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hacker_news_with_comments

like 4

brudgers

Did something stupid and am scared

throwawaycredit

[ IANAL ]Assuming that you have in fact committed fraud, a fact which requires legal adjudication:What have you defrauded the credit card company of ?Currently, at worst, a small piece of plastic of slight value, and again assuming that there is a legal finding of fraud.[ Per my 1040's since 1995, I am a philosopher ]Your concerns seem more along the lines of having done something that the sort of person you strive to be would not do. That's not a legal issue, it's an ethical/moral dilemma.Business is inherently amoral [ by which I do not mean immoral ]. Actions are either legal or illegal. The general assumption is that anything not explicitly prohibited is permitted. Money changes many things, including people's judgements: its fungiblity lets it serve as a proxy for the basic necessities of an individual's survival.Credit card companies have very sophisticated means of assessing risk. These go well beyond self reported income, e.g. patterns of payment/non-payment are probably reliable actuarily.In the end, the big issue ethically/morally is not if what you did was ok with the credit card company. The big issue is if what you did is ok with you.Ethics/morals are about not doing what is legally permitted.

Posting from a throwaway account for obvious reasons.I've been trying freelancing and building my own software for the past year and it hasn't gone well. I've hardly earned any money and am going through cash and credit cards quickly.So here's what I did that was stupid. I received a credit card application in the mail today and decided it couldn't hurt to put last years income in for my total income, even though this year I will be making half of it, mostly my wife's meager income. I put the LLC I freelance under as my employer. It didn't ask if I was self-employe or not. I submitted the application online and now I'm panicking and having second thoughts. I am terrified that I just committed fraud. I called to cancel and the application department was closed. Now I can't sleep and don't know what to do.

2014-09-24 13:37:52 UTC

j2kun

Evolution: A Complexity View

namlede

There is an algorithmic technique underlying a lot of this stuff called the "Multiplicative Weights Update Algorithm." It's worth checking out if you want a cool algorithm that applies in lots of different scenarios.

2014-09-24 13:40:48 UTC

coldpie

Chipworks Disassembles Apple's A8 SoC: GX6450, 4MB L3 Cache and More

zdw

If these kind of raw IC photos interest you, here's a couple links describing what you're looking at:"The 6502 CPU's overflow flag explained at the silicon level"http://www.righto.com/2013/01/a-small-part-of-6502-chip-expl...And a handful of links by other HN members about how to interpret silicon-level images:https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7481973

2014-09-24 13:41:45 UTC

chiph

IBM CEO Ginni Rometty Gets Past the Big Blues

pesenti

I think she's doing a good job in some respects. Such as Watson -- it's good strategy to invest in areas that will see future growth.But at the same time, what's paying the bills is their consulting & services business. And there they're laying-off high-skilled workers (because they're expensive) in favor of fresh-outs and newbies (because they're cheap). That's not a good strategy. You can't starve the cash cow for too long. The result is that their sales people are making promises the technology people can't keep.

2014-09-24 13:42:00 UTC

marknadal

Hosting for Node.js apps done right

kertof

Really neat to have FTP access for new JavaScript to NodeJS developers that don't know how to use git yet.

2014-09-24 13:42:32 UTC

Fastidious

Hosting for Node.js apps done right

kertof

Too expensive, in my opinion. The dashboard looks nice, simple and clean though.

2014-09-24 13:43:01 UTC

Avalaxy

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

> I drafted up an agreement for both of us to sign,... and gave her the code for free.You did WHAT?!

2014-09-24 13:43:09 UTC

hoopism

I Had to Develop an iPhone App to Understand Swing Trading

riveralabs

"The reality is that it’s easier said than done! It’s actually very hard to make money in the stock market!"There should be a follow on sentence... It can be very difficult to make money in the stock market IN THE SHORT TERM. You should not do this... most people should not do this.See this:https://personal.vanguard.com/us/insights/investingtruths/in...

2014-09-24 13:43:29 UTC

hughes

NGA releases high-resolution elevation data to public

liotier

For context, this data was gathered in February of 2000.

2014-09-24 13:43:31 UTC

chippy

Ask HN: From contractor to permanent

anpr

what matters is interest, passion, maturity and experience, not length of time in one place.

I currently work at a Fortune 500 software company in the UK doing a lot of greenfield software development.Lately I have been considering leaving my permanent role and moving into contracting, mainly due to substantially higher net salaries.My concern however is; should I do this for a few years, and then wish to move back into a permanent role at companies such as MS/GOOGL/FB - would it be frown upon? In other words, do companies prefer to hire people that have been working steadily in a code base for prolonged periods of time?Thanks!

2014-09-24 13:46:33 UTC

pella

NGA releases high-resolution elevation data to public

liotier

"Index of /srtm/version2_1/SRTM30"http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/srtm/version2_1/SRTM30/[ http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/ ]

2014-09-24 13:47:04 UTC

squidmccactus

I Had to Develop an iPhone App to Understand Swing Trading

riveralabs

Wow looks like a really thorough Monte Carlo simulation. DAE this for Android or mobile-first HTML5?

2014-09-24 13:48:10 UTC

cik

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

You definitely weren't the 'bad guy' in this relationship. If anything, it looks like you were being taken advantage of. People deserve to be compensated (somehow) for their work - and it's somewhat clear to me that this wasn't going to be the case in your situation.On the other hand - if you did want to be a consultant, there are different things at play. First, the NDA. NDAs cover only the disclosure aspects, nothing else. Next there's an MSA - Master Services Agreement. The MSA covers the method by which services are to be delivered, and the contractual obligations around them. It's important to separate the two, as typically an NDA's lifespan is significantly longer than an MSA (i.e. after you're doing with a client, the NDA continues to live for 6-12 months).There's absolutely nothing wrong with discontinuing a partnership that isn't working. It's a hard thing to do, you feel like you're letting people down, but you're not. The reality of the situation is that a partnership is just that - a partnership. If it's not good for both sides, then it's not a partnership, plain and simple.tl;dr - Get compensated for your work, and put yourself first - no one else will.

