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Papers and Algorithms in LLVM's Source Code - chubot https://github.com/oilshell/blog-code/blob/master/grep-for-papers/llvm.txt ====== chubot context and summary: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammingLanguages/comments/b22tw...](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgrammingLanguages/comments/b22tw6/papers_and_algorithms_in_llvms_source_code/)

Multi-Value All the Wasm - feross https://hacks.mozilla.org/2019/11/multi-value-all-the-wasm/ ====== reikonomusha Slowly but surely WASM is turning into Common Lisp! (: I kid, sort of. Greenspun and all that. (Common Lisp has support for multiple values built in. They’re not a “data structure” like a tuple, but rather an extension to data flow and control. Returning a tuple vs returning multiple values are different things, especially when the consumer of the values-produced only actually uses a single value, as is usually the case with e.g. multiple-value-returning functions like GETHASH or FLOOR. FLOOR returns the quotient of floor(x/y), as well as the remainder as a second value. Most of the time you don’t need the second value, and there’s no need to “opt-out”.) ~~~ skybrian I was reminded of Go and Forth :-) It's not really Forth because in WASM, each block of code needs to have a statically determined stack effect. I wonder if there might be a nice Forth- like syntax for WASM, though? ~~~ zozbot234 It's kinda unrealistic to endow a Forth-like syntax with things like types and pre-determined stack effects. You end up with something not too different from the usual lambda syntax aside from postfix application, which in this context would simply be De Bruijn notation for lambda-like terms. ~~~ brandonbloom I think Factor is an existence proof that you're mistaken about this. Check out the section of the docs labeled "The stack": [https://docs.factorcode.org/content/article-handbook- languag...](https://docs.factorcode.org/content/article-handbook-language- reference.html) Note that, in particular, there is full support for stack-effect declarations and that there is a static static-effect checker. ------ syrusakbary It's great all this additions on Cranelift for supporting multi-value returns. We will update Wasmer soon to support it as well. Here's the multivalue return proposal (Phase 3 in the WebAssembly proposals): [https://github.com/WebAssembly/multi- value](https://github.com/WebAssembly/multi-value) Quick question: Is multivalue return supported in LLVM? Or said in other way ...code compiled from Rust or C/C++ will output Wasm with multivalue returns? Or only written-by-hand WebAssembly can take advantage of this at the moment? EDIT: after reading the article more thoroughly: LLVM doesn't support multivalue returns in Wasm yet. They are using Walrus to do wasm to wasm transformation from the return metadata info they have in wasm-bindgen (Rust). ~~~ tlively I am currently working on multivalue in both LLVM and Binaryen. Watch for celebratory tweets when I finish ;) Rust will be able to benefit immediately once LLVM has multivalue function support since they use their own ABI internally. But C, C++, and Rust extern functions will not be able to benefit until we additionally define a new C ABI that takes advantage of multivalue returns. It's also worth noting that multivalue blocks only bring a code size win of a couple percent on real wasm modules, so those are much lower priority. WebAssembly features are all different in how difficult they are to add to the specification, engines, and tools. Multivalue is unique in that it is trivial for the spec and for engines, but is extremely difficult to implement in tools. ~~~ skrebbel > _Watch for celebratory tweets when I finish ;)_ Quick heads-up: your HN bio is empty, I'd have no idea where to watch for them tweets :-) ~~~ rch Try @tlively52 ------ chrismorgan When new features are added to WASM, how does it all get deployed and how does it fit in with existing browsers and such? Do compilers avoid using the new pattern unless you say to, put in both and do some kind of runtime feature detection for which they’ll use, or something else altogether? ~~~ azakai When ready, browsers simply enable new features. Until then, it's usually behind a flag you can test with. Compilers generally require flags to enable features. There hasn't been a post-MVP feature that has widespread enough adoption that it would make sense for us to enable it by default. For developers, the best thing is to make separate builds with the sets of features you want, and pick the right build using something like wasm-feature- detect [https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/wasm-feature- detect](https://github.com/GoogleChromeLabs/wasm-feature-detect) There is some discussion on something like "fat binaries" which would contain multiple builds and pick between them, [https://github.com/WebAssembly/feature- detection](https://github.com/WebAssembly/feature-detection) ------ jedisct1 WAVM has had support for multiple values for a long time. Glad to see that feature finally getting more traction. This will be extremely useful for languages such as Go. ------ lilyball Is there any particular reason why functions and blocks had arity restrictions until now?

Search by Image, Recursively, Transparent PNG [video] - ccvannorman https://vimeo.com/34949864 ====== dang Url changed from [http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/en_uk/blog/this-is- what-h...](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/en_uk/blog/this-is-what-happens- when-you-do-a-blank-google-image-search), which points to this.

Startup that planned to deliver babies in space [is] suspending operations - exolymph https://www.businessinsider.com/space-life-origin-suspending-operations-babies-in-space-2019-7 ====== exolymph Had to trim down the BI title quite a bit. I am, frankly, gobsmacked by the existence of this startup.

Show HN: Mobile consumable HackerNews cards - prats226 http://web.cubeit.io/web/index.html?id=7ee8b2b5-4aa9-49db-b054-b8cd1a9c28780 ====== brudgers Related: [http://cubeit.io/blog/2016/03/29/understanding-why-people- sh...](http://cubeit.io/blog/2016/03/29/understanding-why-people-share- screenshots-how-that-led-to-our-big-idea/) ~~~ prats226 Yeah one of our team members published that blog ------ prats226 Hey guys, I am working on a product that makes different links consumable on mobile. Because hackernews is such a rich source of information, I am looking at making a hackernews link consumable on mobile. My biggest issue is the same, lot of information. Our current information on hackernews card shows minimal information about hackernews link. Mainly title, number of upvotes, number of comments and if its an article, then we fetch that article too. Its not a hackernews mobile client but we are doing it for multiple sources like producthunt, imgur etc so you can simple serach everything from this app and share a consumable card. But it is becoming very challanging to do the same for hackernews. I need honest feedback about if it is possible to do it for hackernews at all and if yes, what can I change? I know its a UX problem but I think would be better solved by users who regularly use hackernews We got hunted on producthunt also so will get some feedback there too ~~~ pbroarsdheant1 how do product hunt cards look like. do u prefetch images and videos? ~~~ prats226 Taking into account low real estate on mobile device, we do try to make card as consumable as possible. We do show videos and images from producthunt along with card. Try adding links form different sources and you can checkout how they look and post feedback here ------ pbroarsdheant1 really great consumable cards ~~~ prats226 Well hackernews card still lacks much information but looking for feedback on how to make it better. There are other sources as well like producthunt, imgur, vine, twitter

New Clients for Recruiting - poornimaemani i am a looking for new US clients where me and my team can work with ====== Colegno We need more information about you and your team

Emoji Number Plates Launched in Queensland - clouddrover https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47301316 ====== gkoberger For people who just saw the title or have seen joke tweets on Twitter, it's a bit misleading. The article does a good job of outlining what's really happening. License plates have always been customizable to a certain extent (like, adding a sports team), the emojis aren't officially part of the license plate numbers. They're just an image, which happens to be an emoji, that can be placed next to the license number. ~~~ anonytrary So, it's basically a glorified weather-proof sticker on your license plate. I guess you saved me a click. ------ dmolony I wonder if you can use an emoji that looks like a number or letter (in a similar font to the rest of the number plate). ~~~ stcredzero To combine phishing and swatting? Come up with a license plate that looks like someone else's license plate, then commit crimes so the police comes after them? What if license plates could be used like QR codes? Some police already have such equipment attached to video cameras in their cars. ~~~ zenpeace This is already a case for quite a few years in Queensland... [https://www.caradvice.com.au/539545/automatic-number- plate-r...](https://www.caradvice.com.au/539545/automatic-number-plate- recognition-in-detail-we-go-on-patrol-with-queensland-police/) [https://www.caradvice.com.au/539545/automatic-number- plate-r...](https://www.caradvice.com.au/539545/automatic-number-plate- recognition-in-detail-we-go-on-patrol-with-queensland-police/photos/)

Facebook's std::vector optimization - iamsalman https://github.com/facebook/folly/blob/master/folly/docs/FBVector.md ====== jlebar If you're interested in these sorts of micro-optimizations, you may find Mozilla's nsTArray (essentially std::vector) interesting. One of its unusual design decisions is that the array's length and capacity is stored next to the array elements themselves. This means that nsTArray stores just one pointer, which makes for more compact DOM objects and so on. To make this work requires some cooperation with Firefox's allocator (jemalloc, the same one that FB uses, although afaik FB uses a newer version). In particular, it would be a bummer if nsTArray decided to allocate space for e.g. 4kb worth of elements and then tacked on a header of size 8 bytes, because then we'd end up allocating 8kb from the OS (two pages) and wasting most of that second page. So nsTArray works with the allocator to figure out the right number of elements to allocate without wasting too much space. We don't want to allocate a new header for zero-length arrays. The natural thing to do would be to set nsTArray's pointer to NULL when it's empty, but then you'd have to incur a branch on every access to the array's size/capacity. So instead, empty nsTArrays are pointers to a globally-shared "empty header" that describes an array with capacity and length 0. Mozilla also has a class with some inline storage, like folly's fixed_array. What's interesting about Mozilla's version, called nsAutoTArray, is that it shares a structure with nsTArray, so you can cast it to a const nsTArray*. This lets you write a function which will take an const nsTArray& or const nsAutoTArray& without templates. Anyway, I won't pretend that the code is pretty, but there's a bunch of good stuff in there if you're willing to dig. [http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla- central/source/xpcom/glue/nsT...](http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla- central/source/xpcom/glue/nsTArray.h) ~~~ nly > One of its unusual design decisions is that the array's length and capacity > is stored next to the array elements itself. GNU stdlibc++ does this for std::string so you get prettier output in the debugger. The object itself only contains a char*. ~~~ byuu Seems like that would prevent small string optimization (a union of a small char array and the heap char pointer.) That lets me store about 85% of the strings in my assembler without any heap allocation, and is a huge win in my book. ~~~ nly Indeed, they don't do SSO. Reference counted COW, which violates the standard. ------ userbinator _When the request for growth comes about, the vector (assuming no in-place resizing, see the appropriate section in this document) will allocate a chunk next to its current chunk_ This is assuming a "next-fit" allocator, which is not always the case. I think this is why the expansion factor of 2 was chosen - because it's an integer, and doesn't assume any behaviour of the underlying allocator. I'm mostly a C/Asm programmer, and dynamic allocation is one of the things that I very much avoid if I don't have to - I prefer constant-space algorithms. If it means a scan of the data first to find out the right size before allocating, then I'll do that - modern CPUs are _very_ fast "going in a straight line", and realloc costs add up quickly. Another thing that I've done, which I'm not entirely sure would be possible in "pure C++", is to adjust the pointers pointing to the object if reallocation moves it (basically, add the difference between the old and new pointers to each reference to the object); in theory I believe this involves UB - so it might not be "100% standard C" either, but in practice, this works quite well. ~~~ kabdib I solved an "realloc is really costly" problem by ditching the memory-is- contiguous notion, paying a little more (really just a few cycles) for each access rather than spending tons of time shuffling stuff around in memory. This eliminated nearly all reallocations. The extra bit of computation was invisible in the face of cache misses. I'm guessing that most customers of std::vector don't really need contiguous memory, they just need something that has fast linear access time. In this sense, std::vector is a poor design. ~~~ colomon No, that's quite intentional. If you don't need contiguous memory, you can consider using std::deque. [http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/deque/deque/](http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/deque/deque/) ~~~ kabdib There are weasel words in the standard that let implementations still be pretty inefficient. The problem is that memory reallocation is a leaky abstraction, and an interface that doesn't make guarantees about memory behavior can't be relied upon at scale. The implementation of std::deque I just read uses a circular queue, resized to a power of two upon growth. It would exhibit the same bad performance as std::vector. ~~~ yoklov Are you sure? You're not allowed to invalidate iterators or pointers to elements in a deque, so it shouldn't be reallocating memory (aside from its underlying map of nodes, which will need to grow very rarely). Libstdc++ describes how it's implemented here: [https://github.com/gcc- mirror/gcc/blob/master/libstdc%2B%2B-...](https://github.com/gcc- mirror/gcc/blob/master/libstdc%2B%2B-v3/include/bits/stl_deque.h#L650-L733) Libc++ doesn't have as descriptive a comment but it's impemented basically the same way here [https://github.com/llvm- mirror/libcxx/blob/master/include/de...](https://github.com/llvm- mirror/libcxx/blob/master/include/deque) ~~~ nly You might not want to use deque because of how much memory it can use while still small, e.g. libc++s implementation uses a 4KiB page: [http://rextester.com/VIB96468](http://rextester.com/VIB96468) In the GNU stdlibc++ implementation the object itself is pretty large (and they use a page size of 512 bytes): [http://rextester.com/RHYKB83240](http://rextester.com/RHYKB83240) ------ CJefferson I'm glad to see this catch on and the C level primitives get greater use. This has been a well known problem in the C++ community for years, in particular Howard Hinnant put a lot of work into this problem. I believe the fundamental problem has always been that C++ implementations always use the underlying C implementations for malloc and friends, and the C standards committee could not be pursaded to add the necessary primitives. A few years ago I tried to get a reallic which did not move (instead returned fail) into glibc and jealloc and failed. Glad to see someone else has succeeded. ------ shin_lao I think the Folly small vector library is much more interesting and can yield better performance (if you hit the sweet spot). [https://github.com/facebook/folly/blob/master/folly/docs/sma...](https://github.com/facebook/folly/blob/master/folly/docs/small_vector.md) From what I understand, using a "rvalue-reference ready" vector implementation with a good memory allocator must work at least as good as FBVector. ------ jeorgun Apparently the libstdc++ people aren't entirely convinced by the growth factor claims: [https://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2013-03/msg00059.html](https://gcc.gnu.org/ml/libstdc++/2013-03/msg00059.html) ------ cliff_r The bit about special 'fast' handling of relocatable types should be obviated by r-value references and move constructors in C++11/14, right? I.e. if we want fast push_back() behavior, we can use a compiler that knows to construct the element directly inside the vector's backing store rather that creating a temporary object and copying it into the vector. ~~~ marksamman emplace_back was added in C++11 which does just that: [http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector/emplace_ba...](http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/container/vector/emplace_back) ------ darkpore You can get around a lot of these issues by reserving the size needed up front, or using a custom allocator with std::vector. Not as easy, but still doable. The reallocation issue isn't fixable this way however... ~~~ thrownaway2424 You can use a feedback directed optimization pass to choose the initial size. ------ ajasmin TLDR; The author of malloc and std::vector never talked to each other. We fixed that! ... also most types are memmovables ------ pbw Are there benchmarks, speedup? Seems strange to leave out that information or did I just miss it? ~~~ shadytrees Yes! [https://www.google.com/search?q=folly+facebook+benchmarks](https://www.google.com/search?q=folly+facebook+benchmarks) ~~~ pbw I don't see the results. Like a graph that shows std::vector vs. folly. I mean isn't that the entire point? ------ 14113 Is it normal to notate powers using double caret notation? (i.e. ^^) I've only ever seen it using a single caret (^), in what presumably is meant to correspond to an ascii version of Knuth up arrow notation ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuth's_up- arrow_notation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuth's_up-arrow_notation)). I found it a bit strange, and confusing in the article having powers denoted using ^^, and had to go back to make sure I wasn't missing anything. ~~~ Sidnicious It's likely to distinguish it from XOR, which is the carat operator in many programming languages. ~~~ kevin_thibedeau It is still weird. * * is the other established convention used for exponentiation in languages like Python, Ada, m4, and others. ~~~ merraksh But * * has an entirely different meaning in C/C++. ~~~ taejo Only as a prefix operator; * has a pointer-related meaning for prefix and an arithmetic meaning for infix, there's no reason * * shouldn't be the same. ~~~ phs2501 That'd be a syntactic ambiguity (in C-type languages) between "a * * b" being a to the power of b (i.e. "(a) * * (b)") or "a * * b" being a times the dereferencing of the pointer b (i.e. "(a) * (*b)"). You may be able to disambiguate this by prescedence, though it would be very ugly in the lexer (you could never have a STARSTAR token, it would have to be handled in the grammar) and would be terribly confusing. ------ xroche Yep, this is my biggest issue with C++: you now have lambdas functions and an insane template spec, but you just can not "realloc" a new[] array. Guys, seriously ? ~~~ bnegreve If you need to realloc a fixed size array, souldn't you use a std::vector instead? ~~~ marksamman You probably should, but the problem is still there because std::vector implementations don't use realloc. They call new[] with the new size, copy over the data and delete[] the old chunk. This eliminates the possibility to grow the vector in-place. ~~~ bnegreve It's the same with realloc: there is no guarantee that it will grow the chunk in place. ~~~ xroche No. Modern realloc are efficient, when moving large memory blocks, because they rely on the kernel ability to quickly relocate memory regions without involving memcpy() (through mremap() on Linux). Edit: shamelessly citing my blog entry on this subject: [http://blog.httrack.com/blog/2014/04/05/a-story-of- realloc-a...](http://blog.httrack.com/blog/2014/04/05/a-story-of-realloc-and- laziness/) ~~~ davidtgoldblatt This isn't true for either of the common high performance mallocs. tcmalloc doesn't support mremap at all, and jemalloc disables it in its recommended build configuration. glibc will remap, but any performance gains that get realized from realloc tricks would probably be small compared to the benefits of switching to a better malloc implementation. ------ general_failure In Qt, you can mark types as Q_MOVABLE_TYPE and get optimizations from a lot of containers ------ thomasahle The factor-2 discussion is quite interesting. What if we could make the next allocated element always fit exactly in the space left over by the old elements? Solving the equations suggest a fibonacci like sequence, seeded by something like "2, 3, 4, 5". Continuing 9, 14, 23 etc. ~~~ judk he golden ratio and then rounding down. What's the point of putting 4 into the seed sequence? ~~~ thomasahle Without _4_ , the sequence would be _2, 3, 5_. Then the next value would be _9_ by fibonacci. But that's bigger than the _5_ we get from adding up all the unallocated pieces ( _2_ and _3_ ). We could use just _2, 3, 4_ as a seed, but we can't use the fibonacci formula before the fourth element is added. Try some different seeds for yourself, it's trickier than you'd think. ------ malkia For big vectors, if there is obvious way, I always hint vector with reserve() - for example knowing in advance how much would be copied, even if a bit less gets copied (or even if a bit more, at the cost of reallocation :(). ------ ck2 _Then the teleporting chief would have to shoot the original_ As an aside, there was a great Star Trek novel where there was a long range transporter invented that accidentally cloned people. (I think it was "Spock Must Die") ~~~ dalke There's also the ST:TNG episode "Second Chances". [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chances_%28Star_Trek:_Th...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chances_%28Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation%29) where Riker is duplicated. (There's also the good/bad Kirk in 'The Enemy Within', and the whole mirror universe concept, but those aren't duplicates.) ------ jheriko i used to be a big fan of this sort of stuff, but the better solution for many of the problems described is to avoid array resizing. if std::vector is your bottleneck you have bigger problems i suspect. reminds me a bit of eastl as well... which is much more comprehensive: [http://www.open- std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2007/n227...](http://www.open- std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2007/n2271.html) ------ johnwbyrd If you're spending a lot of time changing the size of a std::vector array, then maybe std::vector isn't the right type of structure to begin with... ------ judk How is it reasonable to expect that previously freed memory would be available later for the vector to move to? ------ chickenandrice Greetings Facebook, several decades ago welcomes you. Game programmers figured out the same and arguably better ways of doing this since each version of std::vector has been released. This is but a small reason most of us had in- house stl libraries for decades now. Most of the time if performance and allocation is so critical, you're better off not using a vector anyway. A fixed sized array is much more cache friendly, makes pooling quite easy, and eliminates other performance costs that suffer from std::vector's implementation. More to the point, who would use a c++ library from Facebook? Hopefully don't need to explain the reasons here. ~~~ dbaupp _> More to the point, who would use a c++ library from Facebook? Hopefully don't need to explain the reasons here._ Could you explain them for those of us not in the loop? Does Facebook have a bad reputation for C++? ~~~ DonPellegrino I would also like expanations, because Facebook actually has a good reputation when it comes to their compiled languages engineers. Their C++ and D engineers built HHVM/Hack, their OCaml engineers built some great analysis tools and much of the supporting code for the HHVM/Hack platform, etc., the list goes on, so I'd like to know why someone would want to avoid their C++ library based on the "Facebook" name only. ~~~ chickenandrice Because Facebook also has a reputation of not playing nice with people, the rules, intellectual property, and so on. This is hardly a company anyone should support or trust and if you can't figure that out, I can't help you. As far as their work on HHVM, it was necessary due to failure by bad technology choices from the start. There's very little interesting about this work unless you somehow love PHP, want to make debugging your production applications more difficult, and refuse to address your real problems. I am 100% sure no one outside of the PHP community cares about anything Facebook has done in C++. Simply having a large company with lots of developers who might have even had good reputations elsewhere or even be smart doesn't mean much. Having worked in many places with lots of smart developers, I can tell you stories about too many geniuses in the room. Calling Facebook developers engineers is also about as apt as calling janitors sanitation engineers. We're programmers, or developers, or perhaps software architects at best depending on the position. I happen to have an EE and CS degree but given I do programming for a living, I'd hardly call myself an engineer. But we're way off topic :) ~~~ otterley > As far as their work on HHVM, it was necessary due to failure by bad > technology choices from the start. HHVM arose out of Facebook's desire to save on server purchasing and operating costs. Facebook could run perfectly well without it on Plain Old PHP, but they'd have to buy and power more servers. I'd hardly call PHP a "bad technology choice" given the outstanding financial success of many companies that use it. ------ boomshoobop Isn't Facebook itself an STD vector? ~~~ general_failure Funny :) ------ johnwbyrd Show me a programmer who is trying to reoptimize the STL, and I'll show you a programmer who is about to be laid off. The guy who tried this at EA didn't last long there. ~~~ xroche The STL is not optimized at all in this case, this is precisely the point. And like it or not, but Facebook has talented engineers to do that. ~~~ richardwhiuk The STL isn't a library that can be optimized - it's a interface definition with expected complexity requirements. By it's nature (i.e. not tied to a platform) it doesn't have specific benchmark numbers. Specific implementations (e.g. MSVCRT, the GC++ implementation, the clang implementation) can be, and are. ------ kenperkins > ... Rocket surgeon That's a new one. Usually it's rocket scientist or brain surgeon. What exactly does a rocket surgeon do? :) ~~~ krallja [http://www.sensible.com/rsme.html](http://www.sensible.com/rsme.html) [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThisAintRocketSur...](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThisAintRocketSurgery) [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rocket%20surg...](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rocket%20surgery)

The FTC's PrivacyCon Is *Today* in DC (free to Public and Webcasted) - Dowwie &quot;.. to discuss the latest research and trends related to consumer privacy and data security&quot;<p>event url: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;news-events&#x2F;events-calendar&#x2F;2016&#x2F;01&#x2F;privacycon<p>research submissions for the conference: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;policy&#x2F;public-comments&#x2F;initiative-623<p>Curated list of research submissions (noteworthy):<p>Chamber of Commerce Foundation: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;policy&#x2F;public-comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;09&#x2F;comment-00051<p>&quot;The Web Never Forgets: Persistent Tracking Mechanisms in the Wild&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;00064-98109.pdf<p>&quot;Big Data and The Phantom Public: Lippmann and the fallacy of data privacy self-management&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;00076-98127.pdf<p>The Information Accountability Foundation (submission regarding ethics in big data analysis) https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;policy&#x2F;public-comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;09&#x2F;comment-00049<p>&quot;Towards Usable Privacy Policies: Semi-automatically Extracting Data Practices From Websites’ Privacy Policies&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;00074-98122.pdf<p>&quot;Model Inversion Attacks that Exploit Confidence Information and Basic Countermeasures&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;00030-97821.pdf<p>&quot;Web Privacy Consensus 3.0 findings&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;00025-97669.pdf<p>&quot;Government Surveillance and Internet Search Behavior&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;10&#x2F;00023-97629.pdf<p>&quot;HTTP header enrichment &quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;00015-97597.pdf<p>&quot;THE TRADEOFF FALLACY: How Marketers Are Misrepresenting American Consumers And Opening Them Up to Exploitation&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;00012-97594.pdf<p>&quot;Android Permissions Remystified: A Field Study on Contextual Integrity&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;00013-97595.pdf<p>&quot;Peeking Beneath the Hood of Uber&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;policy&#x2F;public-comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;26&#x2F;comment-00011<p>&quot;The Rise of Mobile Tracking Headers: How Telcos Around the World Are Threatening Your Privacy&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;00008-97486.pdf<p>&quot;The Hidden Cost of Accommodating Crowdfunder Privacy Preferences: a randomized field experiment&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;00009-97487.pdf<p>&quot;Playing the Legal Card: Using Ideation Cards to Raise Data Protection Issues within the Design Process&quot; https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ftc.gov&#x2F;system&#x2F;files&#x2F;documents&#x2F;public_comments&#x2F;2015&#x2F;09&#x2F;00004-97144.pdf ====== brudgers _The video you are trying to watch is using the HTTP Live Streaming protocol which is only supported in iOS devices._ ------ brudgers Clickable: event url: [https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events- calendar/2016/01/priv...](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/events- calendar/2016/01/privacycon) research submissions for the conference: [https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/initiative-623](https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/initiative-623) Curated list of research submissions (noteworthy): Chamber of Commerce Foundation: [https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/2015/10/09/commen...](https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/2015/10/09/comment-00051) "The Web Never Forgets: Persistent Tracking Mechanisms in the Wild" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/10/00064-98109.pdf) "Big Data and The Phantom Public: Lippmann and the fallacy of data privacy self-management" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/10/00076-98127.pdf) The Information Accountability Foundation (submission regarding ethics in big data analysis) [https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/2015/10/09/commen...](https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/2015/10/09/comment-00049) "Towards Usable Privacy Policies: Semi-automatically Extracting Data Practices From Websites’ Privacy Policies" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/10/00074-98122.pdf) "Model Inversion Attacks that Exploit Confidence Information and Basic Countermeasures" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/10/00030-97821.pdf) "Web Privacy Consensus 3.0 findings" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/10/00025-97669.pdf) "Government Surveillance and Internet Search Behavior" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/10/00023-97629.pdf) "HTTP header enrichment " [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/09/00015-97597.pdf) "THE TRADEOFF FALLACY: How Marketers Are Misrepresenting American Consumers And Opening Them Up to Exploitation" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/09/00012-97594.pdf) "Android Permissions Remystified: A Field Study on Contextual Integrity" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/09/00013-97595.pdf) "Peeking Beneath the Hood of Uber" [https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/2015/09/26/commen...](https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public- comments/2015/09/26/comment-00011) "The Rise of Mobile Tracking Headers: How Telcos Around the World Are Threatening Your Privacy" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/09/00008-97486.pdf) "The Hidden Cost of Accommodating Crowdfunder Privacy Preferences: a randomized field experiment" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/09/00009-97487.pdf) "Playing the Legal Card: Using Ideation Cards to Raise Data Protection Issues within the Design Process" [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2...](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2015/09/00004-97144.pdf)

How to Find a Co-Founder Success Story: LegCyte - dglidden http://www.cofounderslab.com/find-a-co-founder/success-story-spotlight-legcyte/ ====== skaviani I was just with LegCyte, today - love seeing tech startups in DC tapping into local problems like legislative efficiency.

