale macro-economics was derived from empirical
behavioral economics and microeconomics, similar to the way thermodynamics is
derived from basic laws of physics (via the methods of statistical mechanics).
That's _not_ what was done, but maybe someday...
Also, imagine a world where macroeconomic models get thrown out, or at least
modified, when their predictions fail. Wouldn't that be neat?
------
tomcdonnell
I consider economics to be more like a branch of philosophy than a science.
The way to judge a good economic theory from bad one is to evaluate the
soundness of its arguments. Historical data can never confirm or refute an
economic theory because people have free will, and can act any way they
choose.
------
jahaja
It was much clearer when it was more appropriately called "Political Economy".
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_economy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_economy)
------
alan_cx
Surely the question should be, "Can you apply the scientific method to
economics?".
~~~
berntb
There are lots of non-experimental subjects at any university -- history,
archeology, etc.
The ideologists wanting to demote economics never seem to want to also throw
geology out of the university.
(In the future, some gigantic geo engineering might make geology experimental,
the same goes for "perfect" computer models of society and economic
experiments. Don't hold your breath, unless we argue inside such a model now;
wonder what the hypothesis is? :-) )
~~~
marcosdumay
Eh, sorry, but geology is full of theories that were (and are) later tested,
most getting discarded after the testing, and a few holding up and being
accepted as true. Just like any science out there.
Do you know of any macroeconomical (because, really, that's all about macro)
theory that was discarded since Keynes become mainstream?
~~~
berntb
The "scientific method" \-- which I commented on -- needs to formulate
hypotheses, test them and so on. That can't reliably be done in any mostly
historical science, by definition.
(And of course you can randomly test _some_ things in historical sciences too.
E.g. finding historical trading patterns by looking at materials used for
artefacts, diet by looking at enamel of skeletons, etc etc. Other things won't
find any possible test solution, ever.)
------
yason
Why does it matter, why is that question such a hot potato?
~~~
bjourne
Take all the fast food workers that strikes to raise their minimum wage from
~$7 to $15/hour because they need to work more than 8h or are dependent on
food stamps.
Many (most?) economists think that that will have disastrous consequences for
the US economy. Iff economy is a science, then their view should be taken into
account because it is based on solid scientifically-backed evidence. Exactly
like how you would take the view of climate scientists very seriously if you
knew climate science was a real science.
But if economy is not a science, that means there is no evidence either or.
Then you have no one else results to rely on and have to use your own common
sense to analyze questions like the above one.
~~~
yason
And does that matter? Most things are like that.
The miniscule subset of all things in the universe that we do know
scientifically doesn't mean that the things outside that subset don't provide
any value.
If an economic theory is useful even if it doesn't have a proof like in hard
sciences it provides value nevertheless.
There are scientifically proven things that are undisputable but which, on the
other hand, aren't much of a value either _now_ but maybe of great value
later, at some point in the future. But merely having scientific evidence is
not an implication of value.
If something seems to work, it seems to work. If that something also gets
scientifically verified at some point it might turn out to have additional
value, too. But it still works if it happened to worked before that.
Of all the information verified in hard sciences only a part is practically
valuable in running societies, governments, states, and efforts involving
humans. The minimum wage of fast food workers is a problem that has no
scientific answer and which is also probably quite hard to approach
scientifically in the first place. I suppose that the majority of question in
a human society are like that.
An inflated appreciation towards scientifically verified information tends to
overlook everything else that isn't scientifically verified. Yet all those
things lacking scientific verification are things among which new theories are
discovered and some of those do eventually become proven and verified.
Yet ultimately, there are no truths, just opinions. Some opinions are
individual opinions and may not be shared by many. Some opinions are
reasonably based on evidence from various scientific experiments and some of
that evidence is so solid that it would be hard to _convince_ most of
individuals in our culture otherwise. The physical theories involving air
travel are accepted and tested by millions of people every day: they're
effectively betting their lives against the theories explaining flight being
correct. So the opinions are shared by many if not most people and they
practically become something we consider a truth. Yet what happens is not that
it becomes more true or a more absolute truth: what happens is that you
_convince_ more people —— and often for a good reason, but objectively that's
what can be seen happening. In the end, all we have is our mind and the way we
make it up.
------
brianbreslin
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience#Psychology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience#Psychology)
is psychology a real science?
~~~
dmpk2k
What does that link have to do with your question?
To answer your question: some subdisciplines of psychology are (e.g.
biological psychology), and some are not (e.g. psychoanalysis). From what I've
seen, all world-class universities emphasize the former; the latter is only
taught in passing in psych 101 as history.
I've yet to see anybody seriously discuss psychoanalysis nowadays outside
of... well, to be honest, women's studies. Of course, that field never claimed
to be a science. Oh, Žižek does too.
------
_Simon
Yet more intelligentsia bullshit from the Guardian. No. Economics is
categorically not a science. It's not even a social science. It is, at best,
one of the humanities.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
FASTER cable, a new transpacific network link with a peak capacity of 60 Tbps - serialx
https://plus.google.com/+UrsH%C3%B6lzle/posts/Gwz3TFyvCAf
======
c0nsumer
Linked from the Google Plus page, but kinda easy to miss, the original photos
are from this Gigazine article: [http://gigazine.net/news/20150615-kddi-
faster/](http://gigazine.net/news/20150615-kddi-faster/)
It's in Japanese (and thus I can't read it), but there's a LOT more photos.
It's really neat to see these aspects of undersea cabling, particularly the
actual gland/port in the wall. Locations like this feel monuments to me, and
for security reasons are pretty rarely seen.
~~~
netman
Translated link -
[http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=...](http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fgigazine.net%2Fnews%2F20150615-kddi-
faster%2F&sandbox=1)
------
tinfoilman
Lets now play where do we think NSA GHCQ have tapped it.
~~~
jlgaddis
They probably get half of the strands, to mirror all the data passing through
the other half.
~~~
tmwh91
You don't need a full 1:1 mirror of the strands, you can probably filter off a
lot of the traffic that you don't need to spy on (e.g. TCP overhead) compress
it and use a fraction of the bandwidth.
~~~
visarga
or Youtube streams...
------
harywilke
cool photos. Every time I see an article about cables like this on HN i think
of the Mother Board Mother Earth article by Neil Stephenson. Worth the time if
you haven't read it.
[http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html](http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/4.12/ffglass.html)
------
nly
Thanks, I always wondered what these landing sites looked like.
Apparently the landings sites for this cable are Chikura and Shima, Japan and
Bandon, Oregon. Looks like Bandon has some pretty coastline.
------
Frozenlock
"Wow, that's fast!"
Sure, at least 3x the speed of light... :-p
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Collaborative Decision-Making and Wasabi Gelato - mikasissonen
http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/16959
I've been a Hacker News reader for a couple of years under a different username - but for this submission, I've created an account under my real name for full disclosure that I'm linking to something I wrote myself for my work blog at SAP. It seems like a reasonable topic for the site, since it involves a new product that's currently in limited beta, but if this crosses the bounds of appropriateness, I'm happy to cease and desist from submitting similar topics in the future.
======
mikasissonen
I've been a Hacker News reader for a couple of years under a different
username - but for this submission, I've created an account under my real name
for full disclosure that I'm linking to something I wrote myself for my work
blog at SAP. It seems like a reasonable topic for the site, since it involves
a new product that's currently in limited beta, but if this crosses the bounds
of appropriateness, I'm happy to cease and desist from submitting similar
topics in the future.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
What will you trade me to send something to the space station? - ada1981
http://www.onetoyspaceship.com/2013/03/trade-6-send-something-to-space-station.html
======
ada1981
Or what should I trade?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
IKEA platform for tech, interior designers to experiment w the future of homes - rbanffy
https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ikea-launches-a-global-platform-for-tech-and-interior-design-experts-to-experiment-with-the-future-of-homes/articleshow/76425583.cms
======
tpmx
It's an (interesting) portfolio of random ideas. Not a platform.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Palmer Luckey secretly funding meme army on Twitter, Reddit - kefka
https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/542dhf/palmer_luckey_the_facebook_billionaire_secretly/
======
carsongross
Literally, the guy has fuck you money.
------
throwanem
The Reddit post is just a link to a Daily Beast article which makes the actual
claim, plus a lot of uninformed speculation in the Reddit comments. Maybe
change the URL in this post?
(Not that the Daily Beast article is especially good, and I don't mean that in
a political way - it's just hard to make out the course of events they're
positing.)
------
threeseed
This was pretty extraordinary news.
It's been fine that company leaders take political positions because they have
all been reasonably centrist (with leanings left/right). But Trump is the most
provocative and polarising candidate we've seen in quite some time. And to not
just support him but actively engage in this way is really unusual.
I can't imagine Zuckerberg is going to be at all impressed by this.
~~~
kefka
I mean, this can devolve in "Trump sux, Hillary sux"... but that's what I
wanted to avoid.
Think of this as a VC-Founder issue of differing politics with regards to
social media. How do you balance this? Do you just shut up and acquiesce when
the VC tells you to do something? Do you still voice your opinion?
Luckey sold his company to Facebook. Facebook's CEO is a Clinton supporter,
and it appears that Palmer Luckey is a Trump supporter. How much say does
Zuckerberg have over Luckey, considering that Luckey is still the "face" of
Oculus (even if the company was sold)?
How do you balance these issues when there is a political rift(pun aside) like
this?
------
room271
Can the mods explain why this was removed from the frontpage?
It is clearly of interest to the community.
~~~
kefka
Hmm..
I've had the same reaction when I modified/hacked/made the python ML code to
fix Thalmic Myo's armband so Linux and the rest of us could use it. _1
In that case, YC censors all articles about member companies with a script.
Makes sense, to protect their income, but altogether sleezy without some sort
of disclosure as to why (would have been nice to see "article not allowed due
to YC ownership").
The only thing I can guess is there's some sort of fiduciary something, that
caused the mods to dupe-delete.
_1 [http://hackaday.com/2014/11/18/thalmic-labs-shuts-down-
free-...](http://hackaday.com/2014/11/18/thalmic-labs-shuts-down-free-
developer-access/)
~~~
dang
> _In that case, YC censors all articles about member companies with a
> script._
Holy magoly, that is 100% untrue. The truth is the opposite: when there are
articles critical of YC companies, we are careful to moderate them less, not
more, than we normally would. That's the first principle of HN moderation and
was literally the first thing pg said when he was showing me how to moderate
the site. I hadn't even had a chance to grab a chair before he blurted it out.
We wouldn't dream of doing anything like what you describe—not because it
wouldn't work (though it wouldn't), but because as members of the community
ourselves, we wouldn't want to be treated that way.
It's always possible to get an answer to a question about a specific post.
It's better to send such things to [email protected] because (a) they're off-
topic here, and (b) we might not see them otherwise. Please note that phrase
_specific post_. Without specific links, it's harder to clear things up.
~~~
kefka
It was this (hn:kefka) account when I posted the data about the Myo. I posted
it multiple times, with the word "Thalmic" in there. All were killed instantly
on creation. A few minutes could pass, and a user-based flag kill would be
understandable.
In my experiences, instant decisions like that are results of a script.
Obvious assumptions were that it was HN's script, protecting HN's assets.
You've got one heck of a community here. I try to positively add... But I know
we don't see eye-to-eye on quite many things.
~~~
dang
I like that you feel that way about the community, and it's fine if we don't
always see eye-to-eye. HN wouldn't be as good a community if we all did. The
main thing we're trying for is assuming good faith in such cases (which isn't
easy. I don't find it easy when criticized, and don't expect anyone else to.)
From
[https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=kefka](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=kefka),
it looks like your account lost story submission privileges in Feb 2014 after
having posted a bunch of stories that weren't appropriate for HN. That was at
least 9 months before you posted anything about Thalmic/Myo, so I'm sure that
the latter had nothing to do with it. (I'm also sure because we'd never take
submission privileges away for that reason.)
In Dec 2015 we restored story submission privileges to your account, probably
because we saw
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10537529](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10537529),
which was a solid submission. If an account is posting the occasional
substantive story—especially ones that other users aren't submitting—we err on
the side of restoring privileges.
~~~
kefka
Thank you for clearing that up, dang.
It was indeed a script that stopped those stories, but not in the nefarious
way I suspected. I'm honestly not sure which stories triggered the "no
submission" flag, but it does make sense.
I would like if we could personally see flags like that (say on our user
page). I've never been a fan of hell-* removal of privileges, only to think of
worse cases like this.
Thank you for being honest and frank about this.
-Josh
| {
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Brand new homepage for Taskforce... what do you think? - niccolop
http://www.taskforceapp.com/
======
pclark
I kind of think the second line:
> Taskforce makes it easy to save time, stay organized, and cut down on email
Should spell out _what_ it is. You've told me you help fix my inbox, but you
tell me more marketing speak in the follow up line. Maybe that line could be
the line "Convert emails into tasks and clear your inbox."
Just an idea, I really like things that spell out what the problem it solves
is (reduce inbox clutter) and also how it does that, in simple terms.
Other than that, awesome.
~~~
joshbuckley
I'd totally agree with that point. Nothing above the fold tells me exactly
what the app does. Other than that, i'm loving the actual extension.
edit: i think the rapportive website does this great."Get rich contact
profiles inside Gmail", rather than something like "Discover the social side
to your email inbox". I can instantly tell what I get straight away through
this sentence and the large screenshot.
------
richardburton
LOVE what you're doing. Gutted Email Oracle Shut down. Can I get an early
invite for pointing out this:
<http://www.taskforceapp.com/blog>
404s with:
The page you were looking for doesn't exist.
You may have mistyped the address or the page may have moved.
~~~
niccolop
sure Richard - email me at: nic[at]taskforceapp - will get it straight over.
~~~
buro9
Same thing with the api and jobs links in the footer.
------
zkoch
'Jobs' link also 404s.
My other thought is that it's very monochromatic. To such an extent that
nothing quite draws your eye. In fact, I think the first thing I looked at was
the 'Add to Gmail' button because it provided some contrast.
Why is the smallest text on the page the text that describes the features you
offer?
I think on the whole you need to do a better job of telling the potential
customer how you go about solving their problem. I get that it has something
to do with tasks, but, for example, it's not clear what it means to
"communicate through tasks, not lengthy emails." Does that mean it only works
when other people are also using Taskforce?
~~~
SimonPStevens
_"the first thing I looked at was the 'Add to Gmail' button because it
provided some contrast."_
That is their primary conversion goal, isn't a good thing that that is what
you are drawn towards.
(Kind of agree though, can't quite decide on what's best)
~~~
gokhan
I think they should first convince me that I need the app, then lead my eye to
the conversion link.
------
sparshgupta
It looks very promising and definitely should solve a big pain for me, but
when I tried getting more information about what it will do, I got loads of
404s. All learn more pages on <http://www.taskforceapp.com/guide> are 404s
along with several others on the website.
Apart the site looks good, but when you move between pages (try homepage and
guide page), you will realize that the top bar moves vertically by at least a
few pixels. I am sure you guys would want it to be consistent.
Waiting for an invite.
------
rhhfla
I think you need to make better use of the screen real estate. Having the
feature examples below the break (Chrome, Mac) is not very effective. This app
is in a crowded space (market) and I would move what you think is the
distinctive features to the top and make them eye catching. Maybe thinking in
vertical stripes with product, validation and features each having a column
would be more impactful.
My eye goes to the gmail logo which I do not think is the message you want to
communicate first.
------
iworkforthem
The page you were looking for doesn't exist.
You may have mistyped the address or the page may have moved.
I am getting the above page for the following;
<http://www.taskforceapp.com/jobs> <http://www.taskforceapp.com/api>
------
SimonPStevens
My initial reaction was confusion. but I've just realised what the problem is.
I'm using NoScripts. You should make it clearer that scripts are required, or
ideally make your primary messages visible even with javascript disabled.
Your site isn't doing anything that really requires scripts so you should
gracefully degrade to support clients without scripting.
(Also, from the front page, after you click "gmail" or "another email
platform" the back button breaks)
Other than that it looks nice, I've signed up. (Edit: Well, I tried to but I
need an invite code. hint hint)
~~~
niccolop
sure - send me an email: nic[at]taskforceapp
------
mitchellh
I'm usually on a 24" screen where this probably wouldn't be a problem, but
since I'm travelling for holidays I'm on a 13" screen, and there is too little
"above the fold." This is what I see:
[http://img.skitch.com/20101223-cswsdqrxqjwbat5isf124bkr29.jp...](http://img.skitch.com/20101223-cswsdqrxqjwbat5isf124bkr29.jpg)
I think you could change/sacrifice some of the giant whitespace up top and
move more screenshots or real meat of the application above the fold.
------
troels
<http://www.taskforceapp.com/guide/installation> gives 404 (As do the other
guide pages)
~~~
niccolop
ah yes... didn't put everything up. thx
------
imajes
I think unless Marissa Mayer actually emailed you and allowed her email to be
disclosable, i'd not use her name in a screenshot.
~~~
niccolop
it isn't necessarily _that_ Marissa Mayer... :)
------
guiseppecalzone
I like it.
One comment: I'm not sure if it's my wifi - or the website, but the images
took a long time to load.
------
joshu
I would love to see more screenshots.
~~~
niccolop
I can send you a beta version, if you want to check out the app
------
valtrese
Great look. Like the colour co-ordination, but get some more screenshots.
------
dantheman
It looks interesting, unfortunately to use try it, it requires an invite code?
It might be useful to put a few codes on HN so that we can try it out.
------
niccolop
Thanks guys - that makes sense.
------
rokhayakebe
I like how you have "Marissa Mayer" in your Inbox.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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A 3D Exploration of Picasso's Guernica - eduardoflores
http://www.lena-gieseke.com/guernica/movie.html
======
celticjames
I don't think cubism can represented in 3D models this way. Cubism is a way to
represent an object from many perspectives on a 2D plane. That's why the faces
of cubist subjects have both a profile and frontal view. This artist really
needs to find a 4D subject to represent in 3D. That would be closer to the
spirit of cubism.
~~~
Dylanfm
That's so true, but this is still a great response to the work.
| {
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Gophercises – Coding exercises for budding gophers - sea6ear
https://gophercises.com/
======
keithnoizu
Are we using the word gophers now, my first thought was the internet protocol
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_\(protocol\))
------
busfahrer
Perfect timing, just as the go exercises on Exercism have begun to feel a
little small and isolated (which is great for the beginning)
------
tscangussu
One of the best resources out there to learn Go and not only Go, but how stuff
actually works. Highly recommend.
------
ameyv
Nice!
| {
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What’s a Woggin? A Bird, a Word, and a Linguistic Mystery - pepys
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/whats-a-woggin-a-bird-a-word-and-a-linguistic-mystery
======
dodo
the bird is the word (y)
| {
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Ask HN: Why are entity component systems not used widely in web development? - oooooof
Entity component systems https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity–component–system are used in game development, and claim great benefit in simplifying codebases.<p>A cursory glance around doesn’t show any web front end libraries based on ECS.<p>Why have they not had more impact in web front end application development?<p>Ref:
https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TobiasStein/20171122/310172/The_EntityComponentSystem__An_awesome_gamedesign_pattern_in_C_Part_1.php
======
Eridrus
Most web front-end code exists a single page at a time, and encompasses a
pretty narrow range of functionality, so you can get away with fewer
abstractions/patterns/etc since your whole program is pretty simple.
I think Redux (often used with React/React Native) looks a bit like ECS, at
least to the extent that they both use an event/action-oriented approach.
But web front ends are just far simpler than games, and so the main priority
is how to make them look like the designers want and how to crank them out
quickly, rather than how to manage a lot of complexity.
| {
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Ask HN: Question about MySQL "create if not exists" performance. - NathanKP
After searching Google fairly extensively I haven't been able to find any analysis of the performance of "create if not exists" MySQL statements.<p>I want to ensure that a MySQL table is existent before using it. The question is whether or not it will be a major performance hit to do a simple "create if not exists" once each time before using a table which may or may not exist. Alternately I could query the information_schema manually to see if the table exists and if not I can create it.<p>My gut feeling is that it is more efficient to simply run "create if not exists" before using a table which may or may not exist. This way I only have one MySQL statement that can simply be executed before using the table.<p>Does anyone else have any thoughts about the comparative benefits or performance issues associated with doing a "create if not exists" on each execution?
======
duskwuff
This really shouldn't be necessary at all. In a well-designed application, the
table schema should be completely known to the application at all times -- the
existence of a table should never be in doubt. If for some reason this isn't
the case, you'll be much better served by catching "table doesn't exist"
errors when they occur rather than preemptively trying to create tables which
already exist.
~~~
NathanKP
I considered this aspect but I'm using these tables for statistics. Basically
I am giving each user of my website a table for storing statistics about their
site usage. Some users however, never really "complete" the process and don't
really use the website, thus they have no need for statistic tables. So I have
the idea of saving space by creating statistic tables as they are needed.
I'm going to try the "create if not exists" first and if that causes too much
MySQL server load I'll just create the statistic tables at user registration
and save processor usage at the expense of disk usage.
~~~
duskwuff
Don't create tables per user. Seriously, don't. There's a (relatively low)
limit to how many tables MySQL will keep in memory, and once you hit that
limit it isn't very good at keeping the right tables loaded. Instead, redesign
your database schema so that you can put all of your users' data in the same
tables.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Ask HN: What is better than Evernote? - X-combinator
======
ainiriand
Regarding your question, you can take a look at Google Keep but I think that
Google is not making a good competitor to Evernote byt itself. The advantage
over Evernote is the Google ecosystem integration.
------
markdleblanc
Where can I download "Paper + Pen" and is it available on Android?
------
grilo79
Paper + Pen
~~~
ainiriand
How exactly you take bookmarks with paper and pen? How can a bookmark taken
with paper and pen be useful? How do you read simplified versions of articles
while taking notes with paper and pen? How do you capture pictures with notes
with paper and pen (unless you draw really really good). And so on...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Django for a Rails Developer - scorpion032
http://uswaretech.com/blog/2009/11/django-for-a-rails-developer/
======
nailer
For me the hardest thing about Django was comprehending that the 'View' is
doing most of the work.
* urls point to views
* views do stuff. Perhaps hard, manly stuff. Perhaps involving models. Django views have hard, beefy beceps. They're awfully controlling.
* the view passes a dict of results to the template, which is sent as a response to the browser.
Once you get that, it's not so hard.
~~~
ulf
Actually, if you apply the MVC paradigm, the Django View is a mix of View and
Controller. Admittedly a little confusing
~~~
scorpion032
Hence, it is defined as MTV.
~~~
BerislavLopac
Sometimes I wonder if they renamed the pattern just to keep up the music
theme...
~~~
nailer
Same here - MTC would have been simpler to understand for me.
------
arthurk
" _Why not create a ‘templates’ directoy and a ‘base.html’ either in project’s
directory or in the apps’s directory, because creating the same templates
directory and same base.html for every project is not DRY?_ "
There's nothing wrong with that. Even the djangoproject.com website does it:
[http://code.djangoproject.com/browser/djangoproject.com/djan...](http://code.djangoproject.com/browser/djangoproject.com/django_website)
" _Why serving static files in development has to be a additional setup, as no
developer wants to setup a server for serving static files, I am aware of
‘django.static.serve’ but still that is an additional setup, why not create a
sample media directory and a url for the same in urls.py ?_ "
Read this: <http://www.b-list.org/weblog/2008/jun/23/media/>
~~~
ashok_raavi
The question is, why not the framework create it automatically ? why one has
to create it manually every time a project/app is created ? Atleast a default
template directory and a standard base.html on a project level will reduce the
repetitive work.
~~~
kteague
The question is, why use the framework to create the layout of project which
happens to depend upon that framework at all? Instead, use a generic project
templating tool to create the layout, then it's easy to choose alternate
starting points depending upon what you need in your project. In Python,
'paster' is commonly used for this. It lets you create projects that depend
upon TurboGears or Zope or Plone or Grok or even plain old Python projects
which don't depend upon a full framework.
------
tvon
I work with Django for a living but the lack of init/buildout in a new project
has always driven me a bit nuts, I guess it's one of my development pet-
peeves.
I've _never_ had project that didn't need:
\- a project-wide templates/ directory \- media/[css|img|js] directories \-
some kind of database setup by default \- contrib.admin (well, I created a
form mailer once that had no admin)
Django seems to take a "we don't want to force you to use any particular
setup" stance, but the result seems to be to force you to make a bunch of
relatively meaningless decisions before you can start writing code. (they
could have other reasons, I haven't looked into it lately)
These days I have a script that does all this, and I know others have written
similar scripts as well. It just strikes me as being a gaping hole on the
Django development model... IMO anyway.
~~~
ubernostrum
And your script probably sets things up differently from everyone else's :)
But if you think it's a problem, why not publish whatever you use and
encourage others to use it as well?
(also, FWIW I _don't_ have such a script -- a new site at work always simply
inherits default settings from other stuff, and those defaults are set up to
match how our production servers work)
~~~
tvon
> _And your script probably sets things up differently from everyone else's
> :)_
I don't doubt it. Much like how there is the occasional "this is how I handle
managing multiple settings for different systems" blog post, people have come
up with their own systems because Django provides none.
> _But if you think it's a problem, why not publish whatever you use and
> encourage others to use it as well?_
<http://github.com/tvon/django-gig>
Written for personal use, so...
There is also "create project" or "project template", I forget the exact name,
but it's on bitbucket or github... and "paster" from zopeskel seems to have
potential to do something like this but it may be too zope specific, I don't
know.
There are ways to do it, but IMO it's something the framework should be
handling. As it stands, "basic setup and configuration" is a much higher
hurdle in Django than it is in Rails.
> (also, FWIW I don't have such a script -- a new site at work always simply
> inherits default settings from other stuff, and those defaults are set up to
> match how our production servers work)
Well, you don't have a script that builds things out in a certain way, but you
have a system in place that handles project defaults.
------
kteague
Also note that the default Django template is showing it's age. I don't think
it's ever been updated and it contains a few faux-pas to look out for. In
particular, it starts you off inside a python package (__init__.py file),
which is highly confusing. If you later want to treat your Django project as a
normal Python project, you need to create a setup.py file. But this file would
be one directory up from the project directory ... which is outside of your
Django project. Django puts the directory one level up on your PYTHONPATH to
compensate for this, with the assumption that part of your project lives
outside of version-control, etc. The solution is to remember to put the
directory above the directory that the project lives in version-control and
treat it as part of the project. Although then you have to put a library
location on your PATH to run the manage.py commands, since this file won't
work if placed in your projects /bin directory.
(Speaking of /bin directories, it's always bugged me that Rails renamed this
directory to /scripts ... if it's executable, it goes in /bin, it makes no
sense to split executables based on arbitrary implementation details)
~~~
ubernostrum
Well, to be perfectly honest I almost never use the 'startproject' or
'startapp' commands. When I'm working on a new app I just create the directory
and an __init__.py, and then start filling in specific files inside it as I
need them.
For stuff at work apps all go into one of a couple particular namespaces, so
packaging concerns don't come up there; for my personal stuff the package name
is almost never the same as the app anyway (e.g., django-registration provides
an app in a module named 'registration').
Also, I'd really really like the concept of the project to die soon.
------
iamwil
The most annoying part about doing Django as a dev coming from Rails is the
RequestContext that isn't used by default, if you want to access specific
contexts like settings. Then it means having to hack it using
direct_to_template or writing a decorator.
It's a different philosophy, but it's hard getting use to having to explicitly
spell out everything when I just want to get going with defaults that make
sense.
------
ulf
Anyone knows if this exists vice-versa?
~~~
uggedal
No one goes from Django to Rails...
~~~
icey
Hmmm.... I do Django stuff but I'm working on my first Rails project right
now. A Django -> Rails guide would be useful to me.
~~~
laddy
I would also like to see this.
------
neelesh
"Why serving static files in development has to be a additional setup, as no
developer wants to setup a server for serving static files, I am aware of
‘django.static.serve’ but still that is an additional setup, why not create a
sample media directory and a url for the same in urls.py" - Because typical
deployments don't use django for serving static files?
~~~
shabda
however typical developments do, and this question is about typical
development setup
~~~
neelesh
Agree. What we probably need is a nice way to switch between
deployment/development setups, possibly by splitting settings.py like rails
~~~
suvike
the usual trick is to use a local_settings.py.
put all of your environment-specific variables in there, and put 'from
local_settings.py import *' at the end of your settings.py
------
artpop
Seems like Django is more comparable to Sinatra? And is 4 spaces the python
way? I like my font big and my lines short.
~~~
alexkay
> And is 4 spaces the python way?
It is, see PEP 8: <http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0008/>
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Help Put Objective-C Back in the Top 10 This Weekend - danicgross
https://objectivechackathon.appspot.com/
======
danicgross
Hi, OP here.
The actual goal isn't to "beat" any other language - it's just a theme for the
event.
Although proprietary, Objective C (and iOS) is a widely used platform. It also
has a relatively small ecosystem. There aren't a lot of great libraries, and
wheels frequently get re-invented. Our hope is to change that.
~~~
WayneDB
So, Linus Torvalds showed up in the list of people under the link that says
"Join the list -->".
I highly doubt that he signed up for this event. I could be wrong, but if not
- why the chicanery? Honesty is the best policy.
------
bitteralmond
A proprietary language created for a closed, for-profit platform isn't
naturally the most popular choice for open source projects.
~~~
mehrzad
Noob question: is a language proprietary if its only compiler is proprietary
or if the main one is? There are open source compilers for Objective-C.
~~~
xymostech
Considering that XCode uses a version of clang (which is open source) for it's
compiling, I wouldn't say that the main compiler is proprietary either. I
think that what people mean is that all of the "usefulness" of Objective-C
comes from using it with OSX/iOS development, and all the stuff related to
that is proprietary.
------
stack0v3erfl0w
> Let's show the community that Objective-C developers care about open source.
by organizing an event only to boost statistics.
------
x0n
The blog post appears to be asking people to fork projects with the sole
purpose to bump the stats on github. If it's not on the charts, there's a
reason. If someone wants to fork a project, they need a goal other than
promoting obj-c. Let's not turn github into a fork graveyard (like sourceforge
has become.)
------
joeblau
Do those stats include private repos or just open source?
~~~
danicgross
I assume open source since other elements in that page refer to public repos
(github.com/timeline), but I'm not certain.
------
omegote
I wonder, I wonder what kind of comments would appear with something like
"Help put VB.NET back in the top 10 this weekend".
~~~
alayne
How does anyone suffer either way? Someone is trying to get more open source
out which seems like a good thing for any language.
------
michaelwww
This is a bad idea. What's next, git bots? I'll assume from now on Objective-C
ranking is being gamed.
------
drivebyacct2
Why would someone make that their _goal_?
~~~
stack0v3erfl0w
This takes fanboyism to a whole new level.
~~~
glhaynes
Or it's just a hook for catching peoples' interest in participating in the
group thing the hosts were organizing. (Yes, it'd be silly to devote your time
to an effort like this to try to "help" Objective-C. But I don't expect anyone
is really doing that.)
Edit: What the OP said.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
America Plans to Withdraw from 1987 Nuclear Treaty with Russia - mises
http://U.S.AnnouncesPlanstoWithdrawFhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-suspend-obligations-under-1987-nuclear-treaty-with-russia-11549028592
======
aiCeivi9
url is malformed: https//www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-suspend-obligations-
under-1987-nuclear-treaty-with-russia-11549028592
~~~
IceyEC
[https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-suspend-obligations-
unde...](https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-to-suspend-obligations-
under-1987-nuclear-treaty-with-russia-11549028592)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Interactive model showing effectiveness of airport screenings to catch Covid-19 - edh649
https://cmmid.github.io/visualisations/traveller-screening
======
ck2
I thought with this virus you can be be infected but not show symptoms for
many days?
Hence when HHS sent untrained staff with zero protection to meet all the
infected people and then they returned all over the country afterwards on
commercial flights, they essentially screwed the entire USA in one easy step,
practically malicious idiocrasy.
~~~
tunesmith
People hear this statement and think it means that anyone that is exposed and
catches the virus is able to infect anyone else, just the same as if they were
completely symptomatic. But it doesn't mean it is as likely. People with
symptoms are more contagious, people without symptoms are less contagious. One
simple reason why is that people without symptoms tend to cough and sneeze
less.
~~~
swsieber
IIRC there was a study done showing symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers had
the same virus load. So while you simple reason is correct, there's not much
else if I understand things correctly (please correct if wrong.)
~~~
s1artibartfast
I would be interested to see that study. My understanding is that the WHO,
CDC, & EU all say that asymptomatic shedding theoretically possible but highly
unlikely?
~~~
tguvot
Here you go
[https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3...](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099\(20\)30147-X/fulltext)
------
kiidev
It keeps on crashing for me
~~~
anu7df
It is a bug :)
------
dkdk8283
I’m thoroughly confused. Why isn’t details of airport screening mechanics
available? IIRC with SARS thermal cameras were used to screen passengers with
a fever. I expect some technical details to be shared without me having to
read a bunch of code (with a high probability of misunderstanding something).
~~~
edh649
This is just a tool used to explore the data. There's a link to the actual
screening paper at the top of the page
([https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.E...](https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.5.2000080)),
which cites the sensitivity exit/entry scanners of infrared thermal image
scanners at 86% from
[https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0014490)
------
anonsivalley652
The tl;dr: Health security theater catches about half of cases. Wouldn't the
prudent step be to globally announce a two-week quarantine of all arriving
passengers? In other words, not a total shutdown but slowing to prevent spread
rather than foolishly squeeze out some short-term, imaginary economic gains.
It may not be at all popular, but it would be the moral and ethical thing to
do.
~~~
ComputerGuru
It’s easy to sit in an armchair and claim you’ve found the moral and ethical
solution, but there are moral, ethical, and logistical ramifications to
instituting a two-week quarantine on all overseas travelers _including loss of
life_.
Are you also going to quarantine every pilot and flight attendant for two
weeks each time they land, given their close proximity to possibly infected
passengers? What is the point of a quarantine if it’s been shown we can’t
reliably detect all cases (when dealing with such volumes)?
~~~
jtdev
Point of any measures would be to slow the spread of COVID19 and reduce the
likelihood of an overwhelming wave of infections that cripples the health
system, resulting in greater loss of life than otherwise would occur and
unrelated mortality due to said impact on health system.
Even some simple recommendations from leadership (CDC) would be encouraging to
see, but we keep being fed a “nothing to see here, no need to panic”
politicized message.
Meanwhile, events like HIMSS (~50000 attendees from 90+ countries meeting in
Orlando March 9-13 to sell overpriced antiquated health tech software to one
another and hear the likes of HHS Secretary Alex Azar deliver keynotes) are
likely to be a catalyst for pandemic.
~~~
yokaze
> Even some simple recommendations from leadership (CDC) would be encouraging
> to see, but we keep being fed a “nothing to see here, no need to panic”
> politicized message.
Which recommendations are you missing?
([https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/get-
your...](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/get-your-
household-ready-for-COVID-19.html))
And the advice not to panic comes from medical experts.
~~~
jtdev
The recommendation that “mass gatherings” be postponed or canceled.
WHO defines “mass gatherings” as amplifiers of transmission of COVID19.
The recommendations you linked are basic infection prevention measures, but
the fact is that being within 3 feet of someone infected with COVID19 (even
asymptomatic) is enough to contract the virus.
------
inferiorhuman
Now here's a really great example of a site that doesn't need Google Analytics
and yet manages to include (and disable?) it by default.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Wget thinks github.com is a threat - jerome_etienne
http://notes.jetienne.com/2011/04/15/wget-thinks-github.com-is-a-threat.html
======
chc
This doesn't look like much of anything. It's certainly not wget "thinking
github is a threat." That cert says it's for subdomains of github.com, not the
root domain. He isn't accessing a subdomain, so the cert doesn't apply. If
he'd used www.github.com, it would have worked.
~~~
ynoclo
Actually, the cert _does_ apply, because 'github.com' is explicitly listed in
the subjectAltName extension. (Names in that extension are considered valid
alternatives to the common name in the subject; see RFC 5280 4.2.1.6.) It
really is a wget bug, or more likely an OpenSSL bug.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Fridge caught sending spam emails in botnet attack - happyscrappy
http://www.cnet.com/news/fridge-caught-sending-spam-emails-in-botnet-attack/
======
dredmorbius
Is your refrigerator running ... a spamming operation?
All the more reason to fill it with Vegamite instead of spiced pork and ham...
And yes, The Internet of Broekn Things is a disaster waiting to happen.
The Pusch to WiFi All the Things rather reminds me of this Huge Gernsback
cover:
[http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2j8uwh9lX5s/VL1_itXSOtI/AA...](http://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2j8uwh9lX5s/VL1_itXSOtI/AAAAAAACdjg/AiqsdZIhw7Q/s900/v16.jpg)
Note the "Radio Heater", "Radio Clock", and "Radio Power Roller Skates"...
(More: [http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2015/01/videophones-from-
fut...](http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2015/01/videophones-from-future-
past.html))
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Molecular circuitry: Team breaks one-diode-one resistor electronics - headalgorithm
https://phys.org/news/2020-06-molecular-circuitry-team-one-diode-one-resistor.html
======
peter_d_sherman
>"Using a combination of electrical measurements and atomic-scale measurements
guided by quantum mechanics, the team found a _sweet spot_ between stability
and switch ability that yielded the dual diode+memory resistive RAM memory at
a microscopic scale"
_Engineering is all about finding the "sweet spot"..._
Not too much, and not too little, but the point at which competing concerns
_balance_...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How the science of human behavior is beginning to reshape the US government - Amorymeltzer
https://theconversation.com/how-the-science-of-human-behavior-is-beginning-to-reshape-the-us-government-48145
======
MollyR
Aren't a lot of psychological studies coming under scrutiny for lack of
reproducibility, and now the government is using them in policy design ? This
is more than a little unsettling.