2014-09-24 13:51:01 UTC

MattBearman

This email may be worth millions of dollars in sales

guiseppecalzone

I've never had anyone ask for discount for my SaaS (BugMuncher), nor has anyone ever complained about the pricing. Should I take this as a sign to put my prices up?

2014-09-24 13:51:09 UTC

chdir

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission: Spacecraft successfully enters Martian Orbit

skbohra123

Previous discussion on the budget : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7964261

2014-09-24 13:51:24 UTC

FLUX-YOU

To Gather Drug Information, a Health Startup Turns to Consumers

mmohebbi

How do you think doctors are going to react to their patients following the data from Iodine? There's a lot of room to misinterpret, especially when dealing with psychiatric drugs. Advil, Immodium, and Nyquil are pretty simple for people to report on: the thing that hurts stops == this drug worked (maybe).Also, the one thing on the front page that made the largest impact on me is the brand name prevalence. If Iodine gets popular, that's going to have a direct effect on brand name sales. Would you be interested in doing more upfront comparisons between generic and brand names?People will still buy brand name if it makes them feel better/safer/whatever of course, but a 200mg tablet of ibuprofen should have the same effects no matter who makes it (allergies/reactions from dyes and coatings not-withstanding). Shouldn't we be trying to educate patients about the science of it as well? That the same dosage of Advil vs. Generic is equivalent and teach people to save money?>The investor enthusiasm for health ventures, said Halle Tecco, managing director of Rock Health, is fueled by the belief that the health care industry is both huge and technologically backward, and thus ripe for an assault with clever software and data-driven decision-making.From my own experience, this could not be more correct.I've been on three sides of the healthcare industry: nursing, surgical services, and now software. There is just a lot of old stuff piled on top of even older stuff. Some of that is reliable and necessary. Other times, it's a wonder the thing even works in the first place.It's a wasteland of opportunity, so grab your hazard suit and start coding because me, my doctor and my optometrist personally think healthcare software currently sucks. :)

2014-09-24 13:51:42 UTC

serve_yay

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

Oh brother.

2014-09-24 13:52:01 UTC

joezydeco

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I really want Apple to issue a statement along the lines of "You asked for a thinner lighter phone, you got it. Now stop being an idiot and sitting on it and we'll all be fine."This is all just incredibly stupid. The fact it bends and continues to function should be newsworthy, not the other way around.

2014-09-24 13:52:46 UTC

gomathinayagam

Ask HN: How do I set up a HIPAA-compliant server?

th3o6a1d

Microsoft biztalk server has strong HIPAA connector/accelerator, just have a look overthere.

2014-09-24 13:53:01 UTC

pkorzeniewski

Hosting for Node.js apps done right

kertof

One question - does it support TCP sockets? I've evaluated a dozen or so Node.js hosting solutions and none (0, null, nil) supported TCP sockets. HTTP/S and WebSockets only. It's ridiculous - a TCP server is a major use case for Node.js and yet if you want to host it, you must configure and administrate your own server (on EC2 or whatever).

2014-09-24 13:53:47 UTC

mstefff

I Had to Develop an iPhone App to Understand Swing Trading

riveralabs

> But swing traders need to win at least 50% of the time in order to be profitable.That's not true. It completely depends on your strategy/system. You can be highly-profitable with a 30% win-rate (or any number) granted the amount you win is far higher than the amount you lose. If my average win is $1000 and my average loss is $100, I can be profitable with only 10% wins (excluding commissions).

2014-09-24 13:55:10 UTC

hyperpape

The Surprising Path to a Faster NYTimes.com

danso

The point about elements on the page shifting around is huge. I've personally dreamed of a browser change that would make reflows that are out of the current browser viewport not change your position on the page. If you have a slow connection or view certain types of content (liveblogs, etc) this can become a huge pain.Just thinking about it raises all sorts of questions about whether the browser/rendering engine can actually reliably know that information, but it doesn't mean I can't dream.

2014-09-24 13:55:43 UTC

damoncali

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

The big lesson here is to sort this out before you start coding.I have an MBA and I write code. In my experience, coders overvalue their contributions and business guys overvalue theirs. But in the end, the business guys usually win. You have to think like a business guy.When I do contract code, I'm under no illusion that I am a critical piece of the business. In fact, the only thing that has any sort of ability to lock me in is typically that switching costs are high- developers hard to find and it's expensive to get a new one up to speed.That's just the way things are. If you're not an integral part of the business, you are replaceable.

2014-09-24 13:56:54 UTC

dbasedow

Datamining a Flat in Munich

ilovefood

Two years ago I was in a similar situation. I had 6 weeks to find a fully furnished apartment in Munich from 800km away. For me the response rate for furnished apartments was 100%, although some simply said the apartment has been rented out already.I also turned to crawling. I regularly crawled IS24's furnished apartment section and put new entries into a Google Fusion Table. That way I could filter on fields and see the apartments on a map at the same time. This wasn't automated as much as the original poster's solution. But my main requirement was that the apartment be near a subway station of a line that stops at my place of work, which is not that easy to automate.After about a week I found an apartment that was rented out by the owner directly (none of that agent fee nonsense). I was the first to contact the guy - a few minutes after it was posted. I had to decide if I take it the same day. Based only on pictures... It was a good deal. Colleagues of mine were paying MUCH MORE and got MUCH LESS.

2014-09-24 13:57:33 UTC

misiti3780

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

why did you give her the code for free? you should have charged her for it

2014-09-24 13:58:53 UTC

51Cards

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I suspect this could also be related to iPhone users having had a fairly small phone to date. Slipping the iPhone into a pocket till now has been an easy practice, so I assume the same is being done out of habit with the new larger models. The new form factor (larger AND thinner) can't stand up to the stresses.