Detective Who Threatened to Kill Teens and Plan Evidence Is Suspended, Not Fired - kyleblarson http://wamc.org/post/police-detective-who-threatened-kill-teens-and-plant-drug-evidence-suspended-not-fired ====== finid _A video of the interrogation, during which Bigda reportedly threatened to crush the skull of one of the teens and plant a kilo of cocaine in his pocket, was provided to defense attorneys who are now using it to impeach Bigda’s credibility in pending drug cases._ Standard police practice. After a 60-day suspension, he'll be back on the streets. ~~~ volkk > Standard police practice. After a 60-day suspension, he'll be back on the > streets. this seems to be the standard response to any policy brutality or corruption article. what can ACTUALLY be done? ~~~ dragonwriter What could be done is prosecutors could prosecute the obvious crimes here, but they won't, because they generally think prosecuting bad cops for even flagrantly criminal misconduct that ruins police/community relations and taints the credibility of the police will jeopardize police/prosecutor cooperation. (Police unions get blamed a lot, and certainly might restrict _internal_ departmental discipline, but they can't constrain criminal prosecution.) Perhaps establish separate offices _only_ to prosecute crimes by law enforcement officers detached entirely from regular prosecutors offices. (But then, they'd need their own investigation and arrest force, and who prosecutes _their_ misconduct? The regular prosecutors office?) ~~~ ende Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? It might have to be Federal, but not the Justice Department. And frankly that function should not even fall under the executive branch, or not completely. I propose a Department of Liberty, lead by a Liberator General that is set up as a check against the Attorney General. It would be tasked with prosecuting crimes committed only by police and government agents, with no power to prosecute private citizens. It would be equipped with its own force of agents who likewise can only arrest police and other agents. The department would also serve as a central voice and funding umbrella for our woefully neglected public defenders. Finally, it would be partly overseen by a Congressional 'grand jury committee', which would be presided over by a sitting SCOTUS Justice on a rotating basis. Federate that model at the state and local level, with appropriate modifications such as actual grand jury oversight. ------ nerdponx I got some kind of twisted pleasure out of seeing this wasn't about class and race. We need more good old-fashioned white-on-white abuse-of-power cases to get old white people to wake up from their Nixon/Reagan tough-on-crime daydream and start taking police issues seriously. ------ travisby Are we suggesting something different? Do we want guilty until proven innocent? ~~~ VikingCoder When there's VIDEO of the cop threatening to crush someone's skull and plant a kilo of cocaine on another, it shouldn't be hard to convict him for one thing, and it should be trivial to fire him. You don't need to be proven guilty in a court of law to get fired. If the police want the community to trust them, then they need to act like they deserve trust. ------ kafkaesq _" I am not happy about it. This is what was recommended," Sarno said. " It is a most severe suspension of 60 working days without pay and retraining."_ You can say your hands were bureaucratically tied if you want, Sarno. But please don't describe a 60-day suspension for an incident of near-homicide (on top of extreme evidence tampering) as "most severe." ------ Overtonwindow This speaks to a broader issue with abuse and ethical violations by public officials protected by union contracts, and civil service procedures. It can be very hard to fire someone who is toxic and even breaking the law. Has anyone seen anything written on reforming that part of the police force? ------ sitkack > Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said he supports the commissioner’s decision > to suspend Bigda because of the likelihood firing him would not survive a > civil service appeal and the city would be ordered to rehire the cop with > back pay.

Why do Google ads point to adware? - jakepoz http://jakepoz.com/why_do_google_ads_point_to_adware.html ====== djnliung Google is a web company, why would Google invest significant money and engineering effort into filtering out things that only harm competing platforms? Google's own platforms (Chrome + the web and Android) are immune to this adware. It would be financially irresponsible for them to waste money helping a competitor. >If Google wants to help make the web a better place... I imagine Google thinks it is making the web a better place by investing in the web, not fighting loosing battles trying to fix old and broken platforms. ~~~ prodigal_erik If users decide that it's not safe to click on ads, and start blocking or looking out for them _en masse_ , Google has a problem.

How Apple conquered China and learned to think like the Communist Party. - jibjab http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/08/01/red_delicious_and_rotten?page=full ====== buddylw I am no fan of Apple - mainly for their closed architecture, but I am also a cold-hearted economist when it comes to these types issues and this article is a bit of a one sided hit piece. I would like to throw in a few counterpoints so we can all maintain a proper context. 1.) When companies become as large as Apple and begin purchasing products from vendors. It is not possible for them to guarantee the safety and operation of every vendor. Just as when you go buy oranges at the grocery store, you _might_ know what country or farm it came from, but you don't know working conditions at that farm. Even if you could know you don't have time to dig through that info - you just want an orange. You, like everyone else, just respond to the major media outrages and exposés and blindly avoid Wal-Mart, etc. Apple has more leverage here since they are a large company, but when it comes down to it, Apple ordered more screens and the vendor made the bad decision to use n-hexane. All Apple can do is lean on the vendor to make it right and not let it happen again. Believe me, even if Apple hates the workers and secretly wants them to die a horrible death for their stock holders, they don't want this bad press and would have avoided it if they could have. 2.) Outsourcing has real costs. It's not just cheaper because labor is cheaper. When you outsource you have to worry about the government, the infrastructure, shipping, recruiting talent etc. If you paid the Chinese workers American wages, it would not be worth the other costs to outsource at all. 3.) You can't compare living and working conditions between countries. As bad as a 3rd world outsourced job is to us 1st worlder's it's still generally BETTER than what they would have otherwise. In fact Apple and other 'outsourcers' are the one and only reason for the breath-taking trend line that is China's per capita growth: <http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=china+income+per+capita> Just read about living in China in the 60s. It's horrifying to even think about and makes China today seem like paradise. In short the Chinese are better with Apple than without. 4.) There are not a fixed number of jobs in the world - there are only a fixed number of resources. If China can make us a product cheaper than we can make it WE benefit. Our resources are free to build other things for China when they want to cash in some of those US Dollars they so graciously accepted from Apple in exchange for real goods. Voluntary trade benefits both parties by its very nature or it doesn't happen. Also, the US unemployment issue is bit off the main topic of an already lengthy comment, but it has much more to do with sticky wages and our past decisions than it does outsourcing. 5.) Finally you can't not outsource. It's impossible. In this age of globalization everything is from everywhere. You can't even build a toaster by yourself: [http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_thwaites_how_i_built_a_toast...](http://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_thwaites_how_i_built_a_toaster_from_scratch.html) ~~~ naner _As bad as a 3rd world outsourced job is to us 1st worlder's it's still generally BETTER than what they would have otherwise. In fact Apple and other 'outsourcers' are the one and only reason for the breath-taking trend line that is China's per capita growth_ This always seemed like a bullshit argument to me. So it is marginally better to work 16 hour days in terrible conditions while dumping chemicals in local groundwater than it is to starve to death. Well, it turns out that overworking people and polluting is still bad behaviour. These outsourcing companies shouldn't be commended for it. Provide these people good working conditions and a safe environment or don't bother outsourcing. As an analogy, you wouldn't commend me for purchasing a mail-order bride from a poor country with sex trafficking problems. Yeah, it is marginally better for her than prostitution and she'll have better living conditions, but my behavior is still abusive and exploitative. ~~~ forensic We can't save the world. Even if our entire country voted for it, we could not save the Chinese from their own policies. They are adults living in a sovereign nation; they are responsible for their own working conditions. I'm not going to feel white-guilt for stuff that happens in a foreign country over which I have zero control. ~~~ m_eiman _Even if our entire country voted for it, we could not save the Chinese from their own policies._ Vote with your wallet. If nobody will buy products produced using awful methods, they will no longer be produced that way. It's quite simple. Then you'll say "But everyone else is buying them, so it doesn't matter if I do it too". To which I say "Don't care about what others are doing, just do the right thing yourself". ~~~ rimantas Ok, don't buy the products. Then they are without the jobs. How does it help exactly? ~~~ Volpe Yes, because that's how capitalism works! If you don't buy a specific product, the whole market fails and everyone dies of hunger. ------ mahyarm The parallels between america vs europe back in the 1800s and china vs america now are very interesting. ------ wallflower If you have not read "What is China", read it after: <http://www.tapsns.com/blog/index.php/2010/01/what-is-china/> ~~~ jackfoxy Would really like folks who down-voted you to explain themselves. The fact China (and Russia) are the only supports of North Korea says everything you need to know about the essence of the rulers of both countries. ~~~ forensic Well, someone needs to be friends with NK. I don't think China leaning on NK could really help there. NK would just get more isolated. The solution to North Korea is to stop scaring them so that they will come out of their shell a bit. ------ gkanai Dalai Lama Apple advertisement: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgdaily/4862908782/> Apple Removes the Dalai Lama From Its Ads in Hong Kong [http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/17/world/apple-removes-the- da...](http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/17/world/apple-removes-the-dalai-lama- from-its-ads-in-hong-kong.html) ------ guard-of-terra I don't understand why your beloved apple won't throw in a $1000 monthly stipend for neurodamaged workers and close this horrible issue forever. Financially, it means considerably smaller than for me tossing a poor beggar a buck, and _I_ do that when I can, even if I'm not a cause of their poorness, I ain't blamed for their misfortune and I won't be praised if I do. Also, why won't you Apple users boycott buying Apple until they take care of the issue in question? Other than being unable to function without the drug you're addicted to? ~~~ guard-of-terra It seems that the only reason why capitalistic company would give out money is fear. AirBNB is going to fix a problem which is obviously not caused by them because they are afraid of repercussions. Apple is not afraid of anything, therefore they're going to sit on a pile of gold like a dragon and that's it. ------ Qa8BBatwHxK8Pu I hate to read anything about poverty in China. Brings me back to my childhood. ------ sunyc most people buy imac then install win 7 it's free anyway.. ~~~ sunyc I'm surprised that people can't sense the irony here, I'm telling the true situation, btw. ------ martythemaniak I think it's unfortunate that Apple chooses to not build it's hardware in the US, or model its manufacturing on Germany's successful mid-size firms. Apple makes and builds high-end products and has the fat margins that goes along with it - instead of outsourcing all manufacturing to China, it could _choose_ to build everything in the US, employ the locals and use that as a selling point. If I pay premium dollar for quality and durability, I would rather that support local manufacturing and local economies, than have that sitting in Apple's vaults. In the end, this is not unlike the the local food movement - people would rather pay extra and support local farmers and economies. ~~~ olalonde > Apple makes and builds high-end products and has the fat margins that goes > along with it - instead of outsourcing all manufacturing to China, it could > choose to build everything in the US, employ the locals and use that as a > selling point. Why do you assume Americans are more deserving of Apple's manufacturing jobs than the Chinese? > If I pay premium dollar for quality and durability, I would rather that > support local manufacturing and local economies, than have that sitting in > Apple's vaults. Unfortunately, the Chinese also pay premium dollar and would also rather support local manufacturing and local economies. As China is deemed to become Apple's largest market, it makes sense for Apple to support the Chinese economy rather than the US one.[1] [1] [http://blogs.computerworld.com/18517/apple_crazy_china_will_...](http://blogs.computerworld.com/18517/apple_crazy_china_will_become_biggest_iphone_market) ~~~ technoslut I do think that Americans are more deserving of products being produced here. I've always felt (maybe others do not) that you give back something to where you grew up or the society you are apart of. I see it no different in this case. Sony has done the same in Japan and I respect them more for it. There are great benefits to the US market and many, such as Apple, have taken advantage of it. They also take advantage of the system and keep their money overseas so it won't get taxed. ~~~ delackner Wait, what? Sony has mostly abandoned their Japanese production of Televisions. They are made in China. Maybe you're thinking of Sharp? ~~~ technoslut Sony still keeps a majority of their factories in Japan. ~~~ delackner You are right, Sony manufactures a lot of things in Japan. But it also manufactures many things (including high end televisions and some of its game consoles) in China. They are quite coy about disclosing what percentage, so I don't know where you have read the majority come from Japan.

Detaining my partner: a failed attempt at intimidation - ptbello http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa ====== rfnslyr " _Before letting him go, they seized numerous possessions of his, including his laptop, his cellphone, various video game consoles, DVDs, USB sticks, and other materials. They did not say when they would return any of it, or if they would._ " Having my lifes work on my Macbook, this is absolutely terrifying and makes my blood boil. What solutions do you HNers use to back up your data? ~~~ Adirael \- Time Machine that backs every thing up hourly when I'm near that local/network drive. \- Daily offsite backup using BackBlaze. \- Weekly full copy of the HDD kept outside the house (in a storage unit) in case there's a fire or something like that (I use CarbonCopyCloner for this) I use FileVault that (AFAIK) will make the data on my computer useless without my user password. I could be online again with all my data as if nothing happened in less than 24h. It would be much shorter if I kept a spare laptop in hand, but the cost is too high and I can afford 24h.

Show HN: ShouldYouBlank – Turn your followers into customers with a quiz - cmacole http://shouldyoublank.com ====== jiten_bansal Subscribed for early access. Submit your startup to [http://betapage.co](http://betapage.co)

Evercookie used by NSA to track TOR users across browsers - grhmc https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evercookie ====== sp332 That edit was made a year ago. It's not news. [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evercookie&diff=5...](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evercookie&diff=577190307&oldid=568209885)

Nintendo Switch Teardown - fictivmade https://www.fictiv.com/blog/posts/nintendo-switch-teardown ====== eludwig Just a few quick comments on the Switch after a day of use. First, a quick digression, Nintendo seems to have gauged the launch demand pretty well. There are some other comments here regarding Target morning waits. I was 2nd on line at 6:40am in a northern NJ Target. The guy in front of me had slept in his car (!), but he seemed to be the only one that did. By 7:45 the line was 20ish people. Our Target had 25 consoles. So everyone that got there by 8 (opening time) got one. Nice. The hardware seems really good. I was surprised at how nice it all fit together (nice, solid clicks) for a product that costs half as much as an iPad! It's obviously still a "toy," but I don't mean that in a bad way. The finish is below typical Apple HW standards for sure, but I think that's to be expected at $299. It feels rugged enough to take with you, although as some said, a screen protector might be nice for extended away play. To me, the nicest, most thoughtful thing about the HW of this gen of tech products is (believe it or not) USB C! Can I please shout out my love for this freaking connector!! GO USBC! Seriously, I didn’t realize how much subliminal psychic damage non-symmetrical USB plugs have done to me. This connector is so great. You no longer feel that weird little moment of anxiety where you know it will take you an extra second to look inside the damn connector and re- orient the blasted plug 3 times. If you are an old man like me (58), you will probably need to go find a pair of reading glasses, adding insult to injury. The new Zelda is breathtaking, but you can tell that it wasn't designed for the small screen. It looks really, really great on my OLED 1080p TV, where I think it is meant to be played. Little things like HUD element size are too small for my eyes on the little screen. The FOV is not quite right for the small screen either. Not deal killers, but also things that could be fixed in a patch. The Pro controller is a very nice "on the couch" controller. Very solid. No lag time. The analog sticks are fine, although I much prefer a mouse for camera controls, but that is my age talking. I am totally loving this little thing. It's well put together, the only game I care about is Zelda, so the software is great. I think Nintendo has a potential home run here. ~~~ Magnets How is selling out by 9AM considered 'gauging the demand well'? What about all of the people who go at lunch of after work? I'm pretty sure they always like to sell out as a marketing ploy anyway ~~~ Klathmon Well if you plan to sell out you don't waste any money on extra product you won't sell. Overproducing just throws money away, means you need to push back your launch date longer, or build much more manufacturing than you'll ever need again. ~~~ poppysan But grossly under-producing infuriates people who won't be able to purchase the product for months due to a silly marketing ploy. I still cannot buy the Nintendo classic in-store, and it came out 4th quarter 2016. ~~~ wernercd So... how do YOU plan on correctly predicting how popular or unpopular something is? Isn't this one of the major pain points for many small companies that put stuff up? Correctly gauging 1) how much it costs to mass produce something and 2) how many they actually will sell? If you are in charge of Nintendo... and you put something out like the Wii, Nintendo Class, etc... how do you expect to get the amount sold right on the first shot? In my opinion? It's a damn hard problem... it only takes a little bit of internet power - everyone going ape shit over something inconsequential - and BAM what you expected to sell 1 million units is now out of stock and you have millions of people mad. Now that millions of people want it... will they still want it in 6 months when you ramp up production or is the fad over? People make it seem like this is an easy question to answer... where is the millions your willing to put on the line for similar questions... ~~~ aanm1988 > So... how do YOU plan on correctly predicting how popular or unpopular > something is? I'd pull numbers out of thin air. Isn't this one of the major pain points for many small companies that put stuff up? Correctly gauging 1) how much it costs to mass produce something and 2) how many they actually will sell? Sure. > If you are in charge of Nintendo... and you put something out like the Wii, > Nintendo Class, etc... how do you expect to get the amount sold right on the > first shot? by using some of the hundreds of millions in profits to do some fucking research. This isn't a small company. ------ overcast The dock is pretty underwhelming from what I've seen. There is no protection for the screen, sliding in between two pieces of plastic. Pretty cheap, for a premium priced, and well engineered hybrid device, that will be taken in and out. Semi-relevant. Breath of Wild looks like such a fantastic game, but it's completely ridiculous that the performance is often times WORSE in the docked mode. I'm hoping this is just crappy porting issues, and can be patched. But running only 900p, and getting 20fps shouldn't be tolerated. ~~~ aaron-lebo Yes, the docked mode is grating at times. You've got these great mechanics and beautiful world but constant input lag. Very frustrating. I'd prefer to be able to sit down and play on a TV at a higher resolution, but it's a worse experience. It effectively makes it a mobile game. It's 2017! 1080p or 60fps should be the minimum. To be fair that's not doable at $300 on a mobile gpu, but as a console that's rough. re: screen + dock = scratches: [https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/5xc6gw/using_the_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/nintendo/comments/5xc6gw/using_the_switch_dock_may_scratch_the_screen/) Some really odd design choices. v2 should be nice, though. ~~~ knodi123 > v2 should be nice Has there ever been a v2 of a nintendo console? ~~~ satysin Depends how you define v2. If you define it as a revision to the original version then - The DSi was an upgrade to the DS but not a whole new console generation. The Wii Mini was a downgrade (seriously) to the Wii to make it cheaper/smaller. The New 3DS was an upgrade to the 3DS similar to the DS->DSi upgrade. Plus all of the Gameboy and Gameboy Advance models which you could argue were often more revisions with some new features but still compatible than a totally new product. Such as the Gameboy SP and then Micro which were totally new designs for the Gameboy Advance with a better screen but otherwise the same console. ~~~ knodi123 okay, I never went to the nintendo portables, so I was shockingly oblivious about these. I define v2 as both "set of games you can play on it is identical to the first one", and "not a retro notalgia remake". But even by that standard, wikipedia tells me you gave a lot of good examples. I can only hope the switch makes the list, because I'm not interested in spending significant game time with a handheld tablet, but I also need enough distance to flirt with their limitations. ------ nstart Just got mine. Charged and used. This thing is such a joy to use. I'll probably play with it more in mobile mode. It feels good to hold it. And yes it's underpowered on the spec sheet but at the same time, it works really well. And I'm having a lot of fun with it so for me that's the main thing really :D. ~~~ Panoramix I don't understand the negativity based on technical performance. The thing is supposed to be fun to play, not bring you closer to the limits of what modern technology can achieve. Nintendo has some extremely fun games that I'd rather play very much before an extremely high performance super high HD game that ultimately falls flat. ~~~ cmrdporcupine Much of the negativity is related to the fact that the launch game itself does not play well when docked. And this seems unjustifiable given how well the same chipset does in the NVIDIA Shield, which is capable of driving 4k games just fine. ~~~ Panoramix I was not aware of that. Which is strange since I read more than 10 reviews, surely they would have noticed? is this your experience? All I heard was that it runs smoother than in the Wii-U even though it is not optimized for the Switch. ~~~ aaron-lebo There's really no way that you wouldn't notice it and I've seen it mentioned in every review. ~~~ Panoramix I guess it's the way I understood it. "Drops frames occasionally when there are a lot of elements moving on the screen" vs "plays poorly". Disappointing, sure, but hardly a deal breaker. I guess I'll wait a bit and judge on my own. ~~~ rasz_pl but its the second kind, Zelda drops to 20fps in empty static scenes. ~~~ nstart true. And it's bad that it is THE launch game that suffers from that. It's likely to be caused by a poor port. The original of the game I believe runs at 720p. Scaling it up to 900p (it doesn't even go up to 1080p) in docked mode is probably causing it issues rather than the device actually having problems working in docked mode. I feel pretty confident that patches and updates to both the device and games should work these out :) ------ greggman It's inexcusable that the controllers get jammed to the wrist straps so easily. Google "stuck joy-con" and you'll find articles and videos about how to un-stuck them if you've accidentally put them on backward. Why is it even possible to put them on backward? Even when they're on forward it often's often extremely hard to separate them. We had a switch party and pretty much every single person put them on backward once and we get to get tiny screwdrivers out to un-stick them Nintendo even has a page up already that just says "send them back" [https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/...](https://en- americas-support.nintendo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/22528/p/897/c/715) I suspect they'll end up releasing a new model of controller that doesn't have these issues but it's really hard to believe this wasn't found during development. ------ seanalltogether Ifixit just posted their teardown as well. [https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+Switch+Teardown/782...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nintendo+Switch+Teardown/78263) ~~~ lucb1e I like Ifixit's a lot more than Fictiv's. It gets to the point with specs and short annotations. ~~~ whineBuster It's a more structured article, that's for sure. No unfunny comedy at ifixit! ------ samtoday Wow, the Nintendo Switch has a fan? It is amazing how thermals are such a limiting factor in today's devices. I remember that a browser dev increased the Nexus 5's benchmark score drastically by placing it on a bag of ice. ~~~ ndesaulniers > I remember that a browser dev increased the Nexus 5's benchmark score > drastically by placing it on a bag of ice. If the browser was stressing the system to the limits of the thermal envelope, then by being able to dissapate heat faster, you can schedule more work to be done delaying any kind of frequency governing. ~~~ funkedelic_bob That's crazy. I wonder if I can increase my output from my laptop working in front of an open freezer :P ~~~ kalleboo You can use Intel's power gadget to see the status of your CPU's temperature, power usage and clock frequency (i.e. if it's boosting, or if it's being throttled) [https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-power- gadget...](https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-power-gadget-20) e.g., if I start an h264 encode, first my CPU boosts, reaching 3.3 GHz (it's a 2.7 GHz i7), but after a minute, it's dropped to 2.4 GHz due to the thermals. Wouldn't surprise me if I stuck it in a freezer it would stay at a higher frequency. ------ aaron-lebo I showed up at Target at 4 am and was second in line. Some other poor soul had been there since 11 and out of the 50 units available there were probably 10 people at opening. Not sure if that suggests demand isn't that great or what. It's hard to figure out. Check out the unit next to the Wii U tablet and the latter looks very much like a clunky cheap toy. Everything here seems well- designed (don't scratch your screen on the dock though), the joycons are very clever. I must admit tablet mode with them is just okay and they are undersized in every way compared to other controllers, but snapped onto the controller shell you forget it isn't just a regular controller. Very cool. The hardware though? It makes me nervous. I get at $300 and what Nintendo was going for you don't have much of an alternative. Maybe I'm spoiled but 900p upscaled at 30 fps with drops when docked feels wrong in 2017. The game (BotW) is beautiful and controls wonderfully but the lag is noticeable at times for me and the lack of fluidity hurts the experience. Oddly enough playing at 720p undocked isn't slow at all and on the small screen looks great. I kind of drool at the thought of this upscaled to 4k at 60fps and that and it wouldn't be hard on modern hardware. Maybe a remaster or emulator? It very much feels like a mobile device you can dock versus a home console you can take with you. Just not sure how much headroom is in the hardware to make this last for three or four years without major compromises. Does anyone else have an impression? ~~~ ThatPlayer I scoped out my local Target at 1 am and there were 5 people in line and maybe a few more waiting in cars. Came back at 7:30am before the 8am opening and got a voucher for about 40 out of 60 Switches. I think it could just be a smaller thing because most people expect the midnight launches, and people have work at 8am. The midnight launch at my local Fry's sold out of their 90 Switches. Or maybe it is your location as I am in Los Angeles County. >It very much feels like a mobile device you can dock versus a home console you can take with you. I definitely agree that it feels like a 3DS successor rather than a Wii U successor. That wouldn't surprise me if you consider how well the 3DS does compared to the Wii U. I'm playing the Zelda on the portable more than on the TV. >Just not sure how much headroom is in the hardware to make this last for three or four years without major compromises. If you look at the 3DS which still has most games running on the same hardware from 2011, I can see the Switch lasting three years without requiring a refresh. Maybe a small one like the New 3DS is to the 3DS. ~~~ b3b0p The difference between the New 3DS and the original 3DS is actually quite substantially technically. New 3DS: * ARM11 MPCore 4x @ 268MHz * 4x VFPv2 Co-Processor * 256MB FCRAM * 10MB VRAM * Dedicated Hardware Video Decoder (* It also can play SNES Virtual Console games and can also play Xenoblade Chronicles for New 3DS) (* The menu screen is also substantially faster) 3DS: * ARM11 MPCore 2x @ 268MHz * 2x VFPv2 Co-Processor * 128MB FCRAM * 6MB VRAM ------ sergiotapia I'm in love with the Switch! Form factor on point that feels like the culmination of experiments coming from 3DS, Wii U and Wii. My son has been playing the new Zelda non-stop, it's that fun and deep. It's a much harder Zelda game, feels somewhat like Dark Souls in the combat department. I died at least 5 times an hour due to overwhelming enemies. It's a blast! One thing I love about the Switch is that even if my controllers get busted I can just buy another pair of joycons. With the Wii U it was really stressful to remind the kids to be careful because you have to send in the gamepad for repairs. ------ Shivetya Interesting note, apparently they materials and such used to create this device do not work well with adhesives used by a very popular skinning company, they posted their results on reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/5xc5si/warn...](https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/5xc5si/warning_do_not_skin_your_nintendo_switch/) ------ kbumsik It's a bit shame that there is no chip part information. I am particularly wondering which microcontroller they use for the remote controllers. I will wait for iFixit's teardown review. ~~~ creativetaboo They referenced the China leak which has all that information already: [http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/02/nintendo_switch_tea...](http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/02/nintendo_switch_teardown_images_pop_up_online) ~~~ kbumsik Thanks for the link. But nVida SoC is too obvious and I am not interested in it. I am waiting for a much more professional teardown review, inclding information of every parts, like this: [https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Oculus+Rift+CV1+Teardown/606...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Oculus+Rift+CV1+Teardown/60612#s126619) ~~~ funkedelic_bob I think they've posted it. ------ Animats What's the connector and interface for the side units? They slide on and latch, so no common connector will work. ~~~ scott_karana I think they're all Bluetooth, and the slide/latching is purely for human interface, not digital. :) ~~~ Animats The side units charge while attached, if the main unit has power, so there's some connection. ~~~ scott_karana Oh, I didn't think of that. Good question indeed. ------ jwatte Regarding the speaker grille "why:" I'd assume the "speaker ports" are either for air flow, or the entire case works as a resonance chamber and wave guide. Are there other reasonable options? ------ bane In terms of memory architecture, does anybody know if Nintendo went with cartridges in order to better address the limited RAM of the system (compared to other consoles)? In the old days cartridge ROM was just mapped into the system RAM so you could address game assets without necessarily having to load them into system RAM, thus you could get by with far less RAM than you'd expect. ~~~ slantyyz Just a guess, but maybe the I/O of storage on the cartridge is more consistent than the inexpensive microSD cards that people tend to buy? \-- edit Another benefit is not having to install/uninstall the game to manage space ------ frik The Nintendo Switch seems like a nice tablet form factor game console. I am a bit underwhelmed by their decision to compromise the usability of the right Joycon - moving the analog stick below the digital buttons is certainly bad for US/European bigger hands, bad for ergonomic reasons, an unreasonable trade off. I am underwhelmed by their decision to add no additional fan to the Dock. It's just s piece of very cheap locking plastic that might scratches your screen. It could have cooled the Switch and get out more performance out of the GPU (now they have to underclock it). I am a bit underwhelmed by the Joycon grip, that is not very ergonomic for larger hand, and is just a piece of cheap plastic. The Pro controller looks good, but it costs extra $ 70 ($ 20 mote than PS4/X1). I am a bit underwhelmed that the Joycons have no analog trigger buttons. Already with Wii U the analog triggers were greatly missed in e.g. Lego City Undercover, the car acceleration was all or nothing which pales compared to GTA gameplay on PS4/X1/PC. I am a bit underwhelmed about the tear down, while good executed it lacked the final tear down and analytics of the core components like the "haptics engine" and the SoC board incl ARM chips. I am looking forward to a revised model at the end of 2017 that fixes things. Maybe even a XL or XS version would be great - like the New 3DS XL which was a greatly improved and better for larger hands. The ergonomics of the Wii U gamepad better than the Switch too, maybe they can adopt ideas in a revised version. ~~~ cmrdporcupine Yeah, I'm a big Nintendo fan but so far I'm meh so far. I am not clear why they are having performance issues but the NVIDIA Shield I have, based around the same or even earlier version chipset, is capable of outputing 4k games to my TV at quite excellent frame rates. The touch screen should always be available in both modes, otherwise not useful to developers. A second screen experience would have been nice so they could unify DS and Switch developer experiences. They should have by default made people's Wii U virtual console purchases transfer to the Switch, as a token of good will and to encourage initial purchases of the console before other games are out. There's no compelling reason to buy it for the new Zelda game as the Wii U version is just as good as the Switch version (so that's what I bought). Unfortunately unless this product drops a bunch in price and takes over their DS niche, I am not sure it's going to do that well. ~~~ vlunkr Using a single screen unifies them with every other developer experience though. Currently if you're porting to the 3ds you have to think of some use for the second screen and make you code support it. It seems like this time Nintendo is trying to get a larger dev audience, by supporting Unity, Unreal, etc. so you can send your game to the switch just as easily as every other platform. EDIT: I also agree that they should let you transfer purchases. They seem intent on making everyone buy Super Mario Bros over and over. Tjey might lose some profit there, but it would buy them so much in their customer relationships. ------ ayuvar It's amazing how compact that joystick is. I wonder if the Joy-Cons will be changed out on people's systems more than controllers usually are. They're almost a fashion accessory in the tablet/portable mode. ~~~ scott_karana I wondered that too, until I saw the prices :( ------ WestCoastJustin This might be slightly off-topic, but if you like this type of teardown content, I highly recommend checking out AVE's channel on Youtube [1]. He does plenty of tool teardown's, things like drills, all types of heavy industrial gear, and some electronics thrown in. I find is fascinating, because you start to learn about the manufacturing process, why mechanical engineers choose specific materials, how they cut corners, and generally how things are made at low cost and high volume. Here's some highlights: \- Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-vJxez9UF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-vJxez9UF8) \- Hammer Drill Mechanism: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joetVGrMfAY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joetVGrMfAY) \- Blendtec Blender: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA0kiYqyBmo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA0kiYqyBmo) \- KitchenAid Mixer: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKp-0h9P18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKp-0h9P18) \- $500 Mining Flashlight: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te06Y26Hyiw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te06Y26Hyiw) [1] [https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil/videos?view=0...](https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil/videos?view=0&sort=dd&live_view=500&flow=grid) ~~~ gravypod If you find youself watching AvE's vid-jeos and enjoying the content pertaining to machining Id sugest you check out This Old Tony [0]. He's the "Dad" to the AvE's "estranged uncle who can only come over if he wears an ankle bracelet". IF you like the teardowns then EEVBlog [1] goes without saying for an electronics-perspective. I learn a lot just by watching him mess around and take apart piles upon piles of gear. It strikes me as him making the videos he wanted to see when he was a kid. [0] - [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NO8MgTQKHAWXp6z8Xl7yQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5NO8MgTQKHAWXp6z8Xl7yQ) [1] - [https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog](https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog) ~~~ yoodenvranx Yes, This Old Tony one of the best Youtube channels at the moment. His old videos are all good, but the last few videos were really excellent. edit: Another good channel is Clickspring, right now he is building that ancient greek mechanical computer thing which was found in a shipwreck. ------ simplemath You are a bit underwhelmed. Got it ~~~ frik I listed some fair constructive criticism of minor things that came to my mind trying it out to an overall great new game console. You seem to be trolling, got it. ~~~ frei The repetition of the word 'underwhelmed' seems intentional, but the reason for it is unclear. It's distracting to the point that the actual content of comment is lost on the reader. ------ richardboegli It runs on FREEBSD [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13789444](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13789444) ~~~ BinaryIdiot Kinda poor taste to just try and bump your submitted HN post versus posting the actual source. ------ nikcub the Switch booting into its FreeBSD kernel: [https://twitter.com/Y_Mokko/status/837610472362786817](https://twitter.com/Y_Mokko/status/837610472362786817) ~~~ philjohn Doesn't look like a boot screen, looks like a copyright notice screen for all software used in the product - my Panasonic TV has one of those too (it uses a FreeBSD Kernel) ~~~ feld mind posting more info about this somewhere?