~~~
benp84
Did you read the article? They're basically A/B testing their notifications
and forms. It's nearly costless and they quickly scrap what doesn't work.
~~~
MollyR
From the article " As the evidence for the SBST’s programs continues to
accumulate, the hope is that behavioral insights become as central in
policymakers' thinking as economic ones, helping us build effective policies
from the ground up."
My concern is where the behavioral insights are coming from, if they are
coming from stringent reproducible tests, that's great. But many recent
articles about psychological studies suggest there is crisis in that field,
and so called insights need to taken with some salt, especially if the goal is
to create national policy.
------
dang
Url changed from [http://qz.com/545515/the-science-of-human-behavior-is-
reshap...](http://qz.com/545515/the-science-of-human-behavior-is-reshaping-
the-us-government/), which points to this.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why Female Soldiers Were Finally Added to Call of Duty's Multiplayer - protomyth
http://kotaku.com/why-female-soldiers-were-finally-added-to-call-of-duty-1142063196
======
ryusage
Okay, so this is a dumb article, but it's not _quite_ as idiotic as it sounds.
Kotaku makes it sound like the devs are saying female characters are just
somehow more complex technically than male characters, and they literally
didn't have the technology before to create them. That's just obviously flat-
out stupid.
What they're actually saying here is that their previous engine wasn't able to
support _custom characters_ , and so they never thought to try and make
characters who would be representative of their full audience. When they made
personalizing the character a focus, they realized they needed females to be
an option, and that prompted them to add it.
It's still obviously sexist that it never even occurred to them there should
maybe be a female in the game. There's no reason they couldn't have put one or
two as options in the game before. But they never actually said it was
impossible to do it. That's Kotaku's own not-very-generous interpretation.
~~~
brimanning
Kotaku makes it sound like the devs are saying female characters are just somehow more complex technically than male characters, and they literally didn't have the technology before to create them.
What they're really saying is that it would be twice as much work with two
different modeling and movement algorithms running instead of a single,
streamlined approach. It's not impossible, but considering the amount of work
developers already have to do and the graphics the games are running, it was
left out in favor of a smoother, finer experience.
What you noted about creating an engine to support custom characters means
that those developers took the time to go back, refactor existing code and
optimize around different multiple different models running simultaneously
while keeping a smooth experience.
~~~
ryusage
Eh, I don't think they said that at all, and that doesn't make sense anyway.
They would need to add an extra 3D model or two obviously, so sure, that's a
bit more work, but in the big scheme of things it's very straightforward. By
"modeling and movement" algorithms, I assume you mean animations, and I don't
see any reason at all that they couldn't just use the same skeleton as the
male characters, which negates the need for new animation work.
I'm not sure what the point of your second statement actually is, but I
disagree with that too lol. I feel like you're making the easy parts sound
very difficult and then completely trivializing the part that's actually a lot
of work.
------
infogulch
Memory issues because of customizability is a red herring.
You've _never_ been able to choose what your player looks like in COD. You
play as one of the several pre-defined characters from your team, chosen
randomly when you spawn. (Edit: I guess there's a difference for players using
a sniper rifle.) From that perspective, I don't see any reason why there
couldn't have been a female character.
... except for callouts. In BO2, there are ~5 different models for each team,
all male. There are about a dozen different types of callouts that models make
in response to different actions, like reloading, killing an enemy, or seeing
an enemy. There are also 3-4 different versions of each callout for each team.
Since the models are homogenous, the versions of callouts are chosen at random
and have no bearing on which model you're currently using. If there were
female models the number of callouts that would need to be loaded in memory
would double because you couldn't reuse the male callouts for females.
------
scoofy
"Our previous engine would not handle that. The way memory worked in the
previous engine, it never would have been able to do that." Where is bullshit
man when you need him. I don't believe this for a second. Great CoD puff piece
HN.
~~~
protomyth
I posted it because I could not figure out how their reasoning actually made
any technical sense. I suspect it is a total BS job, but maybe there is an
actual technical reason.
~~~
Zergy
There is.
To maximize sales the COD engine is designed for the weakest system for it to
run on.
The Xbox 360 has half a gig or ram and that is shared with the OS, memory is
an extremely tight commodity. It is quite reasonable to think that another
mesh, texture map, and additional sounds clips will simply not fit in the
300ish megs that XBox developers have to deal with.
Of course that can be designed around by having an engine that smart about
pulling things in and out of memory. But that's hard to do especially when you
have to release a game every year.
I should point out I'm talking about multiplayer mainly. There isn't a
technical reason for the single player other than it is a lot of extra work.
------
lucb1e
Call of Duty was originally based on the Quake 3 engine. In Quake 3 there were
female characters. Now they're telling us it was not technically possible
before? I have my doubts.
------
john_i
I can understand if this was the case for the single player campaign. Where
there might be limitations in scripting the story for a female as well as a
male character. But for multiplayer, the explanation is a bit more difficult
to swallow. I'm not a game designer, nor am I CoD player, but wouldn't a
texture pack be able to easily solve this issue?
~~~
schreiaj
Sure, which is more to load into memory which is extremely limited... the
exact problem they cite.
------
dragontamer
Female avatars existed back in Tribes, or even Unreal Tournament. I'm not a
CoD player, but I'm frankly surprised that there wasn't an option. I thought
this sort of stuff was a _given_ today. Guess I was wrong.
Anyway, this may be a "puff piece", but anyone with half-a-brain can figure
out how much of a jackass move this was on --EDIT-- Activision's part. Why did
it take so long to create a female avatar?
Hell, Halo gave a nod to female players by making female spartans inside of
their famous armor. (ie: Nicole-458). You don't even _need_ texture mods to
officially play as a female in a lot of these games, lol.
~~~
thezilch
Unreal and Quake 2, before those, had female avatars. Now that I think about
it, Counter-Strike did and still(?) does not.
~~~
angersock
As did Half-Life, Thief, the original Rainbow Six, and Jurassic Park
Trespasser. This is not some magical new technology. Note also that the above
examples encompass both keyframe and skeletal animation--there's no technical
limitation of any meaningful sort here.
What's more interesting is the fact that sales seemed quite dapper despite the
lack of this feature, which does give somewhat inconvenient evidence towards
the idea that the depiction of women in games is not actually a big deal.
------
joshdotsmith
I really like how there was no attempt made to fact check the interviewee. But
then I guess if we started acting like real journalists we wouldn't get all
these great inside scoops.
------
The_D
Kotaku is link bait shitposting. Don't click for the sake of a clean
internets. Thank you, the entire internet.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
FreeType 2.6.4 released with new and better bytecode interpreter - cm3
http://lists.nongnu.org/archive/html/freetype-announce/2016-07/msg00000.html
======
cm3
The new interpreter has absolutely improved rendering of fonts, at least
subjectively for me.
CHANGES BETWEEN 2.6.3 and 2.6.4
I. IMPORTANT CHANGES
- A new subpixel hinting mode has been contributed by Nikolaus
Waxweiler, which is now the default rendering mode for TrueType
fonts. It implements (almost everything of) version 40 of the
bytecode engine.
The existing code base in FreeType (the `Infinality code') was
stripped to the bare minimum and all configurability removed in
the name of speed and simplicity. The configurability was
mainly aimed at legacy fonts like Arial, Times New Roman, or
Courier. [Legacy fonts are fonts that modify vertical stems to
achieve clean black-and-white bitmaps.] The new mode focuses on
applying a minimal set of rules to all fonts indiscriminately so
that modern and web fonts render well while legacy fonts render
okay.
Activation of the subpixel hinting support can be controlled
with the `TT_CONFIG_OPTION_SUBPIXEL_HINTING' configuration
option at compile time: If set to value 1, you get the old
Infinality mode (which was never the default due to its
slowness). Value 2 activates the new subpixel hinting mode, and
value 3 activates both. The default is value 2.
At run time, you can select the subpixel hinting mode with the
`interpreter-version' property (provided you have compiled in
the corresponding hinting mode); see `ftttdrv.h' for more.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
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Ask HN: Glassdoor for Medical Bills? - brundolf
I had an idea earlier after receiving an unreasonable medical bill.<p>As most here probably know, medical bills in the U.S. - in addition to being high - are almost never advertised, often erroneous, often inflated via agreements with insurers, and can often be talked down as soon as the recipient points out issues with them.<p>What if there were a website where people could report their invoices from different providers, tagging them by state, by insurance provider, by insurance plan, itemizing the charges for each piece of care, and including both the base charge and the amount covered by insurance, and then the site could a) aggregate this data to help people understand how their costs compare to others for similar treatments, and b) raise general awareness of the prices. If prices won't be transparent up-front, we can make them transparent after the fact for the next person. Beyond just helping individuals, if this got big enough it could conceivably push down prices as providers are forced to compete.<p>A journalist at Vox did something similar (for a one-off investigation) at one point: https://www.vox.com/2018/2/27/16936638/er-bills-emergency-room-hospital-fees-health-care-costs<p>But of course what I'm talking about would be an ongoing, ever-growing, self-reported dataset.<p>Does this exist? Could it exist? Anybody want to collaborate on it?
======
applecrazy
I've had this exact idea. I made it as a hackathon project but haven't worked
on it ever since. One of the things I wanted to do was to use publicly-
available treatment cost data (I think states like California require
reporting of this) and aggregate it by type of treatment to allow users to
comparison-shop between medical providers in their area.
The issue I was facing (and the reason I stopped working on this project) was
the lack of standard, openly-available medical codes, since most hospitals
mark treatments with CPT codes, which are proprietary and require a license to
use in software. If anyone has any solutions to translate these codes to
human-readable names without licensing the entire set of codes from the
American Medical Association, I'd be open to hearing those ideas.
~~~
brundolf
My (possibly naive) thinking was to have people just enter the human-friendly
name for each item from their invoice as-is. A data-cleanup stage would then
be necessary to reconcile these names across entries, but:
\- The same provider will presumably use the exact same name for the same item
across invoices, reducing the subsets of values that will need to be matched
up (similar to the way services like Mint make sense of transaction names)
\- Some automated "fuzzy matching" could be applied; keywords, off-by-one-
letter checks, etc
\- Human curation, amplified by the above two factors, might be feasible
\- Maybe someone could even do something fancy with a neural-net, who knows
¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
But yeah, data reconciliation is definitely one of the main challenges here.
If you want to brainstorm/discuss more directly, you can email me at
mail[at]brandonsmith[dot]ninja
~~~
adventured
It's a good idea overall.
My suggestion is to absolutely under no circumstances attempt to cover all (or
a large number) possible medical codes in the first few years. Do not spend
any mental energy on that, it will bury you, it will rob your motivation, it
will waste your time and make you wish you never considered the service.
Do the opposite, start very stupid simple, knock down one bowling pin. Pick a
small selection of the most common medical codes or those most in need of this
service (the treatments that can benefit most from this). Roll the complexity
gradually from there. You will be aided by resources as you scale, in many
ways, which you will lack in the beginning. Your expanding userbase can also
assist you immensely as you go along (in the beginning they won't exist); but
you first need to have a very useful service to get those users, and to do
that you have to be good at something; narrow, narrow, narrow; you'll expand
outward later.
And frankly if you can't make it work for a small group of medical codes, you
are not going to make it work for a much larger & complex context.
Again, whatever you do, do not attempt to run before you crawl with this. You
don't need to do that. Just offering this for small selection of medical codes
could be hugely valuable, then slowly expand it. Make it work super well for
that small group first.
Make it clear what your service focuses on, and keep that list short. Reject
any attempts by users to expand the system to cover all medical codes in the
beginning.
It's no different than going from Harvard.edu, to Stanford.edu as in the
Facebook bowling pin strategy, and then building up some demand from users to
see you add more medical codes (the userbase will help inform you which to do
next). Do not try to go wide in the beginning, it's a guaranteed path to
failure.
Plus, if you start with a small selection of medical codes, you can better
focus on your outreach / marketing to just those people and their
circumstances. It will drastically simplify your attempts to find the first
100 / 1000 / 10000 users, and those early users will all be able to coordinate
on the same narrow medical code/s, which will build the initial community
foundation you require. If you try to go wide initially, covering a lot of
medical codes, you'll get stray users that won't be able to coordinate with
the other users who all have different medical codes (ie it's better to have
1,000 users with the same single medical code, than 1,000 medical codes each
with one user).
~~~
brundolf
Thanks for the feedback. I think you're right; my thinking was to eagerly
gather as much data as possible even if not all of it is useful immediately,
but it's true that it might dilute the experience when the person _entering_
the info doesn't yet benefit from most of what they've entered.
~~~
adventured
Absolutely. You risk an endless cycle of the ghost town effect in that
scenario (people floating on an island by themselves, to zero benefit). I'd
wager it's better to have only 100 users with one medical code, than 10,000
users all with different codes. Those 100 users ignite the function of the
system, its desired feedback mechanism. I suspect there are some large, very
common targets you can choose from to get started. Your challenge is probably
deciding whether to target a more common medical code, or one with greater
user intensity (people that are more frustrated; a higher intensity factor
might be ideal for starting the system around; it's an interesting trade-off).
------
codegeek
Funny I have thought of doing exactly the same. Would love to brainstorm
ideas. Sick and tired of medical billing crap.
------
schemescape
My employer used to provide access to a service (it might have been Castlight
Health) that would show typical prices for providers/facilities, so you could
at least attempt to shop around. I don’t think it is open to individuals,
unfortunately.
------
giantg2
Many insurance providers actually have a portal where you can search for a
procedure and they will list the providers and their prices.
------
greenyoda
What do you envision as the business model for this site? Pay to subscribe?
Ad-supported? Free, supported by donations?
~~~
brundolf
I was thinking open-source/nonprofit. Server costs should be trivial until it
started to take off for real (and I'd personally be open to covering them out
of pocket), at which point a proper nonprofit/donation model could be set up.
Ideally the data itself would also be open, for use by others (analysts,
journalists, etc).
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
TV HOST Temporary – Job ID: 571240 - kposehn
https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/571240/tv-host-temporary
======
joshmn
> Currently, this is a temporary position to cover an absence due to
> pneumonia.
Edit: The more I read this the more I laugh because I realize it's not a joke.
------
squozzer
They should consider hiring an American who is the exact opposite of JC
(someone in the mold of Danny DeVito), except for the condescending tone.
George Wendt, maybe?
------
roryrjb
So.. Jeremy Clarkson has pneumonia?
~~~
rasz
[http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/amazon-searching-
jeremy-c...](http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/amazon-searching-jeremy-
clarkson-replacement-11051310)
------
jmathai
> Please note: Preference will be given to especially tall candidates with
> curly hair.
~~~
rajathagasthya
> BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
· British English including advanced qualification in exaggeration and braggadocio
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Long-Secret Stingray Manuals Detail How Police Can Spy on Phones - jrochkind1
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/12/long-secret-stingray-manuals-detail-how-police-can-spy-on-phones/
======
alansmitheebk
Are the wireless carriers (ie Verizon, AT&T, etc) complicit in the manufacture
of these products? It would seem to me that those companies would regard the
use of a "Stingray" to impersonate one of their towers as an unauthorized
intrusion into their network.
Is it possible for wireless carriers to modify their towers so as to make them
less susceptible to spoofing? If so, why don't they do so?!
I'm not a telecom engineer so this is not my area of expertise.
~~~
vkuruthers
Good questions. I do a lot of M2M projects that use 3G modems on so called
private networks (e.g. Verizon hands out a 10.x.x.x IP address for the
devices). The argument is always made that this would require a lot of $ and
equipment to crack, but if these Stingrays can intercept M2M datastreams then
that's now another thing to worry about.
------
vkuruthers
Does anyone know if these Stingray devices could also be used to intercept M2M
IP traffic from a cell modem?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Association Between Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Cognitive Development - luxpir
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001792
======
thinkcontext
This is an under appreciated benefit of electrifying transport. Even if you
aren't using clean energy it helps to not pump out neurotoxins next to
schools.
------
rando444
For those that are interested, Netflix's Dirty Money (S01E01) covers this
topic from the point of view of the auto manufacturers emission scandal that
happened recently.
It really puts a whole new spin on this very important conversation.
------
dimmuborgir
"Quality of education was identical. However, children attending low-exposed
schools had slightly better maternal education; had less behavioral problems,
obesity, and foreign origin; had more siblings and residential greenness;"
~~~
ComputerGuru
Yes, but “Linear mixed effects models were adjusted for age, sex, maternal
education, socioeconomic status, and air pollution exposure at home.”
------
luxpir
Full title wouldn't fit in submission:
Association between Traffic-Related Air Pollution in Schools and Cognitive
Development in Primary School Children: A Prospective Cohort Study
------
ComputerGuru
fwiw, study was conducted in Barcelona, which like the rest of Europe but
notably unlike the USA, is dominated by diesel vehicles; accordingly, the
study focuses on particulates resulting from diesel-based pollution which may
or may not translate to gas/petrol cars.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
The Future of Indian Technology - cwan
http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/13/the-future-of-indian-technology/
======
sateesh
The article states that
"The Indian technology industry got its start running
call centers and doing low-level IT work for western
firms".
The Indian technology industry existed much before call centers became a vogue
in India (which was around mid 90's).
A few facts:
a. ISRO has been launching satellites since 70's
b. HCL Infosystems launched the first microcomputer in India in 1977
(<http://www.hclinfosystems.com/op_history.htm>)
c. Texas Instruments had their development office setup in India in 1985
Various facts like above show that though IT industry got a boom in India in
90s, its origins can be traed to much earlier years.
~~~
rick_2047
Many people fail to see the formation of the launching pad and glorify the
launch
------
thevivekpandey
As the Indian economy has improved, employability of engineers has improved.
As a result, many of the fresh grads and seasoned engineers find it okay to
not do a job for some time and try to start on their own. (feeling safe that
they can get employed whenever they want) Thus, barring some geopolitical
upheaval, future of Indian technology is definitely going to be better than
its present.
However, the statement “when all of the action is in Bangalore, who needs
Silicon Valley?", is very much an overstatement. While India does provide
opportunities for some unique business models (based on large population,
unorganized markets), the "action" there is significantly less than the
"action" in Silicon Valley.
~~~
skbohra123
I am one of those, passed out recently and doing a startup. I don't know about
others but I am just doing it. I don't know why one would need to wait for
some social change to happen to do things. Bangalore is nice actually. I moved
from Rajasthan to here. It's just good. I don't know much but it's better than
most of the place in India to do a tech startup.
------
skbohra123
One of those useless article which talks about something seeing it in just one
event. NASSCOM? what is it?
~~~
dheerosaur
NASSCOM may not be important. But, I feel that the times are changing in
India. In the last few months, I have seen people dropping out of their so-
called safe jobs and choosing to work on what they like (that includes me
too). My feeling is that only people in the developed countries do it.
But, the majority is still happy with the virtual safety of the job in service
industry. With hundreds of thousands of people still talking about the dowries
they can get if they hold on to the 'IT job', what else can you expect?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
People Recognize Objects by Visualizing Their “Skeletons” - headalgorithm
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/no-bones-about-it-people-recognize-objects-by-visualizing-their-skeletons/
======
xaedes
Imho the most important part of the article:
_One concern with the study is that the authors generated the objects
specifically from skeletons rather than deriving them from shapes, either
natural or human-made, covered by skin, metal, or other materials that people
encounter in their day-to-day life. “The shapes that they generated are
directly related to the hypothesis they’re testing and the conclusions they’re
drawing,” says James Elder, a professor of human and computer vision at York
University in Toronto. “If we’re interested in how important skeletons are to
shape and object perception, we can’t really answer that question by only
looking at the perception of skeleton-generated shapes. Because obviously in a
world of skeleton-generated shapes, skeletons are probably fairly important
because that’s the way those shapes were made.”_
I looked into the paper first and thought: yea well it's really not
surprising, that the skeleton models are most predictive for the kind of
objects they tested. Their skeleton really is all that defines them.
The only thing they tested and proved is: Skeleton models are predictive for
human decision when recognizing objects made just from skeletons with little
flesh and hardly any texture whatsoever.
Nevertheless I think skeleton models are a good thing for object recognition
~~~
Swizec
> The only thing they tested and proved is: Skeleton models are predictive for
> human decision when recognizing objects made just from skeletons with little
> flesh and hardly any texture whatsoever.
Isn’t it an important result that humans are able to recognize when an object
is made just from skeletons and optimize recognition to focus solely on the
skeleton? That sounds pretty neat to me
~~~
mkl
Yes, that's neat, but it's very different to and far more limited than the
generality the title and the rest of the article claim.
------
rpmisms
Humans are much better at noise removal than computers. Many people can look
at an object and see what's extraneous to the basic form--what's left is the
skeleton. Computers, so far, don't have the context to do this, and instead
try to recognize objects based on visual patterns, etc.
Perhaps "weighting" models, allowing algorithms to look for centers of gravity
and mechanical behavior would help. Humans exist in a 3d world, but we also
_interact_ with a simplified 3d world.
We don't worry about the plastic bag in the street because we can feel how our
car will respond. It's trivial. There's no "weight" attached to the object.
Weight and balance are incredibly important psychologically (see the
burgeoning popularity of weighted blankets), and that's a thing that's missing
for computers. Having a tangible sense of the world in our minds gives us a
huge leg up when relating to it.
~~~
derf_
_> Computers, so far, don't have the context to do this_
As someone who did their Ph.D thesis on the statistics of shape using models
based on the medial axis (i.e., a skeleton), I would beg to differ.
Whether these models are as easy to apply (computationally and conceptually)
as the currently in-vogue techniques is another question, but there is nothing
magical here that computers are incapable of.
~~~
rpmisms
Sure, just the skeleton part. How about density, deformation, and
reflectiveness? All at once? We can simulate these, so we can obviously detect
them, but not yet.
------
Isamu
Direct link to the paper:
[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45268-y](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45268-y)
>Here we tested whether skeletal structures provide an important source of
information for object recognition when compared with other models of vision.
Our results showed that a model of skeletal similarity was most predictive of
human object judgments when contrasted with models based on image-statistics
or neural networks, as well as another model of structure based on coarse
spatial relations. Moreover, we found that skeletal structures were a
privileged source of information when compared to other properties thought to
be important for shape perception, such as object contours and component
parts. Thus, our results suggest that not only does the visual system show
sensitivity to the skeletal structure of objects32,36,37, but also that
perception and comparison of object skeletons may be crucial for successful
object recognition.
------
AbrahamParangi
I think it's telling that even young children are exceptionally good at object
recognition, and if you ask them to draw an object, they'll typically give you
a "skeleton" with basically no ability to reconstruct the textural components.
I think the real interesting question is: what is the internal representation
of this skeleton? A graph? A forest of graphs? Some kind of field that's
graph-like?
~~~
gpm
I think young children's drawing ability is more indicative of the type of
tool we are giving them, they only have the ability to draw a fixed width
line, how else would you represent a limb?
~~~
dzmien
The same instrument in the hands of a skilled artist would have no trouble
using it to produce a convincing likeness of whatever they were drawing.
~~~
gpm
Absolutely, but that requires advanced fine motor control, understanding of
how the instrument lays down color and what multiple layers of color look when
on top of each other, and so on.
The naive way to use the instrument, is to run the instrument over the area
one or a few times. The simplest way to do that in terms of motor control
(e.g. fewest turns) is to run it up and down the longest axis one or more
times. That's exactly what a child does.
------
jonplackett
This seems very obvious.
Machines are taught from flat images. How can they be expected to create 3D
from this?
Humans learn from binocular vision, and from multiple angles as we move around
an object, making it a lot easier to get an idea of its shape.
My daughter aged 18 months could already recognise abstract signs like the
mother and baby or disabled sign just from knowing the real object. Which must
say something about the way she stored the representations of them.
~~~
The_rationalist
Why not use two cameras for training AI then?
~~~
jonplackett
Because they’re using existing data. You need thousands, maybe millions of
images to train an AI to recognise something well, and only recognise the
right characteristics. No-one has the resources to go take all those photos
themselves.
Anyone know of a visual recognition AI being trained also with depth data?
Would be interested to see what difference it makes.
This relates to something else I noticed differently about my daughter
learning. You can show her one photo of a lion, from one angle and she will
recognise other lions later on, at different angles. I think she must have
seen enough animals already from many angles to have generalised their shape
and then be able to presume the new animal is similar and just see the new
characteristics like a mane. Something very different is happening in Human
brains!
~~~
The_rationalist
You are right and it would be interesting to quantify how much it could
improve AI if datasets were binoculars.
------
axilmar
I'd say (out of experience) that people do not recognize objects by
visualizing their skeletons, but they recognize objects by a generalization of
their shape.
In case of recognizing other animals, the generalization takes the form of a
'tree' of objects connected via nodes, which is actually what a skeleton does
to a body.
But that does not happen with other objects, i.e. cars. For cars, the
generalization is that of a box with circles at the bottom (for the wheels).
It shall also have to be noted that the details of objects are not really
lost, but they are remembered, up to a certain degree, which allows us to
recognize a person with fat body parts from a person with thin body parts of
the same height and otherwise same general outlook.
The degree of generalization is also responsible for not being able to
remember a new face that strongly resembles a face we already know, until we
recognize for the new face some special attributes the old face does not have.
In this case, the degree if generalizaton is such that does not allow us to
immediately tell apart the old from the new face.
I'd say that recognition works in a step like fashion:
-we first recognize a generic abstraction of the object at hand: if the object is inanimate or not.
-then we recognize in which category of the inanimate or living objects the object under recognition is (for example, is it a human? an animal? etc).
-then we recognize more details; is the person tall, fat or blond? for example.
-then we recall our connections to that person, resulting in chosing a response.
I don't have data to back the above up, it's all from intuition and personal
experience, but that's how I think objects are recognized by brains.
------
skybrian
Note that the leading image classification algorithms are apparently trained
to recognize texture more than shapes, because that's the easiest way to win
at current benchmarks. But that can be fixed:
[https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.12231](https://arxiv.org/abs/1811.12231)
------
thanatropism
So what's the implications of this for topological data analysis as an
alternative (or complementary) framework to the convolutional approaches in
image analysis?
(I'm being loose with language, but a CNN is not an optimal "hole finder",
while persistent homology is not optimal for telling different kinds of fish
apart.)
~~~
ilaksh
I was looking at something along those lines recently "TopoResNet: A hybrid
deep learning architecture and its application to skin lesion classification"
on arxiv.
------
jpfed
>people do not evaluate an object like a computer processing pixels, but based
on an imagined internal skeleton
Well, maybe not how computers typically process pixels _nowadays_ , but back
in the old days of computer vision one technique for simplifying an image was
skeletonization :
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological_skeleton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topological_skeleton)
~~~
eli_gottlieb
Yeah, now I'm wondering what topological skeletons might have in common with
the abstract simplicial complexes generated by running a persistent homology
algorithm on a point cloud.
------
chacham15
I dont think the study can be used to draw the conclusions that the article is
trying to draw. The study presents new objects which are derived from
skeletons for people to learn and identify. IMO people learn differently in
short term vs long term. Short term, we try to reduce the dimensionality of
the input to things we can hold in working memory. In this study that would be
the skeleton of the object. That doesnt mean that that pattern holds up for
long term learning (which is mostly how we visually identify things, because
we've seen them many times already). The main reason I bring this up is
because it seems to be in direct contrast with studies which show the opposite
(i.e. that humans do operate like machines in identifying objects). That study
was done by comparing the brain regions which activated when the person was
exposed to visual input and found a consistent location which was activated
due to seeing a horizontal / vertical line.
------
ropiwqefjnpoa
"Do humans learn the same way as computers?" Computers learn whichever way
humans program them to...
~~~
electricviolet
OK, rephrase the question to "Does the way we've programmed computers to learn
happen to resemble the way that humans learn?"
~~~
patagurbon
Our models of human learning are crude at best. Some programs attempt to
approximate those models. But it resembles how humans learn the same way a
stuffed animal chicken resembles a T-Rex.
------
senthil_rajasek
This reminded me of a scene from the movie The Omen where Damien's mother
Maria Scianna's skeleton turns out to be of a jackal's skeleton.
[https://images.app.goo.gl/bKoVyzrgkty1J4DeA](https://images.app.goo.gl/bKoVyzrgkty1J4DeA)
------
arafa
Reminds me a lot of the ancient idea of Platonic forms:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Forms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Forms)
Obviously not the same thing, but I think it's an interesting association.
------
mbeex
Related problem (ImageNet-trained CNNs are biased towards texture)
[https://openreview.net/forum?id=Bygh9j09KX](https://openreview.net/forum?id=Bygh9j09KX)
------
ilaksh
This reminds me loosely of a paper I found on arxiv recently: "Scene
Representation Networks: Continuous 3D-Structure-Aware Neural Scene
Representations"
------
cjjuice
Reminds me of Plato's theory of forms
------
tomekowal
I think that object recognition is hard because humans have much more data
than computers. People see with two eyes which can focus on different
distances, so our brain has 3D data to learn from. We later learn to recognise
the same objects on pictures.
Computers usually start from flat pictures, and that trips the learning
process.
I have zero data to back it up. Just my hunch :D
~~~
sorenjan
So children that's blind on one eye take longer to learn to recognize objects?
~~~
onemoresoop
No but they cannot see depth very well because they can't use stereoscopic
vision (triangulate). However, there are other cues that are used to infer for
depth such as covered edges(if one object partially covers another then it is
closer to you), perspective (if two objects that you know are similar in size
but one appears smaller then it is farther) etc.
A friend of mine who cannot see with one eye and yet he is a painter. One
thing I know he cannot do is drive a car.
~~~
rootusrootus
> One thing I know he cannot do is drive a car
That's specific to your friend, not true in general. Lots of people drive with
only one functional eye. At the visual distances involved, the depth
perception provided by stereoscopic vision doesn't matter much. Especially
with all the relative motion. My dad has been driving successfully for 65
years with only one working eye.
~~~
onemoresoop
To be honest I don't know whether he is allowed to drive or not, he thinks he
isn't allowed and never pursued it.
~~~
WrtCdEvrydy
There's a cutoff of a 20/40 on at least one eye (corrected with class A
restriction)
------
christophclarke
This seems to play very well with some of MIT CSAIL's research in training
robots to be able to manipulate objects they haven't seen before.
[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9U8X6I1vow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9U8X6I1vow)
[2] [https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.06684](https://arxiv.org/abs/1903.06684)
TL;DR the objects are grouped into categories which determine the "Key points"
on the objects (similar to this 'skeleton') which the robot knows how to
interact with in order to bring about the intended manipulation.
------
dredmorbius
It also seems that people have a tendency to represent things in drawing as
either bubbles or stick figures. Even to ancient times, such as the humans
from this cave paintint (Lascaux, I believe):
[https://anthonyalvaradoanthonyalvarado.files.wordpress.com/2...](https://anthonyalvaradoanthonyalvarado.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/06_hunting-
scene-on-the-cave-paintings1.jpg)
Or more recently:
[https://xkcd.com/](https://xkcd.com/)
------
sdegutis
This is because there is a metaphysical reality behind everything and humans
instinctively recognize that even from a young age.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Stephen Wolfram's TED Talk: Computing a theory of everything - amichail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60P7717-XOQ
======
dmfdmf
I think his whole approach is flawed... unless he proves that P=NP (with a
constructive not an existence proof) his research agenda and the aim of
Wolfram Alpha is stillborn. Setting aside his chronic confounding of existence
and consciousness, his plan for searching the "computational universe" is
impossible if one grasps the scale of that endeavor. Finding a needle in a
haystack is easy compared to what he wants to do.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Are people using emojis less now that apple made them so easy to use? - rbcgerard
======
rbcgerard
It feels like aren't using them anymore because the challenge was taken out of
it...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Kickstart A Needy Kid’s Education With Conway-Backed Wishbone.org - aresant
http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/01/wishbone/
======
aresant
I love this concept and donated to a worthy cause (Comp Sci Camp!!! Awesome)
But there's a blind spot here not integrating Amazon payment gateway or PayPal
(like Kickstarter)
I realize that already precious non-profit margins get eaten up by those
gateways but the act of having to pull out my CC (and getting a timeout on the
order time on first submission) almost ruined the sale for me.
This is a social-news-phenom waiting to happen so make darn sure that you
remove as much friction as possible so people can "impulse donate" rather than
make a commitment!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Things I’ve Learned in Starting, Running, and Quitting Living for Monday - barrettabrooks
http://livingvalues.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/50-things-ive-learned-in-starting-running-and-quitting-living-for-monday/
======
not_paul_graham
I'm confused why this is on the front page. The title left me with the
impression that this post was about someone quitting to live for Monday aka
the start of the work week in most parts of the world, and doing something
else.
On clicking the link, I found a blog post with 50 reasons the author of the
post came up with for shuttering his business that was called "Living for
Monday".
I didn't read the list, just skimmed through the top few and there was nothing
profound there.
Just fyi for others.
~~~
kzisme
I also expected a completely different article. I'm not sure what the exact
point was based on the title and actual article.
------
pan69
There is absolutely no context around this post what so ever. I'm going to ask
the obvious here; So what exactly "was" Living for Monday?
~~~
barrettabrooks
Just posted some context here:
[http://livingvalues.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/what-was-
living...](http://livingvalues.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/what-was-living-for-
monday/)
~~~
makaveli8
A shorter explanation would be nicer...
~~~
barrettabrooks
It was a company that went through several iterations, like many startups. The
latest iteration was built on a recurring revenue model for professional
development training targeting Millennials at work. Think Lynda meets
CreativeLive for people under 35 trying to figure out how to navigate the
professional world, especially within corporations and agencies.
The shutdown was a direct result of misalignment of vision with our main
investor.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Postgres is better than MySQL but not because of how long it took to fix a bug - linuxhiker
https://www.commandprompt.com/blog/postgres_better_than_mysql/
======
Tostino
Really well written article. I agree that the community can do more to be more
inclusive.
Hell, just look at this interaction on Twitter from the developer of JOOQ:
[https://twitter.com/lukaseder/status/918385919836737536](https://twitter.com/lukaseder/status/918385919836737536)
I had posted his blog post to the mailing list, which compared all the major
RDBMS's and the non-statistics based query optimizations they all utilize, and
Postgres didn't do so well.
There was some good discussion on the list, but Luke wanted to chime in and
couldn't figure out how to do so one just one post without subscribing to the
list, or any of that.
And this is a very competent developer. In the end, I didn't see any comments
in that thread by Lukas, even though he wanted to respond. There is just
additional friction around the current process, and it's really not inviting,
especially to those who may want to say something occasionally, but not be
involved in development every day.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Hack in the box: Hacking into companies with “warshipping” - Recurecur
https://arstechnica.com/
======
Recurecur
The point about RFID cards was particularly interesting. Also being a vector
for extracting data from secure spaces...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: A Django BDD book - jozi9
I'm thinking about summing up my experience as I go along the way when applying BDD on Django projects. Like what tool to use, how to translate requirements/user stories to BDD tests, etc. This is one field that I think is a bit overlooked/undervalued in Django. I'm thinking about summing it up in a short e-book rather than blogposts - as I always find books more enjoyable and feasible for learning than blog posts. What do you think? I put together a Mailchimp form where you can opt-in if interested, it's also a feedback for me if there's a need: http://eepurl.com/6-D7n
======
redmattred
Personally I prefer video as the ideal format for learning.
Although a book might be the best finished product for you, you might be able
to test demand easier just by writing the first chapter and seeing what kind
of response you get.
~~~
jozi9
Good idea! Thanks.
------
mjhea0
Yes, BDD is def. undervalued. I wrote a nice Flask+Behave BDD tutorial in
[http://realpython.com](http://realpython.com)
Contact me - michael at realpython dot com
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Inside look at modern web browser – part 4 - feross
https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/09/inside-browser-part4
======
pcwalton
I like the writeup and drawings, but I have to mention that this is a bit too
specific to browsers as they work right now, specifically Chrome. Having to
pay attention to the paint/compositor distinction and layer count is something
that newer renderers like WebRender make obsolete. You don't have to worry
about layer count causing needless overdraw if you have a unified system so
that occluded content is culled, for example.
WebRender is already turned on by default for many users in Firefox Nightly…
~~~
lwansbrough
Unfortunately for Firefox this concept doesn’t work very well on the CPU it
seems. Every time I open Firefox on my (slightly older but still very capable)
MBP the fans go nuts and the CPU could fry an egg. Probably has something to
do with my integrated graphics chip.
And yeah I’m going to keep posting this anecdote until Mozilla acknowledges
the problem.
~~~
mccr8
Do you have scaled resolution enabled? If so, that sounds like this bug:
[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1404042)
I think there's been a little bit of progress on that issue, but not much,
unfortunately.
~~~
pcwalton
Sounds like Core Animation could fix that issue? I have a patch for that
almost ready to go (mstange is testing it as we speak).
------
vhiremath4
I'm not trying to be an asshole, but it's hard to not feel like this is a
reaction to Mozilla's amazing blog post series on how they created their new
evolution of Firefox. The writeup is still great, but it feels second-to-
market and chasing.
~ A Chrome User
~~~
graedus
I'd be interested in reading Mozilla's blog post series you referenced. Is
this an example?
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16169236](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16169236)
~~~
tuukkah
Code Cartoons: [https://hacks.mozilla.org/category/code-
cartoons/](https://hacks.mozilla.org/category/code-cartoons/)
------
dtf
Well that was interesting, and I had no idea that "getCoalescedEvents()"
existed. I've been a little disappointed when trying to write drawing
applications before - circles end up looking like polygons unless you add some
kind of interpolation.