2014-09-24 13:59:35 UTC

spindritf

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

You can almost taste the irony of the hated, exploitative megacorp Walmart doing more to help poor people and put a check on cheque cashing places than any politician ever.

2014-09-24 14:00:02 UTC

jaegerpicker

Istanbul: A JavaScript code coverage tool written in JS

sebslomski

Ah that reminds me I wrote a coverage server for istanbul in node.js. It allows testem to send coverage statics across mutliple tests/runs to reported on. It's part of a whole test running package that I'm working on open sourcing that will allow testem (which is a great test runner if you don't mind running all of your tests in one big session) to run multiple suites of tests. For instance if you have a order app and an client management app and you want separate test runs to avoid any namespace collisions the project allows you to define handlebars based templates to define your suites and run each suite with testem one at a time. Anyway here is a gist of the coverage server if it's useful to anyone: https://gist.github.com/jaegerpicker/95c3900426d55eb9b857

2014-09-24 14:00:39 UTC

mcv

Google nixes G+ requirement for Gmail accounts

e15ctr0n

Are they also going to undo the YouTube integration? I hate accidentally finding myself in a YouTube discussion when I thought I was using G+.

2014-09-24 14:00:53 UTC

startupfounder

The Grand Tour, 2.0

Thevet

"A traveller usually understands that itineraries are pretty useless, admits ignorance, and is open to whatever the road may bring."In 2007 I rode a motorcycle from Maine to the Panama Canal. I was seeking the authentic, the back roads, the people and experiences between the destinations on my map or entries into the guidebook. It was not only about being open to the unplanned moments, but putting myself into uncomfortable situations where the spark of spontaneity could ignite a human connection.I always find coming home a bit eye opening, I continue to look for and seek authentic moments in my "everyday" life, getting away from the screens and technology that disconnect me with the people right in front of me.I think this is the job of great technology, enabling and at the same time not getting in the way of the authentic life moments.

2014-09-24 14:01:06 UTC

jader201

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I've owned every generation of iPhone since the 3GS, and definitely think this is being blown out of proportion. I have a 6 (4.7"), and don't have (and doint think I ever will have) any issues with this.However, I will say that the Galaxy Note bend video [1] in (response to the iPhone 6 Plus bend test [2]) was impressive, and shows that while metal material is more stylish, plastic seems to be much more durable. Of course, I know these are far from scientific tests, but it still seems to show some sense of durability between the two.[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwM4ypi3at0[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znK652H6yQM

2014-09-24 14:01:59 UTC

squid_ca

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

Has this been a problem with other, non-Apple phones of a similar form factor? If so, this is a design issue. If not, this is an Apple design issue.

2014-09-24 14:02:12 UTC

cik

Ask HN: From contractor to permanent

anpr

The reality is that it depends on the narrative, teh story that you have. It's very easy to explain why you chose consulting (other than money), and have a narrative that resonates. I've found that consulting actually results in exposure to more varied problems, technologies, and solutions - so I'm not nearly as pigeonholed.

I currently work at a Fortune 500 software company in the UK doing a lot of greenfield software development.Lately I have been considering leaving my permanent role and moving into contracting, mainly due to substantially higher net salaries.My concern however is; should I do this for a few years, and then wish to move back into a permanent role at companies such as MS/GOOGL/FB - would it be frown upon? In other words, do companies prefer to hire people that have been working steadily in a code base for prolonged periods of time?Thanks!

2014-09-24 14:02:23 UTC

kwasbob

Ask HN: From contractor to permanent

anpr

When you say a substantial increase, how much of an increase is that?. And also, are you considering other expenses/losses such as accountants, pensions, etc, etc

I currently work at a Fortune 500 software company in the UK doing a lot of greenfield software development.Lately I have been considering leaving my permanent role and moving into contracting, mainly due to substantially higher net salaries.My concern however is; should I do this for a few years, and then wish to move back into a permanent role at companies such as MS/GOOGL/FB - would it be frown upon? In other words, do companies prefer to hire people that have been working steadily in a code base for prolonged periods of time?Thanks!

2014-09-24 14:04:00 UTC

jrochkind1

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

> "Even the most recent smartphones are not designed to be put in pockets where they are going to be under the most chassis strain. And this just illustrates the fact that the public's desire for manufacturers to strive for ever thinner and lighter devices means that we are getting ever more fragile devices.> "Just casually sticking a £700 smartphone in your pocket is an increasingly reckless thing to do."Wait, this guy really thinks that users should be expected to know that it's reckless to keep their _phone_ in their pocket, and that they weren't designed for this?That seems not right. I am confident that most people, unless educated otherwise, will assume that phones are designed to go in pockets. If manufacturers really aren't designing phones to go in pockets, they are going to have to educate users on this. The pocket has been the place non-purse-carrying people have kept their phone since the first mobile phone that was small enough to fit in a pocket.

2014-09-24 14:05:21 UTC

sdesimone

PureScript: A Haskell-like Language That Compiles to JavaScript

sdesimone

PureScript is a strongly, statically typed language which compiles to JavaScript. It is written in and inspired by Haskell and aims at "allowing to write very expressive code which is still clear and readable" when translated into JavaScript. InfoQ has talked to PureScript creator Phil Freeman to learn more about the language.