Apple Fight Could Lead to “Virtually Limitless” Surveillance Powers, Judge Warns - DiabloD3 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/03/apple-all-writs-act-and-limitless-surveillance ====== mhurron Pretty sure 'Virtually Limitless Surveillance Powers' is kinda the whole point. ~~~ leecarraher they had to tone it down from their original headline "Apple Fight Could Lead To End of the World As We Know It" ------ nataliam511 Some interesting points in regards to licensed applications as well. I know this has been a highly debated subject, but if you have an app that people use on their phones under your license, who owns the data? If the app is under investigation, could user's personal data also be at risk? We quickly agree to so many legally binding agreements without even thinking about it... ~~~ mcherm The question that Apple and the EFF are addressing is slightly different. Not "can the company own your personal data", but "does the company ALWAYS own your personal data even if they WANT to let you own it." We already have established law that says the Government can demand any data a company has on you, without even needing much of a reason and without triggering most 4th amendment protections. ------ mcherm Have these people even READ Riley v. California[1]? To quote from the majority opinion: "modern cell phones, [...] are now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy. [...] Cell phones, however, place vast quantities of personal information literally in the hands of individuals. The argument with Apple is not the same question as the (now settled) situation where there is no warrant, but clearly cell phones need to be treated specially. [1] - [http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/Riley_v_...](http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/Riley_v_California_No_13132_and_13212_US_June_25_2014_Court_Opini?1456930843#id772495)

Show HN: I built this vscode extension to manage tasks in TODO.md - ngvan https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=coddx.coddx-alpha ====== ngvan I don't need complicate Kanban SaaS on the market, so I built this vscode extension to simply manage tasks in TODO.md \- It can manage tasks in TODO.md - a plain text markdown file. \- The syntax is compatible with Github Markdown \- TODO.md file is portable and can be committed with Pull Requests (PRs) to any git repositories. ------ Etheryte Congrats on shipping, looks great for small projects. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of items moving around when their status changes though. Diffs won't be as useful to track tasks — for example, did this task get removed from the scope or did it move to another state? If the item stayed still, it would be a one- line change, if the item moves around, you have to see if it's elsewhere now. ~~~ ngvan Thanks for your inputs! I will think about this more. Typically users want to move tasks between boards in a Kanban board UI. But I get your idea about keeping tasks in a task list.

IA or AI? - rudenoise https://vanemden.wordpress.com/2015/10/09/ia-or-ai-2/ ====== dsr_ The IA advance which is most obvious to me (yet somehow not yet a reality) is the nomenclator. In Rome, a nomenclator was a slave who remembered people's names for you, and as they approached would whisper to you that this is Gaius Tullius Castor, his wife is Flaminia, his eldest boy is Marcus, and he owns beanfields. A Google Glass camera on your eyeglasses and a speaker in your ear, hooked up to Facebook's face recognition and social web, can tell you a quick precis of who you see across the room before they get to you. Add a touch sensor in your pocket or on a ring for unobtrusive control, and a mic to pick up your annotations or commands, and you've got a product that should be a major hit by the second generation. ~~~ lnanek2 Google famously banned face recognition on Glass after I and some other developers made demo apps and APIs for using it: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1aeMJY1AO0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1aeMJY1AO0) Even now that Glass has been canceled for all but commercial use, it's still in the guidelines that you aren't allowed to use face recognition: > [https://developers.google.com/glass/policies?hl=en](https://developers.google.com/glass/policies?hl=en) " Don't use the camera or microphone to cross-reference and immediately present personal information identifying anyone other than the user, including use cases such as facial recognition and voice print. Glassware that do this will not be approved at this time. " Amusingly, my nursing notes demo was me trying to be politically correct. People were more interested in things like cross referencing most wanted lists and sexual offender lists. ~~~ protomyth That ban made me uninterested in Glass. Face recognition would have been such a help to elderly folks. Add object recognition and GPS and you could have had an assistant to help the elderly through their day. ------ otoburb _" [...] good notation is worth a whopping increment in IQ points. Except that the really good ones allow one to have thoughts that are impossible without."_ I posit this post tangentially explains the nagging feeling that many parents[1] experience when their children struggle with mathematics. The benefits of basic language literacy are clear, but follow-on analogies such as the above emphasize a point of view concluding that an inability to attain mathematical fluency excludes the next generation from any implied augmented intelligence benefits. The extrapolated message would be that mathematically disinclined adults will then be completely unable to comprehend certain important thoughts in [insert arcane, highly-specialized technical field]. Regarding the question posed by the title and last sentence in the blog post, I'm not sure why the thrust is framed as an XOR, and not as an AND. It's not like we can't focus on both IA and AI at the same time. [1] Anecdata warning: I am a parent. I have this nagging feeling. ~~~ rntz > an inability to attain mathematical fluency excludes the next generation > from any implied augmented intelligence benefits. Well, only in some ways. I don't have to understand how a refrigerator works in order to use it. Improvements in quality of life produced by use of augmented intelligence ought to be accessible even to those without it. ~~~ smegger001 The problem only happens when no one bothers to learn how something works. Look at all of those big iron systems out there that few people know how to program, there is reason Cobol and Fortran programmers still make good money. Oh and refrigeration is simple, it is just an application of the ideal gas law PV=nRT, and a pump. Refrigerant is compressed then cooled through use of a heat-sink then pumped into the refrigerator and allowed to expand where the refrigerant absorbs thermal energy and is pumped out and repeated. ~~~ TrevorJ I'm not sure it's a problem. It's encapsulaiton. Systems _should_ be designed so that there is a difference between the knowledge required to operate the device and the knowledge required to design/service it. ------ Practicality It seems obvious to me that IA is where the tremendous benefits to society occur. Imagine a world where everyone has the equivalent of a genius IQ today. A lot of problems suddenly disappear. AI, on the other hand, while very useful, doesn't change people. And frankly, most problems we have are because people lack understanding. I don't know about you, but I don't actually want to replace mankind with something else, I just want us all better. Of course, what "better" is--is highly debatable, so that definitely gives pause as well. ~~~ mziel > A lot of problems suddenly disappear. Not to be negative but citation needed. Also (I guess we'll cross "isolation" of the list): [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_giftedness#Social...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_giftedness#Social_and_emotional_issues) ~~~ Practicality An interesting point. I think your citation adds to the point though. In observing my "normal" peers, honestly, they do a lot of very strange things just to be considered normal. I mean, it's pretty expensive just to keep up with current trend of sunglasses size or sock length, just to be seen as normal. Not to mention that you have to hold your hands a certain way and talk incoherently. There is a lot of "normalizing" behavior that becomes unnecessary when everyone has the capacity to see how inane and impractical such behavior really is. ~~~ ycosynot A lot of smart men have been passionate about the proportion of columns, or the proportion of numbers, or even the aesthetics of curly braces. So why is it inane to care about the proportion of clothing, or the angle of the hand? I think people play to their strength. Also, the trend has to change as the world changes, because aesthetics is about the whole. So it's not because it's everchanging that it's necessarily arbitrary. The more one can afford not to care about it, the more impractical it is, but I wouldn't say it is impractical to society. It is architecture for the person. ------ ATLobotomy EDW387 [0] (which doesn't have NN0 or NN1 pseudonyms either) seems to be pretty clear about what the "anti-intellectualism" comment was about. >The undisguised appeal to anti-intellectualism and anti-individualism was frightening. He was talking about his "augmented knowledge workshop" and I was constantly reminded of Manny Lehman's vigorous complaint about the American educational system that is extremely "knowledge oriented", failing to do justice to the fact that one of the main objects of education is the insight that makes quite a lot of knowledge superfluous. Wish the author went into more detail on why now may be different than during Kay/Engelbart's time. [0] [https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD03xx/E...](https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD03xx/EWD387.html) ~~~ rasz_pl There is this "Tim van Gelder on Douglas Engelbart, Intelligence Amplification and Argument Mapping" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P77FvUy- NGA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P77FvUy-NGA) ------ akkartik The EWD by Dijkstra now actually mentions Engelbart by name: [https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd03xx/EWD387.PDF](https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd03xx/EWD387.PDF). ~~~ tlb Props to Dijkstra for choosing the right topics to have strong opinions about, which is the hardest part in making an intellectual contribution -- far harder than being right or wrong about a given topic. The writeup is like code that's correct but for a sign error. ------ yang140 John Markoff's new book "Machines of Loving Grace" is a great one about this AI vs IA topic. [http://www.amazon.com/Machines-Loving-Grace-Common- Between/d...](http://www.amazon.com/Machines-Loving-Grace-Common- Between/dp/0062266683) ------ delish > The point I am making here is that Engelbart and Kay were unrealistic in > expecting that their technologies would give quick results in the way of > Tools for Thought. They had no appreciation for the vast and rich culture > that produced the tools for thought enabled by the traditional technologies > of writing and printing. They did not realize that a similar culture needs > to arise around a new technology with augmentation potential. I am guilty of deifying Englebart and Kay, and castigating "our society" for failing them. After my honeymoon period with the "tool of thought" people, I've calmed down. Here's my radical belief: portability is for people who can't write their own programs. (copped from a Torvalds witticism) Consider writing and literacy: If you really grow up in a literate culture, you can start with a blank page and end with a bespoke document that suits your needs. If you don't grow up in that, you have to modify others' documents. This limits you. Hallmark cards are for people who can't write poetically (no judgment intended). So too for programming. Today we rely on hundreds of millions of lines of code of others we can't even realistically modify. But I think the future resembles Forth: in less than a hundred lines of code, you write something that suits your needs[0]. You can't do this yet because computers suck. I'm talking loosely and at a high-level. [0] I think Forth is a powerful vision for the future: no operating system, no types, no compatibility, no syntax. An executable english language. ------ bradneuberg Great piece. I got a chance to work with Douglas Engelbart several years ago and wrote up some responses in reply to Maarten's IA or AI post: [http://codinginparadise.org/ebooks/html/blog/ia_vs__ai.html](http://codinginparadise.org/ebooks/html/blog/ia_vs__ai.html) ------ bytesandbots That enforces my belief that the influx of new programming languages will continue for some more years and it will only get better. ------ musha68k Nothing is more high-tech than culture, it's _everything_ even if we tend to work over the seemingly faceless Internet these days - it's people all the way down. ------ maxander The idea of "notation as intelligence augmentation" is the reason (or one of them) that Haskell programmers are so enthusiastic about things like functors and monads; type theory is its own branch of mathematics that could be appended in the list of things like calculus and vector analysis [1], and might bring in the same kind of new levels of thought and abstraction. [1] Disclaimer; I am not a mathematician. ------ MaysonL When considering intelligence amplification, the book that comes to mind is _Psychohistorical Crisis_ , by Donald Kingsbury. Computer-to-brain interfaces may go a long way in the next few thousand years. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychohistorical_Crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychohistorical_Crisis) ~~~ arethuza Also Vernon Vinge's _Rainbows End_ which has both IA and AI in a fairly plausible near future scenario: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End) ------ hyperpallium oblig. [https://xkcd.com/903/](https://xkcd.com/903/) We already have amplified memory (see also: books, mnemonics). and google amplifies _retrieval_. But what is "intelligence", that we might amplify it? For me, limited short- term working memory is an obstacle (EWD's "limited size of skull"). As complexity is added, earlier parts drop out. There is the "technology" of hierarchical decomposition and the pyschological instinct of chunking, but every problem has irreducible complexity... if this is greater than my working memory, I cannot grasp it. Artificially enhanced working memory may help here, but I suspect the limit is due not so much short-term memory itself, but it having associations throughout all long-term memory. That is, it's less a cache limit than a bandwidth limit, interconnecting with the entire mind. We aren't Von Neumann architectured. PS: there's an argument that we might not be able to grasp intelligence itself, if its and its components' irreducible complexity is greater than any person's working memory - even if we formalize a correct model, we mightn't grasp it ourselves. Thus, IA may be essential for AI. Or, AI is essential for AI.