So today we have mouse events, touch events and pointer events. And due to the
demands of modern platforms we have things like these passive and cancellable
flags. Is there any kind of best practice these days on how to handle user
input? As far as I know, iOS doesn't support pointer events (I'm not even sure
Chrome was keen on them until recently?) Do I just have to register handlers
for all three? Does that affect performance?
And is there any way to get pen data into my browser (pressure, tilt,
proximity, ...)? I remember this used to be possible with a plugin (eg the
Wacom plugin), but I've been disappointed every time I've looked at
pointer/touch event pressure values.
------
radubrehar
When attaching non-passive events at document level "the entire page is marked
as a non-fast scrollable region." \- this is the default thing that's
happening in React, since events are attached on the document. We really need
passive events in React
------
the_clarence
Can it be called a modern browser if it doesn't display tabs on the side?
~~~
aiilnns
Oh I couldn't agreed more. Chrome's tab management, in my opinion, was quite
bad last I checked. Having lots of tabs open means making them so small that
they're losing their title and super hard to click on them. Granted, I haven't
used Chrome recently, maybe it has improved. But I think Firefox was better at
this and with a tree tab extension you can actually browse the web, have a lot
of projects going on at the same time and utilize that RAM.
I haven't found a good enough tree style tab extension for Chrome/Chromium and
that is the main reason I am not even considering it as an option.
------
vineel567
How are those awesome illustrations created. Which tool????
~~~
barbecue_sauce
Looks a bit like balsamiq. But there's also this tool called "on-staff graphic
designer/illustrator" that they could have used as well.
~~~
kaycebasques
Mariko made all of those illustrations herself. Check out her “alternative
introduction to promises” [1] on her personal blog.
[1] [https://kosamari.com/notes/the-promise-of-a-burger-
party](https://kosamari.com/notes/the-promise-of-a-burger-party)
~~~
barbecue_sauce
Self-production also always an option.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Emulators written in JavaScript - rockdiesel
https://hackerlists.com/javascript-emulators/
======
Bino
Once one is done, its wow factor really starts to decline...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Get notified when somebody mentions you on IRC - snatcher
http://mlomnicki.com/irc/2012/10/23/get-notified-when-somebody-mentions-you-on-irc.html
======
andrzejkrzywda
I'm a big fan of IRC. At work, I'm forced to use HipChat, though. The feature
that OP described (mentions) works really great there.
It's great to have it in irssi as well. Testing it!
BTW, when does someone create a working implementation of IRC-based webchat?
Please, don't mention grove.io...
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Bringing asm.js to the Chakra JavaScript engine in Windows 10 - bpierre
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2015/02/18/bringing-asm-js-to-the-chakra-javascript-engine-in-windows-10.aspx
======
corysama
Prior to asm.js I spoke out against Mozilla's hard stance that making JS
faster was the _only_ option -as opposed to making a whole new VM or at least
working to make PNACL more portable.
But, this here is exactly why I changed my tune. The primary advantage of
asm.js is not technical. It's political. It would work without requiring Apple
or Microsoft to take _any stance at all_. The big, slow, stubborn players did
not need to be convinced to make any investment of any form. And once it
worked, it would not be embarrassing or risky for them to join the party late.
And, here is the evidence that asm.js is working where no other option would.
I look forward to the day when we can move on from JS to a better-designed VM.
But while I wait, I'll be satisfied for a while with asm.js (once the SIMD
support goes mainline).
~~~
camgunz
I have doubts about asm.js. I'm not super informed so I might be wrong, feel
free to correct me :)
1\. I don't know how helpful open source is if that source is inscrutable. The
JS generated by Emscripten isn't super useful.
2\. The only reasonable way to use a non-JS language with asm.js is to use
Emscripten to compile its runtime or compile a "native" binary. One of the
arguments against PNaCl is that you basically need to use Google's
implementation. While the tie-in with asm.js is for developers, whereas the
tie-in with PNaCl is for users, I think it's tie-in nonetheless.
3\. asm.js is billed as an 'open platform', but it's still limited to
platforms that can run browsers with asm.js optimizations implemented. The
number of these platforms, when you consider phones, consoles, appliances, and
legacy platforms, is pretty small. They can also ill-afford a 50% speed
decrease. Since this is basically Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, your native
applications are going to work just fine on those platforms. Sure you might
have to do some platform abstracting, but not tons, and especially little if
using something like Unity.
~~~
azakai
> Since this is basically Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, your native
> applications are going to work just fine on those platforms.
But, you need people to download and install your app in that case. The reason
major game companies are investing in asm.js ports, even though their engines
work great natively, is because the web is a very good distribution platform.
That's really all there is to it - no one controls the web, there's no charge
to ship a game there.
~~~
camgunz
The web is a great distribution platform for one subset of applications (news,
email, social, etc.) and a bad distribution platform for basically all others.
Pixlr is a great example; GIMP will do everything Pixlr does, faster, and
without a network connection (yeah load time is bad, but that's a GIMP-
specific problem). GIMP doesn't have to pay any money, other than hosting
(which an asm.js application also would have to pay) to distribute their app.
I can use GIMP without downloading it every time. I can also continue to use
GIMP if/when its developers decide to give up. When Pixlr's developers give
up, it's gone for good.
I also think pouring millions of man hours into a transpiler and JavaScript
engine optimizations is probably the least efficient and most convoluted way
to take advantage of the web as a distribution platform. I think the way this
should all be framed is, "it would be better if browsers supported a lower-
level bytecode, or more languages, or both, but that's politically impossible
to achieve, so we have asm.js". That's the only thing that makes sense to me
here.
------
realityking
Apparently Google's toying with the idea of using "use asm" as a signal to opt
into TurboFan[1]. While not the AOT compilation envisioned by the asm.js
creators, it speaks to the importance asm.js has already gained.
That said, personally I'd rather see time spend optimising the new ES6
features so they can be used without a big performance hit.
[1]
[https://code.google.com/p/v8/issues/detail?id=2599#c77](https://code.google.com/p/v8/issues/detail?id=2599#c77)
~~~
cpeterso
Mozilla tracks TurboFan performance on its "Are We Fast Yet?" benchmarks.
TurboFan is clearly a work-in-progress because it is not scoring well on the
common JS benchmarks:
[http://arewefastyet.com/](http://arewefastyet.com/)
~~~
reissbaker
To be fair, the arewefastyet benchmarks are intentionally very broad, and
stress test many different parts of a JS engine. It may be the case that
TurboFan has a very fast sweet spot for numeric code (which would explain why
they'd want to use it for asm.js), but is slower for the more general cases.
I'd be interested to see how TurboFan performs on individual test cases; for
example, Octane has several asm-specific tests, and based on their planning I
wonder whether TurboFan is faster than Crankshaft for those individual tests
even if it's slower for the rest of them.
~~~
bzbarsky
You can see breakdowns for various subtests on awfy. Of possible interest are
[http://arewefastyet.com/#machine=28&view=breakdown&suite=asm...](http://arewefastyet.com/#machine=28&view=breakdown&suite=asmjs-
ubench) and
[http://arewefastyet.com/#machine=28&view=breakdown&suite=asm...](http://arewefastyet.com/#machine=28&view=breakdown&suite=asmjs-
apps) as well as
[http://arewefastyet.com/#machine=28&view=breakdown&suite=oct...](http://arewefastyet.com/#machine=28&view=breakdown&suite=octane)
~~~
reissbaker
Huh super interesting. It looks like currently TurboFan is competitive
w/Crankshaft on the asm.js benchmarks, and much, much slower on everything
else. I wonder if the V8 team expects TurboFan to someday beat Crankshaft on
the asm benchmarks, given current perf differences.
------
gitaarik
Nice, now that Firefox, Chrome and IE will support it, I think asm.js will
become available in most serious browsers, which is a great thing.
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact it will have. For example,
will asm.js eventually take over traditional web development? Theoretically,
you can compile any compiled language to asm.js, so you'll have a lot more
choice for the language you want to use to create your webapps. It won't
really be web though: no markup, no links, but yeah, with the current heavily
based javascript apps that's also debatable. Also asm.js still has a lot of
limitations and disadvantages that won't make it just as easy yet.
~~~
jerf
"For example, will asm.js eventually take over traditional web development?
Theoretically, you can compile any compiled language to asm.js, so you'll have
a lot more choice for the language you want to use to create your webapps."
I've outlined this progression before, which seems obvious to me, but I
haven't seen anyone else discuss it.
1. Get asm.js into every browser.
2 or 3. Observe that asm.js is very verbose, define a simple
binary bytecode for it.
3 or 2. Figure out how to get asm.js decent DOM access.
The last two can come in either order.
And the end result is the language-independent bytecode that so many people
have asked for over the years. We just won't get there in one leap, it'll come
in phases. We in fact won't be using Javascript for everything in 20 years
[1], but those of you still around will be explaining to the young bucks why
certain stupid quirks of their web browser's bytecode execution environment
can be traced back to "Javascript", even when they're not using the
increasingly-deprecated Javascript programming language.
[1]: [https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-
death...](https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/the-birth-and-death-of-
javascript)
~~~
adamnemecek
I think that eventually we might ditch DOM and use WebGL or canvas or
something instead of it, like on the desktop.
~~~
RussianCow
You use WebGL to create standard GUI applications on the desktop? WebGL and
canvas are in no way replacements for the DOM.
~~~
adamnemecek
E.g. Mac OS X uses OpenGL to render GUI, I guess I should have made myself
more clear.
> WebGL and canvas are in no way replacements for the DOM.
That's kind of debatable. If you have access to a fast graphics layer from the
browser, you can build a DOM replacement of sorts. I think that famo.us works
kind of like that.
~~~
pavlov
It's true that OS X uses OpenGL for GUI compositing, but that's only the
lowest level. Above, there's a very important piece of the GUI stack called
Core Animation which provides layer compositing.
Core Animation is used by both the native GUI as well as the browser DOM. When
you use layer-backed compositing on a web page (e.g. CSS 3D transforms),
WebKit implements it with a Core Animation layer. So DOM-based rendering
enjoys the same benefits of GPU-accelerated compositing as native apps --
although obviously with rather different semantics since HTML+CSS doesn't map
directly to Core Animation.
If you implement your own GUI framework on top of WebGL or Canvas, you're not
getting Core Animation compositing for free, so you need to replicate that
functionality in your custom framework. (This applies equally to native apps:
a WebGL app is equivalent to a Cocoa app that renders everything into a single
OpenGL view, and a HTML Canvas app is equivalent to using a single
CoreGraphics view.)
I don't think the WebGL/Canvas route makes sense for most apps other than
games and highly visual 3D apps. You'll just spend a huge amount of time
building your own implementations of all high-level functionality that is
already provided by the OS and/or the browser: layer compositing, text layout,
view autosizing, and so on. If you're doing standard GUIs, why go to all that
trouble?
~~~
RussianCow
> You'll just spend a huge amount of time building your own implementations of
> all high-level functionality that is already provided by the OS and/or the
> browser
Not only that, but you can't make a 100% guarantee that your implementation
will look and work exactly the same as the native one on the underlying OS.
For instance, I can re-create all the native Windows UI controls and re-
implement all their behavior in exactly the same way, but what if the user has
a custom theme installed? Everything breaks. (WPF has a similar problem.)
------
h43k3r
I don't know why but I am starting to like Microsoft. Things seems to have
changed quite a lot in the past 6-12 months. .Net going open source ,new web
browser spartan, CM acquisition are some of the things.
~~~
aikah
Never forget that the core product of Microsoft is Windows, and most of people
are forced paying a new license with each new computer. So any decision MS
makes is,as an ultimate goal to sell windows licenses. Today there is a
consensus on Open Web Techs. Nobody can tell if it will still be the case 5
years from now.
~~~
jongalloway2
Latest financials here:
[http://www.microsoft.com/Investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earn...](http://www.microsoft.com/Investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/FinancialStatements/fy15/q2/SegmentRevenues.aspx)
It's a little tricky to read the Windows impact since (as I read it) it falls
into both Commercial Licensing (for business sales) and Devices and Comsumer
(for consumer sales). Some articles which break it down a bit:
[http://www.anandtech.com/show/8936/microsoft-q2-fy-2015-fina...](http://www.anandtech.com/show/8936/microsoft-q2-fy-2015-financial-
results-8-revenue-gain)
[http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/hardware-
surprisingl...](http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/01/hardware-surprisingly-
strong-windows-weak-as-microsoft-posts-solid-q2/)
So while the exact percentages aren't obvious, the big picture is that Windows
is definitely significant, but Microsoft has become a lot more than Windows.
[I work for Microsoft until they notice I'm wasting time on Hacker News and
"fix the glitch".]
------
nwienert
Would be cool to see TypeScript compile to asm.js, would open up some cool
optimizations for hybrid development.
Seems like there was some discussion[1].
[1]
[http://typescript.codeplex.com/discussions/438243](http://typescript.codeplex.com/discussions/438243)
~~~
ndesaulniers
I've been playing around with compiling small subsets of JS to C++, then
running it back through emscripten.
It works, but you have to keep the subset small, otherwise you end up
implementing a meta circular interpreter. The problem will be that the subset
is never the subset that pleases everyone. When your implementation doesn't
support one person's code, it's labeled 'crap', and the negative cheerleading
begins.
------
ethana
Who's putting their bets on Microsoft going open source with Trident and
Chakra next? Spartan is an opportunity for them to clean up the mess before
releasing the codes I think.
~~~
quonn
At least for Chakra, this would make a lot of sense - I can't think of a
downside for them. For Trident there is the theoretical downside that IE
becomes fully independent of Windows. This currently doesn't matter, but might
decrease lock-in in the future.
~~~
higherpurpose
Windows dependency of IE is one of the worst things about IE - like having to
restart your PC to update your browser. What year is this again?
~~~
integraton
The fact that it was stagnant, ubiquitous, limited to Windows, and encouraged
ActiveX were the major issues, since it made it more difficult and expensive
to develop and transition to web applications for about a decade.
------
josteink
Nice to see Mozilla provide some good, portable standards, as opposed to
Google with their own "native client" ActiveX-like nonsense.
I honestly just see Google retiring NPAPI-plugins as a way to push their own
non-standard, at the cost of all other browsers. I'm glad to to see that's not
winning them any wars.
~~~
camgunz
All of Google's development of NaCl and PNaCl is open source. The only thing
stopping other browser vendors from working on it is themselves.
It's also worth pointing out (being maybe just a bit too pedantic) that asm.js
isn't a standard. It's a subset of ECMAScript, which is a standard, and
Mozilla has published a spec for it. The spec is more how to use asm.js, not
how to implement asm.js optimizations. I'm not saying this is bad, but if
you're arguing that Google's stance is, "hey here's the code for PNaCl and how
to use it, good luck!", you can't argue that Mozilla's stance is any
different.
~~~
josteink
While what you're saying can't be said to be "incorrect", it isn't the full
story either.
What Google did was in-house, behind closed doors, develop a solution, embed
it in Chrome, push it out in production, and start using it according to their
own specs right away.
Then they told other browser makers "Hey. Here's a neat ActiveX-like idea,
which kinda makes the web platform-specific again, which you will have no say
in how is implemented, because it's already in production, and unless you
implement it as we see fit (and will continue to in the future), exactly as
fits our browser-model and code (although it may not fit yours). Take it as is
or we will be discriminating your browser on our web-services". And so they
did.
It may not be proprietary by definition, but it's not "open" by a mile either.
Counter that with what Mozilla did: They proposed a way to make highly
optimizable code-sections even faster, machine-code fast, in a backwards-
compatible, web-friendly and portable way and invited people to join in. Those
who didn't, would not suffer a lock-out, but those who joined could benefit
from the work already done.
I don't think there's any point even _pretending_ that these two actors are
playing on the same moral level here. Google is acting scumbaggy and everyone
but apologists knows it.
------
MisterWebz
Does this mean we'll soon have mobile web apps that rival native apps in terms
of performance or will DOM manipulation still slow everything down?
~~~
untog
JS is already plenty fast, it's just the DOM manipulation that screws it up.
But asm.js with direct access to a <canvas> tag, WebGL or not, would probably
be interesting.
~~~
natmaster
Which is why ReactJS native is so compelling.
~~~
untog
And React Canvas: [https://github.com/Flipboard/react-
canvas](https://github.com/Flipboard/react-canvas)
------
riquito
Other languages compilers/interpreters may be compiled in asm.js and let us
program in something different than Javascript (e.g.
[https://github.com/replit/empythoned](https://github.com/replit/empythoned)
). Is this realistic?
------
munificent
I feel like I must be missing something but I fundamentally don't get why
people are so excited about asm.js.
Does the web really need more people manually managing their memory? Do they
not get that that's what asm.js is? It has no GC.
~~~
tree_of_item
I mean, you must know that applications with particularly high performance
requirements can't afford a GC.
asm.js is really about trying to turn the "web" in to a true runtime for
applications and a direct competitor to "closed" ecosystems like iOS.
------
itsbits
Would be cool to see TypeScript compile to asm.js, would open up some cool
optimizations for hybrid development.
Seems like there was some discussion[1].
[1]
[http://typescript.codeplex.com/discussions/438243](http://typescript.codeplex.com/discussions/438243)
------
perdunov
asm.js + WebGL allow to completely skip the web stack making the browser just
another platform of execution.
Strangely or not, C/C++ strike back.
------
elcct
I think since IE6 Microsoft should be banned from touching anything related to
the internet.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
How to Store Data Forever - ddevault
https://drewdevault.com/2020/04/22/How-to-store-data-forever.html
======
Seirdy
If you think others might be interested in helping out, creating+seeding a
torrent and pinging r/DataHoarder [0] is one of the most effective ways of
getting redundancy for large amounts data. It's a subreddit for people who
have massive storage setups in their homes (think tens/hundreds of terabytes).
Besides "Linux ISOs", they've helped store threatened YouTube channels and
government data in case of deletion.
[0]:
[https://old.reddit.com/r/datahoarder](https://old.reddit.com/r/datahoarder)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Hello, GitHub - rafaelc
https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/
======
dang
Since this is the newest big thread, it can take the front-page slot for now.
The big previous discussions are:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17221527](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17221527)
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17227286](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17227286)
------
ericabiz
I’m going to be a bit contrarian to “the sky is falling” posts on HN and say:
I think Microsoft is handling this really well.
1) They’ve acknowledged the skepticism around the acquisition.
2) They’ve expressed their commitment to keep GitHub an independent platform
(like they did with LinkedIn.)
3) Nat Friedman, although I was not familiar with him prior to this, seems
like an ideal candidate to run GitHub.
This, overall, is giving me a more positive impression of Microsoft. Now what
remains to be seen: Will they follow through on these commitments? Will they
continue to listen to the community?
~~~
Klathmon
I agree, my biggest concerns are:
1\. What is happening to Atom? I have tried VS code and don't really like it
due to the difference in how the 2 systems are designed to work (Atom being
more "plugins are king", VSCode being more "kitchen sink included by first-
party"). I'd hate to see my favorite editor lose it's major backing. If MS
makes a commitment to continue to develop Atom, or they work with someone else
to "transfer" development over to them in a way that's not half-assed, it
would go a LONG way toward solidifying the trust they are trying to build (at
least to me).
2\. How will other companies who are hosting on GitHub _react_ to this? Will
Facebook/Google/Apple start pulling their code from GitHub? Will we go back to
having to learn how to contribute to each project individually?
There's definitely major benefits for diversity in this area (meaning not
having the vast majority of projects on one platform), but I'm hoping we (as
developers in whole) don't throw the baby out with the bathwater here.
GitHub has by most accounts helped bring in a renaissance of open source
software. It's never been easier to contribute to FOSS at any level, and I'm
hoping we don't lose that as everyone diversifies where they host their source
code...
~~~
adrianmalacoda
Fellow Atom user here. According to Lee Dohm, Open Source Community Manager at
GitHub, "Atom remains key to GitHub. Our product roadmap is set, and the team
will continue all of their work." [0]
[0]
[https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/17454#issuecomment-39442...](https://github.com/atom/atom/issues/17454#issuecomment-394421141)
~~~
hinkley
In a buyout, always be sensitive to situations where promises of status quo
come from someone who is not in control of the situation.
Quite common for new owners to let old employees make promises they can’t keep
and then make them disappear and change plans.
~~~
Lordarminius
This.
Not saying that Microsoft has a plan to 'embrace extend extinguish', but if
they did, this is how they would go about it.
------
bad_user
So I’m kind of depressed about this. I loved GitHub enough that I paid for a
subscription without needing it and have all of my public work on it and my
investment in OSS is quite significant.
People saying that it is easy to migrate don’t know what they are talking
about. GitHub isn’t just Git hosting, but a social network of open source
developers and projects. You can’t migrate stars, issues with comments and the
history of PRs, all linked to the profiles of their authors.
And sure you can self-host GitLab, I pushed for it at my previous employer and
works great for on premises deployments, but it’s not the same for OSS if the
community you care about isn’t there.
That said I am glad to see Nat Friedman as the new CEO. This gives me some
hope for its future.
~~~
sarreph
You make a good point about the _just-move-to-Git[whatever]_ being the
entrenched social aspect of many repos! I can't imagine if, say the day comes
when developers flee GH en-masse, it will be at all easy to retain the
discussion history behind repos.
~~~
pmontra
There is an API
[https://developer.github.com/v3/issues/](https://developer.github.com/v3/issues/)
It could be not trivial to map those data into the new destination, especially
if they don't have an API too.
This is how to programmatically create a new issue on GitLab
[https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/issues.html#new-
issue](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/issues.html#new-issue) and in Bitbucket
[https://developer.atlassian.com/bitbucket/api/2/reference/re...](https://developer.atlassian.com/bitbucket/api/2/reference/resource/repositories/%7Busername%7D/%7Brepo_slug%7D/issues#post)
~~~
JetSpiegel
Gitlab already support this, no need to go with home grown bit banging.
[https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/import/github.html](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/import/github.html)
------
mindcrash
I have been familiar with Miguel's work since the good old GNOME and Mono days
(pre-Microsoft and even pre-Xamarin) and familiar with Miguel and Nat's work
since the Xamarin and Microsoft days and I really must say that GitHub could
have got somebody far far worse on the executive level than Nat (and ScottGu
above him, ofcourse, due to the same kind of personality).
Nat can be best described as a OSS geek gone CEO, and thus I can't imagine a
better executive within Microsoft to lead GitHub besides him. In fact, when I
heard the first rumors and Chris not wanting to run operations anymore I
immediately thought of Nat to run GitHub when Microsoft was crazy enough to
buy it.
Seems I was right :)
------
nicodjimenez
What nobody is really commenting on is how huge of an opportunity this is for
Microsoft to reinvent itself in the eyes of the developer community.
If Microsoft can somehow manage to gain trust from Github users, which is very
possible and desirable for them, it will make Azure more compelling in many
ways than Amazon as a cloud computing platform.
After Amazon's acquisition of Cloud9, Microsoft is the first big company to
try something really bold and inventive in cloud computing. Github can
prioritize making code deploy to all clouds AND make it especially appealing
for customers to choose Azure, as there will exist amazing opportunities for
end to end product optimizations here. Seems really smart for me, and given
that Microsoft is really hell bent on changing people's negative opinions
about them, they have all the right incentives to make Github even more
awesome than it already is.
~~~
oaiey
The Microsoft bashing is painful. I also wonder about outcomes like that,
positive ones for Microsoft, GitHub the platform and GitHub the community.
So much negativity!
~~~
fs111
The negativity comes from MS being MS. Many here have seen what they did in
the past and what they do to this day. They have lobbied so hard in Munich
that they are going to abandon Linux and go back to Windows. Great open source
love all around!
Also, as long as Windows, Office and Azure are closed, I cannot take all this
"we love Open Source" stuff seriously. It is a big tech-marketing and
recruiting vehicle, but nothing more. I am not saying, they should open those,
I am saying that they are not an OS company and therefore should stop
pretending.
~~~
oaiey
Their sales is doing what sales does: try to find a method to sell licenses.
That has nothing to do with company philosophy but the percentage the sales
person get. That is capitalism but nothing special to Microsoft.
And Limux was a troubled child anyway (users, it organization and political
leadership all along).
I would have loved Limux to succeed, but unfortunately it did not.
------
glorbol
While Microsoft has a lot of nice marketing and really good PR, they are still
a corporation that makes money off selling SQL server licenses and office
suite and increasingly by harvesting your user data.
Microsoft is addicted to your data. They siphon it off whenever they get the
chance, often times by default and without your knowledge or consent. Even
their cli Linux tools have """analytics""".
This will never change, no matter what slick marketing materials they produce,
what PR fluff they have, or shills that shill for them.
The simple fact is I cannot trust Microsoft, especially to not touch code in
my private repositories. I am sure they just want some "metrics" and to do
some "analytics" on all the private data held in GitHub.
To use GitHub now, is to trust the same company who works hand in hand with
the government and the NSA to make sure you stay insecure and known to
agencies who just want to run some "metrics" and do some "analytics" on you.
No thanks.
~~~
foolfoolz
just a friendly reminder most cli tools you use today that run primarily
against a cloud service publish analytics explicitly or implicitly.
you can’t trust MS to not read your code? do you trust amazon to host your
binaries? or database? or google cloud? or do you trust no one and rent your
own cage and keep it locked?
aws has an entire cloud for US gvoice. they work hand in hand with government
requests. google is very tightly coupled as well. do you host entirely on
foreign providers?
------
bgongfu
I'm split on this one.
I lived through Microsoft's dark ages, when the victory of open source was
still hanging by a thread. The reason we're seeing a softer Microsoft is that
they lost, they were forced to change. And the open question is what they
learned in the process.
On the other hand, they're producing pretty decent software these days; dotNet
Core, TypeScript & VSCode just to name a few solid projects. Open source, no
less; imagine that back when monkey boy was running the show, literally.
But then I keep hearing about shady Linux licensing deals and endless privacy
intrusions over in Windows land.
Tricky indeed, I think I'm going to leave my code in there for now and give
them a chance to redeem themselves.
~~~
mkirklions
>I think I'm going to leave my code in there for now and give them a chance to
redeem themselves.
Why would you do that?
I mean, at least import the code to other repos
~~~
kristiandupont
Do you think they are going to just delete it?
------
freedomben
I recognize this isn't an opinion that will resonate with many, but I find it
offensive that Github praises and benefits so much from open source, yet is
not open source itself. This has bothered me for many years.
Now this post from Nat, talking about how open source literally changed his
life and made all things possible (which I agree with), bothers me even more.
How can you say such things when your actions are so completely opposite? The
hypocrisy is appalling to me.
Don't misunderstand, I _do_ think Github has done great things for open
source. However, it's time for them to either practice what they preach (open
the code) or else we need to move to gitlab of gitea or something else.
I'm actually a bit optimistic that MS might open source github in the long
run. It's a long shot, but they have really been incredible with how much they
have opened up. I'm more optimistic now with MS at the reins.
~~~
maxbrunsfeld
GitHub has helped to maintain git itself for years, in addition to creating
and open-sourcing libgit2, a massive engineering effort, which ironically,
GitLab is built on.
~~~
pritambaral
> a massive engineering effort, which ironically, GitLab is built on.
Perfectly normal use of FOSS; I'd say, not ironic. If GitHub wanted, they
could have kept the work to themselves and avoided others benefiting from it.
FOSS is like people coming together with their own bricks and building a
cathedral for everyone. There's little point in participating if you either
don't want others to pitch in or don't want others to benefit from it.
------
l5870uoo9y
> GitHub will operate independently as a community, platform, and business.
Had Github been bought by an foundation operating outside the confides of the
market, then such statement would have been believable. Microsoft will
naturally use Github maximise its wealth, thus when disagreements arise then
Microsoft will put its will through.
It is of course easy to imagine ways Github could be used by Microsoft, fore
instance mere access to valuable user data, strategic focus on integration
with Microsoft products or sigle sign on with Azure, Github, LinkedIn and
Skype.
~~~
luckydata
I work for Linkedin, MS is very respectful of our independence (sometimes in
puzzling ways).
It's kinda painful and annoying to read about all the negativity and tinfoil
hat theories but that's the price to pay (I guess) and we'll see what happens.
Microsoft has every interest in playing nice with the community and everything
to lose from trying to do anything hostile to it.
~~~
DoofusOfDeath
> It's kinda painful and annoying to read about all the negativity
I can imagine. You may wish to switch employers.
> and tinfoil hat theories
Are you saying that all complaints about MS conduct are delusional?
> Microsoft has every interest in playing nice with the community and
> everything to lose from trying to do anything hostile to it.
So let's have a candid discussion about telemetry. Or sneaky Windows 10
upgrades. Or vague patent threats.
I'm sorry, but few software developers who follow Microsoft's actions will
accept you crying martyr.
~~~
luckydata
I'm saying most complaints I'm reading here have no basis in reality.
Microsoft felt negatively in the past about OSS when it felt an existential
threat from it. In the past few years the work of many inside Microsoft helped
shape a new vision of OSS inside the company and it's pretty evident to anyone
that's not trying to be blind that things have changed.
So yeah, let's talk about telemetry, or Windows updates, or patent threats.
Every business makes decisions, some good, some bad. We might not agree 100%
on which ones are which.
We're in the business of creating software and not running charities, we all
do what's in our best interest trying not to be too evil, there's plenty of
good folks and also plenty of assholes in every big co out there and all the
negativity doesn't help the good ones pushing for the right outcomes.
~~~
DoofusOfDeath
Hey, thanks for replying!
I'm sympathetic to your point about large organizations having a mix of
employees with different ethical standards.
In this particular case, as CEO Nadella is fully responsible for allowing the
various nasty practices I enumerated above. (I tried to only list those which
happened under his leadership.)
This is why I'm not persuaded about Microsoft's general trustworthiness by
either of the following:
(a) Outsiders referring to Nadella's leadership of MS, or
(b) Nadella himself suggesting that people judge MS by its recent behavior.
------
walterbell
Looking for answers to these questions from previous threads:
1\. If you want to develop software for Microsoft’s Linux distro/kernel (Azure
Sphere for IoT), it appears you must use Windows 10 + Visual Studio,
[https://seeedstudio.com/productDetail/3052](https://seeedstudio.com/productDetail/3052)
& [https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/developing-an-
azure-s...](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/developing-an-azure-sphere-
experience-with-visual-studio/)
_> To use MT3620 Dev Board for Azure Sphere, you’ll need a Windows 10 PC with
the latest Windows Updates, along with the Visual Studio Tools for Azure
Sphere (which will be available for download from Microsoft). These tools will
include application templates, development tools and the Azure Sphere software
development kit (SDK). Terms: This development board can be only used for
prototyping, it cannot be built into a product for commercial distribution. It
cannot be re-sold or used as part of a production environment._
Since IoT is one of the “next big things”, it would be nice to use Microsoft
Linux ARM kernel with open hardware (no terms of service for hardware resale)
and open software (e.g. use open-source Linux dev tools with the Azure SDK.
Will this be an option?
2\. What is Microsoft’s position on EU upload filters for copyright screening
of code uploaded to Github? Has Microsoft taken a public position on this
issue? Does Microsoft currently use upload filters for open source code
screening?
[https://blog.github.com/2018-03-14-eu-proposal-upload-
filter...](https://blog.github.com/2018-03-14-eu-proposal-upload-filters-
code/)
------
hlmencken
It was a pleasure but gitlab and bitbucket have continued to improve and I've
expected some sort of exit for a while. I appreciate everything the Github
team has done, but barring some crazy improvements from Microsoft I think my
feet are firmly planted on the GitLab train.
~~~
leg100
How has gitlab "continued to improve"? They are getting worse. Do you have
statistics on their uptime or their performance? Because in my own experience,
gitlab.com is going from bad to worse. Their API increasingly returns 503s and
timeouts. Their UI is increasingly returning a stale state. One pushes a
branch and they say it doesn't exist. One does a git pull and it takes so long
one is used to going off and putting the bloody kettle on. They don't know
what they're doing. I don't have the time or inclination is to collect
demonstrative evidence, but it'll take something to say they are "continuing
to improve"!
~~~
mitochondrion
Do you not self-host?
~~~
leg100
No sir, I do not. And I'd rather not have to.
~~~
mitochondrion
I'm sometimes amazed at how afraid otherwise competent software dudes are of a
bit of sysadministration.
~~~
kondro
It's not fear. It's experience. Having to keep an extra OS and software
patched and up-to-date (often times different to the rest of your SoE because
it's different software) and keep it safe from real-world threats takes a lot
of time and context-switching to do well.
Hosting anything well takes up a lot more effort than the $100+/month we pay
to GitHub and even the $7/month I pay personally.
------
CaliforniaKarl
+1 for the outreach. They definitely lost control of the announcement, since
it got out yesterday.
The nice thing about it is, everyone who keeps their Git repo up-to-date (and
who has the transfer.fsckobjects setting set to true) has a complete copy of
the Git repo. And GitHub provides APIs to pull other stuff. I think the
hardest thing to move would be sites on GitHub Pages.
So, since I can pull out relatively easily, I'm gonna give them the benefit of
the doubt.
~~~
cma
What's missing without transfer.fsckobjects ?
~~~
bacongobbler
[https://git-scm.com/docs/git-config/1.7.9.3#git-config-fetch...](https://git-
scm.com/docs/git-config/1.7.9.3#git-config-fetchfsckObjects)
My interpretation is that transfer.fsckObjects just checks that all of the
fetched objects are properly formed and contain no broken links. I cannot
confirm whether or not this fetches any extra objects from the remote; this is
the first time I've heard about this feature.
------
amarraja
I remember watching the "screencasts" (they were gifs back in those days), of
Nat working on Beagle [1]. Sadly it's a dead project now, however, it shaped
my attitude as a developer - how can I write software that _helps_ people.
I am really excited to see what Nat and team bring to the table
[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beagle_(software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beagle_\(software\))
------
joshbaptiste
C:\GITHUB> git clone https://github.com/my/repository
Cloning into repository...
remote: Counting objects: 57583, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (36/36), done.
..................
Resolving deltas: 100% (42949/42949), done.
Install Bing Toolbar? (Y/n):
------
cutler
There are a lot of users on here who either don't remember Microsoft's
hostility to Linux and open source or who want to bury their head in the sand.
3 words are all you need to know about Microsft - Linux patent racket:
[https://www.infoworld.com/article/3042699/open-source-
tools/...](https://www.infoworld.com/article/3042699/open-source-
tools/microsoft-loves-open-source-only-when-its-convenient.html) .
As far as I'm aware nothing has changed. A leopard never changes its spots.
------
daly
I read a lot of comments claiming that MS "used to be a bad actor" but, of
course, they now "care about developers and open source". Developers, they
say, are the very lifeblood of the new Microsoft. "We respect developers."
I work on Windows 10. It is normal for me to have many programs open while I
do development along with dozens of web pages containing information I need.
Days worth of "state" are stacked on the screen.
Every few days Microsoft reaches out and REBOOTS MY MACHINE, losing my work.
My various linux boxes all have uptimes listed in YEARS. So next time you
think Microsoft cares about your work be sure to thank them for random
reboots. After all, a Microsoft 'update' is MUCH more important than your
work. You're "just a developer".
Microsoft cares about Microsoft, not your work. Expect the same attitude to
slowly, eventually, take over Github.
You'll need a Microsoft login. You'll be hosted on its server farm, requiring
a login. You'll see Microsoft-branded forks of software, prioritized in github
searches. You'll see a "Microsoft Git GUI" as the required interface for
push/pull. The Microsoft Git will use incompatible hashing from the open
source version (it's called "embrace and extend"). Microsoft Git repository
communications (e.g. git://github.com) will only work with a Microsoft Git GUI
over a Microsoft-login connection.
~~~
codingdave
Settings -> Windows Update -> Restart Options: Off
~~~
daly
Oh, and that option is only available on the "professional" version of
Windows. We poor open source developers use the "non-professional" version
that comes with the machine and THAT won't let you turn updates off.
So again, Microsoft is a corporation dedicated to making money. My time is
only worthwhile if Microsoft can make money. So, naturally, in order to keep
them from destroying my work I have to BUT an "professional" version.
"Nice place you got here, be a shame if anything happened to it."
The belief that Microsoft will help open source is simply naive.
------
mcolyer
I'm a GitHub employee (previously a founder of Easel S12 and Flagr W06) and
work now in the Product group on the Marketplace. I'm excited to see Nat's
commitment to developers and our community. This news doesn't change our
resolve towards building a platform that allows our Ecosystem to thrive.
We launched Marketplace just over a year ago and continue to heavily invest in
it. We want it to become the place that any entrepreneur in the software space
is able able to grow their own successful business. We're just at the
beginning of that journey.
Looking forward to what's to come and to seeing more developer tools thrive on
our Marketplace.
------
Gys
Good to hear. Still, I have these memories of Facebook buying Whatsapp for too
much money and first saying it will be impossible to integrate both platforms.
Surprise, surprise, later they did find a way to integrate.
Microsoft paying 7.5B for something that looses money every year ? And not
having any problems with that ? What will the shareholders say ?
~~~
oculusthrift
the stock price just went over 100. i think the shareholders are fine
~~~
Gys
The shareholders see potential. I also think there are many ways for Microsoft
to make money from Github. But that means changes the general Github user will
not like (ads ? higher fees ? tracking ? killing atom ?). My point is that the
'Hello, Github' implies nothing will change.
------
paul7986
Microsoft destroyed Skype something I used for ten years but don’t anymore.