2014-09-24 14:05:25 UTC

katm

Ask HN: When is the full list of Startup School speakers going to be announced?

aymay

The full list is here: http://blog.ycombinator.com/last-day-to-apply-for-startup-sc...Speakers:Ron Conway Founder and Special Advisor, SV AngelJim Goetz Partner, Sequoia CapitalReid Hoffman Founder and Executive Chairman, LinkedInJan Koum Founder and CEO, WhatsAppAndrew Mason Founder, Detour and GrouponEric Migicovsky Founder and CEO, PebbleHosain Rahman Founder and CEO, JawboneDanae Ringelmann Founder and Chief Development Officer, IndiegogoEmmett Shear Founder and CEO, TwitchMichelle Zatlyn Founder, CloudFlare

2014-09-24 14:05:55 UTC

mlrtime

I Had to Develop an iPhone App to Understand Swing Trading

riveralabs

It is certainly not 50%, each stock will have an implied volatility that will statistically determine the likelihood of a move.

2014-09-24 14:06:03 UTC

rayiner

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

They said the same thing about the iPhone 5 (http://www.cultofmac.com/248603/iphone-5ses-are-bending-in-p... Xperia Z1 (http://www.phonearena.com/news/Xperia-Z1-frame-bending-for-n... Nexus 5 (http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-5/387390-nexus...), and I'm sure many others.

2014-09-24 14:06:06 UTC

mark_l_watson

IBM Watson API

miket

I am helping a customer integrate Watson into their system so I am very happy to see the news about BlueMix (https://ace.ng.bluemix.net/) that apparently will allow me to keep experimenting with Watson after my consulting engagement is complete.If you read the documentation, you will see that preparing training data and questions is fairly straightforward.

2014-09-24 14:06:41 UTC

navait

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

The fee seems a bit egregious, even for commercial banking. My bank never charged me for a checking account, and even reimburses ATM fees.

2014-09-24 14:06:48 UTC

Someone1234

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

In the UK "checking accounts" (called Current Accounts) are free. With so called "Basic Current Accounts" (accounts with no overdraft/borrowing facility) being available even to people with horrible/no credit at all.The way UK banks make money on current accounts is via interest (the difference between the Bank of England rate and their rate, the spread). They can also charge non-basic current account customers for things like unagreed overdrafts and so on.I don't really understand why current accounts in the US cost $12-8/month. It isn't like "checking accounts" in the US have much better interest rates. So they're likely double-dipping (getting $ off of the spread AND fees).Plus a lot of US banks require you to have a savings account with $x in it on top of your "checking account" just to waive the fee. Which means they're still double dipping there too, the spread on both the savings in the savings account (their "savings" accounts have horrible interest rates) and any money in the "checking account."This is also making it easy for fraudsters to move money. Since there are no "basic bank accounts" for the poor, throw-away/burner debit cards have become common which fraudsters can move stolen money onto and then spend it freely (as those cards have no ID check, etc).Don't even get me started on how big of a scam the throw-away/burner debit cards are. Before you get someone one you should check out the fine print in terms of fees that mysteriously eat up any remaining balance. Aside from the risk of bankrupsy and loss of interest, normal gift cards are less of a scam.

2014-09-24 14:06:52 UTC

FleursDuMal

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

It's generally a bit taboo to directly address dominance in social interactions, but you were manipulated into doing and then handing over work for nothing in return.You were successfully made to believe you would be the bad guy for walking away when nothing could have been farther from the truth.You worked, for nothing, on a project which belonged wholly to someone else, and they didn't even bother to turn up for project meetings.There's often a big disconnect between people's superficial behaviour and their genuine intent, and you have to learn to read the signals which tell you the difference.This episode might have been unpleasant but could be a cheap lesson if you learn the right things from it.

2014-09-24 14:07:01 UTC

adriand

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I love Apple (I've got an iPhone 5, an iPad 3, a Macbook and an iMac) but it always dismays me how Apple fans often respond to any issue with an Apple product with "it's your fault".A guy on MacRumors posted up about his experience with a bent phone and received some supportive comments, but also gems like, "It's aluminum, it's a noticeably longer device and as such it is likely to be bent more easily than previous iPhones. You should expect that it would be easier to bend and act accordingly."How is this reasonable? We should know better than to put the phone in our pockets?I sincerely hope Apple does the right thing here and takes responsibility if in fact this turns out to be a legitimate and widespread problem.

2014-09-24 14:07:49 UTC

spking

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

Some may not realize this, but YC startup Loopt is a big part of this. After being acquired by Green Dot they built the GoBank product, which is what Walmart will really be offering here.

2014-09-24 14:07:54 UTC

27182818284

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I played with the 6+ for the first time last night, and it surprises me people even sit down with it. It seems like like it would be immediately awkward from its size.

2014-09-24 14:08:11 UTC

corford

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission: Spacecraft successfully enters Martian Orbit

skbohra123

Successful Mars orbit for 0.42% of the price Facebook paid for Whatsapp.Awesome job and glad ISRO doesn't seem to suffer from the same bad luck the Russians do when it comes to Mars!

2014-09-24 14:10:01 UTC

kohanz

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

If it's any consolation, the odds that your "co-creator", if the business practices she has displayed thus far are any indication, makes something noteworthy or profitable out of your project, seem very low.

2014-09-24 14:10:04 UTC

JoeAltmaier

Blizzard officially cancels MMO Titan after seven years in development

ricardo_ramirez

This: " trying to do the right thing and build the right, smart product". That means quick, flashy and cheap. Building an ambitious MMO is not those things.I wish somebody was still building games that weren't necessarily 'smart', but were instead 'fun' or 'fascinating' or anything that means something to the player.

2014-09-24 14:10:17 UTC

noisy_boy

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission: Spacecraft successfully enters Martian Orbit

skbohra123

People who keep making the (nonsense) point of space vs. better roads keep harping on how the money will be better spent on infrastructure.I looked up the Indian planning commission's budget for 2013-14 road development. Planning Commission provided an annual outlay of Rs.37,300.00 Crore for 2013-2014 for development in road sector[1]. That is more than 6 billion USD - just for improving roads, for a year.The budget of the Mars Orbiter mission was around 75 million USD[2] i.e. less than 1.5% of [1].[1]: http://www.performance.gov.in/sites/default/files/department...[2]: http://www.forbes.com/sites/saritharai/2013/11/07/how-indias...