Apple starts rejecting apps with “hot code push” features - dylanpyle https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/73640 ====== adjunct I'm Erez Rusovsky, the CEO of Rollout.io Rollout's mission has always been, and will always be about helping developers create and deploy mobile apps quickly and safely. Our current product has been a life saver for hundreds of apps by allowing them to patch bugs in live apps. We were surprised by Apple's actions today. From what we've been able to gather, they seem to be rejecting any app which utilizes a mechanism of live patching, not just apps using Rollout. Rollout has always been compliant with Apple's guidelines as we've detailed in the past here: [https://rollout.io/blog/updating-apps-without-app- store/](https://rollout.io/blog/updating-apps-without-app-store/) Our SDK is installed in hundreds of live apps and our customers have fixed thousands of live bugs in their apps. We are contacting Apple in order to get further clarification on why Rollout doesn't fall under the clause that lets developers push JS to live apps as long as it does not modify the original features and functionality of the app. I'll post updates as I have them. Erez Rusovsky CEO Rollout.io ~~~ macspoofing Oh man. You were surprised? Really? You blog sounds like the PR spin that came out of Aereo, a company that spent an inordinate amount of effort to stay within the absolute letter of a law. Predictably they got killed by lawsuits because judges aren't idiots and the law isn't inflexible to the point where the intent and context isn't considered. Your case is even worse because you engineered a solution to adhere to the letter of a EULA of a tightly controlled ecosystem run by a very capricious company. I hate the app store review process and a lot of apple policies around the app store and I feel for you and I totally think there should be a less onerous update/review process ... but ... you clearly and blatantly circumvented a core policy, and what happened to you was absolutely predictable. Get your money back from the lawyer that told you Apple wouldn't shut you down. You got bad advice. ~~~ abcd_f > _Oh man. You were surprised? Really?_ Exactly! Apple has always been adamant that they see _all_ code that goes onto devices. Live patching is so bloody obvious against their EULA. ~~~ wolfgke What is "code"? Everybody who has programmed in LISP or Scheme knows that there is no essential distinction between code and data (only many programming languages make it a little hard to see that it is all the same). Thus Apple would have to see not only all code, but also all data that goes onto the devices. But this would imply that Apple disallows all apps that read data from a foreign (i.e. at least not Apple-controlled) server if one does not want to get into a self-contradiction. ~~~ Spivak Which is why you're not allowed to use a Lisp interpreter or use any method of evaluating data as code. In this model the only thing that data can do is change which code paths run, not what they do. ~~~ kazinator That characterization isn't enough to distinguish a Turing complete interpreter from something that trivially manipulates an input datum. An interpreter is just a program containing code paths, which are activated in response to the input (the interpreted code). ~~~ wolfgke > That characterization isn't enough to distinguish a Turing complete > interpreter from something that trivially manipulates an input datum. An > interpreter is just a program containing code paths, which are activated in > response to the input (the interpreted code). It is surprisingly simple to make an interpreter that is "accidentally" Turing complete (this IMHO so often happens by accident that I love to say that if an interpreter is not "obviously" more restricted than a Turing machine, it probably is Turing complete). This is not just my opinion - there lots of pages in the internet of things that are "accidentally" Turing complete, for example: [http://beza1e1.tuxen.de/articles/accidentally_turing_complet...](http://beza1e1.tuxen.de/articles/accidentally_turing_complete.html) [https://www.gwern.net/Turing-complete](https://www.gwern.net/Turing-complete) ------ dilipray "Hi there -- I believe that title isn't quite accurate; Apple specifically is referring to behavior of a library called Rollout which lets people dynamically inject Objective-C/Swift. They are doing hot delivery of native, Objective-C code. It's really not about React Native nor Expo. Expo (and the React Native library we use) doesn't do any of that. We also make sure we don't expose ways to dynamically execute native code such as the dlopen() function that Apple mentioned in that message. We also haven't received any messages from Apple about Expo, nor have we heard of any Expo developers receiving the same." \- Exponent Team ~~~ jameside Hi, I work on Expo (YC S16) and also am a core contributor to React Native. Apple's message reads to me that they're concerned about libraries like Rollout and JSPatch, which expose uncontrolled and direct access to native APIs (including private APIs) or enable dynamic loading of native code. Rollout and JSPatch are the only two libraries I've heard to be correlated with the warning. React Native is different from those libraries because it doesn't expose uncontrolled access to native APIs at runtime. Instead, the developer writes native modules that define some functions the app can call from JavaScript, like setting a timer or playing a sound. This is the same strategy that "hybrid" apps that use a UIWebView/WKWebView have been using for many years. From a technical perspective, React Native is basically a hybrid app except that it calls into more UI APIs. Technically it is possible for a WebView app or a React Native app also to contain code that exposes uncontrolled access to native APIs. This could happen unintentionally; someone using React Native might also use Rollout. But this isn't something specific to or systemic about React Native nor WebViews anyway. One nice thing about Expo, which uses React Native, is that we don't expose uncontrolled or dynamic access to native APIs and take care of this issue for you if your project is written only in JS. We do a lot of React Native work and are really involved in the community and haven't heard of anyone using Expo or React Native alone having this issue. ~~~ menckenjr This needs a little elaboration. Cached Javascript in any hybrid app is a security hole because that can be exposed through a jailbreak. Depending on how much of your business logic you've pushed into the JS layer to enable that "80% code sharing" that makes managers go all tingly you may be exposing all kinds of things - cached access tokens, API keys and whatnot - to anyone who wants to install your app and mine its secrets. ~~~ scarface74 You as an end user jailbreaking your own phone is not a "security hole". I'm not aware of any non-tethered jailbreak for iOS 10 ~~~ nb777 I think he's talking about application wide (not user specific) "secrets" in the javascript layer. ~~~ menckenjr Yes, I am. As for untethered jailbreaks, [http://pangu8.com/10.html](http://pangu8.com/10.html) mentions a few. ------ teknologist It seems that most people are overlooking one of the more significant points Apple have made here: "Even if the remote resource is not intentionally malicious, it could easily be hijacked via a Man In The Middle (MiTM) attack, which can pose a serious security vulnerability to users of your app." Source: [https://github.com/bang590/JSPatch/issues/746](https://github.com/bang590/JSPatch/issues/746) ~~~ orless I'm not buying the MITM argument in general. If remote code is downloaded via HTTPS, it could not be hijacked, at least not easily. ~~~ scintill76 HTTPS is sufficient against MITM, until someone disables all verification to use their self-signed cert, or adds their poorly-secured "CA" cert to the allowed CA's for the download, or adds a weak cipher to the list. Do you trust every app developer to do those right (if they even use HTTPS!)[0], or would you rather trust Apple to get it right in the centralized system they designed for app updates for all apps? I'm not even fond of Apple, but I'd rather trust them, and I'm glad they're protecting their users. [0] Caveat: I don't know how likely/possible these are to occur on iOS. I assume a sufficiently motivated & misguided developer could do them within their own app's context. ~~~ orless You see, this whole thing: "Even if the remote resource is not intentionally malicious, it could easily be hijacked via a Man In The Middle (MiTM) attack, which can pose a serious security vulnerability to users of your app." Basically says "only we, Apple, can do HTTPS right, you can't, and even if you try you can easily be MiTMed". Which is I don't agree with. What you say is correct, but it's not the argument I criticize. You point is that they don't trust developers to implement secure loading of code and don't have technical means to control it and can't or don't want to check it in the review. But it's completely different to "you could be easily hijacked if you're not Apple". ~~~ teknologist I'd trust Apple to do right more than I'd trust a small team at a startup trying to deliver features at breakneck speed. I really like the fact that Apple is looking out for its customers here. ------ mmmBacon Seems like people have been aware of concerns about violating the TOS with these hot patch frameworks. From April 2016 >>Rollout is aware of the concerns within the community that patching apps outside of the App Store could be a violation of Apple’s review guidelines and practices. Rollout notes both on their FAQ site and in a longer blog post that their process is in compliance. [https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat- research/2016/04/rollout...](https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat- research/2016/04/rollout_or_not_the.html) ~~~ obstinate A ton of games do this and it is incredibly annoying. I don't want to download an update, then have to download an update. I only wish the same restriction applied to my Android device. ~~~ justinhj Most likely most games are updating only game related data and graphics files. Very few games actually use internal scripting that would be needed to do code updates ~~~ Angostura The only app I've got that appears to actually update itself without going through the AppStore is the HSBC mobile banking app. I'd be interested in hearing the discussions going on between Apple and HSBC at the moment. ~~~ algesten Judging by how sluggish and annoying the HSBC app is, I think it is a web app framed in a thin launcher from the app store. I.e. it downloads a bunch of javascript/html/css and that executes within a UIWebView/WKWebView. Using caching and localStorage, you can construct such an app to not need to download everything on each launch. The reason that's allowed is because everything executes within a sandboxed browser environment. No native code is downloaded. ~~~ mikeash > The reason that's allowed is because everything executes within a sandboxed > browser environment. No native code is downloaded. That's the same thing Rollout does. In fact, iOS apps _can 't_ download and run native code. The OS won't let you mark pages as executable unless they're appropriately signed, and only Apple has those keys. ~~~ orbitur If they're using JSC, then they can definitely download JS and execute native methods. They could subclass any UIKit object and make it conform to JSExport. Done, now they're "running native code." ~~~ mikeash Sure, and an app displaying a web page using WebView can provide hooks that allow doing that sort of thing too. Neither one is downloading native code. ~~~ orbitur Only UIWebView, which is going away soon. But surely you can see the difference between executing limited actions inside a web view, and making available any native method to a web view. ~~~ mikeash WKWebView allows the app to execute arbitrary JS within the loaded page, and intercept URL loads and other actions made by JS code. That's all you need to build a bridge. I don't see any fundamental difference here. Both (UI|WK)WebView and JSC allow bridging. Neither one grants full access to JS code automatically, the programmer has to put some effort into it. And even if there is some important difference, _neither one is native code_ which is what I was disputing above. ------ simplehuman From [https://rollout.io/how-it-works/](https://rollout.io/how-it-works/) : Does Rollout comply to Apple’s Guidelines? Yes. As per Apple’s official guidelines, Rollout.io does NOT alter binaries. ... With over 50 million devices already running our SDK, it is safe to say that Rollout complies with with Apple’s development and App Store guidelines. Ouch. Just like the company's future is in danger. ~~~ eridius The first time I saw Rollout I was shocked it wasn't already banned by the App Store. No matter what they say, I can't imagine how they could do what they claim to do without flagrantly violating the guidelines. ~~~ geofft I'm guessing there are two things Apple is worried about. The first is using hot code push to change the _purpose_ of the app after release, e.g., switching a business app into a video game. The second is using hot code push to violate app store review guidelines, like the use of private APIs. You can do hot "code" push techniques that allow the first but not the second, by letting apps update HTML and JS that calls back into pre-existing native code. That's what Cordova / PhoneGap does. I'd guess that Apple will just ban the app and the developer if they catch it. It appears that Rollout started using some API that would enable it to do the second, and Apple is preemptively making sure that it doesn't happen. The wording of the rejection is based on passing computed parameters to introspection routines. ~~~ amluto > The second is using hot code push to violate app store review guidelines, > like the use of private APIs. I've never understood this part. Why doesn't iOS simply prevent apps from calling private APIs? ~~~ euyyn Preventing it in a technical way is far from easy: If your app calls public API X, which as part of its implementation calls private API Y, your compiler only needs a declaration of Y to output the function call / ObjC message send. Nothing in the language prevents it, and the code is executed natively unlike Java. ~~~ tluyben2 They control the software and the hardware though: seems possible to allow a specific region of memory (aka their public API) to call a specific region of memory (private API) and segfault for all the rest that does that? ~~~ jahewson Many private APIs are methods on objects which are part of public APIs, so there's no "region" of memory which cleanly corresponds to private APIs. ~~~ tluyben2 But they can theoretically create that as they own the entire chain; dev env, tools, OS, software, hardware (CPU included). I know it is not currently the case, sure, but they can do it was my point. ~~~ euyyn They "own" _a_ compiler, but not all of them. Say they implement the scheme you mention in clang and the LLVM linker, so the function bodies of their public APIs end up placed in that privileged region of memory, and those of their private APIs end up in the restricted region. Nothing prevents gcc from producing object files that tell the linker "this user function is part of Apple's public APIs". And nothing prevents people from using a different linker anyway, one that would put private API body functions out of the restricted region of memory. The only real way to achieve that would be to move all their frameworks to the kernel, which would be all sorts of problematic. ~~~ Dylan16807 > Say they implement the scheme you mention in clang and the LLVM linker, so > the function bodies of their public APIs end up placed in that privileged > region of memory, and those of their private APIs end up in the restricted > region. Agreed that this design is fundamentally flawed, but that's because the coder is providing the implementations of private code. Providing that is Apple's job. Put privileged code into a dynamically-linked library that Apple provides. Only code in that block of memory can call private APIs. Pretty straightforward to implement, and requires nothing fancy from the kernel. Of course this only works if you can prevent the attacker from corrupting memory. ~~~ euyyn I don't know if iOS does randomization of loading addresses, but if so, that'd be a disadvantage. And well, in any case they need to maintain compatibility with current apps for who knows how many years. ~~~ Dylan16807 > I don't know if iOS does randomization of loading addresses, but if so, > that'd be a disadvantage. Such a scheme wouldn't stop ASLR. The loader just needs to tell the verification code where it put the privileged libraries. > And well, in any case they need to maintain compatibility with current apps > for who knows how many years. Do they? I think Apple could easily order everyone to switch over to a more secure compiler with a one year deadline. ------ diminish Just imagine www didn't exist and Apple already had ios and apps. If someone came up with the idea of www and an app called web browser , would apple accept it in the app store? They would only accept it if they build it themselves. At some point is there a risk that Apple may also start to ban the web browser, despite that it's under strict control on IOS? ~~~ grey-area This is why you don't build on someone else's platform. Apple/Google/Platform Owner will always do what's right for them, not the customer, and not the developer, for example banning Amazon from selling books in their kindle app, not allowing competing browsers (they recognise the power of the web as a platform), not allowing competing sales mechanisms (where they don't get a cut), and here not allowing developers to update their apps except through the store mechanism. I have some sympathy with Apple here, and see why they're doing it (they have to control what software is installed for security reasons as well as platform protection), but this is all about control over what you install on your own device. Sometimes their actions will be in the best interests of customers, even if not the best interests of developers, but most of the time their actions are simply aimed at preserving their control of the platform and control of the money flowing through it. The web is the one exception to this rule which works across all platforms and devices (because it is so dumb and simple), and has survived attempts to corral it to a walled-in commercial offering remarkably well. ~~~ carterehsmith Try making e.g. a game that is not on someone else's platform. Make a game that is not for PC or XBox or PS or Nintendo or iOS or Android or Facebook or Java or whatever. Count money. Oops, there isn't any. Or, try making a Photoshop clone, CAD software or similar without being on someone else's platform. Oops. "it don't work" :) ~~~ Dylan16807 > Make a game that is not for PC Or is the right challenge "make a game for PC that isn't in the microsoft app store"? Which is in fact no hindrance at all. It's not really "someone else's platform" just by using someone's software. They have to be in control. ------ htormey I wonder if this is going to hit non native code push solutions like React Native? Or if Apple are going to start cracking down on apps like Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest that do a lot of A/B testing. ~~~ marpstar To date, Apple's Developer Program Guidelines states (in Section 3.3.2): > Except as set forth in the next paragraph, an Application may not download > or install executable code. Interpreted code may only be used in an > Application if all scripts, code and interpreters are packaged in the > Application and not downloaded. The only exceptions to the foregoing are > scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple's built-in WebKit framework or > JavascriptCore, provided that such scripts and code do not change the > primary purpose of the Application by providing features or functionality > that are inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose of the > Application as submitted to the App Store. Personally, I think that Cordova hybrid apps will continue to be okay, but I don't know about something like React Native... ~~~ Illniyar RN runs with JavaScriptCore. ~~~ je42 rollout as well... ------ egypturnash I really kinda see no problem with Apple doing this. Hack the endpoint the app checks for new code, push malicious code. Or fool the app into checking for new code at your server, push malicious code. I mean I read the headline, thought this sounded eminently sensible, then read the story and saw it was a _framework_ for doing this, and my inner mental model of my security researcher girlfriend leaned forward, started rubbing her hands together, and wanted to start digging for those sweet new vulns. ------ RKearney I wonder if Apple will apply this rule to everyone, which would be fair, or if they plan on letting big name developers like Facebook or Google continue to violate the rules without consequence. ~~~ LeoPanthera They _should_ pull the Facebook app for this. But I'll eat my hat if they do. ~~~ empthought Their guidelines specifically say that, with prior authorization, the prohibitions do not apply. ------ leoh You can accomplish some crazy stuff with hot code loading: use private APIs, get around privacy restrictions. In theory, there are a lot of guys reasons for Apple to prohibit this. ~~~ mikeash You can accomplish all of that without loading new code. Apple's private API checks, for example, are easy to get around if you're motivated. ------ akhilcacharya There's a cynical part of me that thinks this is because Apple is going to announce a similar feature at WWDC ~~~ madeofpalk That doesn't seem likely. They 'just' reduced app review down to ~24 hours. ------ pyed I've always questioned that 'hot code pushing' whenever I face an app that does it, like how on earth is it allowed to begin with ? they basically can send almost any functionality they want skipping Apple's reviewing all together ! ------ trishume Hasn't this always been against the App Store terms? I thought the only language you were allowed to download code from the internet and run was Javascript on Apple's VM. ~~~ darren_ Rollout.io has been offering a product that leverages this to 'hotpatch' binaries, but it looks like this is now considered not in the spirit of the guidelines. Technicals here: [https://rollout.io/blog/under-the- hood-2016-update/](https://rollout.io/blog/under-the-hood-2016-update/) It basically goes: * add their SDK, which has the ability to swizzle(swap out the implementation for) arbitrary methods in your app * the swapped in implementations use JavascriptCore to execute javascript you supply, wrapping or replacing the 'real' invocation of the method. * their SDK checks on startup which methods to replace and downloads the appropriate JS replacements This is, technically speaking, only using JavascriptCore. ~~~ Retr0spectrum That's actually quite a clever workaround to the current rules, but rather naive of them to think Apple wouldn't fight back at some point. ~~~ mahyarm It's really sad, because that kind of stuff lets you fix bugs / mitigate outages in the wild without having to wait on apple's schedule. ~~~ tedd4u This is true. The problem is bad actors can use this to bypass Apple's review. As an iOS app publisher I slightly regret this inconvenience. As an iPhone user, I appreciate Apple looking out for my security. ~~~ mahyarm Apple's review isn't that useful in this case as a pre-check, it is possible to avoid it if you want. Apple review does automated code checks & a reviewer manually using your app. With that review process you can deliver executable code after the fact in any way you want and only get caught after the fact if it's even noticeable. You can even get sneaky and add some security exploit to make it look like a mistake. It's much like the argument 'if you ban guns only criminals will have guns' and it's quite true in this case. ~~~ jahewson Given that Apple's automated review tools detect many ways in which executable code can be injected into apps, and OP's link is itself about that very thing - what you say is mostly false. ~~~ mahyarm It was easy to detect because they are not to trying to hide it. They just have to check if the library exists. ------ kposehn I'm curious if this has anything to do with the exploits that are in the recent Wikileaks dump. Perhaps Apple saw something in there that raised alarm and an impetus to close the loophole? ------ qq66 I wonder what they define as "code." Uber often rolls out "Kittens for a day" style features, some of which are topical and can't have been designed before the previous app update. ~~~ sjwright A topical "special day" feature could easily be defined as a downloadable content blob with zero executable or interpreted code. They probably have a set of special event templates already coded into the application which can then be themed with a few images, colours and text strings. ------ elmigranto I'm not an iOS developer, so I'm not sure what's possible, but am wondering about React Native apps (and similar technologies too). Here's a scenario: \- you publish an app that creates collages; \- user gives access to Photos; \- you change your JS to upload all the photos to your server. Substitute "photos" part to any iOS permission; isn't this security risk? Should it be allowed under current App Store ToS? Also, what's stopping your JS code from downloading binary code and injecting it via some iOS exploit into "native thread"? ~~~ johnhattan There's not much to prevent that scenario from happening. There's now a "why" section in one of the app's descriptors where you need to describe what you're doing with the permission. So it's not enough to say "I want access to the photos". It's now "I want access to the photos so that I can put them on the screen and let you draw funny pictures on them." But there's little to prevent you from lying about it, and there are so many iOS platform technologies out there now (native, PhoneGap, React Native, AIR, Xamarin) that there's probably no way for Apple to see what you're doing in an automated way. ------ homakov From my understanding people are giving rollout push rights to their app store accounts? So rollout can hijack all the apps it controls? It's a hell of a central authority, a security nightmare waiting to happen. ~~~ manmal No, it allows apps to be modified by the apps pulling JS code from rollout's servers. App reviews would be way too slow, and they are exactly the problem that rollout solves. However, review times have improved a lot since then. ADDITION: It works by "swizzling" methods, which is a valid mechanism in Apple's runtimes (like in Ruby or many other dynamic languages). In Swift, this will only work in subclasses of NSObject or its decendants, because only then message dispatch is used. ~~~ homakov Ok, so there's no direct access to your App Store but idea is same - rollout can "hot fix" aka pwn all users at once. I'd be angry if I were apple too. ~~~ manmal Indeed, I always wondered how Rollout would not same day be rejected by Apple. ------ aamederen How does apple understand whether the app can change behaviour according to external factors. Maybe in other words, what is a "behavior change"? For example, google has Tag Manager [1] which I believe is mostly used for managing small UI related changes. Is there a clear documentation or distinction about that? [1] [https://developers.google.com/tag- manager/](https://developers.google.com/tag-manager/) ------ geofft > _any code which passes arbitrary parameters to dynamic methods such as > dlopen(), dlsym(), respondsToSelector:, performSelector:, > method_exchangeImplementations(), and running remote scripts in order to > change app behavior or call SPI_ I would have expected dlopen and dlsym are blacklisted - you can trivially use dlsym to access any blacklisted API. Similarly, I thought SPI ("system programming interface" = private API) _was_ all blacklisted. Am I misreading the message? That said, if this is what they're focused on, it seems like it actively does not impact any apps that hot-push HTML code (e.g., PhoneGap / Cordova). If the only reports are coming from Rollout.io, my guess is that the latest Rollout SDK uses one of these functions (I'd bet method_exchangeImplementations(), i.e., swizzling) with a dynamic parameter, and that the SDK can be changed to just stop doing that. ------ adjunct Hi all (Erez from Rollout here) –I appreciate the discussion. Here’s our full statement – please weigh in with any questions [https://rollout.io/blog/rollout-statement-on-apple- guideline...](https://rollout.io/blog/rollout-statement-on-apple-guidelines/) ------ godmodus good, this sort of stuff screams of abuse potential. devs should re-submit their code to apple, instead pushing "fixes" to phones. i guess it's fair to assume 99% of those pushes are safe (80%? guess it's more like 'benefit of the doubt'), but that 1% the escapes scrutiny is the one piece that makes the whole platform shaky, and honestly, poses a major attack vector. i wonder how often this was abused. as to service like rollout.io, it's a service that was never supposed to be. especially if it serviced hundreds of apps - as a security minded indv. i shudder at the thought of what might have slipped through. edit: after digging into rollout.io and finding out it's based in telaviv, is it wrong to speculate about origins and real purpose of an israeli company that specializes in injecting code into iphone applications? ------ Entangled "Oh look, I found this tunnel under the border, I'll use it to feed the birds on the other side. I swear to god I'll never use it to smuggle drugs or people" It is too bad people is using it for good causes but the hole has to be closed. Sorry guys. ------ smaili tldr - appears to affect rollout.io customers (at least for those who have replied to the thread so far). ------ arbesfeld We haven't noticed any issues with AppHub, our service for dynamically updating React Native JavaScript code. We always felt this day would come, however, so we switched directions. ------ santiagobasulto I checked again rollout.io Disrupt presentation (great pitch btw) and the first question they get (Alexandra Chong) is "is it going to be ok with AppStore policies": [https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/22/rollout-io-puts-mobile- dev...](https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/22/rollout-io-puts-mobile-developers- back-in-control-of-their-apps/) ------ applecrazy What will happen to YouTube? YouTube has been pushing new functionality ahead of updates for me recently. For example, the new "double tap to rewind 10 seconds" feature appeared at random one day (without an any updates)...then eventually the feature is announced in an App Store update. Or is the app review process more subjective? ~~~ sb8244 They might have achieved that by pushing it in silently over time and utilizing feature flags. Only going live in an app store update once it was rolled out to everyone. ------ m3kw9 Should have been banned long ago, why would they have allowed an app to alter major behaviors post review? ------ ksk I'd say this is only going to further the arms race. One simple way around this would be to intentionally introduce a bug with a "controlled" exploit that lets you send a specially crafted data packet to your app, and execute shell-code of your choice. ------ stevehiehn I've recently been looking into React-Native. I'm hesitent to commit because i believe there's 'hot code push' potential and Apple will be a b __*h about it. I not sure if this is the case thou. ~~~ Mayzie > i believe there's 'hot code push' potential It's called CodePush, and it's a plugin for React Native (does not come with it). It is developed by Microsoft: [https://microsoft.github.io/code- push/](https://microsoft.github.io/code-push/) Doubt it would get taken down. ~~~ stevehiehn Interesting, thanks ------ anta40 Non iOS/Apple developer here. So, with this "hot code push", is it also possible to update an app (adding new features), and not only bug fixes, directly? If yes, then sounds like you are trying to circumvent the App Store QA process. ------ shmerl Just ditch Apple. The obnoxious attempt to ban any kind of customization is sickening. Apple like to shoot in their own foot by making life miserable for developers. ~~~ o_____________o But users have no idea how miserable life behind the iron XCode curtain is, so it will continue forever. ------ algesten That game that is topping the charts "Legacy", explicitly says when you start it that it's downloading patches. Wonder why it isn't blocked? ~~~ jhgg Patches could be assets - updated map data - updated textures - updated AI scripts? I don't think these need a full app store update as it's not changing the game from a game to a dating app (for example). ~~~ TeMPOraL Still, how do they avoid someone writing an ad-hoc interpreter and reading code from e.g. PNG images? Data == code, as we know. ------ reimertz I don't see Apple blocking React Native, too many big players using it in production. If you use hot code push together with React Native, then you're borked. ------ Brotkrumen A day after the Vault 7 leaks. Well well well ------ desaiguddu Another big worry is analytics platform like 'AppSee' that is clear violation of consumer privacy. ------ rsynnott "Starts"? I thought this was always a rule. Maybe they're only starting to enforce it now... ------ JulianMorrison Hot CIA back door push is a misfeature in any app, and Apple are doing the right thing here. ------ d--b Could this have anything to do with Wikileak's release of iOS hacks by the CIA? ~~~ ge0rg Probably not, the timing is too tight, and if Apple were aware of active exploitation, they would probably compeltely remove / block affected apps, instead of giving the devs a notice to improve the next release. ------ josh_carterPDX Didn't Firebase just introduce Remote Config which touts this very thing? ~~~ pscarey AFAIK Remote Config is just a server side key value store with customisable values based on audiences (e.g. random 50% for A/B testing, all people from Country X). This means all behaviour changes will require code to be deployed in the first place. Also, from Firebase Docs[1] "Don't attempt to circumvent the requirements of your app's target platform using Remote Config." [1] [https://firebase.google.com/docs/remote- config/](https://firebase.google.com/docs/remote-config/) ~~~ josh_carterPDX From this.... [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CXXVFPO6f0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CXXVFPO6f0) "Firebase Remote Config allows you to change the look-and-feel of your app, gradually roll out features, run A/B tests, and deliver customized content to certain users, all from the cloud without needing to publish a new version of your app." ~~~ pscarey With hot code pushing, you're deploying newly written code/functionality, post release (opening possibility of up MiTM attacks etc). With Remote Config you deploy the code, then decide what to show to users post release. This gives Apple a chance to review all the code submitted to the App Store. In the case of rolling out features an A/B tests, you'd make a release including a feature, but only enable it x% of your users using RC. You can then obviously enable it for everyone if it passes your A/B test or if you're happy its working. ------ andy_ppp React Native allows you to replace the JS bundle, will this be affected? ------ stevebmark This has always been a requirement for Apple apps, hasn't it? ------ milkers What about Microsoft's infamous Code Push? ------ EGreg Does this mean all Cordova apps may be banned? ~~~ teknologist Not necessarily. From the Apple Developer Program License Agreement: > 3.3.2 An Application may not download or install executable code. > Interpreted code may only be used in an Application if all scripts, code and > interpreters are packaged in the Application and not downloaded. The only > exception to the foregoing is scripts and code downloaded and run by Apple's > builtin WebKit framework, provided that such scripts and code do not change > the primary purpose of the Application by providing features or > functionality that are inconsistent with the intended and advertised purpose > of the Application as submitted to the App Store. ------ lacampbell Stuff like this is one of the big reasons I am a fan of web apps over mobile apps. Letting apple or google have control over this channel is just too risky for me. ~~~ swanros You've literally got things upside-down. ------ justinzollars The Unfree web. ------ anindha Does this effect React Native apps? ------ pinaceae Understandable, but there is a deeper problem of course - the app store model is broken for apps that need hotfix capabilities (aka enterprise). We've been meeting with Apple on this topic for years and continue to sideload our app as we need to meet SLAs with our customers. They sign the binaries with their dev certificates, which violates Apple's guidelines too. But, alas, once you have critical mass in a vertical even mighty Apple gets cold feet about shutting your customers down. Why Apple is not able to offer a separate way for certified and audited dev shops to hotfix their iOS apps is beyond me. SAP, MS, IBM - a shitload of big shops would love to pay for this privilege. ~~~ tinus_hn 'Enterprise' always needs things, and then when these required things are not available enterprise makes do with what is. In this case it isn't required at all though because Apple allows enterprise to sideload apps outside of the review process. ~~~ pinaceae But not as a vendor. Right now we get the certificates from out customers, sign the individual binaries. Then distribute through our own infrastructure. We have our own update mechanism (basically hot code push), cannot have the customer's own IT shop be a barrier to deploy the fix. User sync their apps, if there is an upgrade that gets done inbetween the normal data/content sync. ------ mayoralito Oh, Mario Run! What are you gonna do? ------ LoSboccacc About time, as an user it's fucking annoyng when you download an app but will refuse to work unless you're online even when it has zero needs for it ~~~ danappelxx To be fair that's just bad UX, there is no necessity for apps using rollout to access the internet as (I hope) rollout caches the app. ------ rocky1138 The solution is fairly simple: just stop releasing software on that platform. There are millions of customers on more open platforms, so there's really no need to support them anyway. ~~~ Retra All of life's problems are simple when suicide is your backup plan. ~~~ megous Boycott is a valid response no matter how much you try to make false analogies. Pulling app out of app store is by no means equivalent to suicide. At most you change your business. ~~~ vecter Right, like Uber, Snapchat, Facebook, Clash of Clans, Pinterest, Whatsapp, Instagram, Twitter, Waze, Shazam, Tinder, Match, YouTube, and basically every other app out there pulling out of the App Store would _not_ be suicide. "At most", those companies would just have to "change their businesses". ~~~ intrasight If all those companies did pull out, then it would be the end of Apple. ~~~ vecter Absolutely not. Apple was fine long before these companies came into existence, and Apple will long outlast these companies. New companies would come in to fill the spaces these companies will have left in days.

How to make a better analog watch - chrkau http://christiankaula.com/how-make-better-analog-watch.html ====== jaypreneur I would have to agree with DanBC. Additionally, I am slightly confused as to how the idea/solution you've presented is different than from a military watch that has the numbers (often including the military / 24 hour time) as hour markers. Additionally, some of these even have the minute numbers labeled as well. So, that solves that "problem" (although I tend to agree with DanBC that you are exaggerating the thought process behind telling time). You also mentioned having a separate minute dial. That also exists. There are watches with multiple dials, some for the seconds, others have dials solely for stopwatch functionality (chronograph watches). Ultimately, I sort of see what you are saying, but I think if you do some research, you'll see solutions do exist. Also, part of what makes people love watches (including myself) is the engineering behind them and the beauty of their design. For accuracy and functionality, I'll take my G-Shock over any analog (and automatic/mechanical) watch. However, I don't wear a watch purely for accuracy and functionality. They provide a bit of both, but there is more to it. ~~~ chrkau My point exactly. You'll use a digital one for accuracy/effectiveness but an analog one for style. Why can't there be watch that combines both advantages? Just because the stuff we use works doesn't mean we should stop thinking about improving things. Oh, and I mentioned why I don't like the multi-dial approach: your eye still has to search for the hand. There simply is more eye movement involved in reading an analog watch, which is exactly the thing I tried to present a solution for. ~~~ jaypreneur Oh okay. Well, if you want a combination, the military-styled watches are it. They use the hands and they have the numbers for hour markers. That is the combination. You have the hands and movement of analog and the numbers of digital. I'm not sure how else you could approach this? Which is why I am confused regarding the solution you're trying to present. If you have a problem with the hands due to your eyes needing to search... the solution is digital watches. Maybe I'm still misunderstanding you though. ~~~ chrkau > If you have a problem with the hands due to your eyes needing to search... > the solution is digital watches. Yes digital watches do exactly what I want. But why can't there be something like an "analog digital" watch? A watch that is stylish and has the "I could make one of those" thing going for it while still being as effectively readable as a digital one. The idea I tried to describe in the post (though poorly it seems) is this: Don't make the hands of the watch move but move the dial below. This way your eyes won't have to do searching because they always know where to look for the hand. Now if you have separate dials for hour and minute you will have exactly two places to look at - and those will never change position - like with a digital watch. ------ DanBC This post is mostly negative, and it might be a bit harsh. Sorry in advance. Your ideas for watches make me want to actively avoid -before I've even seen them - any websites you've been involved in. You show a fundamental lack of understanding about how people read time that I think you would fail hard with something more complex. The analogue style face has lasted so long because it is so easy to use. Catching a ball involves a bunch of tricky physics (we've only just developed robots that can do it well) but people don't have to think about it; you throw a ball at them and they jab their arm out. (If they're anything like me they miss the ball.) People don't need to think about watches to tell the time. There are a few special cases: Young people learning to tell the time, or people with some interesting number-blindness problems, or people with mild learning disabilities. I'd be interested to hear designs that help those people. But, really, digital watches already exist and are a cheap and simple fix. ~~~ chrkau To be honest I don't think you really understood what I wanted to say with in that post. I don't believe the analog watch has that long because it's that great usability wise but because it's (relatively speaking) simple to make. This simpleness is what appeals to most in analog watches - there are no chips involved (at least in mechanical analog watches). You can "get" an analog watch, understand it. There is nothing to get about computer chips. Those things are black boxes of electronic magic to most. Furthermore just because you are fast at using something doesn't say anything about the quality of the thing you are using. You can learn to live with pretty much any level of pain. And that's why you don't have to actively think about reading a watch. It's a learned thing - just like catching a ball. And still people invented the baseball glove.

Adsuck – a small DNS server that spoofs blacklisted addresses - userbinator https://opensource.conformal.com/wiki/adsuck ====== egwynn I use `dnsmasq` and configured it to return `NXDOMAIN` for a giant list of ad domains I found. It doesn’t have feature-parity with this, but the software was readily available for my platform, which was nice. ~~~ jakeogh Tool to automate it: [https://github.com/jakeogh/dnsgate](https://github.com/jakeogh/dnsgate) ~~~ laumars dnsmasq can read from /etc/hosts so you can automate it just using `curl` (or other standard UNIX tools): # the first command is a one time only job cp -vip /etc/hosts /etc/hosts.default # the following is the automation. curl http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/hosts --silent > /etc/hosts.sowc cat /etc/hosts.default /etc/hosts.sowc >> /etc/hosts The other benefit of this is you can then just do a `dnsmasq reload` (since the hosts file is an external configuration file) rather than the full `dnsmasq restart` that dnsgate performs. ~~~ lmm Silently putting data fetched over unauthenticated HTTP into your hosts file doesn't sound like a great idea. ~~~ laumars Good point. Sadly that's pretty much how all adblockers keep up-to-date (albeit at least with TLS). Though pragmatically even if the update was manual, you still need to place some trust in the site when dealing with files of that size. Granted it would be better if those resources served TLS, but that would only prevent MITM and not the file being dodgy from source (eg site hacked). Thinking a little more about the problem you raised, I guess you could grep it for IPs that aren't localhost (ie exit the shell script before writing the new hosts if `grep` returns a zero exit code). Aside that, I'd genuinely be interested in any ideas you have for keeping the file updated in a secure way (if at all possible). ~~~ h4waii [https://gist.github.com/Holzhaus/ed4ac1675a57f11c3057](https://gist.github.com/Holzhaus/ed4ac1675a57f11c3057) contains a simple reverse grep for doing this. You should still have a modicum of trust towards the host you're pulling from, as they can also insert something to potentially break the parsing code, which opens up a whole 'nother host of issues. ------ laumars This is a nice idea, but it's really easy to replicate using dnsmasq and a custom hosts file (I use "Someone Who Cares"[1], but others exist as well, [2][3]) dnsmasq can read from the hosts file and the whole thing is automatically updated once a week with the latest bad domains (a simple `curl` request is all that's needed) This method also ports much easier to other *nixes and even Windows since dnsmasq already has wider platform support. [1] [http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/](http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/) [2] [http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm](http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm) [3] [https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts](https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts) ~~~ pgl It's a lot less resource intensive not to use a hosts file. This might not be a concern for people with modern machines, but having a hosts file with 12,000 lines in it does take a certain amount of processing. If I might mention my own site for a minute, I maintain a list of ad server (and tracking server) hostnames: [http://pgl.yoyo.org/adservers/](http://pgl.yoyo.org/adservers/) You can view the list as a dnsmasq config file, a BIND config file, and a bunch of other formats. ~~~ userbinator Also, running your own DNS server means you can do this for _every_ device, even those for which you can't easily access the HOSTS file or perhaps don't even have such a facility (locked-down mobile devices, embedded systems, etc) and not have to worry about keeping multiple copies of HOSTS files in sync and updated. Although I don't have such devices in my network, I've heard that others do this to their "smart" TV/media box/creepy home surveillance gadgets. ~~~ pgl Yes, absolutely! It's way easier to configure your wifi router (or cable modem, or whatever acts as the DHCP server on your network) to use a local DNS server that blocks ads. Then ad blocking just _works_ , whatever you connect to your network. ~~~ chrismbarr is the best way to do this to run something like DD-WRT? Or is there a way to accomplish this with stock router firmware? I ask because I recently tried to install DD-WRT but ran into issue and had to revert to my stock firmware. ~~~ laumars Personally I run dnsmasq on my file server (separate FreeBSD jail), but before then I was running it on my Asus router with pretty much the stock firmware. So I don't think there is a "best" approach specifically - just whatever works for you. What's your router model? ~~~ chrismbarr Very late in seeing this comment! It's a Netgear WNDR3700v4. DD-WRT __is __supported on it, and i did successfully get it installed, but I had no connection to the internet with it. There was a wiki page for my specific router model with instructions which I followed. I went back & forth with people on their forums and they were pretty much telling me "oh yeah, don't install _that_ version that the instructions tell you to!" and "well yeah, this whole project is beta, so what do you expect?" All of that combined kind of turned me off to this project from now on :/ ------ CrLf Take a look at PowerDNS Recursor or Unbound, both of which have scripting capabilities than enable this type of behavior and much more (Lua for PowerDNS, Python for Unbound). I'd say a script for any of these would be a better choice. ~~~ pgl I just yesterday added an Unbound format for my list! [http://pgl.yoyo.org/as/#unbound](http://pgl.yoyo.org/as/#unbound) ~~~ vbezhenar I used just 'local-zone' entry. Unbound answers NXDOMAIN for those domains, and it prevents next HTTP request to 127.0.0.1. I'm not sure what approach is better. ~~~ pgl To be honest, I don't use Unbound myself - I was just going off what was sent to me as an example of the format to use. ------ wodenokoto Why do you need to spoof as opposed to block domains? ~~~ laumars In the case of this HN submission, they're the same thing. From what I can gather, Adsuck is essentially just a DNS forwarder that sends NX DOMAIN for blacklisted domains but forwards the DNS requests for all other DNS lookups. So "spoof" is a little misleading since it's actually doing the job of a normal DNS forwarder - albeit tuned with privacy in mind. So I think it's fair to say this method could more accurately be defined as "block[ing] domains" rather than "spoofing DNS". However I'd welcome a correction if I'm wrong. ------ Khaine I wrote a simple python script to blacklist bad domains for unbound [https://github.com/khainebot/DNS-Unbound-Blocklist- Downloade...](https://github.com/khainebot/DNS-Unbound-Blocklist-Downloader) ------ fonosip Similar service [http://ba.net/adblock](http://ba.net/adblock) ------ walkingolof Is there any upside of blocking using a [browser] plugin compared to this ? ~~~ nfd If you're Joe User, it's much easier to install a browser plugin or hosts file than it is to set up a DNS server of your own, route your machines to it (even internally), configure it properly... ~~~ jszymborski Personally, it's also less annoying to shut off uBlock/etc per site than to go into hosts, commenting out a domain, then uncommenting when I'm done when visiting sites that break when you cut off google analytics or doubleclick ------ ausjke the only issue with all these dns-based blacklists is that, you normally can use its IP directly to fully bypass them. ~~~ ausjke plus it applies to all the domain, i.e. it treats all the machines the same, sometimes you may not want that. ------ b3lvedere I like these ideas, but i don't like setting up a complete operating system just for DNS purposes. I know i could add it to other existing servers, but i'd really love a really small independent virtual machine which sole purpose would be DNS. ~~~ longsleep Take a look at [https://github.com/longsleep/adblockrouter](https://github.com/longsleep/adblockrouter) \- i hacked this together some months ago and use it since to provide DNS blacklisting to dnsmasq running on OpenWRT. If your OpenWRTC router has wget and ssl, it even runs directly on it.