I.e. I forgot my password and mistakenly chose a fake birthday in my first
attempt to reset my ten year old Skype account. Well doing that triggered
authenticate your age by giving us your credit card number... what? Horrible
consumer UX it’s all about milking Skype for all it’s worth and was worth.
Facebook voice messenger works just as well and no credit card needed.
------
solutionyogi
> I’m not asking for your trust, but I’m committed to earning it.
Love this line. I had followed Xamarin when it was independent and I get a
strong feeling that Nat wrote this himself and it's not just a PR speak. I am
cautiously optimistic about GitHub going forward.
------
icc97
Anybody else think that StackOverflow would be Microsoft's next purchase?
A profitable, developer focussed business built using Microsoft stack.
I don't know how much sense it makes for Microsoft to be making money through
selling job ads, but if they're gonna take over all the tools that developers
use then SO and the SE network seems a good fit.
~~~
luckydata
I'm not sure it would make sense. While it's built on the MS stack, it's a
somewhat toxic community with no clear business value. Even as a Q&A site has
too much history and too much baggage.
------
bluenose69
The blue banner area at the top of GH pages tells me to click on a blog
posting to learn more. So I do. And then I get to a microsoft page that has as
its banner area an information box telling me that merely browsing this site
means that I _agree_ to the use of cookies for analytics, personalized content
and ads. Really, GH? Do you really want to direct your users to a page with
that warning? Were you doing the same thing to me already, without warning?
And will GH be doing similar harvesting of information?
And what about gitlab ...? Maybe they want my money more than GH does...
------
hartator
He seems very reasonable, have a better feeling about this now. Maybe GitHub
will be able to be a VSCode.
~~~
pknopf
> Maybe GitHub will be able to be a VSCode.
The question is, what will happen to Atom?
What will happen to the X-Ray research project?
~~~
thiagocsf
I don’t understand why I keep reading “what about attom”.
Atom is irrelevant to all of this, as far as I can tell. Can someone please
educate me?
~~~
pavelbr
GitHub owns and maintains Atom, and it's biggest competitor is VS Code.
------
catchmeifyoucan
+1 for Nat heading this. (
Worked at Xamarin as an intern before the MS acquisition. So not too long, but
enough to get a coffee downstairs with Nat at the coffee van. I also joined
his all-hands. Great guy who has a great attitude towards open-source and has
a positive leadership style. I was skeptical of the Xamarin acquisition, but
MS open-sourced and made the platform free for everyone. Nat knows how this MS
stuff goes, and I think he's a perfect fit to preserve the core of Github.
------
oneplane
I wonder what is in it for MS if "GitHub will operate independently as a
community, platform, and business." and "GitHub will retain its product
philosophy." stay true. Do they make money off of it? Get information (that
turns into money) out of it?
------
Aissen
I was in the room at the Paris Solutions Linux when Nat did one of the first
demos of compiz and XGL. It was a weird feeling because it started as a demo
of benign desktop features, and it slowly transitioned to the awesome window
transitions we've all come to know. Like many technological advancements, its
effect on the short term had been largely overestimated (the fancy animation,
transparent windows and cube desktop are almost forgotten), while in the long
term, it was the first of many steps in the modernizing of the Linux graphics
stack.
I have nothing relevant to add, since I don't really know Nat or how good he'd
be leading Github (but I'd guess pretty good), I just thought it was a fun
anectdote.
~~~
terwilliger
Those were some heady days in the Linux desktop world and I remember them
fondly. I remember seeing those demos and being blown away, and then furiously
trying to get it set up on my box to blow the minds of my buddies. I think we
were all trying to be first!
------
lucb1e
Right, make it about the person instead of the company. Put someone in charge
who will turn the public (just look at te top posts in this thread vs earlier
threads). Nice move, Microsoft.
People in an organization are usually not evil. It's the organization as a
whole. And I'm pretty sure that this CEO has someone and their business with
priorities in his neck. It's scary how easily it seems people here move on
after seeing a face with a good reputation and a CEO sticker even though
they'll still have to dance to another's wishes.
------
rwhitman
I'm curious if there are any unforeseen legal implications in having the
world's largest software company acquiring the private repositories of a
massive number of smaller software companies, including independent
competitors to MS.
MS now has the capability to not only snoop on smaller competitors' IP but
gain visibility into their dev team composition, work habits, pipeline etc.
This acquisition smells like something that could get litigated to hell and
back, though I'd assume they've already prepared for that
------
jumbopapa
I understand that Microsoft has handled some software they've acquired badly
(Skype), but is the Microsoft of today not vastly different from the Microsoft
of that day? I don't think this will be the downward spiral that some people
think it will be. Time will tell though.
~~~
da_chicken
My primary concern is that I worry about an inevitable merging or linking with
LinkedIn. As positive as my experience has been interacting with GitHub, it's
been equally as negative interacting with LinkedIn. I worry that MS will see
GitHub as the code management platform, and LinkedIn as the customer
management platform.
It's important to me that my GitHub account and my LinkedIn account are
allowed to be 100% separate. I don't want people able to hunt me down like
that.
~~~
justadudeama
What is so negative about LinkedIn?
~~~
dlisboa
Almost everything? Aside from keeping an updated resume I've never had a
single job come from it, nor anyone I know. As far as networking it's useless
too. It's just recruiter spam and people you never met adding you to their
network. They also did the whole MITM attack on your e-mail's contacts a few
years back.
None of that is Microsoft's fault though, it's been useless for a while.
~~~
luckydata
That's, like, your opinion man. Most of my jobs and most of my friends jobs
have come through (or discovered thanks to) Linkedin. Before becoming an
employee I used the site to find cofounders, people to interview for product
feedback, check the background of possible hires...
You don't use it or like it, fine. Linkedin has created economic opportunity
for so many, it's kinda ridiculous to dismiss it out of hand.
~~~
jacquesm
Says the guy working for Linkedin.
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17232483](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17232483)
~~~
luckydata
LOL, you caught me, so cunning. Almost like I didn't say "before becoming an
employee" right in my comment.
~~~
jacquesm
Ah, I did not relate that use of the word employee to becoming an employee of
linkedin. Fair enough. Still, unadulterated hype by employers of companies
with questionable ethics doesn't hold a whole lot of weight in discussions
like these.
~~~
luckydata
If that's the reality you like to live in more power to you, but mine is not
hype, is my personal experience, stuff I lived through. Can't you accept that
someone's experience might be different than yours?
~~~
jacquesm
> That's, like, your opinion man.
:)
See, that cuts both ways.
My experience with linkedin: Countless emails suggesting that someone has
'added me on linkedin' when I never made an account, they clearly bought a
list and kept on spamming it over and over again.
A website that leaks data like a sieve, one failed attempt after another to
create a sense of community, utterly meaningless endorsements and competency
system.
On and on. I really wonder what the draw of linked in is, I would never use it
as a decision in whether or not to hire someone and I think it is one of the
worst possible experiences on the web.
And that's before we get into it now being a Microsoft subsidiary, another
major strike against it.
The sooner linkedin goes away the better, it's been ripe for disruption for
many years.
------
sixdimensional
I'm pleased that Microsoft has opened up, changed and grown so much in recent
years. Congratulations to the entire GitHub team for making such a wonderful
community and set of tools easily available, and for their successful
acquisition. It will be fascinating to see where this goes - who would have
imagined that a former heavyweight of proprietary software would achieve such
a transformation?
I must ask the question now, though - is it time for a non-profit Github-like
open source community with integrated source control / tools? Could that even
exist due to the costs of running such a thing, and is it necessary? For
example, it would be like if The Apache Foundation ran GitHub.
Or should we look into things like git over IPFS (or something similar) and
try to go decentralized?
I have wrestled with the for-profit / not-for-profit conundrum my whole life,
and I still do. Obviously, running such a utility / community costs money, so
it is good to have one or more healthy companies supporting it. It should mean
good things. But ultimately, both GitHub and Microsoft are primarily for-
profit entities (although I know they both do a tremendous amount to support
the not-for-profit space).
Perhaps Microsoft could even be the one to set up such a non-profit... like..
"The Microsoft Foundation for Open Source" or something similar. Knowing that
the organization owning and managing such a utility and community is a non-
profit - good or bad?
EDIT: ..perhaps like they have done with the .NET Foundation?
------
pheon
Am seriously pissed at this. MS has been slowly acquiring all the tools used
for my business, its like surround and siege warfare. Skype, Linkedin, now
GitHub..
The time horizons on these kinds of acquisitions are 5 years out. In that time
you`ll log into Windows 20, single sign in to Skype, Linkedin, Github all re-
branded, all re-written code, with messed up ELUA and a shitty product.
Dont believe todays fluff and BS, the end game is many years out.
------
hapnin
The concepts of "bought for $7.5 billion" and "independent" strike me as
mutually exclusive.
------
tguther
Microsoft might contribute to open source now and again, but their business
model is actually worse than it was when everyone hated them. Now Microsoft is
a surveillance machine like Google and Facebook, but they've also got
enterprise captive audiences using their telemetry packed cloud and OS.
All this good will because they developed a telemetry packed browser-based
text editor or finally started providing a not-dog-crap shell environment is
stupid. Their binary editor is licensed like Chrome, who builds VSCode from
source?
Both Google and Microsoft are doing a hell of a lot of embrace and
extinguishing and I think that pattern will continue unnoticed as long as they
keep devs happy with silly gimmicky pro-developer products.
------
ggregoire
Best of luck Nat! Hoping to see all the improvements the community has been
asking for very long. And maybe a new pricing model?
------
pow_pp_-1_v
A nice, safe introduction.
There's a lot of talk about people leaving github for other platforms. If
there are actually doing it, it seems like a short-sighted move. I understand
why people who lived through the earlier years of Microsoft are skeptical.
Microsoft did a very good job of earning a lot of ill will.
But things have changed. Microsoft's primary focus seems to be is Azure and
everything they do needs to be looked through that lens. They need developers
of all stripes using Azure. So they will do everything to attract _all_
developers. It's in their business interest.
~~~
justadudeama
Because it is the business interest to get people using Azure, how do you
think this will effect Github?
~~~
pow_pp_-1_v
I would guess that the acquisition will not affect Github in any detrimental
way. I would argue that developer good-will is a more valuable commodity to
Microsoft now than in the years past.
More happy users of Github => more happy developers using a MS product => more
developer good-will => more developers/decision-influencers that might
consider a MS cloud product (like Azure).
------
jmartrican
Maybe they can bundle free private GitHub repos with their Office360 offering.
~~~
TillE
I fully expect them to just make private repos free for everyone, a la
Bitbucket and Gitlab.
------
hjek
@: It looks like you're starting a git repository.
------
mevile
I hope GitHub doesn't change much. It works well. It does basically one thing
and they've never tried to do more than what they are. Microsoft used to have
their own code repo and they shut it down. It was mostly used for .NET
projects if I recall correctly. Microsoft to be honest has done a lot of good
lately. I love VS Code. It's the best editor I've ever used. So I'm hopeful,
but changes like this are always scary. Announcements are usually full of
promises that seem to be shortly broken.
------
jas-
Skeptical, but not without cause.
1\. Late 90's/Early 2000's, Microsoft's implementation and inclusion of
CDRW/DVDRW functionality native to the OS eliminating competition from smaller
companies that had pioneered the technology and was selling their software to
Windows desktop users.
2\. Late 90's/Early 2000's, Microsoft's implementation and development of
Active Directory which not only rivaled Novell's Netware flagship product but
also went against RFC's put forth by the larger community that rivaled
OpenLDAP. Because of the desktop shares and users already on the Windows NT
platform put thousands out of work and nearly put Novell out of business.
3\. Early to mid 2000's, Microsoft moves away from already found vulnerable
MSCHAP, MSCHAPV2 authentication protocols in favor of the MIT Kerberos
protocol for all network authentication of users and systems in Active
Directory.
Not only did this put those companies out to pasture and eliminate a large
amount of revenue but the idea of stealing and idea is very bad tact. Reverse
engineering code to gain a larger market share is not only dishonest but
plagarism and illegal in schools. Why should the free economy play by a
different set of rules?
People wonder why Microsoft has a bad reputation, the three things I have
witnessed over the years in conjunction with the snatching up smaller
companies and parting them out make me and I am sure many others very
skeptical of their desire to snatch up the worlds largest source code
repository.
------
tmsldd
@natfriedman, thanks to come public and sharing with us. To summarize in one
word: transparency. That’s what GitHub community expects from the platform and
you are the key person to drive it. Microsoft has been increasingly open to
the whole open-source idea, which is great. But coming to the point, please,
understand the following concerns: 1 - There is without doubt a conflict of
interest and trust issues on Microsoft hosting thousands of private
repositories, where some potentially compete with Microsoft commercial
interests; 2 - There are concerns that the platform would become a exclusive
marketing weapon in the hands of Microsoft, eventually killing the spirit of
openness and free competition. 3 - The developer community fears that
Microsoft see them as “potential clients” and therefore as target to its
products. The developer community doesn’t want to be monetizing neither be
bombarded with Microsoft products ads. 4 - GitHub has always been a community
driven and community centered platform. What will be the role of Microsoft as
it changes from “one more user” to the owner of the platform? 5 - What is now
business model of GitHub and how entangled is it with Microsoft? More than
ever, and more than anything else transparency will be the key for the success
of GitHub. I wish you lucky on the new task.
------
mariopt
Nothing against the CEO but we all know who the stakeholders are.
------
peterwwillis
What I really love about this is that M$ realize the product's users are
tightly wound to the brand's identity, and are hostile to M$'s. They know
they're buying a "lifestyle brand" and that they have to keep it hip and
unencumbered by a corporate behemoth or it'll become worthless.
When the new CEO has to make a public personal appeal to the users to keep
them from jumping ship, that says something (though I'm not sure what that
is).
~~~
gilrain
> M$
Really?
~~~
mitochondrion
Long live the Gates?
------
reilly3000
Minecraft is evidence in my mind of Microsoft being a reasonable corporate
overlord. They could have fought modders and killed off java, but instead have
been continuing development on it. I think they have gotten to understand the
value of existing communities and maybe how not to accidentally destroy them.
For all these companies with the free time to migrate repo hosts on the same
day, get back to work and make something worth your focus.
------
Gepsens
"Linux, Git, node and Kubernetes" putting Kubernetes at the same level as
Linux and Git... Not a pre-crafted commercial message from M$ at all guyze lul
~~~
e1ven
Maybe it isn’t in the area you work in, but for many companies I’ve worked
with, it’s a critical component.
I’d say it would probably be easier to replace git with hg or something than
to pull out and redo the k8s infrastructure.
------
eruci
Software developers to companies:
\- don’t charge me money! \- don’t raise your prices! \- don’t raise money! \-
don’t sell your company! \- don’t shutdown! ...
Me, I don't care. I work for myself.
------
CodeSheikh
"I’ve been a developer since I was six". I would love to learn what sort of
projects were kids working on this early back in the 80s.
~~~
zer00eyz
I'll second this.
I often tell the story about the first program I wrote (at 8) and how I got
beaten by good old flesh and blood.
I don't tell people I was a developer at six... I wrote a program... semantics
matter here.
The photo got me... The fake over done smile, the "I had a professional take
this" pose. The Hoodie. It just smacks of being over produced to try to fit
in.
> I’m not asking for your trust, but I’m committed to earning it. I can’t wait
> to help make the GitHub platform and community that’s special to all of us
> even greater.
Im not calling you a liar but I already don't believe you.
~~~
swayvil
Agreed.
------
coldseattle
Will he fix these sorts of problems:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9966118](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9966118)
and also issues of people being removed from projects _by GitHub Management_
because of political or personal opinions expressed in other forums that were
unrelated to the open source project?
This is why I don't use GitHub
------
g0dg0d
Goodbye Github. No way I trust Microsoft with my private code. Hello Gitlab.
~~~
jlisam13
Let's trust a startup that accidentally blew up their database and lost all
sorts of data, as opposed to Microsoft. At least the other complaints about
the acquisition make sense.
------
bauerd
>My name is Nat and I’ve been a developer since I was six
Oh come on give me a break
~~~
vonseel
What? You didn’t code when you were three?
~~~
jstarfish
I cut my teeth on blockchain...
(...a string of wooden blocks I teethed on.)
~~~
RankingMember
I started with Rust...I had to get a tetanus shot at a very young age.
------
dclowd9901
I think what bothers me about this announcement is that _anyone_ owns Github;
that is, a tech giant with a lot of influence in the software world owning the
largest repository of code in history. Something feels wrong about it. I'd be
as uncomfortable with it if Google or Facebook or Apple owned it.
------
brownbat
Most people are thinking of this from the GitHub perspective, but MS Office is
bigger, and random document editors could benefit a lot from smarter, easier
version control.
That's just one example, but I'm honestly most curious if any ideas will go
from GitHub to other products.
------
kolpa
> PS: I’ll be doing an AMA on Reddit in the next few days, I hope to see you
> there!
It's a bit of shame that that's the location of choice for hosting an AMA. The
AMA subreddit is good, but it's trapped in the toxic cesspool that is Reddit
overall.
~~~
ryan-allen
That depends on what subs your subscribed to, or filter from /r/all, there's a
lot of positive, creative stuff on Reddit. Here's my filtered list from /r/all
(most of the awful crap is USA politics, and all the anti-Trump subreddits, at
least the pro-Trump people stick to the one sub):
[https://gist.github.com/ryan-
allen/18e0e0ccbe34e81b7a0b96d11...](https://gist.github.com/ryan-
allen/18e0e0ccbe34e81b7a0b96d11803ac16)
------
jason_slack
I feel a bit better knowing Nat Friedman will be CEO. He does have a history
with OSS software projects and also running such companies.
I hope that things don't change. I have come to rely on GitHub and I don't
want to go investing in another solution.
~~~
freedomben
I agree, and MS also has some pretty good OSS chops these days. But Github
itself is closed source. This is something that I think needs to change, or
Github needs to disappear. There are good OSS solutions now that we need to
make grow.
I also rely a lot on Github and don't want to move, but I'm going to bite the
bullet if they don't open up. I don't like the hypocrisy, and I don't want to
be an enabler anymore.
------
waydowntogo
It looks like they were expecting everything but mass panic.
Well developers aren't skype's users.
------
fagnerbrack
Can somebody change the title to "GitHub is joining Microsoft and a former
GNOME developer will become the new CEO" or something like that? "Hello,
Github" doesn't say anything...
~~~
recharged96
title should be:
"SCM/CM is not free as in beer"
Really want git? Hire a CM mgr/team to manage your code. Been that way before
2010 (yes, it did suck). Doesn't matter if it's done in-house or out-house.
------
galeforcewinds
[https://twitter.com/githubclippy/status/1003630360008253441](https://twitter.com/githubclippy/status/1003630360008253441)
------
Iv
I wonder if MS went all the way to pay people to comment and vote on HN
stories and comment. It would make a lot of sense for them to do. I wonder if
HN has any protection against this?
------
funwie
Congratulations to Microsoft.
I’ve heard it all after this acquisition was announced. Microsoft is evil,
Microsoft will never change, Microsoft is that and this, Microsoft will
destroy GitHub.
There are people who see a monster when they hear Microsoft but I bet ask them
how they’ve been hurt by Microsoft and nothing will come up.
Is our bias towards Microsoft stoping us from seeing the great work they’ve
done in embracing Linux and open source software. Tell me it’s not a big
change, and departure from the old Microsoft.
------
0x03
I think my main concern going forward would be a diaspora of open source
projects.
One of the neat things about Github is that a ton of open-source projects can
be found there. Regardless of how Github operates going forward for individual
users, I would be surprised if projects like Facebook's React or Google's
Angular remained on a platform controlled by Microsoft.
Those are only two examples in a sea of OSS projects, so maybe the impact will
be smaller than I think.
------
michaelmior
> The Octocat is out of the bag
Why didn't I see that coming? Brilliant.
------
partycoder
The main platform where open source takes place is now owned by a company that
thought of open source as a form of cancer, vocally talked against it in a
disrespectful manner for no reason, promoted fear/uncertainty/doubt campaigns,
and even to this day continues to troll companies with patents.
That is not a great place to be in.
Personally, I think everyone should just move their projects somewhere else
before Microsoft starts forcibly herding developers their way.
~~~
pknopf
> thought of open source as a form of cancer, vocally talked against it
Not that I deny it, because can you point me to some examples of this?
~~~
partycoder
[https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_...](https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/06/02/ballmer_linux_is_a_cancer/)
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO said: "Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in
an intellectual property sense to everything it touches"
That is a direct attack to open source licensing and open source software.
Microsoft had to take that back after they were beaten in the market and lost
popularity among developers.
Now it's plan B: govern open source projects and infrastructure and put them
to the service of Microsoft interests. One way of doing that could be simply
mismanaging them and setting them for failure.
~~~
dboon
That article is written using very inflammatory language -- I am very wary to
take it at face value, because an author using this kind of language is very
unlikely to deeply analyze what Ballmer actually said. Furthermore, this was
said two decades ago. Take it with a grain of salt.
~~~
partycoder
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguis...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace,_extend,_and_extinguish)
Some brief history refresher:
\- Apple + Microsoft "collaborating" on Macintosh software = Windows
\- IBM + Microsoft "collaborating" on OS/2 = the NT kernel, Windows NT
\- Sybase + Microsoft "collaborating" on Sybase SQL server = MS SQL Server
\- Sun + Microsoft "embracing" Java = .NET Framework
"Take it with a grain of salt".
~~~
AnIdiotOnTheNet
You were downvoted... What in the hell is wrong with HN users? Are they all
children? These events are well within living memory for a lot of us.
~~~
partycoder
A lot of people do not have a perspective on how greedy Microsoft was.
Bill Gates is one of the richest people in the world today, not by gathering
in circles and singing happy songs. The guy was a monopolist.
They wanted everyone to use Microsoft Windows, code in Visual Studio, do their
office work in Office, browse the web in Internet Explorer, have a Microsoft
e-mail, chat using Microsoft services, and you get the idea.
And a lot of that was possible by having Windows preinstalled in new
computers, and bundling software with Windows, like Internet Explorer. You
could argue Apple is similar, but I do not think Apple is interested in a
monopoly of the size of that planned by Microsoft.
------
smsm42
This all sounds good and nice. The question is how much real power he has in
Microsoft hierarchy? I mean, if some Microsoft VP decides to violate any of
the promises Nat Friedman makes, what would be his options (besides the
obvious one of resigning)? How much power he has if Microsoft decides to
change direction and force GitHub to do something they didn't want to do?
------
thelastidiot
Who wants their pull request comments to be used as metadata for Microsoft to
benefit from knowing what each software developer under the sun is working on
at any time? Didn't we just face the same abuse of leverage personal data from
facebook? I will privilege my communication either private or professional by
refraining to use both github and facebook.
~~~
balls187
I never really lumped Microsoft in the "abuse your personal data" space.
Abuse their market position, yes, abuse TOS to screw companies out of money,
yes, but abuse privacy, unsure that's fair.
------
HugoDaniel
Just copy paste from here:
"Please remove all data you have on me. I do not consent with your privacy
policy. I don't give permission for your organization to use any kind of
information you have about me."
[https://github.com/contact/privacy](https://github.com/contact/privacy)
------
dh-g
Nat Friedman as CEO has mostly placated my knee jerk reaction of RUN! Really
happy with how this is going so far.
------
goofballlogic
I do hope that this works. One major concern I have is being badly burned by
using Xamarin when it was a couple of years (4?) old. I hope they don't do
that to github. Xamarin wasn't very elegant back then when those guys started
it - it was a horrid hack. That makes me worried.
------
dagaci
This might be interesting, the audio of the conference call with Nadella,
Friedman, Wanstrath, & CFO [https://edge.media-
server.com/m6/p/eudfciq3](https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/eudfciq3)
------
ChankeyPathak
In case you're looking for alternatives, this thread might be of some help:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17241487](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17241487)
------
chillingeffect
The emphasis I've seen on "still be able to code in your choice of language,"
leads me to think there will be some caveat to doing so. E.g. they'll put the
windows ad spyware into peoples' code repositories like sourceforge or
something else...
------
foo101
Done in true GitHub style with the source code of this post at
[https://github.com/natfriedman/hello](https://github.com/natfriedman/hello)
rendered with GitHub pages. :-)
------
jenscow
Great news for open source.
Perhaps now all the companies in the MS silo are going to learn how OSS is
something that can be taken seriously.
I've worked in enterprise where using open source tends to be frowned upon.
This was mostly due to the FUD from Microsoft.
------
Nullabillity
Bye, GitHub.
~~~
nitrix
GitHub is dead, long live GitHub.
------
jadedhacker
Heh, the United States of Github got invaded and occupied.
[http://www.businessinsider.com/githubs-oval-
office-2013-9](http://www.businessinsider.com/githubs-oval-office-2013-9)
------
naiveai
Wow, a bunch of words, with no real promises worth a damn. I'm so impressed.
------
gazarullz
I really like what Microsoft did in the past 2-3 years on the open source side
and I keep my fingers crossed hopin they will do a good job with github too :)
------
cutler
Repeat after me: L-I-N-U-X P-A-T-E-N-T R-A-C-K-E-T
------
waydowntogo
Btw If Microsoft would mean that seriously (supporting open source) the new
owner would be some foundation (something like mozilla).
~~~
oaiey
7 billion dollars? And how should they explain that to the shareholders. What
they will hopefully do: run it like it but do not make it official.
~~~
waydowntogo
Honestly I'm thinking they'll have to explain why they bought empty box for $
7bln.
------
trhway
its good as it will spur a bunch of new GitHubs and innovation in that space.
It is like a business case validation for investors. For example like Cruise
acquisition spurred more self-driving startups. The times have changes and it
isn't 90ies anymore when MS could buy/develop some soft and extinguish all
competition in the related area.
------
satai
How is MS expected to make money on this?
~~~
oaiey
I think they shrink it a bit down and cut administrative overhead (synergy)
and some engineering (eg atom (buuh)). The later they can also reorganize.
For them it just does not need to lose too much money.
~~~
satai
They spent 7GUSD+ on it. It is dozens of years of GitHub revenue...
~~~
oaiey
The investment .. forget that. That does not need to refinance itself
(unofficially)
------
BigChiefSmokem
GitLab servers are very, very slow today.
~~~
leg100
Today? Rest assured, they have been very, oh very slow, for a long time. Their
Twitter status feed and post mortem dialogue ad infinitum is proof enougb.
GitHub has nothing to worry about just yet.
~~~
pritambaral
> they have been very, oh very slow, for a long time.
From a regular ($DAYJOB) GitLab.com user: this is hyperbole. GitLab.com is
slower than GitHub.com, in general, but not "very, oh very" slow.
------
viseztrance
I'm using another service for my private repos, as github's pricing structure
for a single dev is seriously uncompetitive.
I wanted to move my public / open source repos for a long time. Now I finally
I have the opportunity to do so without getting into discussions at an
interview on why am I not using github.
For people such as myself, I don't know what Microsoft / Github can do or say
to convince otherwise.
~~~
dangrossman
> pricing structure for a single dev is seriously uncompetitive
$7/month is a burden? What's it competing with except a fancy coffee or two?
~~~
viseztrance
Remember, these costs add up quite easy. Why bother if I can get the same
features for free?
But it really depends on how you view it. I felt I got better value by
supporting an open source project I like on patreon (Godot) than spending my
money on this subscription.
~~~
dangrossman
> Remember, these costs add up quite easy.
Some single developers are perhaps a bit spoiled. Other professions need
offices, stores, work trucks, thousands of dollars in physical tools that
they'll need to maintain and replace as they wear out. We need a computer and
have the _option_ of a $7/month subscription to perpetually-updated
professional tools. $7/month doesn't cover the printer paper most
professionals go through in a month. Software developers need a computer and
that's about it, and some apparently find $7/month "uncompetitive" because
that fee didn't come with sufficient feel-good about charitable giving or
something. All the software and professional services I subscribe to as a
single developer don't add up to the cost of maintaining and fueling the van
my A/C repair guy shows up in, so I have to disagree that they add up quite
easy.
------
oculusthrift
Are there actually people dumb enough to think microsoft employees will be
browsing their private repos?
~~~
prewett
This was the company that would (allegedly) start acquisition talks and then
after they learned what they needed during due diligence they would back out
of the deal and create a competing product. (Unfortunately, I don't know the
words to search for any articles.) So, while I, personally don't think they
would, I also wouldn't take the risk. FB employees looked at people's private
details; if you can, someone will do it at some time.
------
kenshinji
Please please keep GitHub a neutral place for hosting code, resource and
everything as always.
------
g-b-r
I hope this will slow down git's adoption and push more people towards
Mercurial
------
hitekker
> I’m not asking for your trust, but I’m committed to earning it.
A choice line. Let’s see if he means it.
------
pkfrank
While the submitted link resolves:
[https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/](https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/)
This doesn't: [https://natfriedman.github.io/](https://natfriedman.github.io/)
Might be worth redirecting...
~~~
pknopf
> [https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/](https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/)
Wait, is that a one-off custom landing page? Something that normal users can't
do?
I don't see a "hello" repo in his list of repositories:
[https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/](https://natfriedman.github.io/hello/)
Can private repos have publicly accessible pages?
~~~
Shank
I think it’s the gh-pages branch on a private repository.
If you look at Nat’s account right now [0], he doesn’t even have the telltale
“GitHub Staff” badge, probably because his hiring is contingent upon the deal
closing.
So he’s definitely not an admin at the system level, which just makes him a
normal account.
[https://github.com/natfriedman](https://github.com/natfriedman)
Edit: I’m on a roll today. No, I’m mistaken — it’s not gh-pages. This is the
repo:
[https://github.com/natfriedman/hello](https://github.com/natfriedman/hello)
By all measures I don’t see how this is a pages repo at all.
------
jmainusch
Though the idea of it makes my skin crawl, I am cautiously optimistic.
------
TomK32
ha! my github user id is way smaller than his. noob.
[https://caius.github.io/github_id/](https://caius.github.io/github_id/)
------
mailjenil
I am not asking for you trust, I am committed to earning it.
That’s some badass line.
------
danielovichdk
Looking forward to this. Great story and good for all developers.
------
iddqd
I wonder if they timed this announcement with the Apple keynote.
------
xtat
Nat's a good guy- built stuff with him back in the 90s
------
martinald
Congrats Nat! Best of luck for this future endeavor :).
------
i386
I’m happy it’s Nat.
------
bpanon
Very well said. I predict this will work out.
------
ta2354235ff
I'll now use Github like I'd rub salt into my slashed wrists from dealing with
Microsoft's bullshit over the years.
They can burn in hell.
------
swayvil
What does M$ bring to the table other than a giant pile of money?
How does this giant pile of money serve the users of github?
~~~
luckydata
Other than being the biggest developer-focused company in the world? Having an
extremely complete set of developer tools that can integrate with github? A
cloud computing service to deploy apps?
I guess nothing, it brings nothing to the table.
~~~
swayvil
I think that Microsoft is money-focused, not developer-focused.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the mass of open-source developers vastly
outweighs Microsoft.
These "developer tools" are the property of Microsoft. Which suggests an
obvious and worrying path in Github's future. Tell me that I'm wrong.
Everybody and his dog has a cloud computing service these days.
~~~
luckydata
Do you think Github wasn't "money focused"? I'm sure you felt mighty smart
making that comment, but businesses are by default focused on making money.
HOW you make the money varies, but the final goal doesn't.
------
merinowool
Can you promise that Microsoft employees will not browse and otherwise process
private repositories?
~~~
oaiey
They have some dozen different kind of SaaS platforms (think of Office, Azure,
...).
When they do that in an ill-defined way, they are done.
And with "done" I mean the whole company. The financial lose would be
dramatic.
------
aculver
Honestly, can you think of a smarter move on the part of Microsoft than making
Nat Friedman (a veteran of the Open Source community) CEO of Github? I
completely trust this guy to do as good a job as can be done of guiding Github
forward as a product and a platform, now that the venture capitalists are no
longer in the picture.
~~~
stblack
I just checked. Nat Friedman hasn't made a public commit on Github since
August 2015. And if you care to look deeper, since 2010, not much at all.
[https://github.com/natfriedman](https://github.com/natfriedman)
~~~
jameshart
You have no idea who Nat Friedman is, do you?
------
Fiahil
He seems nice.
------
moonstruck
Make Github Great Again!
------
xmr2saturn
nice
------
mariogintili
developing when you were six? fuck off
~~~
stunthamsterio
Why not? I was programming on a Commodore Plus/4 at the age of five. I got my
teeth into this industry by hand typing from magazine articles programs that
done nothing more then making the sound of bird tweets, but it taught me A:
the basics of how a programming language works, and B: how to debug to get
around the inevitable typo in the magazine.
------
brian-armstrong
Hopefully MS can reign in Github's ridiculous remote work policy. Github's
product velocity has been effectively zero for the past few years, and remote
work is likely part of why.
------
thesz
I guess he started with wrong note.
He is developer since six - since 1983. This means his family was wealthy one.
He also survived two years of Microsoft.
Now even sceptical and lazy me thinks I have to move out of github. ;)
~~~
Voloskaya
His family was wealthy, and he worked at Microsoft for two years, so you have
to move out from GitHub?
What are you even trying to say?
~~~
thesz
He is not representative of most developers, first (wealthy and corporate-
politics resistant), and tries to present himself as one, second (how he
introduced himself).
This means Github will be handled by non-developer who tries to pretend to be
a developer. This means he lies, conspicuously or not. In both cases I cannot
see him as smart enough and self-aware enough.
Given that, I think github will be mishandled and I also think I would be
better off somewhere else.
~~~
Voloskaya
Nat Friedman is not a developer? Did you do the most basic google research
before bashing him?
If Nat is not a developer, then not a lot of people are, this has to be one of
the stupidest comments I have read.
~~~
thesz
Yes, I did my research and verified it just now (looked at his github). I was
not and am not impressed.
~~~
Voloskaya
Ah I see. You want a CEO that also has a developer role at the same time. You
are one of those that think running a company is a BS job and anyone could
actually do it, so in your would it would make sense to take someone that was
shipping code during the last sprint and just give him the CEO role of a 1
thousand, 300M$ revenue company.
In my world that would be completely stupid and reckless. Nat was coding full-
time just a few years ago and move to leadership roles recently, so that's
exactly what we need to run GitHub: someone that actually knows how to handle
large organisation, and someone who knows what being a developer means so he
can make sure GitHub is going in the right direction.
I don't even know why I am arguing with you though, you are clearly just doing
some level condescending gate keeping, so it's not like anything I say has any
impact.
Have fun being toxic.
------
bitL
"Hey everyone, I am Nat. I joined the dark side, now I am being rewarded for
it as a future CEO, woohoo! I hope you are as happy as I am! See ya later!"
Many of us were given a choice to join MS but didn't.
~~~
jpeg_hero
I like that there are still hardline cold warriors out there from the '90's.
I was there too, but the war is over. Come in from the cold.
~~~
bitL
Come on, I still see the deformations in our industry caused by MS, Oracle and
similar companies and nothing of the bad deeds was undone (nobody is going to
resurrect progressive businesses/ideas they killed off). Instead we have Bill
playing a philanthrope and getting admiration by outsiders and Satya being the
jobesque face of "new MS", with Windows 10 fun. I worked for their main
competitor and another company that was eaten alive by MS, and they tried to
poach me as well.
------
annyui
I'm happy that at least Google doesn't own GitHub. Microsoft seems like the
best company to buy GitHub out of all the major tech companies.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Dashboard Stats - smcguinness
We are planning on setting a dashboard for info about our business. We are going to have the usual revenue, visitors, customer types and bugs displayed. I was curious as to what other startups were displaying to see if there was anything that we could possibly add that might be good to see.
======
neuromancer2600
I believe that every business (in a certain segment) has its own KPIs. Without
knowing what space you are actually in, it might be hard to answer that
question. For some this is sign-ups, tweets or MAU. Identify the key metrics
first and concentrate on those for the dashboard. The less you have the more
significant they become and thus you can tailor your efforts more effectively
towards achieving those goals.
------
craigtheriac
i agree with neuromancer2600. it is hard to say without knowing your exact
business and what stage you are in, but keep the list small and focus on only
those things that will move the needle.
------
revorad
Check out the geckoboard and statsmix blogs for ideas.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Intel Scales Neuromorphic Research System to 100M Neurons - joubert
https://newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-scales-neuromorphic-research-system-100-million-neurons/
======
p1esk
Why does this bullshit keep being posted here? Zero reasons for this line of
research to exist.
~~~
raidicy
Why is this a waste of time? I know nothing about it but it seems interesting
enough.
~~~
p1esk
Because the only reason for why they built it is "let's build something that
kinda looks like a brain!". Two problems with that though:
1\. It's nothing like a real brain, because we don't really know how a brain
works (if we knew, we would have simulated it in software long time ago).
Human Brain Project has failed spectacularly with far more money and brain
power pumped into it, but at least it advanced neuroscience in some ways
(hopefully). This project advances nothing.
2\. There are no useful applications these spiking networks implemented in
hardware can do better than regular GPUs running regular deep learning models,
and no reasons to believe this will change any time soon.
Someone at Intel is trying to make a career out of it, and a bunch of second
grade researchers are trying to get grant money while the 'neuromorphic'
buzzword is still hot.
~~~
raidicy
After looking into it, it does seem that it's simply a hardware implementation
of SNN's. And reading from the wikipedia, it does seem that SNN's are less
hardware intensive anyway so I am now wondering why make hardware specifically
for it if, as you said, GPU/CPUs can run it no problem. I'm also wondering why
they would double down on hardware when from cursory research there isn't a
holy grail of training like there is in ANN's.