2014-09-24 14:11:24 UTC

88e282102ae2e5b

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

God this is frustrating to read. Basically you chose to make yourself a slave to this woman for NO reason.

2014-09-24 14:11:26 UTC

blisterpeanuts

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

A few ideas about this problem:1. Consumer behavior factors- Get a case. These devices will break if dropped, and when you are carrying it in your hand many times a day, it is highly likely to be dropped. It's a matter of "when", not "if".- Don't carry the device in pants pockets. Carry it in a shirt pocket, or in a bag or satchel or hang it on your belt. Solved.2. Manufacturing and marketing factors- Distribute 5,000 beta devices and really field test them. Manufacturers, especially Apple, hate to do this because it reveals the secret design in advance of the dramatic release event. But field testing the devices makes more sense given their complexity and unknown uses and conditions to which they will be subjected.- Make the devices thicker and sturdier. Many of us would not complain about an extra millimeter or two of thickness, especially if it means a bigger battery and some nice-to-haves such as a memory card slot. Thinness is costly, too. Make it an indestructible brick, charge less, and millions will continue to buy the devices.- An alternative view: yield to bendiness! Make the displays bendy, make the cases flexible, and accept that customers want to abuse their phones by sitting on them in tight jeans.

2014-09-24 14:11:50 UTC

paromi

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I have one of the slimmest android devices huawei p6 (6.2 mm vs 7.1 mm for iphone 6 plus) for a year and a half and im not having any issues with it bending or giving the feeling that its fragile.http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_p6-5467.php

2014-09-24 14:12:31 UTC

ColinWright

Redditor turned laptop screen into an external monitor

mtmail

Link to the actual story rather than the reddit discussion:http://imgur.com/a/Sqdeh#0

2014-09-24 14:13:29 UTC

sauere

Show HN: HostingDetector – Find out who is hosting any website

HostingDetector

It's Simple, it works, well done. I'd like to see how this evolves over time, maybe you can keep track of that and publish some nice graphs.On a sidenote, i am amazed how well Hetzner is doing. They always had a good reputation back in the days, but i feel they are missing out on a lot of business. They really lack the features and comfort of, for example, DigitalOcean or Linode.

2014-09-24 14:13:34 UTC

zzenon

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

perfect opportunity for Apple to introduce iPants.Joke aside, this is something that Apple needs to quickly address without putting customers at fault. You cannot just tell the customers not to put their phones in their pocket.

2014-09-24 14:14:48 UTC

twistedpair

NGA releases high-resolution elevation data to public

liotier

Odd, I downloaded and used all the 1 arc second data back in 2007. How is this new? They originally released two products, the 1" and 3" data.The original 1" data IS 30m lateral resolution (12,742,000m * pi)/(360 deg * 3600 arcsec/deg) = 30.88mOdd that they're now naming releases after meters and not the previous arc seconds.

2014-09-24 14:15:30 UTC

cpwright

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

So at least for me, if I can't stick a phone in my pocket it is useless. If I can't carry my phone with me everywhere, I might as well not have it. I can understand not sitting on it, but not putting it in my front pocket seems incredibly limiting, because that is pretty much the only place I would have to put it when out and about.I expect most people will have a case for the phone. I personally have a 5 right now and have it in a BookBook wallet/case, which is not really very rigid. I'll want something similar when it comes time to upgrade to a 6, but if I can't actually stick it in my pocket I'll need to find an alternative. Or maybe pay for a battery replacement on the 5.

2014-09-24 14:15:52 UTC

Stoo

Ask HN: Writing a book – Where to publish?

redxblood

I've published a series of short stories through Amazon and I find their service to be very good. Quite straight forward to set up and get started. Smashwords[0] are also supposed to be quite good. They have similar terms to Amazon and will spread your book to other sites such as Apple, Kobobo[1] and a few others.Things you may not have thought about:1. Get a good quality cover image, pay for one if you have to,2. Write an interesting and compelling blurb,3. Have other people read your work before you publish, if you can afford to hire an editor.1 and 2 are the first introduction to your book so need to catch the eye of the potential reader. 3 is vital, especially in longer works, as you will miss things.What's the book about?Oh and good luck![0]: http://www.smashwords.com/[1]: http://store.kobobooks.com/

So i´m almost done writing my first book ever, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience using services that publish your book for you? As in, they sell your book in epub, pdf and other formats online.I´ve heard Amazon is pretty good, giving you 70% revenue and other benefits, but honestly i have no idea how to tackle this.

2014-09-24 14:15:58 UTC

dekhn

Merck to Buy Sigma-Aldrich for $17B

kanzure

So... will there be a new merged Merck/Sigma catalog?

2014-09-24 14:16:01 UTC

jedberg

Amazon.com launches ‪#‎AmazonWishList‬

HeinZawHtet

I hope they're smart enough to ignore retweets...

2014-09-24 14:18:41 UTC

bpm140

This email may be worth millions of dollars in sales

guiseppecalzone

"You're product/service seems expensive.""As compared to what?"Sales 101.

2014-09-24 14:19:33 UTC

cherylpatti

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission: Spacecraft successfully enters Martian Orbit

skbohra123

I'm impressed that anybody able to make $7397 in 4 weeks on the computer . this link www.swipebuck.com

2014-09-24 14:19:40 UTC

drivingmenuts

How to tell when a robot has written you a letter

Thevet

Well, at least that's one marketing battle I've already won.I don't read ground mail anymore.

2014-09-24 14:19:53 UTC

joshdance

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

We have seen this before. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/260526?tstart=0 Put a think computer in your pocket, bend, and it will bend. Get a case or protect it. I have had an iPhone since the 3, never used a case, only broken one iPhone by being extra careful.