Unplanned Freefall? Some Survival Tips - Tomte http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/carkeet.html ====== sfeng > 120 divided by 5 = 24. Not bad! 24 mph is only a bit faster than the speed > at which experienced parachutists land. This is of course being a little silly, but it does get the physics wrong. Your energy is proportional to the square of your speed, so you have 25x more energy to dissipate at 120 mph, not 5x. Even if your five point landing was perfect, each of the five 'hits' is the equivalent of a landing at just under 60 mph, not 24. ~~~ andrewla My intuition rings false on this -- I don't think this is right. In a vacuum, ignoring the rocket equation (that is, assuming ejected reaction mass is negligible compared to projectile mass), the energy required to produce the 120 -> 96 mph change is the same as that required to go from 24 -> 0\. This works out in conservation of energy because the ejected mass has kinetic energy of its own. In the case of you landing, I don't think energy balance is the way to look at it; each of the collisions that slows you down will transfer some energy to the ground. In terms of force, the force is dependent only on the acceleration, so it comes down to how long each impact lasts. If each "bounce" or "thud" lasts the same amount of time (I don't know if this is realistic) then each one will transfer 1/5th of the force, as the article says. ~~~ Retric Your intuition is wrong. Potential energy is linear with height. AKA it takes the same energy to climb from floor 1 to 2 as 2 to 3. Gravity is 32 feet per second per second aka you gain speed over time. In a vacuum 0 to 32 feet per second takes 1 second, 32 to 64 feet per second takes 1 seconds, 64 to 96 takes 1 second etc. However, in the first second you fall 16 feet. in the next second you fall 38 feet because you where falling at the start of that second. Thus, it takes more energy to increase your speed. PS: What's confusing about rockets, is your fuel has momentum. So, when use it your consuming the energy it took to get that fuel up to speed with you. Further, at low speed most of the energy goes into the exhaust not the rocket. ~~~ babyrainbow >However, in the first second you fall 16 feet. in the next second you fall 38 feet because you where falling at the start of that second. Thus, it takes more energy to increase your speed... Doesn't make sense. Care to explain? Are you saying it takes less energy to take an object from 0 to 10m/s than it requires to take it from 10m/s to 20m/s? ~~~ hughes That's exactly correct. Consider the equation for kinetic energy: E = 1/2 m*v^2 The energy to go from 0-10 m/s is the difference in this value (for 1kg e.g.): dE = E1 - E0 = 1/2(10^2) - 1/2(0^2) = 50J To go from 10m/s to 20m/s: dE = E2 - E1 = 1/2(20^2) - 1/2(10^2) = 200 - 50 = 150J In fact by solving for velocity you can figure out what happens if you put another 50J into your object that's already going 10m/s: v = sqrt(2*E) = sqrt(200) = 14.1m/s When you double the energy, you only get 1.4 times the speed. ------ wyldfire I recall the advice of Jack Handey [1] [2]: > “If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe > you'll look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free > dummy.” [1] [http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/](http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/) [2] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Handey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Handey) ~~~ khazhou SENATOR Jack Handey ~~~ dandelany ..? Jack Handey != Al Franken ~~~ ChillyWater Without checking the interweb, isn't Stuart Smalley == Al Franken? ~~~ maxerickson Al Franken - Real person, writer and cast member on SNL, Senator. Stuart Smalley - Character played by Al Franken. Jack Handey - Real person, writer on SNL, did Deep Thoughts voiceovers. ------ johngalt > 120 divided by 5 = 24. Not bad! 24 mph is only a bit faster than the speed > at which experienced parachutists land. Better yet, just put your hands in front of you and land on all ten fingers. Then it's only 12mph. /s In reality your entire body is moving at 120mph, so you can't divide the forces in this manner. This a PSI problem. Total inertia distributed over a given area. And the results are much less favorable. ~~~ tempestn As sfeng describes in another comment, the math isn't right, but the concept does make sense. It doesn't negate what you're saying either though; the 5 point landing is basically a way of distributing the force over as much area as possible. (You can't accomplish the same thing by just landing on your side, because the mass of your body isn't evenly distributed across the surface that would contact the ground.) It does manage to distribute the force over time a bit too, which is also beneficial, but a less significant effect. ------ nolanpro Excellent read. Just a few more pointers from personal experience. When over water, "pencil" your body, feet first, at the very last second. Molecules of atmosphere, which are your friend at 120mph, are not so much when they are of water. Also the author didn't mention my favorite survivor Juliane Koepcke. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke) ~~~ ParrotyError I've never been on the offshore survival course where they teach you how to jump off an oil platform into the sea and survive, but allegedly they tell you to cover your mouth firmly with the palm of your hand and pinch your nostrils closed tight between your thumb and fingers. Apparently when you hit the cold water your natural reaction is to breath in. Also, you must prevent water being forced up your nostrils and damaging your brain etc. ~~~ siphor I tried this on a ~60ft cliff jump and punched myself in the eye. Also got the wind knocked out of me ~~~ scythe Maybe use your elbow? It's not a perfect cover, but it's impossible to hit yourself. ~~~ MaxfordAndSons I can't help but think this would get your shoulder dislocated or lats torn. ------ justifier > The perfectly tiered Norfolk Island pine is a natural safety net When I was child I used have fun by climbing to the top of conifers behind our house to sit on the highest branch and just slide down Each successive tiered limb would catch the bend on the ones above and I would slide down perfectly fine ~~~ komali2 Children genuinely are constantly trying to find unique ways to kill themselves. ------ kolbe Speed skiers go over 150mph, versus 120 for a flat-oriented free falling person. It's conceivable that orienting yourself to slide down a groomed black diamond ski run could be a winning strategy, too. ~~~ bitL Maybe you should target a steep avalanche terrain with fresh snow. Not only you have a hell of a ride while falling down, you get to enjoy a ride in a snowy feather all the way down the valley! Don't forget to mount your GoPro while boarding! ~~~ iamatworknow >Don't forget to mount your GoPro while boarding! Man, I wonder if we're going to end up seeing someone's free fall smartphone video someday. Not everyone is going to read this article and be prepared to survive like we now are, so what if they decide to use those couple of minutes falling to try to record a message to their loved ones? The audio would be blown out but I don't see why the camera wouldn't continue working. That would be quite disturbing to watch. ~~~ komali2 Potentially NSFW / terrifying videos: Multiple gopros record an in-air collision of skydiving planes: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p6hqMnsLFY&list=FLR2K9vyQEB...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p6hqMnsLFY&list=FLR2K9vyQEBb4qUyunijtBHg&index=3&t=2s) Tangled chute: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIjdvNo65s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIjdvNo65s) I can't find it but I've seen two more videos of people who have survived near freefall after parachuting accidents. One became a paraplegic IIRC. ------ joegosse Interesting that the overall advice here is "Don't Panic" Also interesting that having a towel could be incredibly useful in this situation. ~~~ geophile Since we're quoting Doug Adams: “The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” ------ cromulent Somewhat relevant: [http://topgunbase.ws/i-flew-my-wingsuit-into-trees-and- woke-...](http://topgunbase.ws/i-flew-my-wingsuit-into-trees-and-woke-up-in-a- hospital/) ~~~ jacquesm Ouch. Nice move for Americans to fly in France where healthcare is affordable. If you did this in the US as a tourist you'd likely be broke for the rest of your life. ~~~ Arizhel Make sure to go back to your home country as fast as possible, and then just ignore the bills. They'll have a very difficult time collecting on a debt in a foreign country. Don't come back to the US as a tourist after that. This reminds me of college, where sometimes the police would come looking for students who were foreign nationals, because they had gotten credit cards and then racked up huge balances buying stuff, but didn't bother paying the bill. When the creditors tried to have them served, it turned out they had already graduated and left the country. Good luck getting some guy in Indonesia to pay off his US credit card balance. What were these creditors thinking? ~~~ camus2 > Make sure to go back to your home country as fast as possible, and then just > ignore the bills. They'll have a very difficult time collecting on a debt in > a foreign country. Don't come back to the US as a tourist after that. Actually if you have a credit card, you might have a travel insurance as well. So no need to ignore the bills. And in France it's not like in US where the first thing they ask you is the name of your insurance company, even if you're bleeding to death. ~~~ Arizhel >And in France it's not like in US where the first thing they ask you is the name of your insurance company, even if you're bleeding to death. I was talking about a scenario where a tourist to the US goes to a US hospital and racks up a lot of medical bills. ~~~ camus2 Sure, but it goes both ways, a tourists NEEDS an health insurance to travel to US. I'm pretty sure it's necessary even for those who benefit from the VISA waver program. ------ delegate My personal philosophy admits the fact that this life might just be a training camp for another life. Hence, all the information learned in this one will be useful at some point in this or another life. Now I don't know what to do with this information .. I don't want to need it.. And then if fate really leads me to fall from a plane, I will definetely remember this article which will seem infinitely funnier in mid flight. Heck if I don't hit the ground laughing my ass off ! ~~~ 0xdeadbeefbabe > My personal philosophy admits the fact that this life might just be a > training camp for another life. Makes me wonder if annihilation is possible in the future life, but not this one. ~~~ simonh If you live N lives then the chance that this is the first is 1/N. I don't know about you, but I don't remember anything from any previous lives, so it seems to me there's a (N-1)/N chance you don't get to remember anything from previous lives anyway. ~~~ leggomylibro It could be a question of soul distribution, though; if you can only have one ghost in each machine, and there's the potential for a spacefaring civilization to expand to many, many planets in the future, then it's possible that the 50 or so billion people who have lived since humanity's birth represent only a sliver of a fraction of the total number of souls needed to staff a well-stocked universe. So we could potentially be heavily weighted towards most people being on their first go-around if we have the potential to make it that far and souls or selves or whatever are actually scarce enough to be re-used. ~~~ iamatworknow No. All of the reality as we know it is just a software bug, with the fix request sitting in some junior developer's project management system. They just haven't gotten around to submitting a pull request yet. ------ sizzzzlerz A man jumps off a 20 story building. As he passes an open window on the 6th floor, people on the floor hear him exclaim "so far, so good!". ~~~ komali2 I don't get it ~~~ _cereal I suppose it's a quote from La Haine (1995) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/) > Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each > floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: So far so good... so far so > good... so far so good. How you fall doesn't matter. It's how you land! ~~~ _raul I remember hearing it from Steve McQueen in The Magnificent Seven when I was a kid [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7GP3l5znc8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7GP3l5znc8) ------ JoeDaDude Ages ago (early 1980s) I read a magazine article about the minds' adaptation when falling. The article posited that the brain kicks into high gear and time subjectively slows down for the faller, enabling them to take action to save themselves. The article had several first-hand accounts of people who had fallen off cliffs, wagons, and the like, and one skydiver who survived impact by landing in a muddy ditch. The article was especially interesting since I was a skydiver at the time and all of us jumpers could relate to the feelings described. Not only that, but the one skydiver interviewed had jumped at our drop zone and was known by most of us. Sadly, I can't remember where the article appeared. I think it was Smithsonian Magazine but I have been unable to locate a reference online. If anyone else locates it, please post. ~~~ jimmaswell I remember reading about some experiments done on this where the result was that the subjects just remembered the experience in more detail, and didn't actually experience time slower. Something about looking at something that changed just slightly faster than the maximum speed someone can normally see changes in something, while freefalling. ~~~ komali2 That makes sense - high adrenaline causing extremely high resolution for memory write, but later the playback speed on a read is the same, so it seems slower when really it's just more detailed / takes up more tape. ------ owenversteeg I've written a longer, more detailed comment in this thread, but long things are hard to remember so I decided to condense my advice into a paragraph: Falling from a plane, you have a minute to land after waking up. You can move laterally 2 miles by controlling your body. That gives you 13 sq miles to land. In this order, aim for: snow, swamp, glass skylights, large bushy trees (but not redwoods.) Water is almost guaranteed death. Stay "flat" until right before impact, and move to a standing position. Relax and go completely limp. If you follow this advice your odds are good. My more detailed comment, with sources/numbers, is here: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13840660](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13840660) ~~~ JoshTriplett Glass skylights, really? Not disputing it, but what's your reasoning? Slowing you down while still breaking before you do? Also, regarding water: while I've heard the standard comment that hitting water can be as bad as hitting concrete, that seems like it would apply more if you have a larger surface area. Divers can dive from 35+ meters, and hit at 60+ mph, without any injury at all. If you are capable of aiming and landing feet-first and remaining as streamlined as possible, would water still be a fatal option? ~~~ owenversteeg Yeah, glass is actually one of your better bets. Two of the 5-15 survivors of free fall incidents fell through glass roofs. You can read more here: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Magee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Magee) The problem is that you're hitting water at 120mph. A 60mph impact of a 50kg person is 35kJ; a 120mph impact of a 50kg person is 150kJ. That's 4.5 times the energy. I'd almost certainly choose water (with a streamlined, pencil dive profile) over concrete, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be far more fatal than any other options. ~~~ marvy Nitpick: doubling the speed should merely quadruple the energy, 4.5x is too much. ------ tobtoh Reading this article brought back memories when I was getting training to go solo skydiving. The first day was all theory and drills in the classroom. In all my years at school, university lectures, and work-related training workshops, that one day of skydiving class remains the only time in my life when I was 100% completely focussed, awake and attentive for every subject. ------ dahart Having jumped out of many airplanes, I've thought about this and how to survive on occasion. But temperatures at 35k are often like -50 degrees. At 500mph decelerating down to 100mph, it seems like there's a good chance you could become a human snowflake long before you hit the ground. :P ~~~ amorphid A friend of mine once said that if you keep your lips puckered up, and force yourself to breathe through a tiny hole, you increase the air pressure in your mouth and lungs, which is useful at a high altitude. I don't have a thought at this moment how to test this as I sit hear at sea level. Any idea if this is true, or partially true? I didn't see anything about this in a quick Google search. ~~~ avian Seems doubtful this would have any significant effect. You can only create about 0.1 bar of overpressure with your lungs on exhale. ------ okreallywtf I had always heard that being unconscious was the key to surviving an extremely long fall (relaxed body doesn't tear itself apart on impact). I can't find the story of a boy who was picked up by a tornado who was tossed out from hundreds of feet and survived without any injuries, it was attributed (in the show I was watching) to his having passed out and that his body was relaxed. ~~~ bbcbasic I've seen someone fall off a cliff (30m I guess?) and survive. He was drunk. ~~~ justinclift Injuries? ------ ChuckMcM I wonder if you could grab the center aisle life raft on the way out. If you could keep it under you after inflating it, not only would it provide more surface area and so a slower terminal velocity but it would also absorb energy when you hit by popping and create a wider deceleration profile so limiting the g-force of the impact. ~~~ knodi123 If you're supernaturally calm and skilled, it will also give you more steerability. You might even be so lucky as to be able to aim for a stand of pine! ~~~ justinclift Or an angled snowbank. :D ------ achikin As a skydiver I would admit that the content of this article is a time-wasting bullshit. Here is a real world scenario: 1) you'll knock out either because of lack of oxygen or because of a violent spin 2) you'll freeze to death 3) you won't be able to position yourself properly or fly in a particular direction because of lack of training, so you'll hit the ground at a random place so hard that you'll die. What I would do is flip to my back not to shock myself with the view of the earth coming at 120mph, relax and wait. Towel huh. The speed difference is so big, that you'll never see a towel, that happened to fall off the same airplane as you. There was a case in Russia not so long ago when a cameraman, who happened to be a very experienced skydiver, fell off a helicopter. He managed to drive himself towards a pond but died immediately because of water impact. The hit was so hard that his jumping suit was almost stripped off his body. ------ leot One thing I've been curious about for a while: would it be possible to survive free fall into water if equipped with a sufficiently long spike-shaped "base"? The sharp part of the spike, which would probably have to be 100+ ft long, would be oriented so that as it entered the water it would displace more and more water, reducing the g-forces experienced by the spike, and you atop it. A few improbable things would need to also hold: 1) Spike would need to stay straight as it entered the water. 2) Spike should not significantly increase terminal velocity, at least not for most of the descent I think (?) it's doable, but would be fun to see the physics worked out. E.g., how long should the spike be? What should be its shape? How could it be kept maneuvered into the right orientation for entering the water without significantly increasing terminal velocity? ~~~ rdruxn I always been curious about surfactants and whether you could throw some underneath yourself in a free fall to break up the surface tension in a splash landing. ~~~ avar Then today's your lucky day. Mythbusters did a bit on exactly this, i.e. if you're holding a hammer and about to fall into water, whether throwing it ahead of you will break the surface tension and save your life: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCSQExxWulU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCSQExxWulU) ------ khazhou This is very useful information. They should have this guidesheet in every airline seat back. ~~~ tempestn I'm sure that would go over really well. ------ Cofike I kind of want to free fall to test this out now. I feel kind of prepared. ------ kabdib I worked on a hardware product that shipped for the Xbox 360, and it had an accelerometer. I wanted to add a game achievement for "30 seconds of free fall". Achievable on something like the Vomit Comet. Going for 5 minutes of free-fall would have required something like a rocket. Nobody liked either of my ideas :-) ------ gweinberg I'm sorry to be the voice of gloom and doom, but this was the money quote for me: "Thirty feet is the cutoff for fatality in a fall. That is, most who fall from thirty feet or higher die" Holy crap, only thirty feet? We are all going to die. ------ owenversteeg Well-written but a bit light on information. I thought about this a while back when I had the chance to try free-falling in an indoor wind tunnel. You can control four variables: your speed, your landing position, your landing orientation, and your muscles. \- Increase your surface area as much as you can, that's your only way to slow down. Best case scenario you'll find a parachute, put it on, and slow down to 25mph or so; worst case, you'll manage to point yourself in a bullet shape and hit 200 mph. Realistically you'll go into a "flat" position and sail along around 120mph. \- Make yourself "flat" until you're about to land, then position yourself such that you land feet first. \- You can move, as the site said, about 2 miles horizontally falling from 15,000 feet: aim for trees, a heap of soil, or snow if possible. If you know the area, aim for any buildings with a large glass skylight - that's saved two known freefallers [0]. \- Relax your muscles as much as you can. This can greatly improve your odds. By "greatly improve your odds" I am not kidding: this is almost definitely the single best thing you can do, and being fully relaxed can make you half as likely to die. [1] There's also a very good possibility you're not at 35,000 feet. For example: \- You fall off the Burj Khalifa, 830 meters high. You'll fall for about 20 seconds, the last 5 or so near terminal velocity. Use your body to move and aim for the trees near the base of the tower - you've got enough time to make it, easily. \- You fall off a very tall building, ~500 meters or so. Same as the Burj Khalifa but you have less time, so think fast. \- You fall off a shorter building. There's no time to maneuver or slow down. With the few seconds you have, point your feet down and relax. If you're over water, your odds are very low. The best option is to go in feet-first like a pencil dive. Remember, you _do_ have an OK chance at survival. Between 5 and 15 people have survived free fall, most of which did not know what to do. From 15,000 feet up, you can land wherever you want inside a 13 square mile area - 2 miles in any direction. That's probably enough to get you to some trees at the very least. You can draw that on a map with this tool [2]. You can seriously improve your odds of survival by following these steps. Landing on snow, or a swamp, or a glass skylight makes your odds quite good. Landing in trees makes your odds OK. Making yourself flat gives you more time, and grabbing onto debris - if you can - can increase your chances of survival by 5 times [3]. Then, simply relaxing can double your chances of survival. Finally, once you've hit the ground - regardless of what you did - there's a decent chance you're still alive, even if you'll die soon. Spend a short amount of time to stop external bleeding, keep your wounds clean and contact emergency services as soon as you can - ultimately, they will know far better than you what to do. [0] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Magee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Magee) [1] [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2012.08.006](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.alcohol.2012.08.006) [2] [http://obeattie.github.io/gmaps-radius/](http://obeattie.github.io/gmaps- radius/) [3] [http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a5045/434...](http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a5045/4344036/) ~~~ prodmerc Doesn't surviving any landing guarantee you'll be disabled for life? ~~~ pavel_lishin Vesna suffered a lot of injuries, but recovered completely: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesna_Vulovi%C4%87) > _Vulović continued working for Jat Airways at a desk job following a full > recovery from her injuries._ ------ zw123456 Great read! I must admit, I have thought about this a few times in the past when I was on an airplane and thought what would I do if the plane split in two and thought about some of the things the author mentioned. One more tip, always wear the largest rain coat you can find onto the plane and keep some nylon rope in one of the pockets so you could fashion a parachute on the way down :) ------ nerdponx Fun read. Has anyone actually survived an unplanned free fall like this? ~~~ paulpauper 5 have [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fall_survivors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fall_survivors) ~~~ sulam More than 5. [http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/wreckage.html](http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/wreckage.html) [http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffallers.html](http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/ffallers.html) ------ intrasight That was a very excellent distraction ------ rodrigocoelho How easy is it to control your body's attitude during a free fall? ~~~ manarth Belly-down is the easiest and most stable attitude, which is why that's the first attitude taught in skydiving. The other common attitudes are head-down vertical, feet-first vertical, "sitting", and back-flying. The first three have a much faster fall-rate than belly-down, and are less stable. Backflying isn't quite such a difference in fall-rate, but is still harder to learn, and less stable. How easy is it to learn? Well, unless you've skydived before, then you get around a minute to learn from scratch. Good luck to that! ------ xenihn Great article, reminds me of the same writing style used by the author of the Rotten Library (which, by the way, is still a great read). ------ mrkgnao > If you have ever tried to keep your head when all about you are losing > theirs because there aren't any around to blame it on you? :) ------ mbostleman [https://youtu.be/IVqqnc6x9pA](https://youtu.be/IVqqnc6x9pA) ------ d33 Just curious, could clothing help you create something like a paradise? For example, a hoodie held by sleeves? ~~~ scythe You need to hold it by at least three points, otherwise it will simply flop upwards like a flag. Your toes can't curl hard enough to hold onto a piece of fabric being pulled by a 120 mph wind, so the only way to make a sail is with your hands and your _teeth_. If you have a button-down, you can hold the corners at your sides to make a shitty wingsuit. I suppose there is a small advantage if you get to put your legs below you ("crumple zone") while still maximizing your cross-sectional area. Most clothing fabrics are worse at stopping airflow than the tight nylon of a parachute, so the drag will be less than a chute of equal size. If you can somehow get it soaking wet it'll be more effective, as the fibers swell and make it less permeable to air; consequently, you might want to stick your shirt in your jeans before you piss yourself. ~~~ d33 That's way beyond insightful, thank you :D Any other ideas on how to get three points? Tying a knot to a belt maybe? I mean we're talking about just a few dozens of second there, right? ------ mediaserf Wow! Glad that I am not the only one that constantly thinks about this when I am on an airplane. ~~~ mirimir I always opt for the last row. ------ hyperliner I have always wondered about this. While this is welcome, I am reading and can feel my blood pressure, stress level, and focus increasing as I read. ------ agentgt I had hard time reading with the formatting of the site even with various "reader" extensions turned on (maybe I'm the only one?). So I looked at the HTML source to figure out why my extensions still couldn't format well... it is 1999 HTML. Tables for paragraphs. Even copy and pasting to a text editor yields pretty terrible results. td { padding: 1em; } Made it somewhat readable for me. Not a criticism but just in case someone has the same problem as me. ~~~ vwcx I remember reading this in 1999 when it first circulated! ------ radressss I am very very sorry to break it to you, but this very poorly thought-out and the writer has no understanding of physics or drag. Look around for items after 20000 feet of freefall? There could be a parachute? Sorry are we all in vacuum or something? Do you think they all fall at the same rate? Yes one can survive a fall at terminal speeds but this is just insane to hope there are any items around you after all that fall. ~~~ nothrabannosir My dear child, 't was in jest. A peculiar one, granted.

OpenTitan: An open-source silicon root of trust from lowRISC - gdk https://opentitan.org ====== paulgerhardt To clarify this is just open source fpga code. It's not an open chip. Yet. It does however get us one step towards open silicon. An open source root of trust would be the most useful application for open silicon initiatives. I'd argue anything that touches key material should be auditable. Put another way, you wouldn't trust a proprietary cryptographic algorithm, why would you trust a black box chip? Current chips (including OpenTitan) still need to be fabricated at third party foundries using that foundry's proprietary process design kits ('PDKs') and signing two layers of NDA's. As multiple talks at CHES showcase every year there are a number of shenanigans that can be pulled off between a company like Google releasing verilog code for tapeout and the foundry handing back a 'compiled' chip. The state of open silicon is somewhat analogous to GNU's efforts to create an open source operating system prior to Linux coming along and implementing an open kernel. We still lack open pdk's though it looks like there have been some recent breakthroughs with two foundries in the US and one in Hong Kong. Recent advances in open FPGA toolchain environments at least let us simulate open solutions here like OpenTitan even if we can't yet tape them out transparently. ~~~ namibj The question would be: how expensive is it to pay off the NDA-schenannigans for a mostly-obsolete node at a small, practically defunct fab? It should be a competitive advantage at that point. ~~~ paulgerhardt When I last quoted, about $200k for the Hong Kong guys and 4-5 million for the Minnesota/Florida folks. Hong Kong was a much bigger process node. ~~~ namibj 4-5 million seems worth to try a kickstarter or so for. If it succeeds, it'll open all this needed info. Kickstarter pledges convert at some ratio into credits that can be used to pay the fab. ------ ssklash What application does a hardware-backed root of trust have for more consumer/non-server products like laptops/phones? Dos this differ substantially from a TPM? Could it be used to verify integrity of a system from power-on to finishing booting say a Linux distro? ~~~ wmf Apparently Google phones and some Chromebooks have a Titan-C chip [1], although it's not clear how it's more secure than the Intel secure boot architecture. [1] Google managed to build a chip with an un-Google-able name ~~~ pgeorgi The chip in Chromebooks is called cr50 or h1. It has open source firmware ([https://github.com/coreboot/chrome- ec/tree/master/board/cr50](https://github.com/coreboot/chrome- ec/tree/master/board/cr50)) and a few public mentions, e.g. [https://2018.osfc.io/talks/google-secure-microcontroller- and...](https://2018.osfc.io/talks/google-secure-microcontroller-and-ccd- closed-case-debugging.html) ------ throwawaysea Can someone explain what this is or what it is competing against? ~~~ otabdeveloper4 It's way for big software and/or hardware companies to block you from running your own Linux distribution of choice. (I'm exaggerating, but only very slightly, by a nanometer.) ~~~ phkahler Exactly. The bottom line is hardware that will only run trusted software. The problem then becomes determining who gets to sign software. Better would be to just have a physical switch to disable firmware writes. ------ MayeulC I see no mention of the ability to use it in one's own designs, which seems like an oversight to me ("source available" vs "free software/hardware"). However, the repository's license seems to be Apache 2.0.