Still, looking at SNN's was pretty interesting.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Congress passes bill for web accessibility - kajecounterhack
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/posttech/2010/09/congress_passes_disabilites_bi.html
======
devmonk
And notice how they changed "requirement" to "objectives" in:
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-
bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=11...](http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-
bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s3828rfh.txt)
Does that mean it isn't manditory? This is basically what I was saying here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1718230>
imo politicians are all about talk and bills, but when it comes down to making
things easier on the handicapped, lobbyists win out.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Better Intuition for Information Theory - hardmaru
https://www.blackhc.net/blog/2019/better-intuition-for-information-theory/
======
adriantam
Yeung (author of the article mentioned) was my teacher in school. He wrote a
book more than a decade ago with a Venn diagram of four sets on the cover
[https://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Information-Theory-
Techn...](https://www.amazon.com/First-Course-Information-Theory-Technology-
ebook/dp/B000TNLRVY/)
I remember he draw such diagram almost every lesson to explain the
mathematical structure of various information theory topics.
~~~
0-_-0
I just went down the rabbit hole of Venn diagrams, and emerged with one for 7
sets:
[https://i.stack.imgur.com/kImwq.png](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kImwq.png)
~~~
carapace
That's truly awesome. Cheers!
Check out Lewis Carol's Logic Game:
[https://www.cut-the-knot.org/LewisCarroll/tridiagram.shtml](https://www.cut-
the-knot.org/LewisCarroll/tridiagram.shtml)
------
knzhou
This is nice, but I could've sworn I saw the exact same diagrams in all the
old-school information theory books I originally learned it from. I've drawn
the I-diagrams the author gives in my notes quite a few times. I'm guessing
the point of the paper is that it goes further than that?
~~~
kthielen
The paper is from 1991, when was your textbook written?
~~~
mturmon
The first place I saw these diagrams is in the first edition of Tom Cover and
Joy Thomas's excellent textbook - copyright 1991.
But the Venn diagrams are presented in their book as mnemonic tools, and not
in terms of entropies of an underlying "I-measure" as in the article. (Of
course, the book is an introduction, not in a theorem/proof format.) So you're
not sure how far the notions can be extended.
The world of information theory was small then, and the author of the paper
would have been well-known to both Cover and Thomas.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
You Should Self-Publish - wglb
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/12/you-should-self-publish.html
======
auxbuss
I "self-published" in 2003. I created a business that fulfilled all the
criteria to be a bona fide publisher; namely, I bought a block of ISBNs. The
rest was mechanical. Having ISBNs meant that book listings propagated to the
places you'd expect.
Print runs were in lots of 1,000. It really wasn't very expensive, and the
printers I dealt with were terrific and great fun. The tedious part was
shipping a hundred or so books every week.
Once sales tailed-off I sold the book as a pdf download. I really didn't
expect to make much from these sales; it was a bit of an afterthought.
In the end the long-tail download sales produced significantly more profit
than the dead tree sales, and, of course, required close to zero effort.
I also sold the book for publication on a magazine CD, which was a nice lump
sum.
I wish I had more time to write, as just writing this has stirred feelings to
get back in the game. I would definitely self-publish.
[Note: Before self-publishing, I had been published by a "proper" publisher,
the returns from which convinced me that I could do better myself.]
~~~
alimoeeny
What did you publish? I mean can you give your book title? or tell us was it a
tech book? fiction? kids? ...
~~~
ThomPete
I would imagine something about Cubase
<http://www.auxbuss.com/>
~~~
auxbuss
That's the site I used for publishing, yes. I moved on to video tutorials, and
that site remains for a few folk who still access tutorials online.
I wrote this one on Nuendo for PC Publishing:
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Music-Steinberg-Nuendo-
Cooper...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Music-Steinberg-Nuendo-
Cooper/dp/1870775791/)
and self-published this one on Cubase:
[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cubase-SX-Complete-Musicians-
Referen...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cubase-SX-Complete-Musicians-
Reference/dp/0954479505/)
Both are tech books.
I've been writing a novel for a few years. Trashed it twice after twenty-odd
thousand words both times. I think that's a good thing, as novel writing is a
new skill for me. I'm learning. But I do love tech writing. It's pedantic as
hell, but very rewarding when you get it right.
~~~
ThomPete
Interesting I am a logic and appleton user myself but of course knows Cubase.
I am currently writing a book about design for developers and self-publishing
it too.
With regards to novels I have to say I don't think I am cut out for that. But
I do wish to write a book called "Without God, But not without Belief" one day
when I get older and wiser.
------
Samuel_Michon
Sure, self-publish.
But be mindful of the fact that a manuscript is not a book. Every writer needs
to have their manuscript edited before it hits the presses, and the process
often takes longer than the actual writing of the manuscript. If you know a
skilled editor who will do it for free, great. Otherwise, hire one or sign
with a publisher. Just don't skip this step, eBook stores are filling up with
texts that are barely readable.
~~~
auxbuss
So, so true.
You can self-edit, but you need some distance between the time of writing and
editing. Also, editing technical work is different to, say, a novel. You also
need to know your written language very, very well. And you need to know
fundamental typography, which differs from country to country.
So, yup, there's a lot more to publishing than scribbling out the words and
throwing out there.
~~~
timwiseman
It may be just me, but I think self-editing anything of real significance is
unwise. Most people know themselves, so even with some distance they will know
what they meant even when it is unclear to the general reader. They will also
often be blind to their own idioms (especially if they have not traveled)
which may be highly local and not translate well to a broad audiance.
I have never attempted to write anything book length, but I have published
some short technical articles, and it is always clear which ones benefitted
from a good editor and which ones did not.
------
shawnee_
Pretty much every industry that has bankrolled agencies would have people
believe otherwise. Associations and consortiums spend considerable time and
money trying to convince people of the importance of their role in the whole
process. Prime example: the ridiculousness of commercials for the National
Association of Realtors.
Travel agents, literary agents, Realtors, temp agencies, even stock brokers
have seen the hyper-competitive market diminish the need for them in the whole
process of adding value. More often than not, they end up taking so much of
the economic surplus from the transactions that they actually end up harming
both parties (in terms of producer and consumer surplus, that is see:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_surplus>)
Information asymmetry is one thing that agencies have used traditionally to
exploit parties. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_asymmetry>. But as
it becomes less expensive to exchange information, those who have
traditionally profited from doing so have more to lose. Hence dumb
commercials.
I think when/if I go back to grad school, this will be the topic of my
dissertation. It's a fascinating subject that really explores some intricacies
in economics, and how technology is changing the landscape.
------
replicatorblog
The interest in this blog and self-publishing makes me think in all of the
"2010" year in review stories I have been surprised how little attention
Kickstarter has received. With the success of Diaspora ($200K) Glif ($150K)
iPod Watches ($1MM) it seems like they are one of the major new developments
in the world of tech and startups.
These all seem like edge cases, but think back to the first YC class that had
6-8 teams. It was an inauspicious start, but has become the shaping force in
SV. Beyond the big 3 projects listed above there was also a book about Obama's
design that raised $90K, a lockpick startup that raised $85K, and a bunch of
other companies that raised nice sized "seed" funding. Think about what this
model will look like in 5 years.
------
mark_l_watson
I think that there are good reasons for either option. Working with a good
publisher provides help on tuning up a book idea, copy and tech editing, etc.
When I was writing my last book (for Apress) I had about 5 people actively
helping me. I especially enjoyed working with my tech editor.
I also use Lulu and make a reasonable amount of money given that my self-
published books are very much niche topics. I am fortunate that my wife is a
great editor and I usually get useful feedback from people reading work in
progress versions of my self published books.
I have been experimenting with producing formats for Kindles, etc., and the
article gave me some inspiration to put more energy into supporting eReaders.
One problem with this: I have always given away free PDFs for my self-
published print books, and I like doing that.
Writing is a great activity and I have tried to talk many friends into writing
a book.
~~~
gigamonkey
Interesting. I've written two books for Apress and got essentially zero
editorial help from them. A handful of writers I've talked to published by
other tech publishers reported similar experiences to mine. Glad to hear
they're doing something for somebody. But would-be authors should be aware
that going with a traditional publisher isn't necessarily going to mean
working with an experienced editor to craft your book.
~~~
mark_l_watson
That is surprising - sorry your experience was not good.
I have written a lot of books for publishers and I have some advice that might
be useful in the future: always either meet deadlines or give a heads up if
you expect delays; thank editors whenever they catch an error and make good
suggestions; don't ignore editorial advice if you dont agree, always respond
with a reason you are ignoring advice; as much as possible make some personal
connection with editors even if it is just a few minute talk about family,
career, interests, etc.
I always view publishers as my customers and treat them as I do people who pay
me to do consulting work.
------
byteclub
The argument for ditching dead tree books is especially valid for books that
have short shelf half-life: the ones that deal with quickly changing topics,
such as technology. By the time that "Programming for iBlahBlah 1.2" appears
in the nearby B&N, iBlahBlah itself has moved on to version 2.0 and readers
are disappointed
~~~
adestefan
The books that you're describing are about the only ones I actually buy in
paper format anymore. I read a lot on my Kindle, but I still need paper tech
books to flip around in and use as reference.
------
electromagnetic
Why not traditionally publish, so that you know your work actually has
economic value, use the publisher to publicise your name and retain the
digital publication rights so that you can self-publish and have two revenue
streams.
~~~
brianstorms
"use the publisher to publicise your name"
Publishers may publish, but they don't "publicise". They expect you to do
that. You're basically on your own when it comes to marketing anymore.
~~~
patio11
My reading suggests that once they made books. They no longer make books: they
pay people who make books. They also pay people who do editing, and pay people
who do covers. They've largely abandoned PR for anyone less famous than J.K.
Rowling. This leads me to believe that they're essentially just VC for books,
which wants to invest $20k at a pre-money valuation of $5k.
I am not seeing the attraction, personally. (I've nursed dreams of doing
fiction writing for my next quirky hobby.)
~~~
runevault
This seems fairly accurate from my own outside looking in, other than the
publicity (sort of). If an author is lucky enough to have several publishers
bidding on their book driving up the advance, publishers are more prone to
spend the extra cash on top of that for publicity.
You still need to be in a rare group to get it, it's just not QUITE JKR small
;)
Also I'd be curious to watch you market a novel length ebook with all the
different things you've learned from BCC and now Appointment Reminder.
~~~
patio11
How much would you pay for a novel-length ebook?
~~~
runevault
I've paid as high as 14.99, 9.99 is highest I usually go for DRM'd ebooks when
I've not been waiting for it for some significant length of time, 12.99 would
be acceptable for a DRM free ebook.
Though as Konrath has shown the lower ends of the 70% price range seems to be
where the money is (I'm not 100% sure I buy ALL books by an author being 2.99
makes sense, the first in a series certainly but not so sure about the rest of
one...)
~~~
patio11
We're both businessmen so you know I'm saying this absolutely without rancor:
I have no desire to ever do business at those price points.
Edit: Oh, you want to see me marketing a _fiction_ ebook. Sorry, I
misunderstood: I thought you wanted me to write a novel-length ebook _about
marketing_. Disregard what I just said.
~~~
runevault
Sorry about that, since you mentioned an interest in fiction writing I figured
that would be understood.
As to the other idea, yeah that would be utterly laughable unless you saw it
as a way to expand your contract work, which gets away from the whole 'making
money while you sleep' idea in the end.
And trust me, honesty is best especially in a community like this. Though your
comment makes me think, Amazon not differentiating between fiction and non-
fiction for their revenue sharing in ebooks limits how many people will want
to direct sell books on topics where the book should sell for a significant
chunk of change through their site. Hmmm interesting.
Be curious if they change the rules there at some point or if it simply is not
worth their time, since right now it's fairly low maintenance unless they
decide to remove a book for some reason.
~~~
xenophanes
I don't think Amazon's 30% is hostile to higher priced books _directly_. A
book that costs 20% as much, but sells five times as many, ends up paying the
same fee to Amazon.
I think the difference is that higher volume, mass market books benefit more
from being on Amazon. While a specialized and pricey book won't sell to random
people browsing Amazon. So Amazon is offering less value for the same price.
I think it'd be hard for Amazon to change the rules. What are they doing to
do? Lower the commission on the first 500 copies you sell? That would hurt
them with the people selling unpopular books who would sell nothing at all
without Amazon's help. And it would annoy popular authors who are like, "Why
should my rate go up the better I do?"
Lower the commission on books over a certain price? That will cause price
distortion (books near the price will increase their price), and it's in
opposition to Amazon's general approach to things (sell high volume cheaply).
If you change the commission gradually over a range of prices, that has the
downside of making the rules more complicated which most customers don't like.
~~~
runevault
Except they already create artificial prices due to difference in % by price.
2.99 to 9.99 is 70%, everything else is I believe 35%.
This makes a MASSIVE difference in the high cost books (stuff like the
marketing book point that started me down the train of thought). I understand
why Amazon did it with their desire to keep people selling fiction at 9.99 and
under for impulse purchases, but that model doesn't make sense for other forms
of writing.
~~~
ssp
It's potentially dangerous for Amazon to do this. They are essentially
squeezing their suppliers in the same way Walmart does, which could
potentially make room for a competitor to target the higher price-points.
The more Amazon squeezes, the more high-quality authors such a competitor
could get exclusive deals with. Once that happens, Amazon has lost something
really important: the fact that you never have to go elsewhere.
~~~
runevault
Potentially true but at least B&N has fallen in line with their PubIt!
platform for indie authors on the Nook. Exact same pricing structure to
revenue sharing %s. And last I knew B&N is the only thing even CLOSE to
competition for the Kindle store right now, and even it is way behind.
~~~
xenophanes
What about iBooks?
~~~
runevault
iBooks isn't even a blip last I heard. After all you can just read kindle and
nook books on your iPad. Selection is crap too so most people I've ever asked
don't even look these days it seems like.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Twitter censoring conservative voices - cpr
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/02/16/exclusive-twitter-shadowbanning-is-real-say-inside-sources/
======
briandear
It is rather interesting that this isn't upvoted it does reveal an interesting
bias.
~~~
sacul
This was posted twice to Hacker News, the first article 9 days ago and the
second 7 days ago. I suspect that this group leans overwhelmingly
liberal/progressive, so I understand that this might not be as interesting to
this group. But I'm still surprised.
Perhaps people didn't respond because it's one, unsubstantiated source. Anyone
know how to test this claim of Twitter shadowbanning from Breitbart?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: LemonTalk – Video calls with customers made easy - franblas
https://lemontalk.fr/?lang=en
======
franblas
Hi there !
We are very excited to launch LemonTalk, a video call solution that allows you
to talk to your customers, directly from your website.
With LemonTalk :
there's no need to mix several tools to organize a remote client meeting
LemonTalk is an easy-to-use all-in-one solution (no download or plugins
required, video call, chat, receiving & sending attachments, remote screen
sharing, appointment booking system, note-taking solution, internal tracking
and CRM system).
meet the need for an authentic and customized client relationship
Continue to meet and talk to your customers. You won't lose time by doing so,
on the contrary. They'll make you save time by telling you what they need and
how they need it. So keep communicating. Convert your leads into sales, by
understanding them and delivering. Offer an outstanding customer experience.
Here you can find the demo of our product : \- Part 1 | the customer journey :
[https://youtu.be/f-Z3mWK2I_k](https://youtu.be/f-Z3mWK2I_k) \- Part 2 | the
freelance, sale or CSM interface :
[https://youtu.be/Sp4d7LfdnWg](https://youtu.be/Sp4d7LfdnWg) \- Part 3 | the
administrator interface :
[https://youtu.be/Z5hMe61Evgw](https://youtu.be/Z5hMe61Evgw)
Please, test and love :
[https://lemontalk.fr/?lang=en](https://lemontalk.fr/?lang=en) Choose
LemonStart | no credit card needed Create and name your discussion space | 2
seconds Create a CTA button on your site and integrate the URL | 5 seconds
Congratulations, you rock
Besides... It would be fun that « Lemon me » enters the everyday language !
I hope you'll like the idea.
I will be happy to reply to your questions, suggestions and improvements or
your feedback
Thanks :)
------
verdverm
Lemon may have negative connotations, we have laws called "Lemon Laws" to
protect consumers from being sold crappy cars
Also thinking of a Led Zeppelin quote :]
~~~
franblas
Wow ! I didn't know about that :s thanks for sharing ! Are you talking about
"the lemon song" ?
We started mainly in France but we want to open it to the world, do you think
it could be a blocker for us ?
~~~
verdverm
Could be, but if you provide value, early adopters won't care.
It's relatively easy to change a company name, so I'd ask users and make a
call with more data.
------
therealhanna
looks nice. I wonder if you plan to have some integration with other tools
like Slack or Hubspot ?
~~~
franblas
Thanks ! :) We don't for now. If you want to import your data to Hubspot you
can export in CSV.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Matasano hacked. A humbling lesson, even the pros are vulnerable. - olefoo
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2009/Jul/0388.html
======
kevingadd
Why do people insist on giving these idiots the attention they want?
There's nothing valuable or productive about their inane, impossible-to-read
'hack logs' and they're not encouraging any sort of useful discussion.
It's just dick-waving, and it's stupid for people to continually post links to
their latest escapades on sites like HN and reddit.
I mean seriously. How can you feel good about linking to a thread that has
tripe like this in it?
"Death to the Jews, death to the whitehats. All parasites must be destroyed in
kind!"
------
viraptor
I disagree with the summary line completely...
What do you mean by "humbling lesson"? If anyone finds an unpatched flaw and
uses it to exploit some servers, then it doesn't matter who takes care of the
servers. It doesn't matter if it's ptacek or a random admin. It's a new,
unknown problem (if the claim about a 0day is real).
Also they're "hacking" the frontend web server. Is that post really
interesting in any way? They didn't get to any sensitive information (or
didn't publish it). They also didn't get into any personal system, so I doubt
there was any real harm done. (otherwise they would brag about it even more)
~~~
ankp
_What do you mean by "humbling lesson"? If anyone finds an unpatched flaw and
uses it to exploit some servers, then it doesn't matter who takes care of the
servers. It doesn't matter if it's ptacek or a random admin. It's a new,
unknown problem (if the claim about a 0day is real)._
The experts at Matasano should know better than to leave sshd internet-
accessible. That's what is humbling, because exposing the smallest possible
attack surface is exactly how you defend against an unknown problem, and
there's literally no good reason (besides laziness) to leave sshd exposed to
the public internet.
_Also they're "hacking" the frontend web server. Is that post really
interesting in any way? They didn't get to any sensitive information (or
didn't publish it). They also didn't get into any personal system, so I doubt
there was any real harm done. (otherwise they would brag about it even more)_
Or, they simply didn't bother going further -- owning the front-end web server
is fairly embarassing for a company like Matasano.
Quite a few individuals store their credentials on front-end web servers, or
even SSH to other servers from the front-end servers. Owning -any- server is
often a very big deal.
~~~
defen
I'm a bit confused - how are you supposed to ssh in if sshd is not internet-
accessible? If you're suggesting only allowing access through a VPN, what's
the advantage? Is a VPN significantly less likely to be exploitable than SSH?
Or are you saying that you should only be able to SSH in via the local
network?
~~~
ankp
_Is a VPN significantly less likely to be exploitable than SSH?_
Yes, for a few reasons.
First, a VPN provides defense in-depth -- compromising a server now requires
finding _two_ unpatched vulnerabilities:
* You must find a vulnerability in the VPN implementation that allows you to leverage the VPN or the VPN host to forward your traffic.
* You must then find an additional vulnerability to use against the actual secured hosts made available over the VPN connection.
There should be a firewall between the VPN entry-point and your internal
networks, to limit access to unapproved services.
As a single point of entry, a VPN is also easier to secure. If all servers are
inaccessible except for approved services, then a single server running an
unapproved vulnerable service (or an account with a weak password or key) does
not open the door to immediate external compromise.
This single entry point also allows you to offset the likelyhood of user
failure (such as choosing poor passwords) by using additional two-factor
authentication. RSA SecurID or PKCS#11 are often too heavyweight for using
every time you want to SSH'ing into a host, but they're far more reasonable
for initially connecting to the VPN.
~~~
iuguy
Not necessarily. What about exploiting VPN clients?
<http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-09-024/>
There's also the configuration to consider. Using PSK or aggressive mode for
VPNs can be considered bad but are you really going to deploy a full RADIUS
solution just to access a web server?
Compare this to using public key based auth on SSH, I know which one I'd
rather have for a web server.
~~~
ankp
_Not necessarily. What about exploiting VPN clients?_
IPSec is a disaster, one aspect of which is having a client daemon listening
on an open port for isakmp/ike key exchange.
_There's also the configuration to consider. Using PSK or aggressive mode for
VPNs can be considered bad but are you really going to deploy a full RADIUS
solution just to access a web server?_
Provisionally "yes", but I'd actually use OpenVPN, wired into our existing
directory infrastructure.
_Compare this to using public key based auth on SSH, I know which one I'd
rather have for a web server._
Why do you consider it a net win to reduce the entry barrier to only one
exploit, one bad user password, or one misconfigured host?
------
deno
My servers' SSH isn't publicly accessible, you first need to be logged in to
VPN (OpenVPN). I don't why Matasano couldn't secure their system like this,
especially that some "0-day SSH exploit" is circulating around web. And if
you're paranoid (or security expert on war-path with whaddyacallthem anti-sec
movement) you have even more simple ways to secure yourself - port knocking
for example? Your system's security weakest link should be human not software.
~~~
sfk
I don't quite understand. What if there is an exploit for OpenVPN?
~~~
khafra
First, a VPN would best be used as an additional layer of security for the
whole network, not as a shell for one particular box. Second, a group very
publically announced, by hacking imageshack, that they were going after full-
disclosure security blogs. A little later, they warned that they had an ssh
0-day. The prudent thing for a full-disclosure security blog to do would be to
put some additional security around their internet-facing ssh.
------
ddbb
Who says it was a 0-day attack? Looking at the output,it seems they brute
force the password of user adam...
So yes, even the pros sometimes can make mistake.
~~~
hachiya
They made it appear that the exploit somehow was able to determine that a
user-level account with the name of adam existed. SSH shouldn't do this.
Then they made it appear that they were able to log in as adam, and the logs
don't make it look like a brute force.
Then they made it appear that somehow privileges were elevated from adam to
root, but did not provide any supposed log of how this was done.
~~~
olefoo
Well, the posted log, could be a complete fabrication. It certainly doesn't
contain anything useful and may in fact be deliberately misleading.
I'm hoping that Thomas and the rest of the crew do perform an intensive and
public analysis of the exploit. It wouldn't surprise me if the break was in
Wordpress or one of the other application level programs.
------
jrockway
Who cares? It's not like they wrote or consulted on whatever was hacked, and
there isn't enough time in the day to write every piece of software you use
from scratch. This is what you get for writing your OS in high-level assembly.
------
hachiya
Since they are against disclosing vulnerabilities, it seems more likely that
these intruders did not gain access through an unknown SSH exploit, but some
other way. Once obtaining root, they could paste some proof of being on the
system, and simply combine that with the top portion of their log which may be
completely fabricated to appear as a 0-day exploit.
Again, if there really is a SSH 0-day, why is an anti-disclosure group
revealing one exists?
~~~
devicenull
Saying that there is a vulnerability is nowhere close to revealing it. For
example, I can say that Windows has a vulnerability allowing me to crash the
system. If you are a Microsoft developer, does that information help you track
down the issue? Not in the least, as you don't have any idea where to look
------
mcbarry
That hurt to read.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Paralyzed Berkeley student walks again with robotic exoskeleton - aikinai
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/guest/26775/?p1=blogs
======
jockc
As usual, this was foreseen by the Onion
[http://wwww.onion.com/articles/stephen-hawking-builds-
roboti...](http://wwww.onion.com/articles/stephen-hawking-builds-robotic-
exoskeleton,1629/)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Is Angular Dead Yet? - purple_ducks
======
JMTQp8lwXL
I work for a publicly-traded company and we use it quite heavily, though it's
not the only thing we use. I've heard secondhand that there's a lot of
AngularJS (aka Angular v1) out there too. Far more Angular 2+, however.
------
jedisct1
Pretty much, yes.
After Angular 2, many users switched to React or Vue.
------
catacombs
Not yet, but it's getting close.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Effect of bromhexine on clinical outcomes and mortality in Covid-19 [pdf] - drocer88
https://bi.tbzmed.ac.ir/Files/Inpress/bi-23240.pdf
======
blacksqr
"A total of 78 patients with similar demographic and disease characteristics
were enrolled. There was a significant reduction in ICU admissions (2 out of
39 vs. 11 out of 39, P=0.006), intubation (1 out of 39 vs. 9 out of 39,
P=0.007) and death (0 vs. 5, P=0.027) in the bromhexine treated group compared
to the standard group. No patients were withdrawn from the study because of
adverse effects."
------
drocer88
If you were wondering, Bromhexine is an expectorant/mucolytic agent.
Bromhexine is not available in the United States. ( source :
[https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/bromhexine](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/bromhexine)
)
~~~
aliswe
It's not? This shocks me... It's the most common cough medicine agent in
Sweden.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Show HN: Simpler Database Interactions in PHP - erusev
https://github.com/erusev/base
======
3dfan
I find it harder to read then plain SQL.
You do it like this:
$base->find('user')->whereEqual('is_verified', 1)->orderDesc('id')->read();
I do it like this:
$myDb->find('SELECT * FROM user WHERE is_verified=1 ORDER BY id DESC');
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A psychiatrist who didn’t believe in mental illness (2013) - mastazi
https://aeon.co/essays/the-psychiatrist-who-didn-t-believe-in-mental-illness
======
elbasti
Szasz's "The Myth of Mental Illness" is one of those works which is completely
and utterly misinterpreted simply because of the title.
I don't have the book available at the moment, but in the introduction he says
something to the effect of "I don't regret writing this book, but I regret
calling it what I did, because people judge it without reading it."
The gut-reaction to such a title is to think the writer is saying "depression
doesn't exist" or "schizophrenia doesn't exist" or "manic depressives are
lying."
This isn't what he says in the book at all. Rather, his argument is more along
the lines of:
1\. The word "illness" should be used to represent a _cause_ \-- and resolving
the cause should _cure_ the illness. Cancer, the flu, hyperparathyroidism--all
map to _causes_.
2\. The conditions which we call mental illness don't have a knowable cause.
They are symptoms which we pattern match against.
3\. Corollary: Illnesses should be hypothetically curable. There may _be_ a
cure for cancer. But there _cannot_ be a "cure" for most "mental illnesses"
because there is no shared, physical cause that underlies say, all cases of
"bipolar disorder".
3\. So we shouldn't call them "illnesses". We should call them something else.
Unfortunately that's about as much as I remember of his argument, but it's
very different than the common accusation... And it also strikes me as
accurate.
The problem with naming things is that it makes them real. I think often the
hacker news crowd forgets how ill-informed most of the world is, and the
degree to which people crave certainty.
When a person is told by a psychiatrists "Your 8 year has depression so we'll
put her on X pill" or "You have bipolar type 2, so I recommend Y medicine", it
has a certain finality.
Most people don't think "The _doctor_ is telling me that my behavior matches
some patterns. That is it. She does not know why, and we may never know why,
there may not even be a reason why. So we should think about what we can do to
mitigate this."
No. The we think "I've been diagnosed with a disease. (Sorry I'm being an
a-hole|I won't go to your party|didn't get out of bed), I suffer from bipolar
and there's no cure".
~~~
yellowstuff
The book "The Emperor of all Maladies" doesn't put it in those exact terms,
but makes it clear that essentially the same is true of cancer. Cancer is a
symptom of many kinds of health problems, not a single disease that responds
to a single treatment.
If we understood bleeding as poorly as we understood cancer, then everything
from R&D for better bandages to public campaigns to reduce gun violence would
be lumped together as "treatment for bleeding."
~~~
astazangasta
There is a difference, that cancer has a biological cause (a genetic lesion).
"Mental illness", e.g. schizophrenia, has no such origin in a bodily
abnormality.
~~~
amanaplanacanal
What? How do you know that? That doesn't seem like something you can say is
known.
~~~
astazangasta
How about, "after decades of searching using all of the best available tools,
none has been found".
~~~
amanaplanacanal
We know that some mental illnesses have a genetic component. How would that
happen if there were not something physical?
Just because we don't know now, doesn't mean we will never know. That's how
science works.
~~~
astazangasta
I'm obviously not rejecting materialism, I'm merely attempting to distinguish
between "mental" and "physical", i.e., the cause of your 'mental illness' is
"nutrient deficiency" vs. "your wife left you". If, on balance, people
experience mental distress when they experience extreme emotional turmoil
without any significant accompanying physical event, we can't posit a physical
cause and therefore shouldn't seek a purely physical solution (drugs).
People have 'mental illness' because of mental problems, not physical
problems.
Also: everything has some genetic component, this is trivially true. Genetics
are what separates humans from dogs and plants. It doesn't necessarily help us
to explain the phenomenon adequately.
Also also: another way science works is its inability to prove negatives.
Therefore, saying, "someday we might discover this" can be said for pretty
much anything that remains unproven.
~~~
amanaplanacanal
I suspect I don't understand exactly what you are distinguishing here.
If your identical twin has schizophrenia, there is a 48% chance that you will
have it too. This is compared to the chance of the general population, which
is something like 1%. This feels like something is physically wrong in those
who are schizophrenic. I don't know how else you would get that kind of
result.
~~~
astazangasta
Yes, twin studies have often been trumpeted to demonstrate that schizophrenia
has a strong genetic basis. However, we've yet to find any actual genetic
variation strongly associated with schizophrenia, which, with such a high rate
of concordance, should be a snap. Twin studies themselves are suspect in a
number of ways - the assumption of environmental equivalence between twins and
the general population is suspect, for example. Fraternal twins also show
higher concordance than siblings, even though their genetics should be the
same.
------
tcj_phx
The quakers figured out that most people could recover from what are now
called "psychotic breaks" by being put in a safe place ("asylum") and provided
4 meals a day [2].
Much of the current problems of Psychiatry stem from the split of neurology
and psychiatry [0]. Over the last 60+ years investigators have found many
physiological considerations for the so-called "mental" disorders. The core of
the resistance against psychiatry (slandered as "antipsychiatry") are the
experiences of patients whose conditions deteriorate from medications that do
not address the cause of their conditions.
Stress is one of the most important factors in every psychiatric diagnosis.
Malnutrition is a type of stress; emotional stress and genetic mutations [1]
creates a need for more of certain nutrients.
[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropsychiatry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuropsychiatry)
[1] [https://www.gxsciences.com/methylation-
testing-s/2.htm](https://www.gxsciences.com/methylation-testing-s/2.htm)
[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_treatment#England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_treatment#England)
I appreciate Szasz's comment about the crucifixion of Ignaz Semmelweis, the
Hungarian obstetrician who had the audacity to suggest that his fellow doctors
should wash their hands between autopsies and childbirths:
"It taught me, at an early age, the lesson that it can be dangerous to be
wrong, but, _to be right, when society regards the majority’s falsehood as
truth, could be fatal._ This principle is especially true with respect to
false truths that form an important part of an entire society’s belief system.
In the past, such basic false truths were religious in nature. In the modern
world, they are medical and political in nature." (emphasis added)
The enduring mistreatment of those labeled as "mentally ill" is one of the
great tragedies of our time.
edit: added reference [2] edit2: extraneous words removed
~~~
themodelplumber
Most people do not know a lot of basic but important things about stress.
\- Change increases stress
\- To-Do list items are also known as "stressors"
\- Implementing someone else's suggested "happiness plan" in your life could
easily kill you, simply because it's new to _you_ and requires dramatic change
To be "right" as per Szasz means to fit into and apply a preferred template in
order to bring about that template's preferred outcome more than it means to
be true. It is the difference in template that causes the fatal dynamic, not
any difference in truth. More true does an individual feel, the more their
acted-out template matches their own psychology, and the more they see the
template benefiting others who are amenable to its way of framing things. More
do they demonstrate alarming symptoms, the more their preferred, best, most
trusted template is overridden both objectively and within their subjective
experience.
To make all of HN go "mentally ill" simply confine its membership to Facebook
fashion groups or the neighborhood butcher shop or the religious cult. The
method of or reason for confinement or the place of confinement will always
differ, but the result will be the same--absolutely devastating symptoms and
strange diseases, etc. Just change, and unknowingly set at an unsustainable
pace right from the start.
The illness model has its leverage points in e.g. its natural provision for
quick social exits, but other models also contribute much to our self care and
other-care.
~~~
jacobush
\- Stay in an abusive (doesn't even have to look too bad) relationship and try
to live the other's "happiness plan"
~~~
themodelplumber
Good example! And a deep topic...
------
pizza
Szasz's opinions on addiction and 'the therapeutic state' were some of the
most clear of any from the field of psychiatry I've heard yet.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Szasz#Szasz's_main_argu...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Szasz#Szasz's_main_arguments)
~~~
TheOtherHobbes
This is fine as far as it goes, but some psychotic people really are
dangerous. A percentage become murderous and violent, and criticising the
admittedly poor state of psychiatric understanding doesn't make them less
likely to harm themselves or others.
Of course the problem is related to wider social issues about permissive
violence. If one person murders another because of their delusions, it's a
crime and a medical failure. If an entire country declares war on another for
similar reasons we assume we're in the realm of politics and history, not mass
mental illness.
We're far too harsh on individuals and far too lenient on mass systems of
thought and belief that have horrific outcomes.
~~~
coldtea
> _This is fine as far as it goes, but some psychotic people really are
> dangerous. A percentage become murderous and violent_
Sure, but then again most non-psychotic people are as well. It's not like the
majority of murders is done by psychotic people.
~~~
eigenstuff
In fact, those with psychotic disorders are far more likely to be VICTIMS of
violence than perpetrators. Psychosis comes in a wide variety of flavors. I
have a psychotic disorder and have occasional psychotic episodes. It feels
like my brain is short circuiting and my thoughts become too rapid fire and
disorganized for me to do anything but stare into space and just ride it out
and go to bed. Its pretty frightening to feel like you've lost control of your
own brain like that if you don't know what's happening. About once a year or
so I'll have a paranoid episode, I just get really combative and accusatory
and start trying to pick (text, verbal) fights with my friends but fortunately
it's so out of character for me that everybody can tell something is wrong.
The next morning I'll wake up just fine and dandy like it never happened,
minus feeling really embarrassed and apologizing profusely to whoever I was
trying to pick fights with.
------
gmfawcett
I wish I could remember the title and author, but this reminds me of an
(unrelated) book on pain management, where the author's thesis is that most
musculoskeletal pain is psychosomatic: you can essentially will yourself out
of chronic pain once you accept this statement as fact. Does anyone recall the
book I'm talking about?
~~~
wiry-bulb
[http://www.neuroplastix.com/styled-4/aboutus.html](http://www.neuroplastix.com/styled-4/aboutus.html)
Maybe Dr. Moskowtizs. His technique is the subject of chapter 1 in Norman
Doidge’s “The Brain’s Way of Healing”
~~~
gmfawcett
Thank you for this.
------
Legogris
An article on the book from 1970:
[https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-
abstract/35656...](https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-
abstract/356561)
------
a_parrot
It's a pretty simple equation, and you feel the business end of it when you
question a medical doctor regarding something as simple as an antibiotics
prescription.
Fields are designed to protect the degreed professional. The words are crafted
as weapons forged in the defense of each thesis.
Everything you confront is the product of some long-dead intellectual chess
match conducted in an ivory tower, and from that moment forward concepts are,
by turns, weaponized.
This principle extends to all fields, economics, sociology, psychology,
biology, chemistry, physics, math. Don't believe me? Try on the "divide by
zero" argument for size.
It's just notation, to communicate expressions, that relay ideas.
If you were to have nothing, and hypothetically cut nothing into a number of
parts, you'd still have nothing. If you have something, and divide it into
zero parts, then that too, is nothing.
But people have a professional stake in fighting such compromises. Having won
an argument in the past means their reputation rests on defending that stance
until they finally die and get out of the way.
It's pretty easy to let an expression that communicates division with zero
exist. But because we have an academic norm standing in the way, the
conversation of whether or not we _should_ serves better to reveal the
brainwashed drones, parroting their instructors until death.
------
honkycat
Of course the #hustle obsessed hacker news crowd would love this title.
"Mental illness is fake! Mentally different people are just whiny and
inferior, not a legitimate illness. Depressed people need to just stop it."
What a load of crap.
This article does a poor job of laying out Szasz's actual beliefs. Szasz
sounds like a right-wing wonk and little else.
He has since been proven completely wrong in the 50 years since publication:
There is a biological component to mental illness.
It focuses on his persecution complex as a right-wing libertarian in a laregly
liberal field.
They bring up the completly irrelevant Semmelweis to attach an air of
legitimately to his crackpot beliefs. They do it again with Arendt.
~~~
dang
Can you please stop posting rants to HN? They're not what this site is for,
and you've done it a lot, unfortunately. Your non-rant comments are fine.
HN is for intellectual curiosity—see
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html).
~~~
austinjp
Personally I read their comment as impassioned rather than ranting.
~~~
dang
What I meant is that it was unsubstantive (i.e. contains little information)
and calls names. That's what makes it a bad comment for HN.