2014-09-24 14:21:40 UTC

ihsw

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

Seems they're taking a page from Loblaws and PCFinancial.http://pcfinancial.caI havent worked at Loblaws for a long time, but I still use them.

2014-09-24 14:22:05 UTC

tschellenbach

Applying to YC – GetStream.io

tschellenbach

Guys critical feedback is much appreciated!

2014-09-24 14:24:57 UTC

TheIronYuppie

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

I wonder to what extent this (and the antenna issue before it) are a result of Apple being so secretive. Because they don't take prototypes out for real world testing, or encase them in bulky facades if they do, they don't understand how real people are going to use it.Still think it's stupid - just because this behavior didn't result in a bent iPhone before doesn't mean it was good.

2014-09-24 14:25:29 UTC

seabug

Free Online Course – Possible Future Worlds: Global Trends, Values, and Ethics

seabug

Where do policymakers from the US, EU, Russia, and NATO see the world heading? How do technologists such as Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Eric Smidt, Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates think about the future? How do renowned academics such as Steven Pinker, Nassim Taleb, and Philip Tetlock challenge our intuitions about predictions? How can we systematically think about the future with philosophers including Michael Walzer, Saul Kripke, Thomas Pogge, Peter Singer, Michael Doyle, and John Rawls?Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs asked me to teach a course on the e-book, Of All Possible Future Worlds: Global Trends, Values, and Ethics, for its Ethics Fellows for the Future on www.globalethicsnetwork.org. The fellows come from all over the world, ranging from England, China, Japan, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Canada, and the US. We may open the class in the future. However, now anyone can freely access the course materials below. Ethics is for everyone.

2014-09-24 14:25:53 UTC

MCRed

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

Assuming your description is accurate, you should have had %95-%98 of the equity of that startup, and all ownership of the code. She was defrauding you (says she's taking class, so you enroll, turns out it was a lie, says she'll meet with you, doesn't show up, claims she should get %100 despite doing less than %5 of the work, etc.) and gas lighting you attempting to emotionally manipulate you into thinking you were the bad guy.My response would have been to give her none of the code, she didn't deserve any.But I really expect that she'll get nowhere with this app anyway... she can't get traction with just an initial release, it will need constant work.Her actions are very typical of the "clueless business type" that has no respect for the effort of software development (just pointing out functions not yet done is a prime indicator- they can't be bothered to dig into the project and think there's some value in pointing out the obvious?)Which means she will be a failure with this startup.You would have been better off, I think, taking your software and shopping it around to other MBAs in this class and seeing if you can find someone who will give you a real offer.You could work on the app on the side, and you don't have to give up your permanent job, but even if you didn't work on the app, you should have still owned a chunk in the company that developed it further (assuming it was worth developing further.)But owning a chunk in a company run by someone who is clueless and trying to defraud you is not worth anything.

2014-09-24 14:26:17 UTC

dazbradbury

Datamining a Flat in Munich

ilovefood

I'm one of the founders at OpenRent (UK rental site [1]), and loved your post. We face this kind of problem daily, and have tools in place to make sure our landlords reply to all tenants - even if it's to provide a reason why they're not suitable.We're constantly looking at better ways to solve this problem and improve the tenant experience - and your post will prove an excellent bit of anecdotal insight for us. Our data is similar, showing even just a name can impact response rate!To those suggesting all applicants should provide more data (facebook / linkedin / credit history), it's not always that simple. Still in the UK many renters don't have an online "presence". And whilst that may not be a problem for landlords with "hot" properties, putting off tenants for landlords with little demand is an absolute no go for us - sure, we want applicants to be of a high quality, but just because they don't have that information doesn't mean they aren't suitable.We think allowing tenants to provide more information, whilst supporting all application levels is key - but making it clear that the more data you provide the higher your chances of success and a quick response (even if it's a simple no) isn't always easy.[1] - https://www.openrent.co.uk

2014-09-24 14:26:59 UTC

howradical

Lecture 1 – How to Start a Startup [video]

declan

Here are some timestamped notes synced with the video: https://timelined.com/how-to-start-a-startup/lecture-1-how-t...

2014-09-24 14:27:30 UTC

IgorPartola

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

So I thought that http://imgur.com/gallery/FSXJp was a joke. Turns out, nope, it's a real problem. I wonder if Apple did have to fix it, how they'd go about it. I assume reenforcing the body of the phone externally is not really feasible, but manufacturing better bodies and swapping them out en masse would be very expensive and take a long time, no?

2014-09-24 14:27:38 UTC

jhallenworld

How to Squeeze a Huge Ship Down a Tiny River

sveme

The article reminds me of the "fitting a ladder around a corner" problem that I saw in numerical analysis class years ago. Expanded forms of this problem include the food trolley and sofa problems... take a look athttp://www.researchgate.net/publication/220154823_Moving_a_F...

2014-09-24 14:28:31 UTC

Houshalter

How to tell when a robot has written you a letter

Thevet

Computers can imitate human handwriting styles as well:http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~graves/handwriting.cgiAlthough a simple way would be to just have a human write the original and have a robot copy it.

2014-09-24 14:29:25 UTC

codewritinfool

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

I have first-hand experience with a situation like this and can tell you this:Keep the code. Walk away. Learn from it. Don't look back.

2014-09-24 14:30:17 UTC

roywiggins

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission: Spacecraft successfully enters Martian Orbit

skbohra123

This is massively inspiring. Huge PR boon for India, and they obviously deserve it.Super happy about this. Welcome to the interplanetary club!