Since 2016, Half of All Coral in the Great Barrier Reef Has Died - esalazar https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/04/since-2016-half-the-coral-in-the-great-barrier-reef-has-perished/558302/?single_page=true ====== Qworg Corals are fascinating creatures and incredible symbiots. Vulcan (where I work) has been contributing to the advancement of science to save reefs. We've funded Ruth Gates and Madeleine VanOppen's work in human-assisted evolution of corals, among other projects. I recommend everyone watch "Chasing Corals" on Netflix if they want a more detailed explanation of problems and potential solutions. Trailer: [https://youtu.be/Mmqqi_DnPEE](https://youtu.be/Mmqqi_DnPEE) ~~~ kraftman Any suggestions for the best place to donate to have the most impact? ~~~ selectodude I mean, the coral are dying because the ocean temperature has gotten too high. Donate to yourself and stop using fossil fuels, that’s the only way out at this point. ~~~ kraftman First of all, it's clearly not the only way out, because the comment I replied to shows at least another way worth exploring. Second of all, me reducing my fossil fuel usage to 0 wouldn't magically drop industrial fossil fuel usage to 0, so that's not even a solution to the problem. A new technology or enforced policy would have a much greater effect. ~~~ exergy > A new technology This attitude in the general public is our death knell. The only, and I do mean ONLY, solution to not fucking up the environment beyond repair is the concept of less. Less SUVs, less air travel, less fast fashion, less computer monitors, less phones replaced less quickly, less heating and cooling of our homes and more getting acclimated to the climate, less fucking juiceros and interent connected butt-plugs, less non-seasonal vegetables and meat, less eating of beef and pork and chicken and more plants. Reduce. I love to quote idlewords on this all the time, but we as a species can't even handle male pattern baldness. To somehow expect that we can engineer our way out of the complexities of nature with time to spare and without any impacts on how we live life in the wes is a completely misguided belief. The technological breakthrough that will be our saviour is not just around the corner. Musk and Tesla aren't our saviours. 'Less' is. ~~~ belorn According to a meta study on personal greenhouse impact the biggest "less" thing a person can do is to not have too many children. To their data a single child represent yearly the cost in CO2e as is saved by 20 people not driving, 40 less air trips, or about 100 people eating a purely vegetarian diet for the same time period. ([http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541](http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541)) If we want less we need to understand the order of magnitude that the different forms of less have. ~~~ exergy Thanks for those numbers. I'm a card-carrying /r/childfree member. ------ aplummer Ive been to Airlie / port Douglas every couple years for a decade, it’s unbelievable how incredible the place was and how it just isn’t now. First couple times was exactly like Finding Nemo, now it’s a barren wasteland (and this is going to spots that are supposed to be better). Beaches in QLD still best in the world if you’re visiting, give the diving a pass or manage expectations unless you’re quite south ~~~ somishere Barren wasteland is a bit far fetched, not sure which sites you are visiting off Port/Airlie but most of the tourist operator sites are still in fairly good shape, except maybe low Isles i.e. not pristine but they remain some of the best in the world and worth a visit. Lots of endemic species/corals etc. Which isn't to say there isn't a problem, the reports are correct, the signs are there, and repeats of the bleaching events of the past few years will definitely lead to the wasteland you describe (as seen in areas of the gbr and many of the other Pacific and american reefs). The original numbers were 90% of the reef had died, what this actually meant was that of all the sites surveyed 90% showed some sign of bleaching - which basically means stress due to heat exposure. The death bit comes later when the coral doesn't have time to rejuvinate. ~~~ aplummer And that’s the thing maybe it’s great comparative to the rest of the world, but not itself. Was with tour operators in 2015 so youd think it was the good spots, going again in a month so hopefully looking ok. ------ matte_black I always wanted to see this Great Barrier Reef since I was a small child, now it looks like there might not be any of it left by the time I get there. Is it even worth it at this point, or should I just look at pictures and imagine what once was? ~~~ matuszeg you should go. It's not all gone yet. ~~~ tonyedgecombe Yes, fly there, pump more CO2 into the air thereby increasing ocean acidification to escalate coral bleaching. ~~~ belorn I don't know. If there is no money that get infused into the local environment around the corals then less people will work to fix it. It is also rather well established that conservation must focus on awareness or things don't usually improve by them self. Comparing the drawback to the benefits of tourism, I suspect the benefits win. ~~~ vaughanb >If there is no money that get infused into the local environment around the corals then less people will work to fix it. The ocean has warmed to the point where to coral cannot survive. The reef is H-U-G-E (1,400 miles long according to the article). If there was a technology capable of reducing the ocean temperature around the reef, the waste heat the technology would create would cause more problems elsewhere. The reef is an indication that the global warming problem has become to big for human technology to fix. ------ peterbraden Is there any way to farm coral in more temperate waters? Reef fish are very valuable so it could even be commercially viable. ~~~ pvaldes Is a extremely complex ecosystem. Yes, you can grow coral in captivity. Some species are much more difficult to keep alive than other, but can be done. Is done since years in aquariums. The problem is that this not the same as cloning a entire ecosystem with a net of 10.000 species living together. You can't do it in the sea otherwise, because there is not a lot of accurate and still free areas. Coral needs a lot of light. Must be shallow. Pirate and lawful fishing, commercial sea routes, tourism (coral reef attracts big predators like sharks), and a net of vested interests will block it. And you'll need to wait 3000 years to have a coral reef at '3000 years level', of course. Corals are terribly slow and fight with their neighbors all the time. Such project would be extremely expensive. ~~~ somishere There's already projects doing this. Both on the GBR and in places like Florida in the USA. The coral being grown is mainly staghorn due to its rapid growth cycles with the idea that it can help replenish high value sites only, i.e. not the whole reef. These kind of measures are seen as being part of a spectrum of solutions. Check out the Reef Restoration Project: [https://citizensgbr.org/c/coral-nurseries](https://citizensgbr.org/c/coral- nurseries) ~~~ pvaldes A staghorn-only reef is "equivalent" to a monoculture forest. Staghorn is the "Eucalyptus" of corals. Much faster than most species. Will overgrowth and overshadow more delicate species that rely in potent poisons and good niches to survive and grow much slower. Staghorn could make a good skeleton of a reef in, dunno, maybe 50 or 100 years and would attract a wonderful biodiversity if left alone; but is not enough in reef terms. we are talking of the cream of the cream. One of the finest works of this planet. The staghorn ecosystem is just a baby and a lot of species would be sorely missing. ------ somishere People interested in joining a movement that engages with climate change and the future of the reef (through circular economy principles) should check out Citizens: [https://citizensgbr.org/s/39cB](https://citizensgbr.org/s/39cB) ------ lama_me what have we done to this world :( ~~~ taberiand We've collectively chosen short term excess over long term sustainability. I used to have hope; now it seems past the point of no return. I figure we should just try to enjoy it all while we still can, like everybody else. ~~~ dmichulke > We've collectively chosen short term excess over long term sustainability No. Damage to the environment is done because it's cheap. And why is it cheap? Because the owner of the thing (the state, the town, the "community") doesn't care. Now if there were a real market driven cost (throwing away a plastic bag or a TV would actually cost something), you would reconsider. Next in line is consumption: How about the houses built everywhere on the planet with low interest rates that will never be inhabited because there are not enough people nearby to inhabit it. Next is (as an example) military production in the US (>= 10x the military budget of Germany or Russia), using up money to destroy even more things of value. There are a million reasons and most of them lead down to \- low interest rates (incentivizing producers to produce things people wouldn't want, disincentivizing consumers to save) \- a lack of democracy and/or accountability of the people in charge (those wars weren't exactly a consequence of people protesting on the streets) \- "public ownership" which basically translates to "no one gives a f __* because it 's not theirs'" \- see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons) I suppose the last point is probably the least orthodox, so here are two sources that discuss the issue: Audio: [https://mises.org/ko/library/5-environmentalism](https://mises.org/ko/library/5-environmentalism) PDF: [https://mises- media.s3.amazonaws.com/Environmentalism%20and%...](https://mises- media.s3.amazonaws.com/Environmentalism%20and%20Economic%20Freedom%20The%20Case%20for%20Private%20Property%20Rights_2.pdf?file=1&type=document) ------ ollybee I reccomend this BBC radio program for an up to date discussion on the state of the Great Barrier Reef [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09snj90](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09snj90) ------ throwaway84742 Australia says it’s not dying tho, and “is healthy”: [https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2016-12-great- bar...](https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2016-12-great-barrier-reef- dying-australia.amp) ~~~ akvadrako Hey, an AMP link in the wild. ~~~ throwaway84742 I’m a simple man: google gives me links, I copy them over. ------ hoodoof x ~~~ cup-of-tea It turns out cutting is one of the hardest things for people to do. Just look at how many obese people there are who cannot reduce their intake despite the immediate inconvenience and discomfort of being fat, not to mention the risk to their health. If so many can't even do it for themselves or their children, there's not much hope of them doing it for others. It also leaves me utterly convinced that nobody really believes in god or an afterlife. People constantly demonstrate that the only thing that matters to them is that today is at least as convenient as yesterday. No change will ever happen from the bottom up. And while our "leaders" continue to be people with already massively inflated lifestyles, nothing will happen from the top down either. ~~~ gepi79 IMO main the problems are poverty and old traditions (e.g. animal products) and general confusion of priorities. The bad media sells the latest news or problem as the most important news or problem. People elect or at least accept the politicians. People pay for or at least accept the bad greedy business practices of small and big companies in the name of holy competition and individual struggle for life. Too many people have faith that god (notably in the USA) and the traditional conservative political parties do what should be done. There is a lack of motivation and desire for life changing real science and technology as national priority to end poverty, to bring wealth to all, to prolong life (anti-aging) and to protect nature including coral reefs. Science and technology would allow people to eat all they want and do no sports and still look like models and be perfectly healthy. Cutting and austerity is not a strategy and not a replacement of urgent progress of science and technology. Cutting and austerity is an unfortunate tactic because of lack of science and technology. ~~~ cup-of-tea But you're dreaming of technology that may never happen. There is no way at the moment that we can sustain our current lifestyles without fossil fuels. In addition, if we remain unsustainable then we'll just grow to fill the next level unsustainability if a new technology did come along. ~~~ gepi79 > But you're dreaming of technology that may never happen. IMO automation, genetic engineering, implants and replacement of natural body parts by artificial body parts will start social, economic and medical revolutions within the next decade. One of the worst misbeliefs is that the end of poverty (at least world hunger) and the end of large-scale wars (e.g. Middle East) is just futurist idiocy while it is actually achievable within a year with existing technology. But political priorities prevent it. Anyway, my point is that effort is required to advance science and technology. To call it a dream and to do nothing to realize it is the wrong way. It only wastes time because the efforts and investments must be made anyway (by future generations). > There is no way at the moment that we can sustain our current lifestyles > without fossil fuels. True. But again: There was and is not enough effort to create the technological alternatives. Besides, a lot of energy (and burned forests) could be saved by simply not eating animal products any more. > In addition, if we remain unsustainable then we'll just grow to fill the > next level unsustainability if a new technology did come along. Humanity is always at the frontier of sustainability or possibilities for one reason or another. Science and technology lead to creation of resources (e.g. use of steel, use of fossil fuel, use of Uranium, use of solar power) and more efficient use of resources like e.g. man power (e.g. by better program languages, better programs, better computers, better cars, better houses) and less religious societies and less wars and lower birth rates. ~~~ ripsawridge "Science and technology lead to creation of resources..." No, they lead to finding and digging up of resources. "and more efficient use of resources" Efficiency doesn't make anything better, it just increases the amount of the resources that we create--oops---use. "and less religious societies and less wars" Okay, it's clear you have a story in your mind that ultimately leads to jetpacks among the stars. "and lower birth rates." This doesn't mean much. We went from 3.5 to 7.5 billion in 45 years. We had plenty of science and technology during that time, all doing their thing with the uranium and the fossil fuel and the steel. ------ OzClimate This is sad news. Will this encourage Australians to contribute their fair share in the fight against climate change? CO2 emissions (tons) per capita in 2016 Canada: 18.62 Australia: 17.22 USA: 15.56 Japan: 9.68 Netherlands: 9.61 Germany: 9.47 New Zealand: 7.14 UK: 5.59 Sweden: 4.54 [http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=CO2andGHG1970-2...](http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/overview.php?v=CO2andGHG1970-2016&dst=CO2pc&sort=des9) ------ akvadrako This article is strikes a rather alarmist tone which isn't warranted. This reef has been around in some form for 2M years and has experienced average global temperatures about 10 degrees colder and warmer. Reefs in the Arabian/Persian Gulf survive seawater temperatures about 8 degrees warmer than this one. If the heat is killing them, they just need time to adapt. _" I think we are now getting to this idea that actually, in some cases, these mechanism can arise very quickly, within a few years."_ ([https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hot-water- corals-...](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hot-water-corals-in- the-persian-gulf-could-help-save-the-world-s-reefs/))

Control-R, my favorite Unix shell command - reuven http://blog.lerner.co.il/control-r-favorite-unix-shell-command/ ====== loevborg ^R is useful. But for me, there's something even more useful than searching for a string in your history using ^R: completing the line you're currently typing from your history using Alt-p. This comes in handy when you realize, after typing a few words, that you don't remember the arguments you need. Say you start typing "ssh ex". If you hit Alt-p, you get "ssh example.com"; hit the key another time, and you get "ssh example2.com" (or whatever you've `ssh`ed into in the past). A matching line has to _begin with_ what you've typed so far, so it will match "ssh ex.com" but not "echo ssh ex.com". To get this behavior in zsh, you can use the following: bindkey '^[p' history-beginning-search-backward bindkey '^[n' history-beginning-search-forward By the way, if using the alt key is cumbersome (as it is on OSX), just press once Esc (and release) and then press p, which in the terminal is always equivalent to simultaneously pressing Alt-p. It's also easier for my fingers to reach, given the different positions of the Alt key, so I tend to use Esc instead of Alt. ~~~ neric I use and love the same mechanism with a different binding though: bindkey '^P' up-line-or-search bindkey '^N' down-line-or-search Using Ctrl - P or Ctrl - N on an empty command line will just cycle through all your past commands. Now if the line begins by vim, then pressing Ctrl - P will cycle just through all your previous vim commands Greatness! ~~~ loevborg I like your key bindings even better! However, I still prefer the "beginning- search" instead of just the "search" function: bindkey '^P' history-beginning-search-backward bindkey '^N' history-beginning-search-forward It works and I don't see a downside to this: ^P and ^N still work as expected. (Why not the cursor keys? Because then you need to take your fingers off the home row.) ------ Spittie ^R is probably my second favorite command, I prefer FiSH style (and use [https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-history-substring- search](https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-history-substring-search) with ZSH), but since this isn't on every server I have access, it's a nice trick to remember. My favorite one (I digress) is that you can use ^[something]^[something else] to replace [something] with [something else] in the last command. Great for typos, or for repeated commands with few different arguments. ~ ping google.com ~ ^google^news.ycombinator ~ ping news.ycombinator.com ------ aroch Cache: [https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aJ9SEY...](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aJ9SEYtJjfIJ:blog.lerner.co.il/control- r-favorite-unix-shell-command/) I prefer how ZSH or FiSH does this, fuzzy matching without the need to remember the command/binary but can match the servername or a variable and no need for C-r ~~~ Mister_Snuggles I think the Control-R that readline provides just does string matching on the history. I can do Control-R ssh to find the last ssh command, or I can do Control-R blah to find the last time I used that word anywhere in a command line. I've got a long ssh command that I use to connect to a server and set up some tunnels and I always enter it by doing Control-R and looking for part of the server's name. If it ever falls of the end of my history I'm in trouble. ~~~ aroch Control-R with fuzzy searching never seemed to work as well as I wanted to. Also, you should setup some aliases :) ~~~ nanofortnight Or ssh host shortnames! [http://davidwinter.me/articles/2010/08/22/setting-up- ssh-hos...](http://davidwinter.me/articles/2010/08/22/setting-up-ssh-host- shortnames/) ------ ahnick I prefer using vi bindings (from bash type "set -o vi" to enable) to the ^R method. If you know vi/vim then the results you get are very intuitive. Hit Esc to enter vi mode and then hit "/". Type your search and hit enter. If the first result that comes up isn't what you are looking for then hit "n" for the next result. To go backwards do Shift + "n". ~~~ jeorgun So _that 's_ what it is! I was just getting increasingly frustrated, wondering why "?" wasn't working. I guess staying intuitive is a difficult game to play, when your premise (the default / most useful searching order) is inherently different from the norm. ------ hartator In zsh and some bash, you can access command history in a way simpler way: 1) Start typing a command `ssh` 2) Use `up` arrow to go backward in your history 2) Use `down` arrow to go forward in your history ~~~ neric Using arrows is an heresy and should never be taught to anybody. 1) Replace CapsLock with Ctrl 2) Use Ctrl-P, Ctrl-N to navigate the commands Remember: never leave the home row. ------ Mister_Snuggles Control-R will work with anything that uses readline and keeps history. In addition to working in the Unix shell, it also works in psql (the PostgreSQL tool) and the Python REPL. It's a very useful trick to keep up your sleeve! ~~~ encoderer Python REPL? Is there something I need to do to enable that? ~~~ Bootvis Type python in your shell? ~~~ maxerickson Note that a given python may be compiled without readline or with a readline replacement. ~~~ encoderer Yeah, the one on OSX isn't compiled w/ readline. But I tried it on a ubuntu host and it works. ------ JetSpiegel Better yet, put this on ~/.inputrc "\e[A": history-search-backward "\e[B": history-search-forward to search backwards and forwards with the up and down arrow keys. ~~~ gemlog Another way to take advantage of ctrl+r is to add a comment at the end of the line when you have very similar commands. e.g. ssh fred@127.0.0.1 #servername ffmpeg -some -long -incantation #vid2mp3 It's better than an alias or function in your rc file as you can easily edit to change some args ------ kps For those who edit with vi, you can use vi rather than emacs commands for editing and history: • for programs using readline, put in $HOME/.inputrc set editing-mode vi • for programs using libedit / editline, put in $HOME/.editrc bind -v ~~~ beaumartinez I'd do this, but the lack of indication of the editing mode you're in destroys how useful this'd be to me (I'd have to paranoidly hit Esc all the time). ~~~ drifkin I have zsh set up to indicate when I'm in command mode. Mostly based on this post: [http://paulgoscicki.com/archives/2012/09/vi-mode- indicator-i...](http://paulgoscicki.com/archives/2012/09/vi-mode-indicator-in- zsh-prompt/) ------ minimax If you do stty stop "" you can use Ctrl-S to search forward too. ~~~ belovedeagle Better yet, switch zsh to use vim keybindings and not have to ever worry about those keybinding clashes. ------ a-b ZSH ZLE! [http://zsh.sourceforge.net/Doc/Release/Zsh-Line- Editor.html](http://zsh.sourceforge.net/Doc/Release/Zsh-Line-Editor.html) ------ blahedo I use tcsh, and I've bound up-arrow to do this. bindkey -k up history-search-backward bindkey -k down history-search-forward Very useful. ------ bla2 ^X^E goes well with ^R: it opens the current line in $EDITOR, so you can find a recent long command and then easily tweak it. ------ aaron695 If you can't get Control S to work see [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/549810/control-r- reverse-...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/549810/control-r-reverse-i- search-in-cygwin-bash-how-do-you-reset-the-search) ------ kephra Sometimes one does not want the shell to log a command. In this case use: export HISTCONTROL=ignorespace or better export HISTCONTROL=ignoreboth Now every command that starts with a space wont be logged into history. ~~~ dredmorbius Also HISTIGNORE if you want to ignore specific commands, or export HISTFILE=/dev/null to disable history storage. HISTSIZE=0 also works, though it disables all history commands for the present shell, whereas HISTFILE merely fails to save them to file on exit. ------ stevedomin fish got it so right, much simpler and powerful than ^R ------ lucb1e Wordpress strikes again. It's curious how just about every previously-unknown Wordpress blog goes down at the first hint of traffic. ~~~ reuven OP here: Yeah, I'm rather surprised and frustrated that my server went down due to this traffic. It has handled much more than this in the past without an issue. I'm looking into the problem, and hope to have a solution very soon. Update: Server seems to be doing OK... ------ psibi Would be interested to know, if there is a way of highlighting text in bash while using ^R. ~~~ voltagex_ Highlighting? How so? Are you in a graphical term emulator or using something like gpm? ~~~ psibi The OP has mentioned this in his article "Depending on your shell and configuration, the matching text might even be highlighted." I use gnome-terminal and I don't see any highlighting there. But it seems to work in zsh for OP. (Probably oh-my-zsh is providing it.) ~~~ reuven OP here. My zsh configuration, done through oh-my-zsh, contains the following line: zle_highlight=(region:standout special:standout suffix:bold isearch:bold,underline,fg=yellow,bg=red) As you can see, one of the items here is "isearch", and it's both bold and underlined, with a yellow foreground and red background. I set that up as part of a custom theme that I wrote for oh-my-zsh. I'm not sure if zle_highlight is part of the standard zsh package. I'm sure that there is a way to get bash to do something similar, but I don't know what it would be. (I switched from bash to zsh about 4-5 years ago, and have only good things to say.) ~~~ psibi Thanks, but it seems you cannot do it in bash since it uses readline. More details here: [http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/131395/29539](http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/131395/29539) ------ thrownaway2424 One wonders how long it takes people to figure these things out. Incremental reverse search with ctrl-r is not new and does not require a "modern" shell unless you've been using Unix forever, in which case you surely knew about it already. Anyway just wait until this person figures out ctrl-a and ctrl-e and alt-. Then minds will truly be blown. ~~~ reuven OP here: I've been using Unix as my primary desktop, and Emacs as my primary editor, since 1988. I've known about these keybindings for a heckuva long time. But I keep encountering people who don't, and who are delighted to learn something new. I thought that it would be nice to share, that's all. ~~~ derwiki It was nice to share, thank you! I remember how excited I was the first time I learned about this command.