------
bellerose
The more I read of psychiatry makes me lean towards the majority of it being
pseudoscience. Finances play the most important role in suicidal ideation but
nothing is ever done for the people suffering from suicide attempts besides
placing them in a facility for an extended period and medicating them. Some of
the drugs have even been shown to induce gambling. How in the world does
someone escape a life where all the cards are dealt against them is unknown to
me. In this world you spend more money when poor to live healthy than if
starting out rich and it’s harder to save or increase your holdings while
poor. Stress is definitely the deciding factor in if a person can stay happy
and happiness is the only factor to really care about; besides physical health
but they come hand in hand. I think the field is improving but I have a bias
by living in a progressive city where the old beliefs are highly questioned
and rarely followed. I think psychiatry will go down in history next to the
holocaust. Too many people were ruined compared to being helped.
~~~
Bjartr
> Stress is definitely the deciding factor in if a person can stay happy
You make some interesting points, but I will say that you can absolutely
become, and remain, unhappy even while living a stress-free life. So while
stress is absolutely an important factor, it is not "the deciding factor"
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Gitcoin.co is Social Philanthropy with Bitcoin. - cgcardona
http://www.gitcoin.co/
======
cgcardona
This is Carlos Cardona the creator and project lead of gitcoin.co.
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding gitcoin, our choice of
building on the coinbase api, our goals, or anything else.
Thanks Hacker News community!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Carla – An open-source simulator for autonomous driving research - programd
http://www.carla.org
======
telltruth
There is also...
AirSim from Microsoft -
[https://github.com/microsoft/airsim](https://github.com/microsoft/airsim)
Gazebo car simulator - [https://www.osrfoundation.org/simulated-car-
demo/](https://www.osrfoundation.org/simulated-car-demo/)
Udacity car simulator - [https://github.com/udacity/self-driving-car-
sim](https://github.com/udacity/self-driving-car-sim)
It would be great if someone has experience with any of above and comment on
how they compare with CARLA.
~~~
alexleegk
Both AirSim and CARLA aim to fill in similar gaps in the current state of
photorealistic simulators for perception and control research. Here are some
differences one of my collegueas told me (he has used AirSim and beta-tested
CARLA):
AirSim
\+ Also has quadcopter simulator (besides car)
\+ Large environment
\+ Easy to add new environments
CARLA
\+ Simulator can be stepped
\+ Multiple weather conditions
\+ Environment has pedestrians and other cars
------
arca_vorago
I just found out about Carla a few days ago during my regular searching
through github for gpl projects. It's very cool that they release the art
assets for free, I'm already importing them into my UE4 project.
UE4 has a lot of potential uses other than just gaming many people don't
realize. For example, the camera and film tools really get me excited for the
future of digital film.
Right now UE4 is one of the main pieces of software I have compromised on when
it comes to my normally staunch position on foss, because I just don't have
the time or resources myself to get what I really want off the ground, which
would be a linux only, vulkan only engine.
Epic hasn't delivered on their promises to the gnu+linux community, for
example we still have no marketplace because they have closed the source for
the launcher so it's windows only, but in my book it's certainly better than
unity for linux native dev.
------
speps
I encourage everyone to watch the End-to-end reinforcement learning part of
the video...
~~~
dividuum
Reminds me of "python plays GTA V" stream where a Convolutional Neural Network
drives through the vast GTA world:
[https://www.twitch.tv/sentdex](https://www.twitch.tv/sentdex)
------
mandeepj
There is a simulator from Apollo also (Baidu)
[https://github.com/ApolloAuto/apollo](https://github.com/ApolloAuto/apollo)
------
akavel
Anyone knows if it supports hills and uneven terrain? In the video all I can
see is flatland?
------
tonylemesmer
Seems like vehicles can also be manually controlled [1]
[1]
[http://carla.readthedocs.io/en/latest/how_to_run/](http://carla.readthedocs.io/en/latest/how_to_run/)
~~~
akavel
It seems to be either simulation (networking) or manual control? Wonder why
there's conflict between them?
------
cr0sh
This is pretty cool.
I was hoping this was a namesake or somehow linked to Udacity's SDCE
nanodegree program, since their actual self-driving vehicle that they use in
that program (as the "final project") is named "Carla".
But it seems to have no relation - but more simulators are always welcome!
------
JulianMorrison
Could be useful for humans to practise driving?
~~~
kauegimenes
3D Driving School Simulator PC
------
NicoJuicy
Offtopic unfortunately, but i've been looking long time for a simulator of IoT
and electronic devices, for home automation. I'd like to simulate the
hardware, so i can focus on the development
Any advice?
~~~
draugadrotten
What does simulating IoT hardware even mean to you? For example, most IoT
stuff outputs one or more values when queried or when triggered. Are you
looking for something which generates the values in a way which looks like
IoT? That is, a random generator which will generate a temperature over time,
or a random door sensor generator which will generate open/closed in a pattern
similar to a real door? It seems to me that it would be almost trivial for you
to write these random generators yourself and feed them with the distribution
of (time,values) that you want to randomize. Or are you looking for more
intricate simulation of jitters, failures, errors, flaws similar to real
embedded IoT hardware? Can you elaborate?
~~~
NicoJuicy
Actually, electronic models and home automation. So I can create a plan and
prepare electronics, sensors and software in a VR
------
senatorobama
Can you use this to create training data for SDCs?
~~~
visarga
That's their purpose. Simulators are like dynamic datasets.
~~~
senatorobama
Isn't the dataset biased?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
My wonderful world of macOS - thmslee
https://github.com/nikitavoloboev/my-mac-os/
======
wlesieutre
Weird that Sketch gets the "I'm not a fan of subscription pricing" warning
when it's not a subscription. Buying it only gives you a year of updates
instead of until the next major feature/version bump, sure, but you're free to
stop paying and keep using the version you have.
The actual forced subscriptions like Ulysses and You Need A Budget somehow get
a free pass though?
~~~
suhastech
How comfortable are people with subscription pricing for a Mac App? I've been
seeing a lot of them are going that way.
To give a developers perspective, I have been contemplating to implement
subscription based model into my app to make it more sustainable. Putting in
time for development and as well as marketing (to always get more users) is
frustrating.
~~~
TheRealDunkirk
It's a function of the straw that broke the camel's back. What non-life-
critical apps or services am I paying for every month? Quite a lot already.
Cell service and cable TV & internet are already $350/mo for me. Then you have
Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Sam's Club (Premium!), Google Play, some stupid
app my daughter needs for $8/mo, Wolfram Alpha to help her with homework,
LastPass, Apple iCloud storage, SpiderOak backup, Google apps for business...
and I'm probably forgetting several others.
I understand everyone wants a subscriber, not a customer, but my budget is
dying a death from a thousand cuts here. I just can't keep paying for all
these things, even when they're only a "few" dollars, every month. It all adds
up. This is why people are saying they only pay for a subscription if it
REALLY matters to them. The slots are full. If your model requires a monthly
payment for something, it must literally change my life, at this point.
Thirty years ago, I had a $20/mo land line, and a TV antenna, and that was it!
Think about that! I'm not at all clear that my quality of life is $500/mo
better than it was back then.
~~~
georgespencer
I wonder if in the future there will be a subscription service which
consolidates subscription services and pays our fractions of the subscription
fee to each provider a la music streaming.
~~~
mendelk
[https://setapp.com](https://setapp.com)
At least one of the apps on OPs list (2do) is included.
~~~
georgespencer
Thanks! Interesting.
------
csomar
These days, I no longer have a long list of apps. In fact, I don't even have
any language or compiler installed on my Mac.
My apps for development are: NeoVim, Docker, Source Control and Paw.
For Communication and other: Skype, Chrome, Dropbox, Banktivity, Tor, Google
Earth and VLC.
In fact, I'm upset that I have more apps than I should.
Why should I have Skype when Messenger can make video calls from the browser.
Banktivity could have an online version. Tor should be builtin in Chrome. Or
why use Chrome instead of Safari? Apple should release a functioning browser.
And Google Earth should run on the browser sometime in the future as
JavaScript improves. And why have VLC? QuickTime should be able to run the
videos I watch.
That means my list becomes: Dropbox. Maybe I don't even need that! Make
Dropbox like an external HardDrive or something. Some integration in macOS.
And my list is 0.
The last thing I want is more cluttering. A dashboard? What the hell do you
use that for? A photobooth? I'm not 15 years old.
Having lots of apps remind me of how I was 5 years ago. You just want more
apps to "feel" good and productive. Sometimes it makes you feel important,
busy and technical. It's all B.S. folks and it's bad for you.
~~~
swah
I really miss a Skype app in Linux, and keep closing the web.skype.com tab all
the time. I like apps. I don't like web technology being the one and only way
to interact with a computer.
~~~
rangibaby
I have Skype for Ubuntu and it works for video calls (2013 MBP Retina)
~~~
swah
What doesn't work is actually Groups which my coworkers use
([https://askubuntu.com/questions/573620/how-to-activate-
group...](https://askubuntu.com/questions/573620/how-to-activate-group-chat-
in-skype-4-3-in-ubuntu-14-04)).
But I will try again because maybe they did it.
\--edit--
Yep, this now works.
------
gervase
I'm surprised this list doesn't cover Spectacle[0]. This free app definitely
surpasses Windows 10's adequate window management, and completely supersedes
the embarrassingly poor built-in functionality.
[0]: [https://www.spectacleapp.com/](https://www.spectacleapp.com/)
~~~
kobayashi
BetterTouchTool provides the same functionality and then some
~~~
sridca
Yes! I love BetterTouchTool's touch bar customization. It works quite well
with the multi monitor setup as well.
See [https://medium.com/productivity-freak/what-if-you-could-
real...](https://medium.com/productivity-freak/what-if-you-could-really-
customize-your-new-touch-bar-ea42ec66f42c)
------
ikurei
He's recommending Clean My Mac. I am a bit out of my medium on Mac, even
though I use it 8hrs a day, but I was under the impression Clean My Mac is
little more than bullshit, albeit with very effective and somewhat shady
marketing practices.
Do the more expert Mac users in HN recommend it?
~~~
porsager
Is there any chance you're actually thinking about Mackeeper? I've seen those
two confused before.
MacKeeper is indeed shady, but I think Clean My Mac is a great piece of
software.
~~~
ikurei
Now I feel terrible for bad-mouthing an apparently respected company...
I could swear I've seen those "Your Mac is having a problem" ads that fake
being a system error trying to get me into Clean My Mac 3, but may be it was
MacKeeper.
------
app4soft
There are few[1,2,3] much better lists created according "AWESOME"
initiative[0]
[0]
[https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome/blob/master/awesome....](https://github.com/sindresorhus/awesome/blob/master/awesome.md)
[1] [https://github.com/phmullins/awesome-
macos](https://github.com/phmullins/awesome-macos)
[2] [https://github.com/phmullins/awesome-macos-
commandline](https://github.com/phmullins/awesome-macos-commandline)
[3] [https://github.com/jaywcjlove/awesome-
mac](https://github.com/jaywcjlove/awesome-mac)
------
wishinghand
On the repo owner's Pixelmator line: > probably the best image editor out
there on Mac, is packed with very powerful features and is very simple in its
UI
I feel like that's quickly being overtaken by Affinity Photo[0]. One time fee,
though you have to pay twice if you want a license on Windows _and_ MacOS, but
it's a closer approximation of Photoshop so you won't have to change too much
muscle memory. It has better non-destructive layer editing as well. I found it
crazy hard to do a layer style like desaturating a layer without "baking" it
in.
[0] - [https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/](https://affinity.serif.com/en-
us/photo/)
~~~
inDigiNeous
Been using Photoshop and Pixelmator, Affinity Photo definitely is the in my
books the best image editor currently. Love that most of the things in
Affinity a real time, so you see changes immediately for all the effects etc.
It's still under work of course, and hasn't reached the kind of UI maturity
that Photoshop has, but it's getting there, and you can't beat their price
either.
------
legulere
To me this amount of tools seems like spending more time configuring and
tinkering with tools than actually using them productively
~~~
tejasmanohar
I used to be like this... crazy about dotfiles, backgrounds, shortcuts, apps,
etc. Eventually, I learned that I'm better off with the standard setup and
little customization. No fancy aliases, no recorded dotfiles, no crazy editor
configuration, nothing. If I get a new computer or am using someone else's
even, it's easy for me to install what I need as I need it and get going out
of the box.
~~~
keithpeter
The Rob Pike approach
[https://usesthis.com/interviews/rob.pike/](https://usesthis.com/interviews/rob.pike/)
I'm coming round to it (at a considerably less exalted level).
~~~
antaviana
What I do is the VDI approach. I have one AWS Windows instance with and I RDP
to it from any of my computers at home, the office or any of my second homes,
which happen to be iMacs but could be anything.
~~~
ajsalminen
How's the latency for text editing? I tried doing something like this with
*nix tools but found it unbearable even when connecting to localhost.
~~~
antaviana
In my case it is indistinguisable from local text editing. I remember however
that I chose to turn off SublimeText scrolling animations because it was a way
worse than locally. My fiber latency to my AWS instance is about 60ms and with
phone 4G about 80ms.
~~~
monkmartinez
What does that run you per month? What are you doing on it compute wise?
~~~
antaviana
I do not have exact costs at hand because it is just one of several AWS
instances we have, but probably my fully loaded costs on a 160 hour month for
this instance would be something like:
\- 150GB SSD: $15 \- 150GB 30 last days of daily snapshshots as a backup:
$3.45 \- 160 hours of t2.medium (4GB) Windows: $8.64
The typical applications I use are Visual Studio, Delphi, Office, Chrome, and
some domain specific apps.
Admittedly, you can reduce further the SSD cost of $15 to 160/744*$15=$3.22,
by snapshotting and deleting the SSD volume each time you shut down but I
never did that optimization because startup time would then not be seconds but
something probably in the range of 5 minutes, as you need to have some lambda
funciton create a new instance, create a volume from the last snapshot,
shutdown the newly created instance, replace the boot volume and finally start
the instance with the right boot volume.
What I also like of this approach is that I do not have to overprovision disk
or instances, if I ever need a larger drive, I just modify the volume, if I
need a bigger instance, I just shutdown and start with a bigger instance size.
------
archagon
On the topic of macOS power usage: I made a free open source app that lets you
use the side buttons on your third-party mice for system-wide navigation[1],
just like in Windows. Other apps can do this too, but practically all of them
bind the buttons to annoying keyboard shortcuts and frequently exhibit
unexpected behavior. Mine is (sort of) event based and works a lot better,
including in Xcode!
Not to toot my own horn (I mean the app is pretty simple) but it's a splinter
that's been bothering me about macOS for years and years.
[1]: [http://sensible-side-buttons.archagon.net](http://sensible-side-
buttons.archagon.net)
~~~
michaelwu
Starting to go off topic but have you checked out BetterTouchTool[1]? It's not
_just_ another window tiling app for the Mac. It also lets you conveniently
remap trackpad gestures and taps, 3rd party mice (yes you can remap your side
buttons if you want), keyboard shortcuts, etc. The coolest thing is that if
you really want, you can also restrict your remaps to work only in certain
applications. I've been using it for years and just wanted to share.
[1]: [https://www.boastr.net](https://www.boastr.net)
~~~
archagon
For the specific purpose of remapping side mouse buttons, BTT only allows you
to bind them to keyboard shortcuts. As far as I can tell, no tool except for
the one I made lets you bind them to virtual swipe events (which generally
work better).
~~~
fifafu
BetterTouchTool has always had the "mimicking standard gestures" predefined
actions which really send gesture events and don't just send shortcuts.
However it currently only supports three finger swipe left and right (which
are the most useful to go back and forward). I probably should look into how
to synthesize other gestures as well (there is no official API for
synthesizing gestures but afaik people have reverse engineered how to do it,
e.g.
[https://github.com/calftrail/Touch/tree/master/TouchSynthesi...](https://github.com/calftrail/Touch/tree/master/TouchSynthesis))
For three finger swipes I'm using a trick to synthesize them without private
API, but for other swipe types I'd need to synthesize them using the private
API... However there haven't been too many requests for other event types thus
it's not very high up on my TODO list.
(I'm the author of BTT)
Also BTT allows you to bind them to many many predefined actions in addition
to keyboard shortcuts, e.g. "Trigger Menubar Menu Item" which can be very
powerful.
~~~
archagon
Huh, neat! I was wrong, didn't realize BTT supported that. I'm using fake
three-finger swipes for my app as well, via the calftrail code you mentioned.
(Hence the GPL license.) Are you using a different trick? Is there a more
elegant way to do it barring private API access?
~~~
fifafu
No, unfortunately it's not elegant at all :-)
I'm basically using CGEventCreateData to save an original system three finger
swipe, then I'm just generating an event based on that saved data and refresh
the timestamp and mouse location before sending it.
~~~
archagon
Thanks for the info! I was considering doing something similar when I was
building my app, but calftrail's code saved the day...
Wish developers were legitimately able to generate those three-finger swipe
events, because they are ubiquitously supported and really useful. (Just the
other day, I discovered that Preview allows you to switch pages by swiping up
and down! Weird.)
------
kgabis
I've found these apps to be fantastic if you care about security on a mac:
[https://objective-see.com](https://objective-see.com)
~~~
beautifulfreak
Although BlockBlock is in "beta," it works well, preventing installation of
persistent items unless given a user okay but running silently in the
background. It's fun to see what causes the warning window to pop up, like
whenever Adobe Flash gets auto-updated. It's saved me from at least one very
sketchy install.
~~~
kgabis
I'm still surprised all these tools are free, he could easily sell them for
real money. I've started supporting him on patreon because it felt weird to
not pay anything for it...
------
fauigerzigerk
Useful as many of these utilities may be, I'm worried about the fact that I
have to fully trust each and every one of them. There are 63 entries on that
list. How am I ever going to be sure that _all_ of them are safe?
This concern is starting to really affect my use of software more generally. I
have found many useful browser extensions but I rarely install any of them
because of what they have access to.
Open source or not doesn't make a whole lot of difference either, because I'm
never going to be able to review and compile all of it myself after every
single update.
The somewhat surprising consequence is that the built-in features of operating
systems and browsers have become much more important to me than they have ever
been.
Essentially, the software I use is
(a) Built into the OS or browser
(b) Coming from one of a handful of organisations I trust
(c) Purely Web based
This is on the desktop. And on mobile the "solution" is to severely restrict
what software can do and give disproportionate power to some gatekeeper who
will then predictably abuse that position by extracting a 30% cut from
everybody and impose content restrictions way beyond what can be justified by
computer security.
------
rmrfrmrf
You could cut this list in half if you just used the free stuff already
included in macOS. I still don't get the appeal of iTerm or Alfred.
~~~
gervase
For me, a massive advantage of Alfred is the clipboard history. I know there
are plenty of other clipboard managers, but I've tried them all, and Alfred's
works the best for me.
Features I like:
* Ability to set upper-bound on individual size
* Ability to ignore clipboard CF_ types
* Ability to retain variable amounts of data by time
* Ignore certain apps' clipboards
* Filterable history search
* Short and long content previews
I also use iTerm, but that's mainly for the performance benefits and
customizability - I could live without it vs Terminal.app.
~~~
copperx
Performance benefits of iTerm? Terminal.app has much less latency.
------
thomble
Note that Textual is free. Codeux sells signed binaries.
[https://github.com/Codeux-Software/Textual](https://github.com/Codeux-
Software/Textual)
~~~
Etheryte
Huh, that's neat, I always thought they were closed source.
~~~
softinio
Textual is basically limechat with a theme.
------
coldtea
> _moved to it from Textexpander as I am not fond of subscription models for
> software (...) 1Password my password manager of choice_
I have bad news for you...
(Switching over to something else myself)
~~~
freetonik
You can still use 1Password without a subscription via 3rd party cloud
provider (e.g. Dropbox).
~~~
psaniko
From here [1] in case anyone is wondering. There is an option for "local"
vaults in the advanced settings.
[1] [https://agilebits.com/store](https://agilebits.com/store)
~~~
coldtea
For how long? The writing is in the wall. Will next version support it, after
it has given "ample time" to move to the subscription model? This version is
already under a time-delay popup.
------
xenihn
I'd like to recommend Snappy.
[http://snappy-app.com/](http://snappy-app.com/)
I can't live without it ever since I first tried it. I really hope Apple
either buys them or sherlocks them (preferably the former). Either way, I want
the functionality integrated into MacOS.
~~~
passivepinetree
I can't figure out if it's just poor implementation or just terrible UX
design, but every time I scroll on that site a sign-up dialog pops up. I can
click out of it, but when I scroll again, it immediately pops up. I'm unable
to scroll without this stupid dialog showing. (Chrome 60, MacOS)
I closed the tab after about five attempts to remove the dialog. I still don't
know what the product does.
~~~
xenihn
Clicking 'No thanks' stops it from re-appearing for me. Yeah, bad design. The
app is still great. It lets you take screenshots that float on top of your
desktop (like stickies), and can be resized and annotated.
------
amai
Telegram, really? From the guy who stored your passwords in cleartext:
[https://thehackernews.com/2016/06/vk-com-data-
breach.html](https://thehackernews.com/2016/06/vk-com-data-breach.html) .
Better have a look at
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_\(software\))
. It is Edward Snowden approved.
~~~
newscracker
There are a few points I repeat while they're still true. I like Signal for
its reputation and standing on security, but it's highly deficient when
compared to Telegram.
Telegram provides a much richer UI/UX than Signal or even Wire. [1] It has
multi-device sync and multi-OS support. Signal lacks multi-device sync. Signal
does not even have a proper desktop app. Signal explicitly prohibits backing
up the data and restoring it if you move to a new phone/device (at least on
iOS). The backup cannot be done to iCloud or even a local iTunes backup. So
don't buy a new device ever if you like your chat logs. Or take screenshots of
the chats for reference whenever you do. To me, this doesn't make any sense
whatsoever. People want usability a lot more, and if a "super secure" app is
not really being very useful, it won't get very popular. I'm still waiting for
Signal to get ahead so I can switch to it, but every time I think of it,
Telegram looks a few years ahead of Signal.
[1]: [https://wire.com](https://wire.com)
------
SKYRHO_
Didn't crunch the numbers, but as I looked up his/her apps all I could see was
$$$ signs.
~~~
eaceaser
Luckily they included an app in the list that will automatically mute Spotify
ads so you don't have to pay for it! Good value there. /s
~~~
SKYRHO_
Agreed!
------
Brajeshwar
Nobody mentioned Stow[1]. Simple and straight forward.
"GNU Stow is a symlink farm manager which takes distinct packages of software
and/or data located in separate directories on the filesystem, and makes them
appear to be installed in the same place."
1\. [https://www.gnu.org/software/stow/](https://www.gnu.org/software/stow/)
------
msl09
I'm curious about one thing. I recently discovered the wonderful world of a
physical notebook for keeping track of everything with my life. One of the
things that I love the most about it is that I can leave the computer, zoom
out from the technical nature of my problems and solve them in a more
conceptual manner (while taking a break from screens).
What kind of improvements do mindmaps give?
~~~
nikivi
Author of the post here,
For me personally one big advantage that mind maps have is that they are
digital. So I can access any single mind map in few keystrokes by searching
for the file in Alfred. I am also pretty fast with my keyboard so prototyping
ideas and new concepts is really fast for me.
I still use notebooks for sketching things but digital mind maps have too many
advantages to dismiss. I also recently made an Alfred workflow that allows me
to essentially query any of the digital mind maps I made and present all of
the contents of these maps in Alfred. Here is the workflow :
[https://github.com/nikitavoloboev/alfred-my-
mind](https://github.com/nikitavoloboev/alfred-my-mind)
The cool thing with that is that it lets anyone use my 'setup' of bookmarks,
links and notes in the most transparent way possible.
------
jamesw72
For productivity in development, I prefer simplicity over elegance.
------
mamp
Great collection. My favourite editor for notes/code is Quiver. It does
Markdown, WYSIWIG, code (via ACE editor), MathJax and even markup for
diagrams. It has a cell based approach so you can mix and match different
sections if you don't want everything as one big Markdown block. The only
downside is that there is no iOS editor, only viewer.
[http://happenapps.com](http://happenapps.com)
~~~
kossmoboleat
I like Quiver but I wish it would store regular Markdown files instead of
JSON. Equally important an Android app that can add notes or alternatively
Simplenote syncing would make me consider switching from nvAlt.
------
limeblack
The list is a little outdated for current Mac users. For example Karabiner
Elements is what I use on my Mac although all features aren't supported yet in
comparison to Karabiner. As side note although I love my Mac I find it to
support backwards compatibility in apps much worse then Windows. Many of my XP
apps still run in Windows 10 although I wouldn't necessarily encourage you to
use them.
~~~
otterpro
I miss Karabiner, and regretted upgrading to Sierra as soon as I found out
Karabiner wasn't supported. I miss the ability to map both Escape key and
control key to capslock key, which is essentially the greatest thing for my
Vim productivity.
~~~
gbear605
You can do that in Karabiner Elements, which does work on Sierra (and High
Sierra for that matter)
[https://github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-
Elements](https://github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-Elements)
------
lobster_johnson
Pixave looks great, and is something I've been looking for, but I wonder if
it's still alive. There's not been any activity on the developer's (previously
very active) Twitter account since March, the demo version is several versions
behind, and [email protected] bounces. I mention this as a concern because
it seems a bit buggy.
------
d_han
Thanks for sharing this. I found it very helpful. I haven't used karabiner
before and I'm trying to understand how you're using karabiner but I'm having
trouble doing so. Do you ever plan on writing something explaining your usage
or do you have any resources that you recommend?
------
kobayashi
I've seen many of these kinds of lists for macOS, but do any comparable lists
exist for Windows?
~~~
diego_moita
Scott Hanselman used to make a very good list, but the last one was in 2014:
[https://www.hanselman.com/blog/ScottHanselmans2014UltimateDe...](https://www.hanselman.com/blog/ScottHanselmans2014UltimateDeveloperAndPowerUsersToolListForWindows.aspx)
~~~
roryisok
yeah, not been updated in some time, but it earns him buckets of traffic.
some of the stuff on there is outdated. for example flux is now pretty
redundant on Windows 10 because of the new "Night Light" feature
------
gamekathu
Is there a Vim equivalent of Snippets lab? I recently switched to using vim-
wiki which I think could be used in this way to store snippets, but I do not
know yet how to configure quick search.
------
therealmarv
Stay away fom SnippetsLab. It looses data very often... better approach: Use a
decent editor like VS Code and use Dropbox/Google Drive with a directory
structure of your own.
------
aggress
I like leaving some RAM for my browser to chew through.
~~~
dawnerd
And they complained about chrome being slow...
------
wbrocklebank
Great list. I hear you re subscriptions but people who are new to (I.e. don’t
own) many of the apps you mention...
Paw, iStat Menus, Ulysses, Gemini, 2Do and quite a few more
Can get fully working copies on Setapp for a really low monthly price. Setapp
is a heavily curated subscription app bundle from the MacPaw folks. People cd
save a bunch of money and also have access to a large number of useful apps
that once in a while are ideal to do a job but that you wouldn’t purchase for
one-off use.
Http://setapp.com
~~~
coldtea
> _Can get fully working copies on Setapp for a really low monthly price._
Yes, but will Ulysses remain on Setapp now that they're doing their own
subscription thing?
------
petraeus
Missing Stock+ Pro and CloudTV, also white noise is a good app to drown out
office noise
------
seasonalgrit
I really miss iCal, which Apple killed off several years ago.
~~~
andrethegiant
What did iCal have that Calendar doesn't?
~~~
seasonalgrit
It's interesting you ask. iCal had the option of 2-, 3-, or 4-day view, which
I liked a lot. Also, I think iCal did much better job visually distinguishing
the current day. But I'm also talking about the task management aspects that
had been integrated into iCal. Sure, there's Reminders, but besides being a
separate app, it is buggy (crashes a lot) and the ui/ux is nowhere close to
what iCal offered.
------
foobarhonest
Learned about some new great tools - thanks.
------
ChemicalWarfare
apps-wise - Chrome, Atom, IntelliJ and I'm pretty much set :)
------
mr-ron
No clipboard manager?
~~~
andai
I think (based on the graph linked under "[Alfred] has saved me a lot of
time") that OP is using Alfred for that
[http://i.imgur.com/eavekiX.png](http://i.imgur.com/eavekiX.png)
------
barbs
Am curious to know why they prefer Telegram to Whatsapp.
~~~
CrazyGentleMan
Pros: \- Secret Chat \- Share different file types up to 1.5 GB \- Multi-
device access \- Supergroups and public channels \- Telegram Bots \- Lock
chats and Ability to hide last seen for particular contact \- Edit Messages
and Mention People
Cons I can thin of: \- No calls support or ability to backup chats \- lacks
user base
~~~
ngrilly
How can secret chat be a pro for Telegram when it's the default in WhatsApp?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Google's conflict of interest with Uber - surferbayarea
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2014/11/google-maps-your-best-accessory-this.html<p>Given Google Ventures is an investor in Uber, this is a clear conflict of interest.<p>Google is supposed to be an unbiased search engine. So in this case, Google maps should either return fares from a number of top services(uber, lyft, taxi) or return the cheapest(which is what a user might want).<p>Just returning results from one service is a clear violation of user trust. As a user, I can no longer trust Google to give unbiased information based on algorithmic ranking. Seems Google ranking is now influenced clearly by its monetary interest as a corporation. That is fair(since a corporation's goal is to make money), but then all the bullshit about doing no evil goes down the drain. That also makes sense, since they have officially given up on that manifesto.
======
spindritf
As a user, I completely don't care. If Google's results are not on par with
some other, better service, I'll simply use it instead.
What does it even mean for a maps app to be "unbiased"? How is it "evil" to
partner up with another company? Google's supposed to be useful.
Whether they should return worse results than possible due to incompetence,
cost cutting, conflict of interest, poor management... really doesn't matter.
Only results matter.
~~~
applel0ver
If the fastest way to go from point A to point B is via lyft or sidecar, only
providing uber as an option might not return the most optimal(and hence
useful) result. Just like for some stocks, google web ranking returns Yahoo
Finance as the first result(since that is what the ranking algorithms come up
with), for maps as well they should determine the most optimal way for a user
to go from one point to another - regardless of whether that service is owned
by Google or a rival.
~~~
spindritf
If the fastest route to go from A to B is different than whatever Google says
it is, then there's room for a better service. It doesn't matter whether it's
a result of Google favouring Uber, or just not doing a very good job. The
internal cause is completely irrelevant to the user.
------
iwatch00
Use DuckDuckGo!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why It’s So Hard to Get Solar in Florida - jseliger
https://www.wired.com/2016/10/florida-sunshine-state-hard-get-solar-energy
======
noonespecial
Until very recently, installing a solar system came with a great big helping
of extra taxes!
Thankfully that was just fixed by a landslide.
[http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/08/30/amendment-4-would-
make-...](http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/08/30/amendment-4-would-make-solar-
cheaper-for-property-owners-2/)
But all is still not well. Our state government seems determined to protect us
from "big solar". If only that were truly a problem! If you live in Florida,
make sure to go vote even if you can't stomach either of our partisan
candidates for president, if nothing more than to support solar power in
Florida.
Its pretty embarrassing for the "sunshine State" to get its ass kicked in
solar power by New Jersey.
~~~
Buge
Are you advocating that people vote yes or no? Because the article doesn't
really say which would be better for solar.
~~~
noonespecial
See the comment by dtnewman below. Sorry to be vague, I had that in mind.
Amendment 4 was an important yes to kill the extraneous taxes on solar
systems. The upcoming vote on 1 is a muddled mess that should be voted against
until something reasonable can be introduced.
------
dtnewman
The proposal (as it will be written on the Florida ballot) starts off:
> This amendment establishes a right under Florida's constitution for
> consumers to own or lease solar equipment installed on their property to
> generate electricity for their own use.
I wish that the article would have talked a bit more about how misleading this
sentence is. It makes it sound like Floridians are gaining the ability the own
or lease solar panels, when in fact we (I'm a new Floridian) _already have
that right_! It is just a statutory right, not a constitutional one. But
reading this, a voter who doesn't know better might think that this is some
new right that Floridians didn't previously have.
It seems like this bill has a pretty broad list of opponents. How often do you
see opponents such as the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida, the
Libertarian Party of Florida, Sierra Club and the Green Party of Florida all
on the same side of an issue?
So with conservatives, liberals and libertarians against this amendment, it
seems like the only real supporters are the power utilities who had to fight
before the state supreme court to get the misleading wording accepted. But
given the misleading wording, I'm wording that this just might get passed.
More about this here:
[https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Solar_Energy_Subsidies_and_P...](https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Solar_Energy_Subsidies_and_Personal_Solar_Use,_Amendment_1_\(2016\)#cite_ref-
quotedisclaimer_3-0)
~~~
noonespecial
The big problem with it is this:
_" to ensure that consumers who do not choose to install solar are not
required to subsidize the costs of backup power and electric grid access to
those who do."_
This is essentially an open door that can later be slammed shut in the faces
of solar installations that are leased at a discount to the homeowner on the
fact that excess power can be sold back to the grid (net metering). It could
also be taken so far as to allow power companies to charge extra fees to
individual solar users for not using "enough" power to pay their "share" of
the distribution system costs (utility poles etc).
I wish there was a way to vote against this _and_ let them know exactly why.
Its a nearly perfect example of a classic political ploy: Enshrine a common
sense right that everyone already defacto has (and would be crazy to vote
against) in law, but slip in some weasel words that nullify that right in
practice.
~~~
mycall
> a classic political ploy
Letting corporate special interest groups write almost all of the legislation
is the key problem here.
------
slyall
I've seen similar stories in the past, the problem appears to be that in many
areas the bill was 100% linked to actual usage and didn't reflect the costs of
the connection and infrastructure.
In New Zealand the domestic electricity bill is broken up into a fixed daily
charge plus a variable charge. According to this site only around 30% of the
bill goes towards generation so it is a bit more closely matching the actual
costs of the provider.
[https://www.ea.govt.nz/consumers/my-electricity-
bill/](https://www.ea.govt.nz/consumers/my-electricity-bill/)
------
magthor
In my view Florida would be better served by deregulating their electricity
markets (as 16 other states/territories have done) and allow 3rd party
suppliers to compete for business. Then consumers who want solar (or other
forms of green power) can buy it directly without having to put panels on
their roof that will obsolete in a few years.
------
tracker1
I think if they added a provision for a fixed fee that needs state
congressional approval to change would at least clear things up. In the end,
at least here in AZ, roughly half the electric bill is separated to "delivery"
fees, which are supposed to cover infrastructure and maintenance. If those
were a fixed fee, then it'd be easier to calculate the advantage or not of
solar.
Another risk in Florida, is the solar panels are effectively wind sails in a
hurricane, and raise the risk of property damage, which is another thing that
may be offsetting costs in terms of raised property insurance.
I'm actually more in favor of wind farming than solar currently. The costs to
create the panels have other environmental impact beyond the displacement of
other resources for fuel used in electricity creation.
~~~
jadei
I had solar pool panels that did fine through hurricane Mathew in west palm
beach. They are pvc and plastic I think. I was worried about them flying but
they must have been engineered right as far as roof connections (plus the
winds remained mostly tropical strength with a few hurricane gusts.)
~~~
sukilot
Yeah you get very little hurricane damage if you built outside of the area the
hurricane hits. But what if you don't?
------
vamur
Retail solar power is not viable currently. Cheapest reputable panel on
aliexpress is about $1.2K for 1KW. Lead-acid on Amazon is about $500 per 1KWH
(not counting shipping). Assuming backup of 30KWH it would require about
$16.2K without inverters, cables, installation or shipping. And with these it
can be 20-30K+.
So it is not surprising that retail solar is not viable without subsidies.
Which are in essence wealth transfer from the poor to richer early adopters.
On top of that it is a headache for grid operators who have to account for
unpredictable inputs from retail solar power users.
Instead of the overly expensive retail solar power it would be better if
subsidies went to the far cheaper solar powered ACs, solar panel water
heaters, urban and outdoor lightning.
~~~
pjc50
Storage is not required for retail solar, just grid-tie. All the non-carbon
systems require subsidy.
The solar subsidy has been _hugely_ effective at reducing prices.
~~~
sukilot
_reducing_ prices, or _shifting_ prices to the rest of the population,
regardless of energy use?
~~~
pjc50
Reducing the price of solar for future installations.
Yes, the overall cost of energy would be less with an all-fossil system, but
that's no longer acceptable.
------
gjolund
This article does a terrible job highlighting what you can do about this.
Vote no on prop 1 in November.
------
tomjen3
Why should non Solar users subsidise the grid for those who can install solar
panels in sufficient quantities to matter? This probably means people who owns
houses gets a subsidy from those who live in apartments, who are typically
poorer.
~~~
glenndebacker
Here in Belgium they did make that mistake. They issued green power
certificates so people installing solar panels could receive some money.
After a while it became pricey and they needed to halt the program. Still they
were obligated to pay those certificates to those who registered under that
program. The consequence is that they needed to raise other energy taxes and a
lot of families who are struggling are being hit extra hard.
The sickening part of the whole story is that we have big wealthy industrial
families who have build complete solar farms under that program and pure for
the certificates. Some are receiving 10 millions euro a year (for 20 years)
and paid for a part by the poor.
~~~
pjc50
What about the bigger, wealthier industrial families who have built coal mines
and got subsidies for them too?
[http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-koch-coal-
idUSL2N14W1JJ20...](http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-koch-coal-
idUSL2N14W1JJ20160112)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Blackhat SEO games Reddit, blogs about it - monkeygrinder
http://www.esrun.co.uk/blog/cheating-reddit-auto-votes/
======
ed
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1774854>
------
fondue
"I’m absolutely stoked that my post made it onto two of my favourite sites-
HackaDay.com and TheRegister."