2014-09-24 14:31:37 UTC

Tyrannosaurs

Bent iPhone claims put Apple under pressure to respond

HarveyKandola

We need to know the proportion of people this is happening to to understand whether this is a thing or not.Apple supposedly sold 10 million phones on the weekend of release, more since. Apparently more of those are 6s than 6 Pluses but we don't know the exact numbers or breakdown right now. Similarly we know a few people have had problems but it doesn't seem clear whether it's a few, a few tens, a few hundred or many thousands.Ultimately this may be bad design ignoring real world valid use cases, it may be dumbness on the part of a small number of vocal users, but without knowing what sort of numbers are seeing the problem and what that is as a proportion of sales it's almost impossible to say.Right now all we can really say is some iPhone 6s and 6 Pluses have bent and based on that it's no wonder Apple haven't said anything.Not a great story but probably all that we really know right now.

2014-09-24 14:32:18 UTC

bharath28

ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission: Spacecraft successfully enters Martian Orbit

skbohra123

Respect. For sheer aplomb & perseverance. It is moments like these that make me want to put my head down and march on no matter what.

2014-09-24 14:32:35 UTC

amalag

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

Most credit unions still give free checking accounts.http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/want-free-checking-...Meanwhile I got something in the mail enticing me with $300 to open a checking account at Capital One.

2014-09-24 14:33:36 UTC

steven

Brave New Phone Call

olivercameron

I wrote the article. One comment about the iPhone only issue. Of course I probed this with Ray -- a communications app is really handicapped if you can't share it with all the people you want to contact. His answer was that Talko wasn't going to take a shortcut of writing one version and porting it to different systems--they wanted to get one totally right and then then work native on the others. That's why, he says, that Talko right now is totally free in beta form -- kind of a tryout period -- and that no monetization will occur until Android and Web versions work fully. He thinks that Android folks will appreciate a fast native version in a few months (my estimate) rather than a balky one now and forever.

2014-09-24 14:33:56 UTC

downandout

Walmart Prepares to Offer Low-Cost Checking Accounts

spking

This article is making a much bigger deal out of this than it is. Walmart has entered into a marketing agreement with GoBank prepaid cards. You can already get one at gobank.com, sans Walmart.It offers some, but certainly not all, of the benefits of a checking account. For starters, they don't give their customers checks (so it's not a checking account). These accounts cannot send or receive wire transfers (though they can receive direct deposit or any other ACH-based credit, such as those from PayPal). It also supports ACH debit, and it has a form of of a bill pay service that uses PayPal to pay any phone number or email address. You can also have the service print and send a physical check directly to anyone, but I believe it takes more than a week. Calling it a checking account is a misnomer at best.

2014-09-24 14:34:08 UTC

malvosenior

Analyzing Programming Languages Using Rosetta Code

nkurz

I wish they would have included Clojure or some other Lisp. I've been doing some Haskell and am actually a bit disappointed with how much less concise Haskell is compared to Clojure. I'm definitely a newb, but it feels like you have to do a lot more boilerplate/duplication especially around records.

2014-09-24 14:34:23 UTC

wxm

Datamining a Flat in Munich

ilovefood

I've just finished doing the same for Edinburgh, UK and share many of the OP's frustrations. The monopoly that many letting agencies have in that they are also managing apartments adds to the shortage of accommodation in Europe's largest cities. Unlike in previous years, besides a worsening of the availability of accommodation I have also noticed an increase in scammers this year (i.e. people copying pictures from other city's agencies and trying to convince people to pay pre-deposits or application/administrative fees to 'secure keys').

2014-09-24 14:35:15 UTC

crusso

Should I sign this agreement?

neilni

The part that bothered me most about the situation (and I realize that it's only your side being told here) is that she gave lots of warning signs that she was not holding up her side of any form of partnership. If she couldn't show up to the meetings, give you feedback on the tasks that you were tracking, prepare for your discussions of the app, etc... you should have run away from her right there.Never stay involved with partners who aren't adding their share of value in an undertaking. Since she wasn't paying you or even offering equity, the least she could have done is to participate in the work that you were doing for her benefit.Don't tolerate being systematically disrespected.

2014-09-24 14:36:16 UTC

fiatjaf

Show HN: Beyondpad – New kind of note taking and data management solution

dzjosjusuns

I like the idea, but I think there's probably more friction than I wanted to. Nevertheless, I'm not your target customer, I don't have a team or manage projects.

2014-09-24 14:36:25 UTC

Zweihander

CVE-2014-6271: Remote code execution through bash

vault_

For more info: http://www.csoonline.com/article/2687265/application-securit...This should be fun

2014-09-24 14:38:24 UTC

lotsofcows

I Had to Develop an iPhone App to Understand Swing Trading

riveralabs

"Successful swing traders win only 50% of the time."Save yourself a lot of effort, toss a coin.

2014-09-24 14:38:29 UTC

hyperliner

This email may be worth millions of dollars in sales

guiseppecalzone

The best sign I have seen related to this topic is from my mechanic shop:"If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try a bad one!"

2014-09-24 14:38:54 UTC

subv3rsion

JavaScript is doing black magic

no_gravity

An HTMLCollection in the HTML DOM is live; it is automatically updated when the underlying document is changed.

2014-09-24 14:39:14 UTC

FWeinb

JavaScript is doing black magic

no_gravity

See the W3C Spec: http://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2-HTML/html.html#ID-75708506

2014-09-24 14:42:08 UTC

kalops

CVE-2014-6271: Remote code execution through bash

vault_

so basically turn off AcceptEnv in sshd_config?

2014-09-24 14:43:04 UTC

fecak

Ask HN: From contractor to permanent

anpr

I think you'll find your instincts on this one are a bit off. These days, companies seem to value some variety over stagnating at one company or on one project. Hiring managers like to see people with a variety of accomplishments, and that can be pretty easy to demonstrate if your contracting projects are interesting and give you the ability to see the task all the way through.When you are comparing money from contract to permanent, keep in mind there may be lots of hidden costs. I can't speak for the UK, but in the US contractors need to be thoughtful of taxes (and the cost of having your returns done if you can't do them yourself), health insurance, PTO (contractors are only paid for the hours they work), insurance, retirement/401k, etc.Be sure to do the math.