Examining Carlos Ghosn and Japan's System of 'Hostage Justice' - onemoresoop https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/17/national/crime-legal/examining-carlos-ghosn-japans-system-hostage-justice/ ====== anonu Ghosn's handling by the Japanese is utterly despicable. No habeas corpus ... no due process. Ghosn is credited with a stunning corporate turnaround and creating billions of dollars of value for a Japanese company and the Japanese people. I am certain foreign corporations who do business in Japan are thinking long and hard about the implications and potential risks of operating there. To be clear - I am not saying Ghosn is innocent. He may very well have created special corporate structures to siphon off cash - and if he did, he certainly didn't do it alone. I think he regretted not taking the helm of GM where he saw US top execs easily earning $20, $30mm a year with no complaints from the public... ~~~ mises At some point, foreign nations are different and we just have to deal with it. We got habeas corpus and other processes from the Magna Carta back in the eleventh century B.C., and the resultant English Common Law shaped the justice systems of America and other nations. It is not fair of us to expect all justice systems to align with ours. For an extreme example of this issue, look at the Middle East. They have simply never taken to democracy, and a good number of people are of the opinion it is simply an issue with their culture. This is why nation-building fails there. Japan is so to a lesser degree. They Westernized more due to losing WWII to America, but are still different. It's not our job to play world police. ~~~ lostlogin > For an extreme example of this issue, look at the Middle East. They have > simply never taken to democracy. This isn’t helped by foreign interference in every election they have. Even the borders, arbitrary lines drawn up by colonial powers, contribute to the problem as the forced groupings don’t suit anyone except for some colonial empire a long time ago. If the meddling stopped for a decent duration democracy might have a chance. ~~~ rayiner Maybe, maybe not. Counter example. Bangladesh (where I’m from) was created in 1972 with a constitution embodying various western style principles, including secularism. The country was organized along pretty sensible geographic/linguistic/religious borders, and there has been no western meddling with its elections. Regardless, over the decades the people have voted to make Islam the official religion and generally cut back on secularism, free speech, and democracy. One of the relatively few bright spots is the Bangladesh Supreme Court—a western transplantation that _e.g._ conducts its business and issues opinions in English. Americans love to blame the west for everything. I find it fairly patronizing. ~~~ mises I certainly didn't blame the west. I personally think it has done more good than harm in the long term. My only point was that not all cultures take to democracy in the same way. ~~~ rayiner I was responding to @lostlogin’s response to you. ~~~ lostlogin I don’t entirely follow sorry, could you expand a little on your comment about it being patronising how Americans blame the west? In the Middle East, there are so many bad actors it’s ridiculous. I haven’t consciously encountered Americans blaming the west for the situation in the Middle East. Does the definition of ‘west’ you are using include the US? In case it is relevant, I am from New Zealand and think the disgusting behaviour in the region started long before the US got involved and includes far more countries than any set defined as ‘western’. Even places as far away and as small as New Zealand have ended up with a record of massacres and murders when in involved in the region. ~~~ rayiner I’m saying Americans blame the west, not necessarily that Americans blame America. America had very little to do in the subcontinent, for example. As to it being patronizing. Speaking for myself—I think if you can’t blame people for the state of their own country, you’re taking agency away from those people. The British did lots of bad things in the subcontinent and looted it. (They also left some really good values and ideas and institutions.) But that ended 70 years ago. In that same time period, South Korea went from being nearly as poor, and far more war torn, to being a developed nation. It’s not the absence of interference from the west that did that, it’s the industry and virtue of the Korean people. Likewise, to the extent Bangladesh hasn’t grown as fast as it should (and to be fair, things have gotten better at least on the economic side in the last decade), who is to blame? I think it’s patronizing to continue to blame the west. Maybe blame the fact that Bangladeshis supported a military dictator for President, supported dismantling secularism, invited fundamentalism in from the Middle East, etc. Whose fault is it? Maybe it’s the fault of the clerks in the Bangladesh Supreme Court that demand bribes to quickly your filings quickly. If we credit Koreans for the development of their country, Bangladeshis must get their fair share of blame for what is happening in their own country. ~~~ lostlogin Thank you for that reply, I see your point and it’s a good one. I think that the two arguments are not in opposition though. It is possible for foreign interference to have harmed democracy in the Middle East and for locals to have damaged it too, and there are plenty of examples of this. ------ mindgam3 The real mindfuck here isn't just that Japanese law allows the authorities to question you during detention (before being charged with anything), all day every day, with no attorney present. Nor is it that they can restrict access to the outside world, only allowing you to speak to family for max 20m a day, with a translator + officer present at all times. No, the real kicker is that the clock for the 20-30 day detention period starts fresh every time, for each charge they want to investigate. This means that they can essentially keep people in detention for as long as they want by having a list of charges and "investigating" them one at a time. If you're used to things like due process, "give me my phone call", etc, the Japanese justice system is quite difficult to wrap your head around. I have no idea if Ghosn is guilty of what he is accused of. But there are massive pressures to extract confessions from people in his position. And forced confessions reduce the legitimacy of the entire justice system. ------ _cs2017_ Edit: I just realized that the nearly 100% conviction rate is only for those who go to trial. A third of the people who are detained are released without trial. So ignore this post: my main assumption (that arrest is similar to conviction) was incorrect. \--- Maybe one way to think of the Japanese justice system is that the trial happens before the defendant is arrested. After all, the conviction rate is nearly 100%, so in some sense the actual trial is just a formality. From that perspective, it's not surprising that defendants may be detained without bail for weeks: the system treats them as if they are already convicted. It seems to me that with such a system, it's far too easy to convict an innocent person: after all, the decision is made by prosecutors, who are usually incentivized to err on the side of conviction (both by career pressures and by personal predisposition). Do we know whether Japan has a really high false conviction rate? It's probably very hard to answer, since it's unclear how anyone could collect such statistics. If it turns out that false convictions are rare in Japan, it may imply the prosecutors are actually trying to discover the truth rather than convict. Which would be a very interesting deviation from any other justice system I know of. ~~~ Causality1 Like much of Japanese society, appearances and propriety are very important. Sometimes that means releasing criminals who might not be found guilty. Sometimes it means homicides get declared suicides. ~~~ ansible Years and years ago I traveled to Japan. It seemed like a very safe place. I had heard about crime in Japan, and the year before had (allegedly) less than 100 murders for the entire country, which puts the murder rate far, far below the rest of the world. And these days when I read about how criminal justice works there... well, I'm glad I'm not as naive as I used to be. ~~~ pas It's a case of both. Japan is incredibly safe, no questions about that. At the same time they have a very severe problem with managing expectations and facing the sometimes inevitable less than perfect results of reality. ------ deugtniet I find it interesting how Japan and Germany both have a constitution that was essentially written by Americans after the second world war. But there is a big difference in civil liberties between these countries. E.G. If the police charge you in Japan, there is very little chance not being sentenced to something (or taken hostage). Compared to Germany where you would have a much fairer trial. ~~~ mafribe Aside, not relevant to the article discussed here. constitution that was essentially written by Americans I cannot speak about Japan, but that's historically false for Germany. If you look at the list of participants in the main events that drafted the West German constitution such as the _Rittersturz-Konferenz_ [1] and the _Verfassungskonvent auf Herrenchiemsee_ [2], then you'll see that all participants are German. Naturally, the allies had to agree, but they were split in a big way. The Soviet Union anyway, but the US and France really had very different ideas. France, in particular, wanted to snatch the Saar region. Naturally the drafters of the German constitution were inspired in particular by the US constitution, because it was rather successful. [1] [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rittersturz- Konferenz](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rittersturz-Konferenz) [2] [https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verfassungskonvent_auf_Herrenc...](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verfassungskonvent_auf_Herrenchiemsee) ~~~ deugtniet My constitutional knowledge on the German constitution is a bit rusty, but I guess you hit the nail on the head when you say: 'Naturally, the allies had to agree'. The Allies were the ones that required these conferences and approved of the Germans that went there. I guess the English and the French had some say, but really the big dog of the allies was the US. So I stand by my statement. ~~~ azernik No, they did not; the conferences were attended by the governments of the German states, who had passed through the de-Nazification filter but were otherwise selected by purely German political processes. When it came to the content of the constitution, the Allies' conditions were clear and pretty general - it had to be democratic, and it had to be federal. (The latter was distinguished from the Weimar constitution only in that the Allies insisted on general size parity between states.) Plus complying with occupation policy on control of heavy industry. See [https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Dokumente](https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_Dokumente) The main principles of the constitution itself were assembled by German elected governments of the states ([https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verfassungskonvent_auf_Herrenc...](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verfassungskonvent_auf_Herrenchiemsee#Ergebnisse)), and were very much direct responses to the process of the Nazi takeover in 1933. ------ Thaxll Japan is a really weird country, on one hand it's the safest country, on the other it has old laws / weird mentality about some modern concepts for society, ex: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_child_abduction_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_child_abduction_in_Japan) ~~~ zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC > Japan is a really weird country, on one hand it's the safest country How do you know it is safe if you can easily be wrongly convicted, but no statistic about the country shows that? ~~~ hamilyon2 Criminals think seven, no, seventy times before doing anything that could possibly upset japan national on Japanese soil. This is how it is that safe. ~~~ stcredzero _Criminals think seven, no, seventy times before doing anything that could possibly upset japan national on Japanese soil._ _This is how it is that safe._ Or, the criminals are organized and have connections and unspoken agreements with the authorities, existing in a kind of truce. (EDIT: In essence, the seven to seventy times thinking over has been enshrined and institutionalized.) ------ AcerbicZero I'm not going to tell the Japanese how to run their society, primarily because I'm not Japanese, they're a sovereign nation, and there is no evidence that the system I'm currently subjected to is any better or worse. If the Japanese people want to change this, and want external support to change this, that is an entirely different discussion from what was in this article. ~~~ stcredzero _there is no evidence that the system I 'm currently subjected to is any better or worse_ There's plenty of evidence in the form of the many people who want to come here, and in the form of the many people who have come here and established successful happy lives. My family history is evidence. Inherent, universal human rights are the right side of history. The history of the world shows this. ------ sandworm101 I don't see the problem. Extended detention and repeated interrogation is normal around the world. Visit Rikers island and look at how long people are held there prior to trial (years). The focus on confessions isn't a Japanese thing. Look at how many americans/canadians/brits/auzzis agree plea deals, a form of confession. Repeated questioning isn't torture. In the USA it is true that police have to stop asking questions once you demand a lawyer, but that isn't true in Canada. The mounties can, and do, question suspects for hours. Brits who do not want to speak still have to sit through the ritual of "no comment' interviews which can last hours. Are we only talking about these Japanese cases because they involve rich people? ~~~ ConcernedCoder My unpopular opinion: Questioning someone longer than they want to provide answers, when that same person is unable to leave the interview is a form of torture -- change my mind. ~~~ rmah Your request is, at its heart, a question about the definition of the word "torture". The pedestrian definition of "torture" as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: 1: the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure 2: a) something that causes agony or pain; b) anguish of body or mind 3: distortion or overrefinement of a meaning or an argument I guess definition 2b in the context of "mind" fits best with your proposition. Which then leads to the definition of "anguish". Alternatively, we can examine the legal definition, which will vary by jurisdiction, but for completeness, I will link to the UN definition at [https://www.apt.ch/en/what-is-torture/](https://www.apt.ch/en/what-is- torture/). In brief: "Torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession" Here, you'd have to ask if prolonged unwanted questioning causes "severe [mental] pain or suffering". And finally, perhaps you mean torture in the figurative sense. Either way, if simply questioning someone "longer than they want" is "torture" then pretty much all of us have, at some point tortured someone. At that point, the word "torture" becomes synonymous with "discomfort" or "to annoy" and would, IMO, lose all utility from a legal point of view. In the final analysis, what this boils down to is that the world does not exist to serve your desires. Unpleasant things can and will happen to you. Even being asked questions you don't want to answer in situations where you cannot leave. While an individual may never have experienced anything more unpleasant than that, and thus it feels horrible to them, the fact is that there are far far FAR more unpleasant experiences that millions of others have faced. Society does not owe the sheltered more than the less sheltered. ~~~ edmundsauto It makes more sense if you think of torture as a gradient, not a binary. 2 hours of questioning in a room? Not that torturous. 60 days, 12 hours a day, even if your basic needs are met? Pretty bad. ------ noego > _During detention, both were subject to extensive questioning by prosecutors > without an attorney present. Videotapes of Ghosn’s questioning — a new > feature added in the Criminal Procedure Reform law in 2016 in direct > response to documented abuses — were made available to his attorneys who > were present at the detention center, but lawyers were not permitted in the > room where questioning took place._ > _The system must change._ > _First, every suspect should have the right to consult a lawyer as soon as > the case is in the hands of prosecutors, and questioning should be > prohibited in the absence of an attorney._ The article makes no attempt whatsoever to explain why the above change "must" be made. I'm on the fence on this matter, but the article just sounds like a sanctimonious scolding of Japan for not doing what other Western countries are doing. _" We're all doing it, so you better do it too"_ isn't a particularly compelling argument. In fact, given how much more effective their criminal Justice system is compared to America's, I would err on the side of keeping up their good work. ~~~ djrogers > In fact, given how much more effective their criminal Justice system is > compared to America's, I would err on the side of keeping up their good > work. When a society justifies human rights abuses based on results, bad things tend to happen. ~~~ noego Being questioned by the police without a lawyer being present, is a "human rights abuse"? I have yet to hear an explanation on why being questioned 1:1 by the police is so bad. ------ tus87 I find Western criticism of Japan's legal system hilarious. > Japanese prosecutors subject suspects to up to eight hours of daily > questioning while they are detained in a bid to obtain a confession, > shutting off access to their family and barring them from obtaining legal > assistance during the questioning. And according to the popular narrative, > it’s all done capriciously, with the nefarious machinations of the state > lurking behind. This is true in almost every western country except the US. England, Canada, Australia etc you have no right to a lawyer during questioning. Police will destroy and cover up evidence in attempt to frame people on a regular basis, and basically join the prosecution from day 1 instead of investigating crime. They seek certain sorts of convictions to please their politics masters. They much rather a rape conviction than a false accusation conviction for example. They will prosecute people against the weight of evidence, where in fact the only evidence is exculpatory. Consider the case of Mark Pearson. Falsely accused of a rape after bumping into a woman in a subway station. Video evidence proved it wasn't possible, so police slowed down the footage to make it appear it did happen. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/cps-slowed- down-...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/cps-slowed-down-cctv- footage-of-commuter-accused-of-sexual-assault-to-look-like-he-had-more-time- to-a6861181.html) Now if this same thing happened in Japan, if they saw the video footage that basically proved it was a false accusation, do you think they would have acted as capriciously as UK police, or maybe charged the woman instead? The narcissism of the Western political/legal class knows no bounds. ------ corey_moncure Who is the writer and what is his angle here? It looks like this is his only contribution to this outlet. A google search on his name turns up nothing. ~~~ cerealbad Outside Board Director, Former Executive Officer at US/Japan Multinationals, Retired Int'l Business Attorney. you can find him on linkedin. [https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/eneiheisel](https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/eneiheisel) ------ vectorEQ i find it interesting that if a normal person gets detained like this, no one fucking cares. ;) ------ ttul A hundred years ago, Japan was a feudal society. Apparently, some of the old traditions live on. ~~~ u10 Japan wasn't a feudal society 100 years ago, in fact, they had beaten a western power 10 years prior. Not to mention the 'West' just finished 4 years of blowing each other up, not very "Civilized" imo. ~~~ rhizome And also not to mention that while their internal justice may have been questionable (as it always is, everywhere), the Edo period had zero war for 250 years. Imagine the US never having been in a war since before the Declaration of Independence. Would that GP included _that_ in their criticism.

Ask HN: So I've learnt Ruby, now to choose where to go next? - mcdowall Hi Guys,<p>So I've project managed high budget e-commerce builds across different platforms and languages, multiple smaller sites and am a pretty dab hand at SEO to boot, but having the funds to outsource and manage the project myself was just not a feasable option. So a few weeks ago I ordered a few RoR books and decided to get my hands dirty myself. I've found it a steep learning curve I must admit but it's definitely rewarding.<p>So to get to the point where should I go from here, essentially I am a solo founder and my location in the uk does not lend itself to finding a suitable co founder, there simply isn't a network and given my experience in a previous startup with poor co founders I know all too well how a bad choice can stick with you. I would love to bury my head down, get something out there and apply to the current YC application round but know the preference on team applications. So should I hold back on this round and try to find that elusive co founder or go for broke anyhow?. ====== technotony Have you considered jumping on a plane and moving to San Francisco? I'm also English and did that just last week, I figure it will be so much easier to find a co-founder here than in the UK. ~~~ mcdowall Your most probably right, however with visa restrictions being just 3mths stay I figured my time was better spent getting the projects towards prototype here by myself. I suppose with skype having a remote co founder is not out of the question these days, just always helps to meet people in person I feel. ------ Dramatize You sounds like me - background in ecommerce, learning RoR and wondering about moving to SF. What kind of project are you wanting to work on? ~~~ mcdowall It's a strange one, given my experience I can earn pretty decent money but I just have the urge to do something for myself, it's a bug that doesn't go away with reading HN and seeing great startups each and every day. I am working on two projects at the moment, why two you may ask!? I just can't decide between the two. The first is a listing site for storage, land and parking spaces. The second is sort of a crowd sourced sports funding site. What are you currently working on?.

Ethical OS and Silicon Valley’s Guilty Conscience - craftsman https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/striving-to-minimize-technical-and-reputational-risks-ethical-os-and-silicon-valleys-guilty-conscience/ ====== shawn This is an excellent time to ask for a counterargument to CGP Grey's stance that immortality should be invented: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZYNADOHhVY) Suppose there were a technology X which was going to be invented eventually. Suppose also that it's a highly unethical technology, for some definition of unethical. Is it therefore unethical to create X? Note: The constraint is that X _is inevitable_. The only question is who creates it first. And in that context, isn't it at least possible to argue from multiple axes that you should help to create it? The limit case of this argument would be "It's your duty to the society you live in to ensure it has the competitive advantage, not some other society." A less-hostile way to phrase that would be "The first company to invent a technology can then try to _enforce ethics_ onto that technology." That is, if you invent something, it's easier to dictate how it's used than if you didn't. Hence, paradoxically as it may seem, the logical conclusion would _seem_ to be that you should work as hard as you can to invent whatever unethical technology you're worried about -- in the hopes that you can minimize the damage later. If it seems like a technology can't really be controlled (e.g. nuclear weapons), I counter with this: Bitcoin was the implementation of a set of ideas. The exact implementation could have been very different. It could have been inflationary rather than deflationary, for example. The precise choices were very important, because Bitcoin has huge first-mover advantages. And that is often true of the first X to be invented. So, what's the answer? Do we work as hard as we can to invent unethical technologies in order to mitigate their effects, or do we try to suppress or discourage the invention of new technology knowing that some less-"ethical" society will get there first? Or is that a false dichotomy? I'm fascinated by the possible answers. ~~~ jonathanstrange Whoever invents it is responsible for it. You could argue that extremely deadly nerve gas would have been invented _inevitably_ , for instance, but it is still unethical for you to help in its development. Claiming that "someone else would have invented it anyway" is the oldest excuse in the book. _Do we work as hard as we can to invent unethical technologies in order to mitigate their effects, or do we try to suppress or discourage the invention of new technology knowing that some less- "ethical" society will get there first? Or is that a false dichotomy?_ This looks like a false dichotomy to me. If your argument was sound, then e.g. attempting to limit nuclear proliferation would be pointless, since every nation on earth would eventually develop nuclear weapons anyway. I don't think that's true, though, national and international laws with suitable enforcement can prevent unethical technologies. ~~~ shawn Think of a war that shaped the world, and whose outcome is generally agreed to be a positive one: "Good guys vs bad guys, and the good guys won." Suppose nerve gas had been the only way for the "good guys" to win that war. (This isn't a realistic assumption; the point is to examine ethics.) Is it more ethical to employ the nerve gas, or to lose the war? Those being the only two outcomes. ~~~ JohnStrangeII Same guy as before but from different account. Disclaimer: I am an ethicist, although my original AoS was philosophy of language. First of all, there is a whole bunch of contemporary ethicists who would deny that unrealistic scenarios can give us any ethical insight, but let's not enter this debate. There are good and convincing arguments against this view, but let's assume for the sake of the argument that using the nerve gas in your scenario would be the right thing to do. That means that you have shown that there is one hypothetical scenario in which the use of that technology could be considered better than not using it, although its use would still be very bad and horrific. That's not enough to show that the technology is ethical or that its development should be encouraged. I'd argue for the opposite. Your scenario also does not provide any argument against my claim that the person who develops the technology is at least indirectly responsible for its later use. Some technologies should and maybe even need to be suppressed world-wide. This is an important topic if you take into account the pace of technological development. It's entirely thinkable that in the near future - let's say, in a 100 years or so - just about anyone could in theory genetically modify bacteria and viruses to his likings in a basement and for example develop an extremely powerful biological weapon capable of wiping out 90% of mankind. It is obvious that such a technology has to be suppressed and should probably not be developed in this easy-to-use form. I believe what you really want to say is that nation states should develop all those nefarious technologies in order to control their spreading, because someone ("the opponent") will invent and spread them anyway. That's indeed the traditional rationale for MAD and the development of nerve gas, biological weapons, and hydrogen bombs. The problem with this argument is that anybody can use it, the argument appears just as sound to North Korea than to the US, and is leading to a world-wide stockpiling of dangerous technologies. So there must be something wrong with that argument, don't you think so? ~~~ eiieirurjdndjd > That's indeed the traditional rationale for MAD and the development of nerve > gas, biological weapons, and hydrogen bombs. The problem with this argument > is that anybody can use it, the argument appears just as sound to North > Korea than to the US, and is leading to a world-wide stockpiling of > dangerous technologies. But that’s not what happened, right? I mean, it is if you stop reading history just before the first non-proliferation treaties began being implemented. This was almost half a century ago, though, so IMO it doesn’t make sense to stop reading at that point. ~~~ JohnStrangeII I agree. The solution to massive technological threats is mutual entanglement by treaties and international laws that limit or prohibit the development of dangerous technologies. That's my point. ------ lifeisstillgood Many (many) years ago, I was leading business planning for Demon / Thus and as part of our template introduced "Conscience Breakers" \- a section (much like the health and safety planning for school trips i guess) that asked what could go wrong with our products we were about to launch. It seemed a good idea then and still does. it got dropped pretty quick by the higher ups ------ dmead This is great, but can this really be followed by companies that have shareholders and investors? ~~~ forapurpose Could you go into some detail on why it couldn't be followed by them? I know of some different arguments about why it could or couldn't, but I don't know what you are referring to. ~~~ Nasrudith The answer is that publically traded companies face heavy pressure to keep sustained quarterly growth indefinitely and various "activist" investors will insist upon ousting any who stand in the way even if it is better for longterm health not to say lay off experienced engineering staff in a stable industry to inflate quarterly profits (Boeing) when it comes to bite them with electrical fires in their next big plane. ------ jl2718 Most change is bad. Some change is necessary.

Ski Resorts Exaggeration of Snowfall Reduced Sharply Because of iPhone App - dean http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122084539&ps=cprs ====== s3graham My Dad used to work for IDRC (www.idrc.ca) and he told me a story about one of his earliest (and happiest) development projects. It's very simple: broadcast actual market price information over radio to farmers in remote rural African areas. In this way, the farmers had enough information to tell the middle man to stuff it when they were offered extremely low (< 1%) of market value for their food. Their wages increased ~10x over the next season. tl;dr: information symmetry is good for the end of the chains (initial producers, end consumers) ~~~ cwan That's a pretty cool program that's evolved with other NGO's using SMS messages to cell phones. The proliferation of mobiles and utility of cheap cell phones has been a massive boost to productivity in rural areas. One of the key market barriers continues to be consistent logistics given the shelf life of agricultural products which means some of these middlemen still have a significant upper hand. ------ anotherpaulg Gentlemen, Let me introduce you to the power of online snowfall telemetry stations. They usually report air temperature, wind speed & direction, precipitation, snow depth and water content in real time on an hour-by-hour basis. Find one or two nearby your local ski hill and study them for a season, comparing them to your in-the-field perceptions of ski conditions. You'll soon be telling your friends about the "8 inches of cold dry powder that's just fallen on soft layer that was laid down last week" and distinguishing that from the "8 inches of heavy wet snow that just fell and then refroze onto the ice layer from last week". For bonus points, take an avalanche safety course in your area. They will introduce you to a wealth of unbiased data sources. Mountain guides use these sources to maintain a deep understanding of the snow pack as it evolves throughout the winter season. In the Seattle area, see <http://www.nwac.us/weatherdata/map/> In the Bay Area, see: [http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/California/california.ht...](http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snotel/California/california.html) ------ jpwagner while the measurement may read "inches" it's actually on an arbitrary scale. in other words, to a skier, "14 inches" means _compare-the-conditions-to-the- last-time-you-went-and-we-said-14-inches_. not to mention the obvious fact that measurements done in different places with different methods will differ. ------ fohlin I can't decide if I like it or not, but one commenter really takes the opportunity to promote his website: > I believe "crowdsourcing" is the future of how we'll tap into and retrieve > much of the information we desire, in real-time. We designed our entire web > site/application (liveskiconditions.com) around the fact that people want to > know the current snow conditions [...]. Spam or not? ~~~ hallmark Not spam. His comment and website appear very relevant to the radio program, which talks about real-time information from iPhone users suppressing the ski resorts' false reports (say that five times fast). I would consider it spam if he copied his comment text and pasted it in every NPR summary page that mentioned skiing or snowboarding. ------ elbac What do people consider a fair ski conditions report site? ~~~ blhack twitter seems like it could be useful for this: "At purgatory, snow is AWESOME!" "park city snow is SHIT today!" "ahhh #snowbowl, when are you going to get freaking snow machines already!" etc. etc.

The $1bn hostage deal that enraged Qatar’s Gulf rivals - forkLding https://www.ft.com/content/dd033082-49e9-11e7-a3f4-c742b9791d43 ====== kristianp Archive version: [http://archive.is/LqMos](http://archive.is/LqMos) ------ bradknowles Paywalled.

Our Pirate Game is Getting Owned By App Store Pirates - theappfarm http://silverskullgame.blogspot.com/2009/09/our-pirate-game-is-getting-owned-by-app.html ====== timcederman A nice sensible response, with some well-reasoned observations. The thing about piracy I've always found weird is how hysterical some people get about it for their medium and not others. For example, I am good friends with several software developers who get furious about people pirating their products, but have no qualms about having gigs of copied music personally. ~~~ jacquesm I think the rationale people are using here is that it's the record companies they're pirating from not the artists. Artists like Janis Ian ( <http://www.janisian.com/article- internet_debacle.html> (be sure to read the follow up)) have made that point quite eloquently. Still, the basic position is one of hypocrisy, no contest there. ~~~ trapper And EA and the other big game companies aren't just like them? The people that I know that pirate the most music do so off independents more than mainstream. ~~~ jacquesm > The people that I know that pirate the most music do so off independents > more than mainstream. That's really bad. ------ patio11 85% piracy rates. Ouch. It hurts me to even read that, although part of me has to point out that when you're developing for an audience which considers $2 expensive and $5 highway robbery, going in with the expectation that people will happily pay you money is a little optimistic. On the plus side, you can't possibly have a worse piracy problem with your application than China does with everything, and you'll probably eventually do what Chinese software companies do: put the real meat on the server, let everyone have your client for free, and let the users who prefer to Own Their Games Instead Of Renting Them cry to themselves in the corner. ~~~ m_eiman I've read a few articles/posts about piracy rates, and it seems that a piracy rate of 90% is "normal", at least for PC titles. So to me it seems like piracy on the iPhone is lower than it could have been, and a lot lower if it drops to 50%. Still a problem, of course, but if Apple keep making it more complicated to jailbreak the hardware it might actually be moving towards 0%. ------ jdg Eh, this game is being pirated more than the average app. From what I heard at Greg Yardley (PinchMedia)'s talk at 360idev yesterday, the average piracy rate is 34%. My personal experience with Boxcar lines up with those numbers, along with a 0.056% conversion rate from pirated to paid. The "average" there, again according to PinchMedia, is 0.043% or 1 in 233. They're taking the right approach in that, well, the truth is if someone is going to pirate something then even if you try and dissuade them they'll just move on to the next one. In my particular case, I send a push notification letting them know we've detected that they are using a pirated copy, and then disable their account. If they purchase the legitimate version, their account will automatically be re-enabled. If I didn't have a backend server with monthly hosting costs, I wouldn't care that the application was being pirated. They use it, then move on. Based on the conversion rates I've seen myself and have heard of from others, it's just not worth the effort to try and get someone to purchase it. Those conversion rates also invalidate the entire "I'm just trying it before buying it" argument, which is complete bullshit. Pirates discuss it on Twitter: <http://twitpic.com/jor06> And I also get emails about it -- angry ones: <http://jdg.net/post/160979167/retard> [http://jdg.net/post/151845213/some-people-just-amaze-me- unfo...](http://jdg.net/post/151845213/some-people-just-amaze-me- unfortunately-this-is) [http://jdg.net/post/142912680/yep-dont-buy-this-piece-of- cra...](http://jdg.net/post/142912680/yep-dont-buy-this-piece-of-crap-or-how- about) ~~~ theappfarm Interesting data...to your point about our piracy rates being high at 85% - I agree but think it is only a symptom of our App being new and expect it to trend toward 50% or less in a few months. Also important to note is that calculated the piracy rate as the difference between iTunes sales and Pinch media uniques. I have found that Pinch Media's data is less conclusive than it used to be so I wasn't using their metrics for either cracked or jailbroken phones. As for the pirates try before they buy excuse, I agree that this is probably not the case. I think it is a churn game (similar to music) for most pirates - they try hundreds of apps for very little time and stick with only the very few that they like. As for your piracy block - I tried this once and decided better to let them have a lite version of the app over blocking them entirely. Not sure the point of angering the most vocal, early adopters on the web. Check out a post I wrote dealing with this: [http://www.icombatgame.com/2009/05/22/on-the-web- every-users...](http://www.icombatgame.com/2009/05/22/on-the-web-every-users- opinion-counts-even-the-pirates/) ------ jcl It's interesting that they claim that piracy was largely responsible for an increase in sales... I wonder if this is more because people are using piracy to sample the games before they buy or because the pirating users are increasing the buzz behind the game? ~~~ Scriptor According to him, the pirate users only sampled a little bit of the game before moving on. As the OP states, pirates are more interested in the novelty of it. ~~~ borism That's an interesting point - pirates mostly don't actually use their stuff! Essentially pirating is a way to try the app out, then I guess the percentage of pirates who buy it is pretty high. So why not make trying apps more convenient? ------ petercooper _Why we are not that concerned that our app has been pirated:_ I think it takes a small dev studio or independent developer to have enough feel for these reasons why piracy isn't so bad. I feel the same way about my book - I like seeing people pirate it, even if the publisher doesn't! It doesn't seem to hurt sales and raises awareness, as these guys have found. That said, ripping off a PDF to boost print book sales is a different kettle of fish than ripping off a game that's identical to the legit version.. I wonder how this will fare long term. ~~~ catzaa Off topic: What are the final costs of a book and what is the share? (i.e. printing, authors cut, publisher’s cut)? Buying books really hurts my back-pocket (the last book cost me $140+ dollars – and it is a lot more expensive if you do the currency conversation). What is sad is that when I move to another country I will not be able to move all my books. If there is a good e-book reader and books are well-priced (e.g. $30-40 directly to the author) it would feel a lot less painful. ~~~ petercooper I don't know the costs because I'm not a publisher but.. I think my book has an RRP of $40. Most places sell it for less than that. Amazon, for example, sell it for $26. According to my royalty documents, my publisher gets about $18 per copy and I get between 10% and 20% of that depending on how many copies I sell. The 20% rate only kicks in after about 25,000 copies or so and few programming books do that well (my first edition sold just under 10,000), so effectively I get around $1.80-$2.50 a copy. ------ paul9290 You have to compete with piracy by offering premium levels of service one where it requires your users to pay to connect to your server to say play against others across the world and other things that require a server connection. Sure they might try to break into your server, but less will do that and that is more illegal and punishable by law at least in the states. Piracy made hollywood and music biz innovate we should be no different. ------ bestes How are people cracking and using cracked applications on the iPhone? Am I just living in the dark by using the App Store and clicking "Install"? ~~~ kingsley_20 I don't get it either. My guess is that people install a cracked version through Cydia to use on a jailbroken iPhone. I'd love to have this confirmed though. ~~~ jawngee You can't install cracked stuff through Cydia, you have to use something like installous via hackulo.us. ------ xsmasher "Piracy rate" doesn't seem like a useful metric; it's too dependent on your sales. I'd rather see sales numbers and piracy numbers. If you sell 10 and have 10 pirates, that's a 50% piracy rate. If you sell 1000 and have 10 pirates (same number of pirates) that's only 1% piracy rate. The ratio is less useful and more misleading than the raw numbers. ~~~ JacobAldridge Agreed - especially given the stated belief that the pirates are in it for novelty, many will presumably delete the game after cycling through it. As such, piracy rates go down over time (a trend noted by the OP), even if sales figures (which are more important) don't change much at all. Of course, doesn't take away from how great it is for them to share this information at all. ------ jsz0 Since the cost of the app is so low, along with the barrier of entry to buy it, this data suggests to me these people must be discovering it through the piracy community (peer recommendation basically) If they've already learned how to pirate iPhone apps it's probably just easier for them to use a process they're familiar with. I'm guessing the ability to do batch installs of many apps at once is a big selling point of the iPhone piracy community so maybe Apple can learn something from that. ------ charlesju The sad thing is that it is incredibly easy to catch pirates if only Apple allowed us to. ~~~ enneff The pirates would then take the necessary steps to avoid being caught.