Congratulations, you've now made it here, too.
~~~
monkeygrinder
I'm not that guy. But I wouldn't be surprised if he is on here... he could be
anyone.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A Science-Backed Guide to Taking Truly Restful Breaks - ohjeez
http://99u.com/articles/54325/a-science-backed-guide-to-taking-truly-restful-breaks
======
sundarurfriend
Pretty appropriate timing, I was just thinking of stuff to do in my Pomodoro
breaks to make them most effective.
I'd just added 'washing out my eyes with pure water' to the list of things to
do in breaks, reading this article made me add 'going outside, or at least to
the street-facing balcony' too. One more thing I'd add is deep breathing - use
the Vim Hoff method or Buddhist techniques or whatever - but one of the things
I feel the modern world heavily underestimates is the level of effectiveness
that simple, conscious, deep breathing can have on your mental and physical
state.
~~~
ohjeez
I find that I get the most real rest from doing something different. E.g. it
shouldn't include typing or a screen, or an activity that involves looking
inside my own head. It's one reason I'm a baseball season ticket holder (even
if my team is doing dreadfully, I _shout aloud_ and watch people being
occasionally-adept at non-cerebral things), and why I quilt or embroider.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Green Goose sensors monitor your life, you earn experience points - vyrotek
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/23/green-goose-sensors-monitor-your-life-you-earn-experience-point/
======
makmanalp
This was predicted:
[http://www.ted.com/talks/jesse_schell_when_games_invade_real...](http://www.ted.com/talks/jesse_schell_when_games_invade_real_life.html)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
AT&T trying to crackdown on unauth. tethering - paylesworth
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/03/att-shames-unauthorized-phone-tetherers-gives-ultimatum-deadline.ars
======
ChuckMcM
Add a bit of personal experience here. Google gave its employees unlocked
Android phones (not once but twice :-) and some of us (like me), put our AT&T
sim card into them and used them instead of our plan phone. There was a
'feature phone' data plan that was $15 unlimited and there was the $10/month
'tax' if you had an iPhone.
Using the cheaper unlimited plan worked for a long time, and then AT&T started
'automatically' switching people to the smartphone tax if their IMEI indicated
they had an android phone. I did what any reasonable person would do,
cancelled my AT&T contract and signed up with t-mobile :-)
------
kalvin
Lots of discussion of this elsewhere. It looks like some people who don't
tether (but use a lot of bandwidth) are also getting the message, leading
people to believe to that AT&T is looking solely at bandwidth usage.
[http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news/755094-t-cracking-
down-...](http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news/755094-t-cracking-down-mywi-
tethering.html)
I use TetherMe ($2 in the cydia store, instead of $10 for mywi, enables native
tethering), and I haven't gotten this message.
~~~
ben1040
I certainly wouldn't be surprised if that was the case that they're just going
after high bandwidth users and not doing packet inspection (yet). I
occasionally swap my iPhone 4 SIM to a Nexus One and use the built-in wifi
tethering feature, and haven't heard from AT&T about it. On the other hand I
only have used maybe 2GB of tethered data over the last _year_ and in general
run up no more than 800MB-1GB of mobile data a month.
There are people on that thread showing they used 10+GB/month, connecting
their Xbox 360s to Live via their phones, etc. That certainly seems like a way
to get "noticed" by AT&T.
edit: one guy on there pasted his usage from AT&T's account manager - 165 GB!
~~~
theBobMcCormick
Those are the people who are ruining it for everyone.
I use the Tethering on my Nexus One (Tmobile) from time to time, but I don't
abuse it. I use it as an emergency backup internet access for cases like if
the wifi at the hotel isn't working, etc. IMHO, that's reasonable and my usage
when tethered probably isn't much more than when I run things like Pandora or
Youtube on my phone.
If I were using 10+G/month, then I'd _expect_ to have to pay for a higher
priced "tethering included" plan.
~~~
dexen
Some put it the other way around: you owe the ever-improving network to the
heavyweight users [1]. Well, at least Cisco says that -- and you know what
they sell.
In any case, it's not the other user that oversold the bandwidth; it's the
ISP. They made an unhedged bet, it fell short of working out(predictably), so
it's their turn to foot the costs of upgrading the network.
\----
[1] [http://business.financialpost.com/2011/03/04/bootup-heavy-
we...](http://business.financialpost.com/2011/03/04/bootup-heavy-web-users-
are-just-early-adopters-research-shows/)
------
yellowbkpk
These e-mails from AT&T are almost always smoke and mirrors. I'm on the same
data plan I had in the Cingular days and have received dozens of e-mails and
texts warning me that I "may be violating my contract" and that they're going
to switch me to the $60/mo plan.
I've yet to be switched away from my $10/mo data plan.
~~~
kpao
Same for me, until I got a Nexus One.
I was using an HTC TyTn2 that I didn't purchase at a Cingular Store and I was
on the $15 data plan. Never got caught with this phone, probably because they
didn't know what phone to map my IMEI to.
I got a Nexus One for AT&T last year, and received an auto upgrade SMS shortly
after, saying that my Nexus One required another plan...
------
thesis
I love when my ISP is actively monitoring/reading packets. Makes me feel all
warm and fuzzy.
------
charlief
Was posted earlier today with a large set of comments:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2340275>
------
azim
It's unlikely AT&T is doing anything fancy at this point, but there's
potentially much more to detection than TTL. NAT devices make an attempt to be
transparent at layer 4 and try not to interfere with it. Host OS
fingerprinting can rely on a combination of options at that layer as well
including but not limited to windowing scaling MSS. If AT&T cared to go the
distance, it would be very difficult to get around detection without
interfering with the TCP/IP stack.
~~~
vetinari
Use SOCKS proxy for tethering - problem solved. (OK, it is not that
transparent for client, but the detection would be much harder).
------
omarqureshi
There is a greater underlying issue here which seems to be missed.
I have paid £x to use O2's (or in this case AT&T's) network, not only that but
I also had to partially pay for the handset.
O2 should not really give a damn about what device I use to access their
network - sure, they may have sold me a handset with an Internet plan, but it
is MY DECISION to use whatever device I see fit to use that network.
If I am allowed to use whatever device I want but it was capped to say 4GB, I
would have no issue, but as it stands, I am not only paying to use the phone,
but an additional bullshit cost to tether the phone which technically should
be none of their concern.
~~~
ajg1977
That's a bit like saying "I bought a plane ticket, and if I want to cram
multiple people, cargo, or whatever into the seat that's MY decision and the
airline should not give a damn".
There's no underlying issue. You accepted their offer of a subsidized handset
in exchange for entering into a contract to buy voice & data for that handset,
or an equivalent, for a period of time. Your agreement pertains to that type
of device only, clearly stated in the T&C's.
Now, if you want to argue that tethering charges to use your bandwidth is a
dick move, or that mobile operators should NOT be able to discriminate, or
charge more just because you own a certain device, then I completely agree.
But neither of those are what you agreed to.
~~~
chris_j
You're absolutely right about the T&Cs. Presumably AT&T are aware that some
people are prepared to pay more for tethering and therefore write the T&Cs
such that can price-discriminate in order to get more money out of those
people for potentially the same service. The sad thing is that people probably
signed up in the expectation that the T&Cs would not be enforced and are
getting a rude shock.
To slightly modify your airline analogy, this is like going on a business trip
and flying economy. The airline scans your baggage, notices that you have
packed your suit and other work-related items and demands that you pay the
business class fare. "Hold on a minute," you complain, "I am entitled to 20kg
of hold baggage and 7kg of hand baggage, so long as it fits with certain
dimensions and isn't dangerous!" The airline retort: "Read the small print.
Business travellers with certain items in their baggage will be charge the
business class fare, which will be charged to your credit card. Now, enjoy the
flight and don't forget to pay attention to the safety announcement."
------
paylesworth
I'm curious to find out what you guys / gals think about this. Is this just a
fear tactic? Or, does ATT have a legit way to check if you're doing
unauthorized tethering. Any of you get hit with this text on accident (false
positive)?
EDIT Removed the '(Ars)' from the title. N00b mistake :)
~~~
gte910h
There are dozens of legit ways to automatically detect this, and dozens more
if humans are involved.
Requesting non-mobile versions of sites that do not have the option
User Agent strings such as "Internet Explorer" or "Safari" in HTTP requests
Sending screen sizes via relatively common web calls
The use of UA-Pixels at all, especially when specifying large screen sizes.
Use of protocols that are only seen in desktop OS programs (ventrilo,
starcraft2, etc for instance is one that should be a good detector).
~~~
mattmanser
How are any of these legit, all of that's illegal wiretapping.
~~~
ceejayoz
It'd be illegal wiretapping if it were the government, perhaps, but I'd
imagine the standard contract with AT&T permits this.
~~~
eli
_"AT &T may, but is not required to, monitor your compliance, or the
compliance of other subscribers, with AT&T's terms, conditions, or policies"_
And, of course, it's now well-known that the government WAS using deep packet
inspection on AT&T internet traffic.
I would assume they're just looking at how much you download in a month,
though. I don't think AT&T is worried about offending outliers using large
amounts of mobile data by inaccurately accusing them of tethering.
~~~
sukuriant
Could you provide a link to the government using deep packet inspection on ATT
internet traffic. I don't remember it/haven't heard about it.
Just curious.
~~~
nitrogen
Here's what a Google search for "at&t nsa splitter" turned up:
<http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/04/6585.ars>
------
jimbobimbo
Unless they're performing a deep packet inspection, there's no good way to
tell if you're tethering. Usually tethering option uses user name that differs
from non-tethered option during authentication. If your unathorized tethering
application sits on the device, it simply shares non-tethered connection,
hence the user name doesn't change. The only plausible explanation w/o going
deep into packets - bandwidth or some unusual ports usage.
------
avolcano
Great, now I get to stop working away from home. I mean, I can barely pay the
$20-25/mo for 2 gigs, let alone $45/mo for 4 + tethering.
------
hippich
They can detect this only by listening traffic. Isn't this require some court
order for wiretapping? =)
Also, what's about if I setup permanent openvpn connection from the phone to
some dedicated server?
------
teyc
They should have called the plan "all-your-iPhone-can-eat-plan Note: meals not
to be shared with other devices"
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Git-hooks: yet another git hook manager - cattail
https://github.com/git-hooks/git-hooks
======
cattail
git-hooks is rewritten from icefox/git-hooks, with extra features. Especially
support for common used hooks.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
AMD's Cayman GPU Architecture - closure
http://realworldtech.com/page.cfm?ArticleID=RWT121410213827
======
Symmetry
So now it seems that AMD is going in a more GPGPU direction, incorporating the
equivalents of some of the changes that NVidia made with their most recent
architecture.
------
forkqueue
TLDR; It's marginally faster than the Boxster architecture, but slower than
the Carrera architecture.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Why My Handwriting Sucks: A Typographical Analysis - hellomaggiema
https://medium.com/@manibatra23/why-my-handwriting-sucks-a-typographical-analysis-9e0fc4756b71
======
muraiki
I recently started working on fixing my handwriting, which was often so bad
that I couldn't even read my own notes. I found an excellent free resource,
Handwriting Repair: The Italic Approach
[http://briem.net/8/2/205.html](http://briem.net/8/2/205.html) After going
through the beginning worksheets a few times, I've already made a tremendous
improvement.
The overwrite with zigzag and trace zigzag approach actually works quite well,
even though it seems repetitive at first. But you're learning to change the
easy-to-mess-up circular movements that most handwriting uses into oval
movements, which can be executed more quickly despite looking more
consistently nice.
Something else helpful for me was getting an inexpensive Pilot Metropolitan
fountain pen. With this pen I don't need to exert any pressure at all; the use
of pressure is something that messes up your handwriting, and of course also
leads to hand cramps.
When you first begin to correct your handwriting, you will need to write more
slowly. But as your proficiency increases, so will your speed.
~~~
soared
Instead of imrpoving my existing (sloppy but fast) handwriting I learned a
secondary way to write that is much slower but very clear and easy to read. It
was fun and I'm glad I did it. I only did about 20 minutes of practice
everyday for a week or so.
I chose architect style handwriting and it looks really cool. I only use it
for filling out forms or other similar things where other people really need
to see every letter.
[https://www.quora.com/Why-do-architects-tend-to-write-in-
sim...](https://www.quora.com/Why-do-architects-tend-to-write-in-similar-
lettering-handwriting-Is-it-a-stylistic-thing-or-is-there-a-practical-reason)
~~~
jlg23
At least in Western Europe architects have to follow an industry standard that
governs fonts and stroke width (afaik 2 different widths, depending on
context). 40 years ago, learning to write in this style was even part of the
curriculum in the GDR.
~~~
rbonvall
Note that handwriting styles are not called _fonts_ , but _hands_. A font is
basically a set of prefabricated letters.
------
beeftime
Weird, random bolding and italicizing? Spaces on both side of every
parenthesis? A space before punctuation... sometimes?
This guy's typing sucks too.
~~~
galacticpony
I was about to write the same comment. Since you beat me to it, I'll just
point out that this guy really should put on a proper shirt.
------
vanderZwan
> _I am sure the last time I wrote I did it as a novelty. I did it because I
> was penning down something that held a certain value to me or maybe I just
> thought that actually writing it down will make me feel more connected to
> it. Even as I type down the word “writing” the first thought that comes to
> my mind is actually typing on a keyboard. Whenever I have to write something
> down I use a KEYBOARD._
This honestly sounds like a humblebrag to me.
Typing on a keyboard is not a drop-in replacement for the act of writing by
hand. It has very different effects on the brain and how it engages with what
is being written.
If I'm working out difficult problems, in the early stages I much prefer a
combination of doodling and handwriting over typing stuff on the computer. It
actively engages the mind in a way the keyboard does not. Typing really only
works best when the problem solution is already present semi-finished thoughts
in my head and just needs to be fixated in external symbols, with a little bit
of restructuring along the way.
Basically: I prefer handwriting for thinking, and typing for transcription.
~~~
SamBam
I'm not sure why it sounds like a humblebrag to you. I believe _many_ people,
especially those of us on our computers all day, go days at a time without
writing with a pen once, except maybe to scrawl their names on receipts.
I used to keep a pad next to my desk to work out difficult programming
concepts. I probably used it once a month at most.
I write more now because I try to keep handwritten notes of to-dos, but even
then I had to force myself to use a pen, and not one of the million digital
note-taking apps.
It's not a question of whether one is better than the other, it's just that
keyboards and phones are under the fingers of a large segment of the
population for the majority of the day, so people don't even think to use
pens.
~~~
taeric
Agreed that it isn't a humblebrag. The humblebrag, to me, was that the
person's handwriting wasn't that bad. :)
~~~
manibatra
Haha you are kind. I assure it looks much more prettier enlarged on a screen.
------
jawbone3
My god, programmer typography! It's like the author only just discovered font
weigths. The only possible defence for using bold allcaps five times in a
paragraph is if it is a name that is being typeset that way. here there is no
such defence and the author deploys a further five instances of bold italics
in the very first paragraph, the one small mercy being not deploying any bold
all caps underline or making itrain typefaces.
I honesty felttired just looking at that text.
~~~
kelnos
I know this is meta, and generally frowned upon, but can we please discuss
content rather than presentation? Ranting about presentation does not change
anything or meaningfully add to the discussion.
As an aside: I love how you're criticizing, but in your post made (at least)
one spelling error ("weigths"), missed a space between two words
("felttired"), missed capitalizing the first word of a sentence ("here"), and
spelled/spaced two words differently ("allcaps" and "all caps"). (Also I'm not
sure if "itrain" is a word; Google didn't help in deciphering that one.)
Pot/kettle/black.
~~~
setr
tbf the topic is "Typographical Analysis"
If the author displays a weakness in a Typographical practice/understanding,
it's difficult to continue believing his "analysis" has real value; it would
obviously be limited to at the very least those shown weaknesses, as well as
the set of weaknesses we haven't yet seen.
And when the shown fault is at the basics of typographical best practice, then
it is likely not worth reading any of the analysis; any statement used is
likely a misunderstanding of the real properties of it. And given that this is
targeted at people _not_ well-versed in typography, then it is probably a case
of a novice teaching a novice, and thus any presented understanding is likely,
at best, a poor understanding of the subject, and at worst, incorrect.
When discussing typography, I think its pretty fair to judge the presentation
as well as the content, since its a metric of their authority on the subject
matter.
Not fair, however, is that the grandparent's subject is typography, and afaik,
your criticism is not related to typography. Particularly in that in the
article is very distinctly _edited_ to use typographical "features", and fails
to use them well (imo), a result of misunderstanding the properties of the
features; whereas the grandparent is very distinctly _not edited_ , and
clearly a result of typing too fast. The grandparent is _not_ thinking about
typography in his presentation; The article is. So the article can be judged
(it tried and failed), whereas the grandparent can really only be criticized
for a lack of caring in the first place.
~~~
kelnos
The author isn't really discussing typography as the main focus, though. He is
talking about handwriting, and how it could possibly _relate_ to typography.
I'm not trying to be picky or pedantic here; I think the distinction is
actually important. He need not be an expert in typography (or even display
good sense in presentation around typographic elements) to take a look at his
handwriting and find inconsistencies between it and some common metrics used
in typography.
One need not even agree with his conclusion/belief that you can make your
handwriting better by post-processing it to make it have consistent letter
spacing, line heights, etc. I think just the idea of doing those comparisons
is interesting, and one is free to draw their own conclusions. Just the idea
of making those comparisons made it a worthwhile read to me, because I
wouldn't have thought of it on my own. Sure, you can disagree that it was a
worthwhile read for you, but that doesn't make it somehow ok to trash the
guy's article like the great-grandparent did.
I think what I'm getting at boiled down, is this: be nice. The original author
had an idea about something, looked into it, and wrote up some of his findings
and opinions. You can disagree with those opinions, or even the methodology
around the findings, and it's fine to express that disagreement, but the
great-grandparent did so in a fundamentally rude way, which I think is well
beneath HN's standards for quality, respectful discourse. It amounted to
little more than an ad hominem attack.
------
taeric
I have notepads where I wrote that sentence. I didn't make the mistake of
forgetting that the second animal is a dog. I did forgot to include an "s" in
my sentence, though. Somewhat embarrassing when I realized I was writing a
sentence to include all letters, but didn't include all letters.
I am still a fan of writing. More, drawing some diagrams, which I am terrible
at. It really takes an intuitive sense of understanding space as you are
drawing. All too often, I have drawn the boxes, without the space for names
inside of them. It is frustrating.
~~~
manibatra
I wrote it over two days and didn't notice the missing animal. Color me
embarrassed. Honestly I was not a fan of writing, typing being much faster.
But a chance reading of the book "Thinking with type" and a big discussion
with a friend about how handwriting is unique to a person made think of my
handwriting as a type. Thanks for reading!!
~~~
taeric
As I said, I went quite a few days writing before I realized I had my fox
"jumped" instead of "jumps". It was only one day when it occurred to me I did
not have any practice writing an S that I stopped to think why. :)
And thanks for doing the post. Fun read!
------
AkirIkasu
The irony of this is that the only problem he really fixed was making his
handwriting more regular. While it does help, the real problem is his
malformed glyphs. His lowercase 'q' has such a large tail that it adds an
extra space between the word, and his 'o' is written slightly different every
time he writes it. The base of his problems seems to be that he writes with a
mixture of different scripts, and if he taught himself to write with just one
of them, he would be much better off.
~~~
manibatra
Thanks for the constructive criticism. Coming to think of it I did modify my
writing style completely 7-8 years ago. Went from cursive to not so much. Some
of it clearly lingered. So I will take a note of that. Like an another comment
pointed out learning about glyphs will go a long way and that's next on my to
do list.
------
robinson-wall
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy... fox?
~~~
owlninja
I am ashamed to admit that it took a long time before I learned that sentence
(with dog) is used because it has every letter of the alphabet.
------
libertymcateer
>The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy _dog_.
That was bugging the heck out of me.
~~~
manibatra
Author here. And to think of it that I wrote it over two days. Two days. Made
a couple of my friends read it. I am embarrassed and will fix it by tonight.
~~~
libertymcateer
No worries!!
Also, don't let all the very tough feedback on here get you down. Tough crowd
on here!
~~~
manibatra
I will not . I am just truly grateful that some people took the time out to
read something I wrote. Amazing !!
------
pacaro
So leaving aside the fact that tools for converting your handwriting into a
font already exist. The way the Latin alphabet is typeset is really inimical
to this. Arabic is a much better match, because the font shaping engines
understand that letters have different forms in different parts of a word, and
that the strokes need to align. Maybe you could do this with learning pairs
and glyph substitutions, but I doubt many people are going to have the
patience
~~~
manibatra
Author here. I agree the tools do exist. Learning about typography ( the
technical details ) is very much outside of my comfort zone. Plus I am
learning a lot while deploying this as an app. Is there is any book/resource
you could point me towards to further my understand? Thanks.
------
CodeSheikh
CORRECTION: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Big tech should create a national service program to make the US more united - sacerdoti
https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/05/big-tech-should-create-a-national-service-program-to-make-the-us-more-united/
======
uberman
All in all I feel like this is a terrible idea to the point of absurdity.
Having something like a "voluntary, but expected" American Service Corps run
by private companies is a terrible idea. What's next, should we privatize the
military as well. Unicorns have money, maybe they can run the Coast Guard.
This is essentially the argument.
Let's say this "voluntary, but expected" draft is a good idea but let's also
say that since 18 year olds are still completing their education and still
developing their brains we keep them learning or starting a career. This will
continue to inject energy into the workforce. On the other hand, older workers
are loosing productivity and as they retire draw health and other government
benefits that are a drag on the economy.
So let's flip it around and propose that:
_A year of "voluntary, but expected" service is requested from those
Americans seeking to retire and/or draw government benefits with some
exceptions for health._
Able bodied seniors should not object, after all Facebook will pay then $15K
for their year of service where ever and whatever that is.
How many legislators are still in favor now?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Standing desks considered harmful - plessthanpt05
http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2013/08/27/standing-desks-considered-harmful/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheEndeavour+%28The+Endeavour%29
======
nashequilibrium
I have seen the results of this from two family members who worked in
factories where they had to stand all day. Bothe ended up with terrible
varicose veins, crazy lower leg cramps, feelings of heat and water running
down their legs. Blood clots and then taking pain meds because they needed to
be back at work the next day to stand again. Both of them got addicted to pain
meds which over the years affected their kidneys and one has died of kidney
failure.
i follow a simple rule of thumb, too much of anything is not good for you, no
matter how healthy people say it is.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Chip Aging Accelerates - Lind5
https://semiengineering.com/chip-aging-accelerates/
======
squarefoot
Chips aging aside, tin whiskers also are one of the main reasons why
manufacturers shouldn't use electronics except where it is really really
really necessary, especially on things that move at high speeds with humans on
board or in vicinity. NASA itself -which use electronics on stuff that gets in
orbit- did some good research on the subject.
[https://nepp.nasa.gov/Whisker/background/index.htm](https://nepp.nasa.gov/Whisker/background/index.htm)
Tl;dr: Tin whiskers are very thin spontaneous metallic formations which can
short nearby pcb tracks or conductors and are believed to be the cause of many
failures in electronic devices. There is no evidence of a single cause for
their formation but it seems certain that eliminating lead (RoHS legislations
etc.) from solder is one of them.
~~~
Slansitartop
Can't they coat the PCBs to mitigate/elminiate the problem?
I remember watching a teardown of a spare-no-expense embedded military
computer, and the guy couldn't stop talking about how much "conformal coating"
the board had.
Edit: I think this is the video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55z_0BYb5is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55z_0BYb5is)
~~~
kurthr
Typically, the coating is Parylene, which is a room temp vapor phase conformal
coating (e.g. roughly uniform thickness independent of the contact angle of
the materials). It's used for corrosion, moisture, vibrational. wear, and
reduced breakdown voltage, etc.
It is not used for Sn (tin) whiskers at all, since it wouldn't penetrate the
pads/package of the IC and wouldn't stop such a high modulus process in any
case. Whiskers are most problematic with modern Pb-free solders and fine pitch
SMT practices (QFNs & BGAs), but it's worth noting that other materials (like
Zn) also have significant issues.
[http://www.paryleneengineering.com/why_use_parylene.htm](http://www.paryleneengineering.com/why_use_parylene.htm)
~~~
LeifCarrotson
From that page:
> The coating completely penetrates spaces as narrow 0.01mm.
I would have thought that would make it very effective in protecting against
whiskers in QFPs that might have a lead pitch of 0.4mm or larger. There's not
a lot you can do under the bodies of BGAs and QFNs, but if you're worried
about whiskers you're probably using QFPs instead.
This app note suggests that Parylene and a few other dip-type conformal
coatings do slow down tin whiskers, but don't stop their spread:
[https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/app-
notes/index.mvp/id/52...](https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/app-
notes/index.mvp/id/5250)
------
ansible
Computing in automotive is a challenge.
In the past, you might have automotive-grade microcontrollers for functions
like ABS, which consume less than a Watt maximum. You paid a little attention
to having enough ground vias on the PCB for thermal conductivity, and that was
about it to qualify the design for the high end of the temperature range.
Degraded lifetime wasn't so much of a concern.
These days, you've got ARM processors with a TDP of 15W or more, and keeping
the die temperatures below the maximum when the ambient temperature is 85C,
well, that starts to get interesting. Especially if you don't want to use a
fan, and the processor is stuck somewhere without adequate airflow.
And then you've got high-end systems with a TDP in the 150W range. Then you've
got to have a good cooling solution to run your application at office
environment temperatures, nevermind the full automotive temperature range. And
what's going to be the lifetime for these parts running at elevated
temperatures, even if you are staying within the maximum temperature limits?
_Sigh_
~~~
Retric
15W chips use ~2% of a HP each, and 150W = 1/5 horsepower worth of parasitic
load. So using several high end chips should result in significantly worse
fuel efficiency.
Are they really necessary or just cheaper in R&D terms?
~~~
simias
Modern cars have tons of advanced features that require a decent amount of
computing. I mean just look at the evolution from radio cassette players to
modern integrated GPS/media player/bluetooth/etc systems. Also things like
automatic parking assist, rear view camera, computer vision algorithms to
detect if the driver is falling asleep. It's feature creep all over the place.
~~~
oblio
> Also things like automatic parking assist, rear view camera, computer vision
> algorithms to detect if the driver is falling asleep. It's feature creep all
> over the place.
You have a weird definition of "feature creep". Some of those things you
listed save money, others save lives. I definitely wouldn't include such
things in "feature creep".
~~~
simias
Sorry, it might not have been the right word. I didn't mean that these
features weren't useful, only that in the past decades the past decades the
amount of software in cars really exploded from basically 0 to having a bunch
of fully featured computers dealing with various subsystems, from fuel
injection to radio playback. Software "creeped" everywhere.
------
IshKebab
> Chips developed for computers and phones lasted an average of two to four
> years of normal use.
Err what?
~~~
kabdib
This is a real thing. For game consoles, which run their chips pretty "hot" in
order to meet the performance requirements for high-end gaming, the main SOCs
have a design lifetime. There are deliberate trade-offs between performance
and the expected lifetime of the part. This lifetime is difficult to estimate
prior to ship.
One console made a firmware update about a year after its release that
increased its clocks by about ten percent. I'm guessing they did this after
seeing telemetry numbers indicating that the box's cooling system was doing a
better job than expected, and that there was lifetime headroom available
(probably other factors were involved, too, but heat is a major one).
~~~
ethbro
I'd be charitable and say that gaming chips run hot because cooling systems
are "optimized", not for performance reasons.
And by optimized, I mean shoehorning the smallest / cheapest solution in there
that barely meets cooling needs.
~~~
kabdib
Consoles are pretty serious about effective cooling. There is definitely price
pressure, but that's not a one-sided thing -- you need to make sure that the
unit lasts long enough, and that its cooling system doesn't generate too much
noise for the environment (typically a quiet living room). And then you need
headroom for envrionmentals (e.g., being stuff into the back of an
entertainment unit next to other equipment). The current generation of
consoles are quiet compared to the last generation, and more powerful.
Cooling "needs" have to take into account the whole product and user
experience, not just keeping a single chip from melting down.
~~~
lione
I think all the console makers learned a lesson from the Red Ring Of Death. No
one wants to be having a massive portion of their systems become useless hunks
of scrap because of poor thermal design not dissipating enough heat and
causing the solder to crack.
~~~
kabdib
RROD cost Microsoft a billion dollars, maybe two billion. That doesn't scream
"Please shave the cooling system down to the absolute minimum cost on the next
console" to the hardware team.
The XBone cooler is a pretty decent one, because the alternative is a ton of
warranty work, plus lawsuits and bad press. And worse, a bad customer
experience.
------
Animats
Two to four year lifespan?
I happen to know that the design life for the Ford EEC IV, the ignition
control system for 1980s Fords, was 30 years. That was achieved; many 30-year
old Fords are still running with the original electronics.
~~~
SemiTom
article says "Chips developed for computers and phones were designed to
operate at peak performance for an average of two to four years of normal use.
After that, functionality began to degrade"
------
kingosticks
Enterprise ASICs (i.e. routers) already run at these very hot (and cold)
temperatures on the very latest nodes. They also demand reliability over long
periods - although the consequences of failing to meet that are obviously not
as severe. Ageing is much worse at 7nm but it's already accounted for during
STA. Like everything else, you just assume the worst and it's another chunk of
your clock period you never see. But expecting to run above 125C... not sure
about that.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
A Short Story for Engineers - shawndumas
http://cs.txstate.edu/~br02/cs1428/ShortStoryForEngineers.htm
======
dkarl
I like the values that jokes like this reinforce (simplicity, creativity, and
proactivity versus complexity, expense, and bureaucracy) but I wonder if they
serve a positive purpose in engineering culture. Do we tell these jokes to
keep ourselves on our toes, to make ourselves better? Are we really in danger
of forgetting which is better, simplicity or complexity? When we create
complex and over-engineered systems, is it because we forget that simplicity
is better?
I don't think we do. I think we tell ourselves these jokes to contrast good
engineering with bad engineering and to congratulate ourselves for being on
the right side. A good joke would lead you down the garden path, encourage a
bit of smugness and then rip the rug out from under you. This joke telegraphs
the punch line from the start: it encourages smugness and then vindicates it.
A healthy joke would make us uncomfortable about whether we would have been on
the right side, whether we are doing a good job of living up to our values.
This joke reassures us that the problem is other people's values, and by doing
so, it promotes exactly the kind of complacency that it makes fun of.
~~~
michaelwww
You've clearly never worked in a factory as a low level person who is usually
asked last, if at all, how to solve a problem concerning their job. I've
forwarded this to my father, who will love it as a person who rose from the
shop floor to the highest levels of management and never lost his distrust of
"college boys."
~~~
dkarl
I don't think your father will like the joke, either. According to the story,
the line workers had the ability to fix the problem all along, but they didn't
bother until the $8 million system made it personally inconvenient for them
when an empty box reached the scales. It makes them sound clever but also
rather lazy and selfish.
~~~
Xdes
>the line workers had the ability to fix the problem all along
Yes they had the ability, but did the line workers know that empty boxes being
shipped was a problem?
There is no solution without a problem.
~~~
ars_technician
Are the workers so stupid that they think shipping empty boxes is normal?
~~~
cema
Common sense is not always wrong.
------
HCIdivision17
My opinion has shifted over the last few years working in plants, and I've now
settled on the idea that the fan solution probably needed the eight million
dollar project. Without the project, the operator would not have been
inconvenienced, nor would they have achieved their goals as soon.
Also remember that the project was _worth_ it - it was returning on the
investment. Ideally the simple solution would have been found first for a
massive windfall of savings, but industry runs on constant, small, incremental
changes over many years. And it takes a very special mindset to invent awesome
hacks like the fan trick!
The operator should instead be applauded for making it so no other plant needs
to buy such an expensive system!
Edit: also, never underestimate the utility of inconveniencing operators. They
will find the most brilliant, clever, and cheap hacks to solve problems.
Watching operators is the best diagnostic tool available. When you see a
c-clamp or duct tape on the machine, you know exactly what needs workin' on
next!
~~~
antjanus
One thing that people forget is that the $8 million system works as constant
quality assurance. The $20 fan is all good but what if the weight of the boxes
increases due to extra packaging? What about if the fan slowly dies over time?
The back up system will always make sure that only the correct boxes pass. I
think people should realize that.
~~~
enraged_camel
The point is not that the $8 million system did not work. The point is that it
was overly expensive for what it accomplished, _and_ it slowed down the
production line significantly enough that some worker went out of his way to
implement his own solution. Without his solution, product quality may still
have gone up, but production numbers would have gone down since the production
line would stop every time there was an empty box on the belt. In contrast,
the fan not only increased product quality, but it also had no impact on
number of units produced and it cost $20 to boot. Sure, it's not a perfect
solution, but in this case it's "perfect enough." (And making it more perfect
would still have been several orders of magnitude cheaper than the $8 million
system.)
------
wikwocket
This is a cute story about over-engineering and thinking outside the box to
find the simplest solution, but anyone with manufacturing experience can tell
you that many factories have compressed air lines at each machine, and
frequently use it to blow bad parts off off of a conveyor/feed rail.
American manufacturing factories are actually homes to tremendous ingenuity
and practicality. To an outsider they may seem loud, dirty, and disorganized,
but the engineers inside routinely deal with issues like "how can we catch bad
parts before they roll off the line, using spare parts, scrap metal, and a $20
budget?" I have seen some amazing Rube Goldberg feeding systems that can
outperform expensive laser/optical/diverter gate packages.
~~~
VLM
A good analogy for the HN community to "To an outsider they may seem loud,
dirty, and disorganized" is a LAN party. Are those still a "thing" or am I
getting old?
~~~
lmm
They're still a thing, but I don't see the relevance. Many LAN parties _are_
that loud, dirty and disorganized; I've seen enough PCs destroyed by coke
spills or similar to believe that the LAN party atmosphere really is as bad as
it seems.
------
mathattack
Great story, and widely applicable.
I worked on a very large process and technology improvement program for a
Fortune 50 company. One critical piece of the project was a scheduling system
for field technicians. After 100+ effort years (don't ask!) we got it
developed and tested, and it achieved the 15 minutes per technician
productivity improvement, justifying the massive expense. We then found that
we could double the benefit by having them reboot their laptops weekly instead
of nightly. (Though the technology architects screamed bloody murder)
~~~
Aloha
I feel this - I'm stuck with the worlds worst scheduling system. Explaining to
senior management (who have never worked in the field) is to give the tech a
workload for N days, and let them schedule their own schedule is more
efficient is useless. I probably waste more time with the 2 rather fussy VPN's
I have to deal with than any other computing related task.
------
WalterBright
The engineers should be working alongside the factory line. That this often
doesn't happen isn't always the fault of the engineers or management.
Back when I worked on the stab trim gearbox at Boeing, it came time to put it
on the test rig and load it up. The test engineers gleefully told me they were
going to bust my design. So joy for me, I got to go to the shop and get my
hands dirty testing it!
By the time I got there, they had my baby all mounted in the custom test rig,
with a giant hydraulic ram all set to torture it. There was some adjustment
needed, and I lept forward to make it. The union shop steward physically
blocked me, and said I was not allowed to touch anything. I was only allowed
to give directions to the union machinist there, and he would turn a wrench at
my direction.
Jeez, what a killjoy moment for me.
Anyhow, to make a long story short, when they loaded up the gearbox with the
ram, the test rig bent and broke, and that lovely gearbox just sat there.
Nyah, nyah, nyah to the test engineers and back to the office building for me.
------
southpawgirl
> and six months (and $8 million) later a fantastic solution was delivered
In real life the solution applied wouldn't be this one, nor the cheap fan, but
some dude being paid peanuts to shake each box by hand.
~~~
VLM
More likely you'd use the expensive scales to measure over/under fills (or
tampering?) not just missing tubes.
If toothpaste was your primary cost (LOL, I'm sure its advertising, just like
cars and videogames and movies) then if you sell 4 oz +/\- 10% and the new
scale lets you run continuously at exactly 3.61 oz rather than "around four or
so" then you make almost 10% profit by selling exactly 3.61 oz as "about four
plus or minus ten percent packages".
You can change it from a cheesy engineering / management joke into a CS
discussion, so you're trying to copy one array into another, but sometimes you
have an empty value and you want the output to be contiguous. Solutions?
Or a RTOS type question where you're wanting to squirt out exactly one value
44100 times per second... Solutions?
~~~
southpawgirl
> so you're trying to copy one array into another, but sometimes you have an
> empty value and you want the output to be contiguous.
This made me giggle. Thank you Sir.
------
SilasX
A cheesy, apocryphal story written like a forward from Grandma on a site that
looks like it was stolen from 1996? How did it make the front page?
------
pmorici
This is like an engineering urban legend. I've seen it on here before but the
circumstances were different. Last time this was posted it was a Japanese soap
factory instead of a toothpaste factory.
------
juddlyon
Similar to the "Knowing where to put the X" story:
[http://www.engineering.com/DesignSoftware/DesignSoftwareArti...](http://www.engineering.com/DesignSoftware/DesignSoftwareArticles/ArticleID/4536/The-
Hero-Work-of-an-Engineer-is-Knowing-Where-to-Put-the-X.aspx)
Also, the NASA vs Russian space pen vs pencil.
~~~
jlcx
I thought of the space pen/pencil anecdote as well, but that story isn't
accurate, so I like this one better (even if it didn't actually happen).
~~~
mcguire
The pen/pencil thing has the weakness that pencils release small particles and
are thus kind of sketchy in low-gravity environments.