I currently work at a Fortune 500 software company in the UK doing a lot of greenfield software development.Lately I have been considering leaving my permanent role and moving into contracting, mainly due to substantially higher net salaries.My concern however is; should I do this for a few years, and then wish to move back into a permanent role at companies such as MS/GOOGL/FB - would it be frown upon? In other words, do companies prefer to hire people that have been working steadily in a code base for prolonged periods of time?Thanks!

2014-09-24 14:43:46 UTC

johnohara

How to Squeeze a Huge Ship Down a Tiny River

sveme

“Everything is unusual on this trip,” says Bernard Meyer, managing partner of the firm.Meyer is the great-great-great-grandson of Willm Rolf Meyer. He founded the company in 1795, choosing a spot in Papenburg so construction projects would be safe from storms.In his wildest dreams, I doubt Willm Rolf Meyer could have ever imagined this as a legacy. Or that his family business would survive 219 years and apply its experience this way. Remarkable.

2014-09-24 14:43:56 UTC

jeffreyrogers

Analyzing Programming Languages Using Rosetta Code

nkurz

The Go team must feel (deservedly) proud. Since the Rosetta Code programs are typically written to be clear, this shows that without resorting to technical tricks and knowing the intricacies of the language and its libraries Go performs better than both Java and Haskell, but of which are often lauded for their speed.From anecdotal experience, I've written some Haskell code, and compared it to optimized versions. There is a whole lot of knowledge that goes into optimizing Haskell, since you need to know how to make things eagerly evaluate, etc. Plus functional languages make it really hard to reason about memory usage (doubly so for lazy, functional languages).

2014-09-24 14:43:59 UTC

RyanMcGreal

How to Squeeze a Huge Ship Down a Tiny River

sveme

> a full moon (or no moon) is ideal to ensure the water was at its deepest.Here's a fun word: syzygy.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syzygy_(astronomy)

2014-09-24 14:44:25 UTC

Oculus

CVE-2014-6271: Remote code execution through bash

vault_

Have big security vulnerabilities been cropping up more often recently or does it seem that way because I've started to pay attention?

2014-09-24 14:44:31 UTC

masterleep

CVE-2014-6271: Remote code execution through bash

vault_

env x='() { :;}; echo vulnerable' bash -c "echo this is a test"From https://securityblog.redhat.com/2014/09/24/bash-specially-cr...

2014-09-24 14:44:44 UTC

joshuacc

Istanbul: A JavaScript code coverage tool written in JS

sebslomski

Istanbul has been a godsend for my company's JS-based projects. When paired with grunt-contrib-jasmine, it gives instant visibility into how much of the client-side app is actually under test, and gives everyone an incentive to keep improving coverage.

2014-09-24 14:45:29 UTC

lkrubner

Shen – A Sufficiently Advanced Lisp [video]

michaelsbradley

This interests me a great deal:"Qi makes use of the logical notation of sequent calculus to define types. This type notation, under Qi's interpretation, is actually a Turing complete language in its own right. This notation allows Qi to assign extensible type systems to Common Lisp libraries and is thought of as an extremely powerful feature of the language."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_(programming_language)What also interests me is that, unlike Java or Scala, adding types is optional, so the types can be layered in. I prefer that style, because when I face a new problem that I have never faced before, I feel that adding type information suggests I know something that I don't actually know. I prefer to add types to a function, once I've come to understand what role a function should play in regards to the problem I'm trying to solve. In that way, the type information also communicates what I have learned about the problem I am trying to solve, versus the areas of my problem that I am still ignorant about, and whose code I can leave untyped while I figure things out.I am also intrigued by what fogus has written:"Qi (and its successor Shen) really push the limits of what we might call a Fluchtpunkt Lisp. I suspect it requires a categorization of its own. A few years ago I was looking for a Lisp to dive into and my searching uncovered two extremely interesting options: Clojure and Qi. I eventually went with Clojure, but in the intervening time I’ve managed to spend quality time with Qi and I love what I’ve seen so far. Qi’s confluence of features, including an optional type system (actually, its type system might be more accurately classified as “skinnable”), pattern matching,3 and an embedded logic engine based on Prolog, make it a very compelling choice indeed."http://blog.fogus.me/2011/05/03/the-german-school-of-lisp-2/Just recently, here on Hacker News, we had posted an example of a step-by-step explanation of adding types to a working Shen app:http://www.shenlanguage.org/library/shenpaper.pdfSomeone in the comments on Hacker News highlighted this comment, by the original author of the untyped app:"No, I didn't think about writing typed version of this program. You know, I'm not "disciplined" kind of person so type discipline is (for now) pretty foreign to me. :) I have the strange feeling that types hampers programmer's creativity."Mark Taver responded with his own thoughts, which I thought were interesting:"The underlined sentence is a compact summary of the reluctance that programmers often feel in migrating to statically typed languages – that they are losing something, a degree of freedom that the writer identifies as hampering creativity. Is this true? I will argue, to a degree – yes. A type checker for a functional language is in essence, an inference engine; that is to say, it is the machine embodiment of some formal system of proof. What we know, and have known since Godel's incompleteness proof [9] [11], is that the human ability to recognise truth transcends our ability to capture it formally. In computing terms our ability to recognise something as correct predates and can transcend our attempt to formalise the logic of our program. Type checkers are not smarter than human programmers, they are simply faster and more reliable, and our willingness to be subjugated to them arises from a motivation to ensure our programs work. That said, not all type checkers are equal. The more rudimentary and limited our formal system, the more we may have to compromise on our natural coding impulses. A powerful type system and inference engine can mitigate the constraints placed on what Racketnoob terms our creativity. At the same time a sophisticated system makes more demands of the programmer in terms of understanding."

2014-09-24 14:46:12 UTC