~~~
xyzzy123
Yeah. You _could_ just use a grease pencil or thin crayon though.
------
ausjke
old story, it used to be a USA solution(high-tech, expensive) vs a Chinese
factory solution(the fan added by a worker)
~~~
BlackDeath3
No wonder so many jobs are being outsourced!
------
spullara
This is one of the reasons the engineers at Tesla work on the factory floor.
Take the tour if you can, it is great.
------
loomio
For me the lesson here isn't as much about engineering as incentives and
inclusion. If you engage people who are actually on the front lines in solving
the problems, great ideas will emerge. These are the people who understand the
problems best, and can be most motivated to fix them.
But in order to do that you have to effectively align incentives for them to
solve the problems. If companies treat employees as disposable automatons, and
do not allow them to share in the success of the business or benefit from
improving workflows, they have no motivation for doing so.
So many companies shoot themselves in the foot by bringing in "experts" when
the real experts are right there on their payrolls, but no one is asking them
their opinions or creating a situation where they would be inclined to give
them anyway.
------
bowlfeeder
It's a nice story, but anyone familiar with mechanical feeding systems[1]
could tell you air jets have been commonly used to reject parts for decades.
[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowl_feeder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowl_feeder)
------
11thEarlOfMar
There are a couple of points that come to mind. First, management needs to be
judicious about how problems get solved. Does it require committee? Or a lone
actor? Which department should own it or should the CEO take it on personally?
Second, there is no doubt that an organizational approach to problem solving
is going to change as a company scales. The path the information took in this
parable likely was from customer service to upper management to engineering. A
CEO that will accept an $8M solution to such a problem is probably running a
multi-billion dollar company. If this had been a $50 million company, no way
he would have felt satisfied that it was money well spent.
------
coloncapitald
The story doesn't suggest that that the CEO or management staff should have
thought of a fan before. It suggests that they should have probably looked
into the problem better which may have involved visiting the production line
and asking the workers how they would fix the issue inexpensively. Then
probably one of them would have come up with this solution, or may be an even
better one.
I see people bringing up points like "What if the fan dies?" or "what if the
weight of the boxes increases due to extra packaging?". IMHO, these arguments
are invalid because of the same reason. Fan is not the solution.
~~~
narsil
It's possible the line workers would have never thought of this solution
without having the inconvenience there to motivate them to. You could try to
introduce a bonus to the worker who comes up with the most cost-effective and
reliable idea though. It is probably very unlikely management staff would do
that, since the engineering team has been "stretched thin" already and they
didn't want to consult them.
------
codegeek
I have read this story before and it reminds of the phrase "Necessity is the
mother of all inventions". What if that $8M project was never implemented ?
The factory worker would then not need to manually go and remove the empty
boxes. So one way to look at it is that the $8M project actually created a
_necessity_ to be more efficient and gave the guy an idea to not manually move
the boxes by installing a fan which in turn solved the overall problem of
empty boxes being shipped. May be he would have thought of all this without
the $8M project but what are the odds ?
------
analog31
Everybody standing on the sidelines with no skin in the game is always proud
to point out the engineer's mistakes after they have been made.
I comfort myself with Teddy Roosevelt's "man in the arena" speech.
------
Aloha
You'd expect the fancy scales to reject the empty boxes, but instead it
appears they just sounded a bell. The workers added the rejection feature once
they had an incentive to do so (the ringing bell).
~~~
devrelm
Right. If a solution like this were implemented in the real world, it would
almost certainly have a "kicker" mechanism to reject the empty boxes without
stopping the whole process.
------
seivan
I think most engineers are familiar with easy quick hack solutions that are
cheap and fast. You want this to have an effect? Tell it to the product monkey
overlords or the design "gurus"
------
JackFr
In 1985 I worked in a factory on a line producing tubes of vitamin A&D
ointment (similar packaging to toothpaste tubes.) The filling of the boxes
with the tubes was actually done manually, I suppose because ointment is
higher margin, lower volume.
We also produced foil packs (like fast food ketchup packets). That machine was
the coolest mechanical device I've ever worked with.
------
ttdan
Alternate take away: Visibility of key metrics/information (bell on expensive
machine) is a strong motivator. Worthwhile when considering spending resources
on things like creating informative dashboards and proper instrumentation to
focus the a team on key metrics.
------
dsugarman
how it is usually done in the fulfillment industry is a scale that changes the
track if it is off weight by more than a certain percent (think of how train
tracks work). The problem here is tougher than just a toothpaste factory
because you can have multiple items in one purchase order and you have to make
sure all items are in the box. Stopping the entire line every time something
is off with 1 package is never a good solution. With pushing the packages into
a 'problem' pile, someone can figure out what is wrong with each one and get
things moving again on their own schedule.
------
johngalt
I think there's a similar story about Fedex being the highest throughput
network provider.
------
lani
oooh !! 8 Mill !! I'd like that ..
------
kimonos
Haha! Nice one! Thanks for sharing! Happy New Year to all!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Help Us Build A World-Class Node.js Hosting Platform - nodesocket
http://www.nodesocket.com/survey.php
======
nodeman
nodesocket.com is going to revolutionize this whole space..amazing what you
guys are doing!
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Extending SSL to Google search - mattyb
http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2010/05/extending-ssl-to-google-search.html
======
mooism2
USA only? It redirects me to <http://www.google.co.uk>.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Playing Pool with Pi (2003) [pdf] - tosh
https://www.maths.tcd.ie/~lebed/Galperin.%20Playing%20pool%20with%20pi.pdf
======
crypticlizard
If you haven't seen the 3blue1brown videos discussing this, I highly recommend
them. [https://youtu.be/jsYwFizhncE](https://youtu.be/jsYwFizhncE)
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
My Mac Mini - ashu
http://mattmaroon.com/?p=359
======
axod
"First you download a dmg file which, when clicked, creates a virtual drive.
On the virtual drive is the program, which you then have to drag into your
Applications folder. Then you have to unmount the virtual drive and delete the
dmg file from your desktop"
"There’s no way that anyone could guess this procedure"
You are kidding right? My wife guessed this. My 9 year old can do this. It's
brain dead simple, and makes perfect sense - you can see what stuff is there
before you install. You can read a readme sometimes before installing.
I think it helps when trying something new, to have an open mind. Instead of
just saying "eugh! this is different. It must be bad"
~~~
mrtron
_sarcasm ahead_
I have no idea how you delete applications on a Mac either. You have to go to
Applications and delete that folder you copied to your Applications directory?
It is much better having an 'uninstaller' that does a half-assed job at
removing things from the registry and cleaning up files.
Matt I realize trolling can feel good on the short term but people will give
you more respect in the long run if you are sincere.
~~~
mattmaroon
Anyone who disagrees with you must be trolling.
~~~
axod
"There's no way anyone could guess this procedure"
How is that not an obvious troll statement.
Either you're just incredibly bad at operating computers, or you wanted to get
a reaction from people and start a fight.
~~~
mattmaroon
It's a simple statement of the counterintuitiveness. That was my point. Macs
are not intuitive.
~~~
mattmaroon
The fanboys are out in force tonight.
~~~
mrtron
Anyone who disagrees with you must be a fanboy?
~~~
mattmaroon
Anyone who finds trolling in a logically coherent argument as to why the
author dislikes something is a fanboy.
~~~
mrtron
The trolling started with:
A girl with some sort of mullethawk and a tattoo creeping up her neck asked me if I needed help and I almost said “no, but you do.”
and then continued all throughout the 'logically coherent argument'. Then
continued into the posts here calling people 'fanboys'.
It really doesn't matter, I would just prefer you did it elsewhere. And to end
the conversation: Troll away, it seemed to work well on the poker blog.
~~~
mattmaroon
The first part was humor. I know humor generally requires an explanation here.
~~~
mrtron
Hah, now that is comical.
Perhaps you can't piss in people's ears here and tell them it's raining.
------
petercooper
I thought this post was satire until about 75% of the way down..
That said, his point about installing programs is spot on for people from the
Windows world. It makes sense in a UNIX-y way, but it's totally
counterintuitive if you've come from Windows. I found it odd the first time,
then grew to love it.
~~~
goofygrin
How in the hell do you think that dragging files to an "Applications" folder
is unix-y?
Ubuntu: Synaptic or "sudo apt-get install xyz" Fedora: "yum install xyz"
Certainly don't see any goofy dragging app files around here.
~~~
mrtron
Oh dear god.
Using a package manager or manually grabbing the files and building it IS
basically like dragging files to an Applications folder.
You have all your files for an app in one known spot. That's all there is
(excluding environment variables). What is non-unixy is installing a bunch of
garbage into a registry (did I mention I hate registries?).
~~~
goofygrin
No, using a package manager where you select the app you want is NOT like
dragging and dropping executables into some magic location on the filesystem.
------
alex_c
_dual monitors (which, by the way, you shouldn’t even bother attempting on a
Mac. My cofounder has to close the lid when he hooks his MBP up to a
monitor)._
Funny, my cofounder's MBP works just fine with a second monitor.
The window maximizing thing is probably my biggest single annoyance when using
a Mac. I've noticed that some people hate maximizing windows, and prefer
having them smaller and overlapping, I guess to be able to see the contents
and make switching between them easier. I'm the opposite, I need my windows
maximized - I don't ever want to deal with moving or resizing them, alt-tab or
the taskbar work just fine for me. I guess Macs work great for the first group
of people, but not for me.
~~~
jimbokun
"The window maximizing thing is probably my biggest single annoyance when
using a Mac."
I can't tell which people understand the philosophy of window maximizing on
the Mac and don't like it, and who finds the behavior just random, so let me
explain:
The Mac UI assumes the point of maximizing a window is to see all of its
content at once, so enlarging past the size at which all content is visible at
once is unnecessary. This can be nice, once you understand what it's doing and
are used to it. If you understand this and still don't like it, that is your
prerogative, too, of course.
~~~
alex_c
That does seem consistent with what I've seen, though I hadn't consciously
realized it.
I still have trouble seeing how this philosophy can work for something like
Word or even Firefox, where the content reorganizes itself to fit the window -
I could swear Macs don't always make a window full-screen in these scenarios.
And you can still move a "maximized" window, which is also annoying.
I'll keep this in mind next time and see if it helps me.
------
axod
"and what the hell is a keychain?"
Obviously if you don't know what it is, it must be bad! Don't find out what it
is, just assume it's bad :/
What the hell is a 'registry'? :P
~~~
mattmaroon
Not bad, but if I have to think about it or Google it, it's counterintuitive.
Windows just saves your passwords in the app if you tell it to. On OSX, they
save them in a keychain and require me to put in my keychain password every
time. This doesn't save me any typing.
~~~
axod
Perhaps that's why mac is just a tad more secure. Would you rather a unified
system for managing your passwords, or just have applications store them in
plaintext files?
When I switched to mac I was actually pretty impressed that such a thing
existed.
Call me a cynic, but I think you decided you hated macs way way before you
ever tried one.
~~~
mattmaroon
No, I like the mac. You misunderstood the point. I just don't think it's a
good choice for the average person.
And yeah, the keychain is more secure. It's just harder to understand at
first.
------
ssharp
Pretty common complaints about the actual OS for people who are used to
windows. You just have to get used to the idea that windows float and that
it's not really designed to have windows maximized. I was pretty used to the
interface after a month or so, I started in late 2003, so Panther was out by
then and Expose helped out a lot.
I have to disagree with running 2 monitors, I've done it for a couple years
now and have never had any usability issues.
However, the Apple store comments are pretty much dead-on. I'd rather just
order online or go to a reseller then deal with the Apple Store.
~~~
abstractbill
_it's not really designed to have windows maximized_
I've heard this line before - people say it as if something disastrous would
happen if Apple gave in and made the green '+' a maximize button... so far
nothing's coming to mind.
(btw, I haven't used windows for anything other than testing IE for about 9
years, and I still hate Apple's choice regarding the 'zoom' button).
~~~
TheWama
The disastrous thing is that it would be less useful to have a maximized
window be 10x the size of its contents. For example, IMO the behavior of
safari on maximize is just beautiful, because it's tailored to the specific
website you're viewing.
If the application is a window into your data, why make that window bigger
than necessary, thus obscuring your desktop, or some other window behind it?
That may not be disastrous, but I think its intent makes sense.
Without further explanation, I end up suspecting that when he writes: "it
almost never does what you’d want or expect it to," the emphasis is on his
expectations as a Windows user, not on what he would prefer, all things being
equal.
[and for the record, I'm speaking as an Ubuntu user, who has never owned a
mac]
~~~
abstractbill
I _want_ to obscure my desktop, and all the other windows. Why would I want
that stuff in my peripheral vision when I'm busy working?
~~~
demallien
In which case you simply hit Cmd-Shift-H (or select 'Hide Others' in the app
menu), which hides all but the active application...
Personally though, I generally just use Spaces to have different screens
containing only applications that I want to use together. So I'll have a
programming doc open in Preview, next to my XCode project window. Or I'll have
a web browser open with Textmate if I'm doing something with Rails. That way
you only have the apps that you are interested in on screen in any given
'space'.
Next quibble?
~~~
abstractbill
This is what my desktop looks like for more than 90% of the time:
<http://abstractnonsense.com/desktop.png>
If emacs wasn't taking up the whole screen, I'd have a scrollbar running down
the middle of the screen, which would be really visually distracting.
I used virtual desktops a lot back when I used Linux for my desktop os.
They're great, and I'm sure I'll use them again when I upgrade from Tiger.
But, for me at least, they're no substitute for maximization.
~~~
jrockway
Do us a favor and hit C-x 3 sometime :)
<http://jrock.us/emacs-20080420.png>
~~~
abstractbill
Heh, I'd never get anything done with all that clutter ;-)
~~~
jrockway
Yeah, that is more of a "this is possible" thing :) In "real life" i use the
same size screen, but with the right third consisting of an irc window, REPL,
and terminal; and the other two-thirds 2 or 4 files of code.
Still cluttery, I guess... but I love it ;)
------
aneesh
Sage advice from a high school friend: "If you can use Windows, you can use
Linux. If you can't, get a Mac. While you won't be able to use it either, at
least it'll look pretty."
~~~
mattmaroon
The first sentence is very incorrect. My 50 yr old aunt can use Windows. I
tried installing Myth TV on a Red Hat distro and had to call for help.
~~~
jauco
Upmodded you because i don't see why your comment points should be negative,
but let me assure you that your 50 year old aunt won't be able to install
MythTV or whatever on windows either, it depends on the app, not the OS.
~~~
wanorris
> your 50 year old aunt won't be able to install MythTV or whatever on windows
> either
Especially since MythTV only runs on Linux. :-)
~~~
mattmaroon
And she DEFINITELY won't be installing it there.
------
menloparkbum
Genius Bar is lame.
Never had a problem with dual monitors aside from the fact that now the
adaptor isn't bundled, and the DVI cable they will try to sell you first at
the Mac Store uses a pin layout that no monitor or cable sold actually uses.
The maximize button is indeed bizarre. I just maximized safari and it made the
window 2/3 the size I had it and shifted it to the left hand corner of the
screen. Then I "maximized" iTunes and it sent it into mini mode. Maximizing
iChat seems to switch the buddy window from a skinny column to a wider, but
shorter rectangle.
Not sure why installing problems is so hard, my grandma and 11 year old
cousins have no problems with this. However, every die hard windows switcher
can't seem to figure it out.
Fonts are a matter of taste and Windows users have none. But that's OK!
MySpace is the #1 social network, NASCAR is the #1 sport in America and Bill
Gates is the richest dude around. Taste doesn't really matter as much as
people who have it would like to think...
~~~
mattmaroon
It's hard because it's far more complicated than clicking an installer. I
outlined the procedure. Anyone can do it once they understand it, but how
would you ever guess to mount a virtual drive (most people wouldn't even
understand what one is) and then the rest?
~~~
menloparkbum
I think it is only hard because your brain is thinking in terms of virtual
drives and installers. For my grandma and my 11 year old cousins both types of
installs are simply clicking various things on the screen until stuff works
and are essentially equivalent.
~~~
mattmaroon
My brain is thinking in terms of click the file and click ok vs. click
something, figure out how to get the application, figure out where to drag it,
do so, then try to get rid of the original file.
Some installers make the process easier with the little window that shows you
both icons and tells you to drag the program icon to the applications icon.
That's still far more complicated than Windows, but a lot better than most Mac
programs, which don't even give you that.
~~~
boucher
DMGs auto mount by default if you use Safari (which the kind of people you're
worried about would be doing). When they do, the window also automatically
opens presenting them right away with the application.
In the best case, they could just click on it and the right thing would
happen. This works, but the results aren't what you'd expect usually, since
the app will go away once the dmg is gone. The exception to this is Delicious
Library 2 (unreleased), the only app I know of that will tell the user the app
was loaded from the disk image, and offer to put it in /Applications for you.
In the second best case, you are given the shortcut, and you manually drag it
yourself. Then you click applications, and then you click the app. Perhaps a
little convoluted.
In the worst case(and by worst I mean, worst assuming the standard default
configuration), you aren't presented with the applications folder link and you
end up dragging it anywhere -- perhaps the Desktop. But, if you do that, the
app still works! That's the beauty of the app bundle, it doesn't matter where
you launch it from.
Could the whole process be refined? Yes. And developers are actively making it
better (just like they are actively making things like upgrades better with
Sparkle). I for one, though, still think its much more friendly than any
windows installation with its ridiculous wizards, shortcuts added to four
different locations, and the mess that is the windows registry.
------
jpeterson
OK, this guy obviously went into this experience not wanting to like the mac.
First of all, installation is a no-brainer. Once you click a link for an app,
Safari downloads and automounts the dmg, leaving you with the simple task of
dragging it into the application folder. How is dragging a new application
into a folder called "Applications" counterintuitive?
Second, I've used many macs and I've never had a single problem with the dual-
screen setup. This issue was something environmental in your case, I believe.
~~~
jimbokun
"How is dragging a new application into a folder called "Applications"
counterintuitive?"
I think the larger point is, if that is the biggest usability barrier in
adopting an entirely different operating system, the Mac UI people are doing
something right.
------
ashu
Window maximising: I use some Quicksilver scripts from
[http://jon.smajda.com/blog/2007/06/30/keyboard-control-
for-m...](http://jon.smajda.com/blog/2007/06/30/keyboard-control-for-mac-os-x-
windows/)
The fact that you can use keyboard shortcuts makes this even better.
------
rms
Matt, I think you should try Ubuntu for comparison purposes.
~~~
PStamatiou
i keep thinking you're richard stallman ;-) .. was the username intended as
such?
~~~
rms
It was intended to be funny and ironic, I'm definitely not trying to
impersonate the great rms. It originated as an abbreviation for "rupert
murdoch sucks."
------
m0nty
'A girl with some sort of mullethawk and a tattoo creeping up her neck asked
me if I needed help and I almost said “no, but you do.”'
You know, that seems a pretty hostile way to (almost) talk to a stranger.
Maybe it's a cultural thing ...
~~~
m0nty
Note to self: must remember to do more group-think.
------
rob
App/package management on OS X is pretty bad, especially since there's no
automated way to uninstall stuff. Yes, I know that you drag the app to the
trash, but there's usually preference files, caches, folders in 'Application
Support', etc, that get left behind unless you use a program such as AppZapper
to get rid of them. Something like that should be built into OS X.
Although I've only used it on a server (and not a desktop), Debian/Ubuntu's
aptitude/apt-get package system is probably the easiest thing I've ever used.
It's awesome.
~~~
nertzy
AppZapper comes highly recommended: <http://appzapper.com/>
------
timcederman
Very typical response - slightly angrier, but overall the same experience I
had.
I am surprised Matt didn't notice the slicker look and feel, and far better
responsiveness of OS X. I am continually surprised at what my Mini can manage
with 512mb of RAM compared to my M1330 running Vista with 3GB.
~~~
mattmaroon
I'm not seeing that. I click just about any application to load and the little
icon bounces at the bottom for just as long as it takes to open Word on my
Vista machine (2gb RAM).
------
jacabado
"Everybody serious about doing software should make their own hardware." Steve
Jobs
That might no longer be true as PPC died, but anybody serious about doing
software should experiment Mac OS and the application ecosystem around it.
What surprised me the most was the fit between the Apple market and some
applications that have no equivalent in Windows/Unix. For me Scrivener was a
dream I had.
There's a lot to be said, and it's really interesting to compare the
platforms, but not in reply to a post of a smart guy who finds
counterintuitive to install in Mac OS.
Hey Matt you don't have to live with applications that have 20+ buttons in the
first 2 rows of the interface.
And I also think u can keep the controversy tone of your posts without being
dumb. You were in a great path.
------
ivank
I still use Windows, but run an Ubuntu VM in it for all web development. You
get the real Windows, the real Linux, everyone wins. Microsoft's investment in
fonts really shows - it's my #1 reason for sticking with the OS.
~~~
icey
You can install the Microsoft core fonts in Ubuntu. I think the package is
called msttcorefonts; but if that doesn't work for you, it's in Synaptic.
------
hs
on maximize & dual monitor
why do you have to put extra efforts when you can just use tiled wm (i use dwm
and dmenu) ? maximizing comes automatic
don't two monitors kill your focus flow? maybe you are more productive (result
from research by monitor manuf - doing repetitive stuff)
the real danger is you'll be less creative
------
icey
What's hilarious to me is that the headline under "My Mac Mini" is "Tech
World, I Am Your Master".
Master, indeed.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Catch-22: Tech Blogging As a Woman - aiiane
http://codingkilledthecat.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/catch-22-tech-blogging-as-a-woman/
======
HarrietTubgirl
You're not going to change this. Yes, virtually every great programmer or
computer scientist is a male. So much so that we're all going to assume
they're male, and when we see a female name (like "Leslie Lamport") we double-
check to see if it's actually a female. This is just a normal tendency. We
assume basketball players are over 6'3", we assume nurses are female.
There are many stories of people overcoming discrimination (say, Indian
immigrants being thought to be unfit for executive positions in Silicon
Valley), and they make the current hot topic of women in tech look incredibly
dumb. We're talking overt discrimination, not occasional pronoun misuse.
Indians in Silicon Valley started a group called TiE to help establish a
presence. Does it hurt for them to have labeled themselves as "Indus
Entrepreneurs" and try to help each other? Doesn't seem so.
So maybe the right way to overcome this "oppression" you feel is just to quit
fucking bitching, put your head down and code, and maybe help a few other
women out along the way when you achieve success.
~~~
mkaltenecker
This is how your comment reads to me: Misogyny is totally cool and you should
never do anything to change it, not even write a harmless and polite blogpost.
No, see, that's bitching. Mentioning a very clear and obvious problem is
totally not cool.
~~~
HarrietTubgirl
I don't see how this has anything to do with misogyny? Perhaps you mean
something else, like stereotyping.
------
iamdave
_Where are the technical articles written by women? There are plenty of
contributions complaining about oppression, while attacking men and claiming
absurd stereotypes. Where are the technical contributions?_
I think the author does a great job starting out by highlighting her own
contributions via the linked write-up on Git submodules, but beyond the first
couple of sentences on the topic nothing, and spends the rest of the article
on a tear about the he/she dichotomy in comments.
While I can certainly understand the frustration when people get gender wrong,
that seems to be the _wrong_ place to focus on in this topic of women in tech.
Is it possibly an indicator of the problem at large? Sure. Does it answer the
question "Where are the tech articles written by women"? No.
It does play right into the exact same mold the commenter was talking about,
that set this entire entry into motion:
_There are plenty of contributions complaining about oppression...where are
the technical contributions?_
Instead of highlighting great articles from the women in tech, or linking to
other women in the industry with well trafficked blogs and talking about their
contributions, the author fell right into the category that perpetuates this
problem.
Mind you, I agree that there is a rift that rises when people make the wrong
assumption, but that's nil imo.
~~~
wickedchicken
> the author fell right into the category that perpetuates this problem.
You're missing the point of the article. The point is that if she _does_
'highlight great articles from the women in tech,' then she would be labeled a
"female developer" instead of just a "developer." If she _doesn't_ do this,
then she gets labeled a _male_ developer. She would like to be labeled
"developer," but the two options she can see lead to undesirable outcomes.
This has been said before, but the key thing to take away is the concept of
"othering." The author would like to be seen as a developer, not a subcategory
of a developer that is somehow different from the norm. Perhaps a better way
to demonstrate is to take this to the extreme:
"Instead of highlighting great articles from brown-eyed people in tech, or
linking to other brown-eyed people in the industry with well trafficked blogs
and talking about their contributions, the author fell right into the category
that perpetuates this problem."
Sounds pretty absurd right? Who cares what their eye color is. On the other
hand, imagine if everyone got it wrong. Imagine if you had brown eyes but
there was a 'default assumption' that everyone had blue eyes. You wouldn't
want to make a fuss every time people got it wrong, for fear of being "that
person" who is annoying and pedantic, and "hey, it shouldn't matter!
Technology is eye-color blind!" But if you _don't_ do it, it gets a little
grating when EVERYONE assumes you are something that you're not. It's a
catch-22.
The solution is to remove the default assumption that developers are male.
That is something that _you_ , not the author, have to do.
~~~
clockstrikesten
No. What's absurd is that Amber Yust reaped all the benefits of having blue
eyes in her profession for most of her life, and then proceeded to author this
article about how it's wrong to assume that people in her profession have blue
eyes, written with all the fury of someone who had brown eyes for their entire
life.
I say this because she has a Y chromosome and only updated her driver's
license to read Female one year ago.
~~~
param
This has to be one of the most mind blowing Ad Hominem arguments I have ever
seen. Not because it is insulting or anything, but it is just unexpected!
~~~
clockstrikesten
I was not making an argument; I was stating a fact. Refraining from addressing
someone's statement other than to label it "ad hominem" is itself an ad
hominem argument, however.
The major thrust of her article is where she presents herself as the typical
specimen proving that women both exist in the tech world in large numbers and
are oppressed by pronouns in comments on the internet. Unfortunately, her
chromosomes, as well as the male privilege she spent the majority of her life
reaping the benefits from, make her the ultimate antithesis of her own point,
and she does the opposite of dispelling any stereotypes people may harbor.
~~~
param
Ok, its been about 10 hrs, so maybe you would be able to read this comment
objectively:
1\. An Ad-Hominem argument is one where you attack the other based on their
credentials to have an opinion on an issue without commenting on the argument
itself. That's specifically what you did.
2\. >>"Refraining from addressing someone's statement other than to label it
"ad hominem" is itself an ad hominem argument, however." \-- this is a weird
piece of logic I must say. See definition of ad hominem above. Where did I
challenge your "statement" by saying that you are not un-biased enough to have
an opinion. If you still disagree, see <http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html>
and let me know what I am missing
3\. Let me respond to your main argument as well - you say that the fact she
was a guy "does the opposite of dispelling any stereotypes people may harbor"
- ONE - not everyone knows she was a guy. Therefore, most people would take
the argument for what it is and think about it. TWO - even if people know she
was a guy, why do you assume that other readers are primitive enough that they
will let that be a factor? Note - they aren't seeing her in real life - they
are just reading an article at their leisure.
~~~
true_religion
They are saying that the author is a _counter-example_ to their own argument.
It's not an attack on their credentials to have an argument.
------
verroq
Most of the time people use "he" when they don't know the gender of the
author. It's not assuming the author is a man. It's a place-holder word in
English.
~~~
roguecoder
"He" is not gender-neutral, no matter how hard the Latin-obsessed grammarians
tried [citation:
[http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12...](http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1288&context=theses)]
If you want a gender-neutral pronoun, "they" works perfectly well. It doesn't
matter what you intend when you type "he", everyone reading it will interpret
it as male.
~~~
strictfp
We've had the same pronoun situation here in Sweden. Recently, however, a new
pronoun started to become common in everyday speech: 'hen'. It's a mix of
'han' ('he') and 'hon'('her'). It's picked up in popularity fast since it
solves the specific problems highlighted by this article.
~~~
mkl
Many people have tried similar things in English[1], but unfortunately none
have caught on yet outside relatively small subcultures.
[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-
neutral_pronoun#Invented...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-
neutral_pronoun#Invented_pronouns)
~~~
sliverstorm
I'm not sure I'd say "unfortunately"- most of those invented words are, in my
eyes, terrible! "Co"? "Zhim"?
~~~
greyfade
And some are, unfortunately, hard to pronounce. ( _I.e.,_ Sie and Zhe.)
------
RegEx
> Furthermore, doing so results in harassment and having my writing
> dismissed/trivialized/tokenized because of my gender. Hence why I don’t (or
> at least, hadn’t until this post).
I'd like to understand the severity of this issue. Can you provide examples of
technical articles written by women that were dismissed due to their gender?
------
wccrawford
It's not actually a catch-22, it's just a shitty situation.
Catch-22 means you can't do something without doing another thing first, but
you can't do that first either because it relies on the thing you wanted to do
in the first place. It's a closed circle with no way in.
This, however, it's just painful. Women can't emphasize their gender without
being ridiculed by assholes, but they can't hide it because they would then be
helping prolong the ridicule for others.
"You're either part of the problem, or part of the solution." Sitting back and
doing nothing allows the problem to continue. I'm as guilty of doing nothing
as anyone.
I really don't care who wrote the article, only that it's a good article. If I
see something techie don't by a woman, I generally think "Good for her" and
then continue on with life. I don't assign any special weight to her words at
all. They still stand on their own.
On the other hand, my experience is that closed communities are a lot better
about not discriminating. If someone says, "the op is a She", everyone
apologizes, switches, and continues on.
Open communities, where any asshole with a keyboard can leave a comment, tend
to be slums. Assholes know they can post their opinions without censorship, so
they do. Constantly. There's repercussions, either.
As much as I like finding random stuff on the net, the only communities worth
joining are the private ones. And there's precious few of those any more.
------
RegEx
> The catch-22 here is that if I choose to blend in, then people like the
> commenters above assume that everything they see was written by men, and use
> that as an excuse to dismiss the concerns of women in the tech industry
Couldn't this be solved by a little 'about the author' section at the end of
your articles? Pull in your gravatar and add a couple of sentences about
yourself. Now everyone knows you are a woman, and you didn't have to change
your background to hot-pink to do so! :)
~~~
thetabyte
Did you read the article at all? Her whole point is that women should not have
to do this, that they face discrimination if they do do this, and that we
should refrain from assuming that if we don't see one of these, it's by a man.
The problem isn't that they don't know she's a girl. It's that they assume she
isn't one.
~~~
verroq
>Her whole point is that women should not have to do this, that they face
discrimination if they do do this
I don't think this point is correct. The technical nature of computer
science/technology makes it easier to judge a work by its technical merits,
not by authorship.
~~~
thetabyte
Yes, that's very true, it _can_ be more easily judged by technical merits, but
that doesn't necessarily mean it will be. Not to mention it invites less-than-
appropriate or nice messages.
------
Tichy
Interesting, but a bit of a strawman: one comment dismisses complaints of
women because he accuses them of not contributing anything of merit. That is
of course flawed in itself, but it is just one person's comment, not a general
attitude towards female bloggers.
I also don't think that for example on HN it should be possible to "pay" with
technical contributions for non-technical contributions, like, for every x
relevant articles you would be allowed an irrelevant article. Ideally, every
article should stand on it's own (probably not realistic, but an ideal to
attain to).
------
clockstrikesten
This was written by Amber Yust, who was born a man.
~~~
rcfox
You say this as if it were relevant...
~~~
clockstrikesten
I fail to see how it's irrelevant. In this article, someone who was a man
until a year or two ago used herself as the perfect example of a woman who
succeeds in the tech world.
~~~
rcfox
Amber is A) a woman B) working in the tech world C) successful.
Chromosomes have nothing to do with it.
Obviously, you know that what you're saying is hateful or you wouldn't have
created a burner account in order to post it.
~~~
clockstrikesten
Chromosomes are directly responsible for most developmental differences
between living creatures. If someone uses this fact to convince themselves
it's why women aren't seen in the tech world, Amber has done nothing to
disprove it.
Amber has benefitted from male privilege for most of her life. If people
believe male privilege, brogrammer environments, etc. are why women aren't
seen in the tech world, Amber has done nothing to disprove it.
She is literally the worst possible piece of evidence to use to disprove the
stereotype.
This is not a burner account and I am not transphobic.
~~~
Jaye
Addressing only this part: "Chromosomes are directly responsible for most
developmental differences between living creatures."
Chromosomes are only part of sex differentiation in utero. Many of the
developing embryo's/fetus' sex characteristics, both neurological and
physiological, are the result of how it responds to the particular mix of
hormones it is exposed to at different developmental stages. Sometimes the
levels of androgens and estrogens are not consistent throughout the entire
development process so the baby can be born with neurological characteristics
of one sex but physiological characteristics of the other.
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Bespin 0.4: Stop, Collaborate and Code - chanux
http://labs.mozilla.com/2009/08/bespin-0-4-stop-collaborate-and-code/
======
jiaaro
just tried it out... very cool project. My only concern is that you can't
check out a project bigger than 10 mb. Which would be find except that in
mercurial you ALWAYS checkout the entire project :(
Maybe they can add support for only pulling the data when you actually use the
file for something?
------
robryan
Looks very promising, first I have seen of it. Seems to be missing import and
export though currently?
| {
"pile_set_name": "HackerNews"
} |
Ask HN: Is there a bubble in software work? What's the 5/10 year forecast? - TurkishPoptart
I'm reading The Click Moment, where the author writes, "Ten years ago, if you wanted to guarantee yourself a life of financial security, one of the surest paths was to become a lawyer." So law programs and students blew up, and the result was companies like LegalZoom offering routine legal work for $25, and it's no longer deemed a "hot" field. I'm wondering what you guys think about this. With AWS releasing CodeGuru, (which aims to reduce hours spent debugging and testing) I suspect a similar thing could happen. I'm in ${BIG_TECH_CITY} where there are bootcamp ads plastered on buses and in my YouTube ads. I just doubt there will be work for new bootcamp grads, say, 5 or 10 years from now.
======
GoldenMonkey
Law is not really comparable.
Software continues to eat the world. There are so many new sectors and the
demand for software is insatiable. Mobile apps, drones, robots, ai, self
driving, medical devices, blockchain... so much more... there are so many
fields and applications for software still...
And new sectors... an example: If I were starting in college today. I would
major in cs and genetic engineering. Programming living cells...
For context: Andreessen, why software is eating the world.
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405311190348090457651...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460.html?emailToken=e7b7167e3d50c060558d98b1b3d56fa3ikaF9de4vuvRCiOGccQSv0KFEircJUzE0BcBA5rMF9Uzx/ENT3FPbn0NVXWeqJQ0GviBealZXN9Ucj6JsN9Chi/gxQyQ63w9qA7X5HZSM+o%3D&reflink=article_copyURL_share)
~~~
noir_lord
Not to mention the maintenance and replacement of software in fields where
it's already extremely dominant.
The valley may explode/implode but the rest of the world has had a pretty
solid demand for developers since I was a teenager in the 90's, it's just less
dramatic and less well paid with fewer hours.
------
jki275
Computer Science is still hard, and the vast majority of those who think they
want to write software simply aren't effective at it.
There will always be work for people who are good at writing software.
As to your last comment? Maybe but I doubt it. I think that things will morph
a bit to the point where there will be better "bootcamps", maybe not called
that exactly, that offer more of the real CS education that's necessary for a
good software engineer. But we'll see.
~~~
codedrome
Writing software isn't really "bootcampable" if there is such a word. You need
a significant amount of time to gradually absorb knowledge and skills.
~~~
jki275
I covered that in my comment.
------
muzani
The bootcamp student no longer needs to learn garbage collection, how memory
works, hash maps va arrays vs linked lists and all that.
They really just learn to tell the app what to do. They tell it to open a
camera, save the photo, what format to save it in, submit it it which server,
how to store it, when to resize, a balance between quality and size, how to
inform another user when the photo has been submitted, how to politely inform
the user that it's not going to abuse camera permissions, how to gather user
data while staying within legal restrictions, and so on.
A good developer with the best tools might do this in half an hour. A newbie
developer could take half a week. The good developer can easily demand more
money.
Sure there are things that will simplified to a $25 action. When I started
programming, we were building our own push notification services and chat
servers. A lot of this is now $25 or less, but a developer can still get paid
$1000 to assemble it - the code is there but you still need to pay someone to
read documentation.
And maybe through some miracle, AI can do all this work in the future. Then
you still need people to manage AI, to communicate with clients/customers,
understand what they want, and tell the AI to build it. AI will likely be as
smart as some cheap foreign labor who can barely speak English, so someone
needs to slowly explain to them what they mean, possibly in their own
language... which is a lot like programming.
So let's fast forward 1000 years, where we can reach 90% project estimation
accuracy and all this assembly is just blue collar work. We'll get something
very similar to the construction industry now, which still hires engineers
with a degree, to build complex megaprojects like getting a skyscraper done in
a couple years. Maybe a CS certification and the word "engineer" might
actually mean something then.
------
codingslave
I think the upper echelon of computer programmers will be paid more than ever.
I think the lower levels will see compensation decreases. So if you want to
make tons of money, get really really good at computer science and algorithms,
ignore the frameworks
------
Spooky23
The premise is flawed. Law has been a problematic field for a long time now —
anyone looking at being attorney as a stable path a decade ago was delusional.
Technology is eating the world, but it’s not a high security field at the same
time. Whatever you do today is legacy is 5-10 years, and you can be easily
rendered redundant if you’re not in the right place/skillset.
------
codedrome
5 to 10 years is a lifetime in this business. That's like asking what cars or
aircraft will look like in 50 or 100 years.
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