Toptal’s Selection of Top Developer Blogs - dselmanovic http://www.toptal.com/it/toptal-s-selection-of-top-developer-blogs ====== dror_liebenthal Great article! Extremely thorough discussion of 20+ established blogs. Interested to see what opinions will come up in the comments section. ------ silicon_ooze Nice selection

+Pool: A Floating Pool in the River of NYC - pstinnett http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/694835844/pool-a-floating-pool-in-the-river-for-everyone ====== phlux Every city near water needs this - except I can imagine this only working where the temp of the water body is swimable. It would be best of they had the square areas of the PLUS where the pool is not, dedicated to some floating solar heating arrangement.

Children learn best when engaged in the living world, not on screens - acconrad https://aeon.co/essays/children-learn-best-when-engaged-in-the-living-world-not-on-screens ====== jupp0r The whole article seems like a straw man. Nobody is proposing to replace real- world experience by technology. People are proposing to replace * going to a library and not finding a book by wikipedia * learning glaciology not by reading about it in an outdated school book, but by increasing snowfall in a simulation and seeing the glacier grow * not learning a huge amount of useless facts, but being able to look them up like the rest of society does ~~~ ska The funny thing about this is I think I get where you are coming from, but also think all of your examples are at best problematic. Wikipedia is a reasonable replacement for an encyclopedia - which remains a terrible replacement for a library. Simulations are never a replacement for what they simulate. At best this can be a great supplement to more concrete learning - at worst they replace it with facile misunderstanding. Finally - while students absolutely should be able to leverage the vast amount of information we have available, a lot of it is misleading or just intentionally wrong. We should be working hard now on figuring out how to give kids tools to evaluate and analyse this. Raw information is easier than ever to put your hands on, but that's never been particularly useful by itself. So absolutely, let's leverage technology But lets not pretend that we have viable replacements (yet?) for what we don't. A vital skill to teach these days is the ability to sanity check whatever you are reading on line against reality and multiple sources. If you don't become somewhat sophisticated about navigating this sea o f information, you will be taken advantage of. _That_ is one thing we should be concentrating on teaching - real skills, not parroting the first thing you find on Wikipedia. Nobody learns those on screens alone. The facts you came away from an education with have never been the point. The point is to learn how to learn, how to test new ideas, how to verify information, etc. ------ madrox In my childhood, it was television that should be avoided. I arguably learned more about nature by watching Lorne Greene's New Wilderness than I did in my semi-rural home town. Argumentum ad antiquitatem is a real thing. I've heard arguments like this my whole life. Not once has it turned out to be true for me. That either means I'm an anomaly or this topic is widely subjective. ~~~ CharlesW > _I 've heard arguments like this my whole life. Not once has it turned out > to be true for me._ I'm with you, and I'm surprised by the downvotes given the explicit caveat "for me". I wouldn't have thought that many HN folks would think of this as universal dogma. ------ jorjordandan The fairly standard elementary school my daughter attends has little to no screen time. I'm more likely to play with 3d modelling software or Minecraft with my daughter at home - in addition to time we spend exploring tidal pools or petting farms or at ballet classes. My younger daughter is reading and writing simple words a full year before Kindergarten, thanks to engaging educational apps. This story seems long on nostalgia but short on data. The same concerns have been raised since Socrates ([http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/201...](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/02/dont_touch_that_dial.html)), and yet generation after generation learns to function. It's such a time honoured cliche that even this response is a time honoured cliche. ~~~ konschubert > My younger daughter is reading and writing simple words a full year before > Kindergarten, thanks to engaging educational apps This is going to be harsh, but I'm in the mood: I don't think there is a strong correlation between the age at which somebody spells his first words and later academic success. I guess if you put in the time you can teach any reasonably smart three year old a trick or two, but wouldn't they be able to learn that more quickly at the age of 6 or 7? One of the things that helped me a lot during my studies was the ability to mentally vizualize complex topological situations. I don't think that's a skill you get from educational apps or from being able to spell your name at 8 months. ~~~ mmt > One of the things that helped me a lot during my studies was the ability to > mentally vizualize complex topological situations. I don't think that's a > skill you get from I'm not convinced that's a skill you get from _anything_ , as opposed to an inate talent (or set of talents). I'd want to see pretty strong evidence that it could be taught to someone without the inate talent. I'm pretty sure I'm someone with that talent, since I was never taught how to do it. ~~~ dvtv75 > as opposed to an inate talent (or set of talents) [...] I'm pretty sure I'm > someone with that talent, since I was never taught how to do it. I'm sure that it's innate, because I can't visualize even simple things. There have been a number of people who insist that they can teach me how to do that. They always start off with "Picture a..." When I tell them that I can't, I'm just being negative or uncooperative. Eventually, they get angry, throw tantrums, insult me, and stomp off like a child because I'm doing everything I can to prove them wrong, yet it never occurs to them that I simply can't do it. No, I'm always lazy, negative, and am allowing a diagnosis to define me. ------ cheschire It's obvious that a balance is appropriate. Meatspace engagements will provide one level of training, but kids can't be exposed to everything. My kids will never have the experience of running a farm, but I can give them a shadow of the real thing by allowing them to play farm simulator. ~~~ oconnore That’s not obvious. You are saying that “shadows of the real thing” have more value than other ways they could spend that energy, which seems unlikely. If you want to let your kids play video games, fine, but the hand waving to support your personal intuition is blatant here. ~~~ SaltyMaia It's obvious because it's clearly a false dichotomy... not everything maps 1 to 1 from real world to digital world, and things you learn in one may not be learnable in the other. Equating farm visitation to playing farming simulator is absurd, literally no one would support that the digital counterpart is more absolutely valuable, whatever that means (the onus of figuring that out is on you) But sure, I'll go with an easy cookie cutter example just to fit your argument - letting a kid play flight simulator is much easier, faster, and affordable than enrolling them in a flight school. Maybe you're too poor to even consider a real school, but playing a video game is still a valid way to see if flight might be a genuine interest. Is it then a worthless endeavour? Non-wasy examples would have you try to come up with direct alternatives to abstact thinking ( "obviously me making some weird DIY things will be better than playing a puzzle game" \- absurd) Attacking the digital medium is absolutely not the way we'll figure out how to move forward. ~~~ oconnore > not everything maps 1 to 1 from real world to digital world We are in violent agreement. The point is not that digital learning is bad. It's that people are making hand wavy assumptions about it being good without much evidence, without considering alternatives, and without considering tertiary effects (e.g. socialization). Like, I don't even think I've seen a study comparing CS grads who either just got a solid math education up until 18 versus kids who did their first python app at 11. Yet lots of people are totally convinced that early access to computers is associated with later success in the software industry. Is it? I don't think either of us know. And if we don't even know that, does anyone know what they're doing with iPad apps? ------ SketchySeaBeast I absolutely believe that there should be physical elements to a child's development, and that the world holds a lot to experience, and I get that touching a cow is going to leave more of a lasting impact on a child than being forced to learn what an adjective is, I just don't know a better way to teach an adjective than rote memorization or a screen. ------ al_ramich depends on what is defined by a screen. For example, you can imagine that kids in school will be able to fully immerse themselves into education scenarios (like being on a farm) through virtual or augmented tech. Smells and feel will also be simulated. From an education perspective will it be much different. Depends on how good AR/VR get... but also think of all the possibilities that kids and students will get that they couldn't in the real world e.g. as quoted in the article... kids will be able to go on virtual field trips, as well as traveling back in time for history lessons or meeting Albert Einstein [https://www.thetechedvocate.org/what-is-the-future-of- virtua...](https://www.thetechedvocate.org/what-is-the-future-of-virtual- reality/) ~~~ ska For example, you can imagine that kids in school will be able to fully immerse themselves into education scenarios (like being on a farm) through virtual or augmented tech. You can imagine that, but not really for anyone who is a school age kid now. Maybe their kids. ~~~ al_ramich You are right, not today's kids but much sooner than their kids [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cQbMP3I5Sk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cQbMP3I5Sk) ~~~ ska Maybe. These things often take longer that it looks like they will. ------ pnathan > The gestalt of a farm transcends what pixels and speakers can convey. Humanity has historically fled from working on farms (note the % of farm workers over the last 300 years). Maybe before writing this sentence, question your pastoralist presumptions. I will also remark, without proof, that retreating from the contemporary world gives your children a tailwind that they will need to overcome. The notion of teaching computers to children is a notion, at its core, of guiding children into engagement with the contemporary, preparing them to deliver their full potential within the world we live in. Assumptions that "nature is better", or "sweaty work is more moral than brain work", or "face to face is better than distance" are founded upon certain assumptions about the world that are not per se true. Just because one might _feel_ better, or _feel_ more trusting, in certain environments does not make what you feel to be rational or correct. Much like "wellness", juice cleanses, or antivaxxing. And, as counterpoint to the inevitable - it's _also_ true that f2p mobile games and video short video recommendation systems are finely tuned addiction engines that prey upon children - the mental & physical health issues are not to be ignored. The author isn't going into those issues. And, limiting screen time is a very common practice in recognition of that reality. ~~~ jdhendrickson I'm replying to you as someone whose children attend coder dojo twice a week, and they both have gtx 1070s despite being 7 and 9 respectively, this is relevant as evidence that I truly believe giving my children the best leg up in our society, requires them to have a a deep understanding of computers from a young age. Face to face is better than distance. To condense fact from the vapor of nuance requires you to physically be in the same room with someone. We are creatures who can transmit a tremendous amount of information in everything from subtle facial expression to smell. All of that goes out the window over remote work. Nature is not better, but it is important. I spent every waking moment from the time I got a computer at 19 until I turned 40 doing nothing but learning about computers, be it networking, programming, or system administration and the devops mutation that really just encapsulates a lot of what the grey beard sys admins were already doing. It consumed my life. I've taken time off thanks to my wife and her patience, and the boot strapped company we started. Having gone camping now on state and federal lands, there is something there that we need. I realize this is anecdata but I think the reason these fallacious ideas have such appeal is a tiny kernel of truth. Sweaty work is not more moral, but many times for me it's been more satisfying, there is a reason I have a wood and metal working shop setup. The moment when something I programmed works is absolutely euphoric, I've woken my wife more than once with a war shout of victory at 4 am. It's ephemeral though, there is always another problem nothing is ever truly done. When I walk into my shop and see the work bench I made, it fills me with deep satisfaction. A level of satisfaction I always found missing from my work no matter how elegant or satisfying the design. Apologies for the maudlin, meandering discourse, I'm on the ++ side of the Balmer curve today. ~~~ pnathan You're coming at this more nuanced and from a somewhat different angle than OP. I largely agree with you, given this angle. But, it's Friday after noon... The physical provides a certain sense of satisfaction that is not obtainable with the intellectual - and, frankly, vice versa. The OP makes a hard claim for monism, which tends to be a very difficult sell to people who think very hard about the notion of perceptions. Or, curiously enough, working psychologists - they tend to be intensely dualistic, whether they profess it or no. We exist within bodies, will we or nil we, however. And those bodies _tend_ to feel good after running, or working out, or showering - or a wide variety of other things, such as a glass of a fine Scotch. I have... great doubts about face to face for many things. It's a _hotter_ medium in the McLuhan schema than, say, an email. You can forget what is said. People get angry at each other. People can read emotions that are there - and aren't! It's a slippery medium, and it's not a repeatable one. It's the best medium for a date with your partner, however. And in a sense, what we're really discussing here is _media_ \- and its effect upon a society. If, as McLuhan said, the medium is the message - what is the medium that tablets teach? What is the medium that a laptop teaches? A book? Face to face instruction? And, finally, a farm? If we break this down to a media-message- instruction approach, I think _that_ is the educational question. It is no use to say, "well, a bookish person is drawn to books" \- you might as well say "people who read books become bookish", and still tell the truth - it's a circular cause and effect. What is the nature of the tabletish? That's an interesting question we haven't answered. My opinion is that the Tablet as constituted today, for children, teaches constant interaction, constant focus, and destroys the body via bad posture & physical inactivity. Now, the Tablet can also be used for other things. Note taking. Drawing. Reading. And as adults, we find these less gamified things more powerful to our desires often. I want to very carefully interrogate the concept of nature. I grew up approximately 1 mile from B.L.M. land, near towering mountains and inscrutable high mountain desert, and in my teens I hunted. Once I even shot a deer, gutted it, and hauled it out with my dad. My mom loved her gardens, and I was expected - and did - help out. I reference this to note that I literally had my hands deep in, "nature". Is it more natural (better?) to shoot an animal in the forest or to buy your meat from the grocery store? Or is it more natural to raise your cow, butcher, _then eat_? What qualifies as _the natural_? Lettuce from the forest? The garden? The roadside stand? the grocery store? Where do we draw this line? Historically, we learn that "nature" itself is a somewhat newer concept - it's not something standing outside of culture and time. The idea of wilderness itself is conceptualized differently between 2018, 1950, 1900, 1850, and, say, 1700. Let's interrogate further. Are you in nature in your front yard? A small park down the street with a few trees, groomed grass, and a playground? What about a large park with a stream and many trees? What if we stop grooming grass? Take out the playground? What's going on here - when do we feel that we are in nature - and when are we _not_ in nature? But - at _some point_ we can say that "we are in nature", and people who "spend time in nature" to some degree actually generally report being healthier and happier, apparently. Well, okay, sure. So this idea of "nature is beneficial" is really saying - _this experiential concept that relates to embodiment_ is beneficial, but we haven't nailed down what that concept _is_ \- only that we agree that this undescribed concept is useful. Is this porn? Is this art? Do we know when we see it? Or can we actually define what is going on here. I propose a mildly contrarian concept: humans are natural; ergo, what we create is natural, and _thus_ we need to really tighten down what we're trying to say here. Perhaps what we are saying is that an experience oriented around sense experience & focused embodiment in a setting without buildings is pleasurable and generally beneficial. And now back to debugging a misbehaving system.... ~~~ jdhendrickson snip _The physical provides a certain sense of satisfaction that is not obtainable with the intellectual - and, frankly, vice versa. The OP makes a hard claim for monism, which tends to be a very difficult sell to people who think very hard about the notion of perceptions. Or, curiously enough, working psychologists - they tend to be intensely dualistic, whether they profess it or no. We exist within bodies, will we or nil we, however. And those bodies tend to feel good after running, or working out, or showering - or a wide variety of other things, such as a glass of a fine Scotch._ I'm with you so far, in fact I'm fond of Plato's theory that humans are a tripartite reason, λογιστικόν, spirit, θυμοειδές, and appetite ἐπιθυμητικόν. Mental, physical, and spiritual, all need to be tended to. The first two are self explanatory, but I like to think of spirit as having philosophy, some might classify that under mental but I feel it stands on it's own. _I have... great doubts about face to face for many things. It 's a hotter medium in the McLuhan schema than, say, an email. You can forget what is said. People get angry at each other. People can read emotions that are there - and aren't! It's a slippery medium, and it's not a repeatable one. It's the best medium for a date with your partner, however. And in a sense, what we're really discussing here is media - and its effect upon a society._ As an aside, how many times has someone taken something wrong because it was in text? They couldn't tell the intention behind it. They didn't have the benefit of body language, facial expressions and tone, so while I agree with you to a certain extent and having worked remotely and enjoyed it a great deal it's certainly not necessary for business most of the time, but there is something lost, and it's something important. _If, as McLuhan said, the medium is the message - what is the medium that tablets teach? What is the medium that a laptop teaches? A book? Face to face instruction? And, finally, a farm?_ I'm not sure. Off the cuff I would say, tablets teach you to consume instead of truly create. The tools for creation are more like lego in that medium than a welder and hammer. A laptop to me is teaching you don't have to be married to a place in meat space, you can also use it for minimalism. A book, for me it teaches attention to a single thing and immersion, the opposite of the tablet in many ways. Face to face instruction, can teach you fulfillment and the age old bond between student and mentor. A farm will teach you so many things that have nothing to do with farming, I can't even begin to describe them all. Self reliance, thinking outside the box, mental toughness, dealing with loss, how hope can carry you through dark times, how honestly sitting around tapping on some keys in air conditioned buildings in a comfortable chair isn't that hard. I suspect your oerarching point was leading me to a point, rather than a case by case discussion, but honestly it was fun thinking about what each of those mediums teach. _If we break this down to a media-message-instruction approach, I think that is the educational question. It is no use to say, "well, a bookish person is drawn to books" \- you might as well say "people who read books become bookish", and still tell the truth - it's a circular cause and effect. What is the nature of the tabletish? That's an interesting question we haven't answered. My opinion is that the Tablet as constituted today, for children, teaches constant interaction, constant focus, and destroys the body via bad posture & physical inactivity. Now, the Tablet can also be used for other things. Note taking. Drawing. Reading. And as adults, we find these less gamified things more powerful to our desires often._ Tablets to me are the worst of all worlds, I have them, enjoy using them, and recognize a skinner box when I see one. Deep creation, and control is nigh impossible on that platform. I'm sure someone has managed it but it's a walled garden another with yet another layer between you and your ability to exert mastery over something you own. _I want to very carefully interrogate the concept of nature._ Nature is what we evolved in up until we began farming. At that point we tamed nature and turned it into something else. _I grew up approximately 1 mile from B.L.M. land, near towering mountains and inscrutable high mountain desert, and in my teens I hunted. Once I even shot a deer, gutted it, and hauled it out with my dad. My mom loved her gardens, and I was expected - and did - help out. I reference this to note that I literally had my hands deep in, "nature". Is it more natural (better?) to shoot an animal in the forest or to buy your meat from the grocery store?_ Absolutely it's more natural and yes in my opinion better to hunt your own food and butcher it yourself. Being divorced from the cycle of death and life doesn't change the cycle, it just lets us ignore the spiritual aspect of it. I'm a hunter myself (bow, black powder, and on occasion rifle season as well). I feel gratitude and a connection with the land when I hunt. From a purely utilitarian stand point game meat is some of the healthiest for human consumption, and after you've eaten back strap it's hard to go back to factory farmed beef. _Or is it more natural to raise your cow, butcher, then eat? What qualifies as the natural? Lettuce from the forest? The garden? The roadside stand? the grocery store? Where do we draw this line? Historically, we learn that "nature" itself is a somewhat newer concept - it's not something standing outside of culture and time. The idea of wilderness itself is conceptualized differently between 2018, 1950, 1900, 1850, and, say, 1700._ Cows are in my opinion not natural to begin with, if it can't survive long without the hand of man then it's something we not only created, but propped up. To answer the larger question, we are not in nature as long as we can exert control. When the world is in control and we can do nothing but bend before the wind or break, we are outside the demesne of men. _Let 's interrogate further. Are you in nature in your front yard? A small park down the street with a few trees, groomed grass, and a playground? What about a large park with a stream and many trees? What if we stop grooming grass? Take out the playground? What's going on here - when do we feel that we are in nature - and when are we not in nature? But - at some point we can say that "we are in nature", and people who "spend time in nature" to some degree actually generally report being healthier and happier, apparently. Well, okay, sure. So this idea of "nature is beneficial" is really saying - this experiential concept that relates to embodiment is beneficial, but we haven't nailed down what that concept is - only that we agree that this undescribed concept is useful. Is this porn? Is this art? Do we know when we see it? Or can we actually define what is going on here. I propose a mildly contrarian concept: humans are natural; ergo, what we create is natural, and thus we need to really tighten down what we're trying to say here._ I have to strongly disagree with your last statement. Humans are natural in some respects, but the things we create are not. We are driven to change the natural to the domesticated. We are driven to change our natural social interactions, which I define as innate, into things that facilitate our removal from nature. With that said that's not necessarily a bad thing. We went from natural to something else the moment we became self aware enough to modify our own behaviors outside of the feedback loop provided by our environment. _Perhaps what we are saying is that an experience oriented around sense experience & focused embodiment in a setting without buildings is pleasurable and generally beneficial. And now back to debugging a misbehaving system.._ Yes, I agree, but it's also humbling, and something that grants you perspective when it almost kills you, or makes you miserable for days at a time. After the third day of rain just being dry is amazing. It's so easy to lose perspective and yet, it's also simple to gain it if you are willing to. Thanks for the conversation. ------ diogenescynic Finland is like this— they allow kids to come to school and sort of pick their interests and follow those interests to develop skills by actually working on that craft/trade/subject in great detail. I think people would pursue knowledge if it was more customizable to allow kids to follow their passion. ~~~ kohanz Perhaps not the same, but reminds me of the Waldorf education philosophy [0]. [0] [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education) ~~~ diogenescynic I looked it up and it’s actually Finland I was taking about. Michael Moore did a good piece on it: [https://youtu.be/XQ_agxK6fLs](https://youtu.be/XQ_agxK6fLs) ------ loourr This feels equally true of classrooms as screens ------ Diaznash That title can make a good pitch for AR/VR.

Cicada 3301 challenge: partial solutions [video] - vinchuco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svJF_FoSI9o&t=25s ====== vinchuco Extensive previous discussion [https://hn.algolia.com/?query=cicada%203301&sort=byPopularit...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=cicada%203301&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story) and wiki page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_3301](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_3301)

Netflix picks up an Oscar nomination for “The Square”, a documentary - 0cool http://thenextweb.com/media/2014/01/16/netflix-picks-oscar-nomination-square-documentary-egyptian-revolution/ ====== smackfu Documentaries are a smart direction for Netflix. They can actually afford to license the best ones for streaming. Of the five Oscar nominated documetaries that were announced today, three are already streaming on Netflix and the one Netflix produced comes out tomorrow. Given that the actual movie studio distribution of these movies must be minuscule, it makes a lot of sense for Netflix to just buy them directly. ~~~ hkmurakami I've seen a trend lately of my friends increasingly referring to "this documentary XYZ that I saw on Netflix". It seems to be a great way to build mindshare in a segment that isn't as interested in mainstream TV shows (somewhat akin to their approach of producing critically acclaimed TV Dramas) ~~~ prawks It's neat because the barrier to entry to Netflix is so minimal. Previously, when someone said "I saw this documentary XYZ", you basically had to say "Oh that's neat, wish I could watch it..." Even outside Netflix really, documentary and lower-budget films are much, much more accessible, which is a great thing. ------ brenschluss To be clear - The Square wasn't created by Netflix. The Square is an independent documentary started a few years ago, boosted with a successful Kickstarter ([http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noujaimfilms/the- square-...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noujaimfilms/the-square-a- film-about-the-egyptian-revolution)) last year, and finally picked up by Netflix. That said, much credit goes to Netflix for recognizing and promoting independent documentaries. ------ kyro Rightly deserved. It's an incredible documentary and I suggest everyone watch it when it's released. I hope Netflix continues in this direction. It seems to be a great platform for documentaries to reach mass consumption, like we saw with Blackfish. ~~~ supersystem This might actually hinder 'mass consumption' in Europe if Netflix decides it doesn't want to license broadcasting rights to public broadcasting, which often have their own online services. I think we should be at least somewhat skeptical of the rights-holder also controlling distribution channels. ~~~ netrus Fun fact: If you have a private German TV broadcast license, you are required to give a certain amount of airtime to independent companies. And you are required to air news-segments - the quality may vary :) ------ puravida I've always found Netflix to be a great source of documentaries. Especially now The History channel and discovery channels play mostly reality shows now. Its also great to see their own productions are decent to watch. They may have a chance to become an HBO type provider. ------ altrego99 Here's the link to the Netflix documentary - [http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Square/70268449](http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Square/70268449) It's not yet available to public but you can watch the trailer and save it to your list. ------ socrates1998 Why can't I get this documentary on my Netflix? ~~~ bredman It came out in theaters first, they acquired the rights to it after it had been released there. The best I can find about availability on Netflix is "early this year".

Ask HN: You've got one month, what's your challenge? - mezod As simple as that, you have a month, what challenge do you tackle?<p>Typical examples: - write a book - code a game - train to run a marathon by the end of the month ====== adimitrov After 10 years of depression, carry over my good streak from last month and finally finish my studies so I can have a better job. Whish me luck. ~~~ movedx All the best mate. Keep up the great work and good luck! ------ tjw Come home from work and do one productive thing, every day. I'm tired of feeling lazy but not feeling motivated to do anything but play video games and generally be a slob. ~~~ mezod I think being more precise on what that one productive thing should be would help! ------ dyim * Get 100 active customer support agents on Panel Ninja [www.panelninja.com] * Send cold emails to 1,000 potential customers * Cut 15 seconds off my mile time * Run 4 experiments to iterate on the cold email process * Watch the Eagles beat the Giants, Falcons, Seahawks, and Packers :) ------ egypturnash Get back to working on the comics pretty much every weekday. I've been bogged down in printing stuff and writing pitches and I just wanna get back to _drawing some fucking comics_. ~~~ smnscu Wow – your art (and website, by the way) looks amazing! ~~~ egypturnash Thanks! ------ rayalez \- Learn React(complete the video courses I've started), and use it to build the project I have in mind(discovery platform for webdev learning resources). \- Keep making progress at my fiction/comedy writing. I've been struggling with it for a long time, but I've had a few epiphanies recently, and I want to finally make it work. The goal is as always - learn to competently craft my short funny science fiction stories. But before any of that happens, I have to take a break, cut out the caffeine, and go through several days of withdrawal. It will be miserable, but I really have to make my body rest, sleep, and recharge. I can't keep taking more and more stimulants, it's not working anymore. ------ foobarbax123 Find a better place to work. Just started as a software engineer, fresh out of college. I come home and I am constantly learning, which I enjoy, go to work and introduce new ideas and am shot idea not because of my ideas but beucasue im a newbie. Over the past couple of month has eatten away at my confidence and starting to just blow it off. :( ~~~ votr Read The Originals; in particular, the chapter on the CIA agent. Yeah it sucks, but if you insist on the security of a larger company (my assumption), that's how it works. ~~~ dominotw what CIA? ------ EdSharkey I'm writing a little block-based file system for a virtual computer for kids, I hope to have it done this month! ~~~ cookrn This sounds awesome! Is there a link to your project or source code you could share? ~~~ EdSharkey The story of my KidCompy project is a little complicated. The codebase I'm working on is closed source because of ownership/partnership issues. I started work on it as a hobby in 2008, and it is distinctly a JQuery-era architecture, and it's spaghetti code. Around two years ago, the codebase was out of control and it was getting impossible to maintain or add features. I had gone crazy with features on my server side. I started an open source rewrite with my dream build system and good design and testing methodologies. That codebase is here: [https://github.com/clubcompy/kidcompy/tree/develop](https://github.com/clubcompy/kidcompy/tree/develop) Then, I came to my senses a little bit. The crufty JQuery codebase can be refactored, buttoned up, and turned into a MVP! I could sell subscriptions to the thing as-is, it seemed to me. It's not everything I hoped it could be, and I'm very embarrassed by the poor code quality, but there is value there. I just need to complete something and focus on selling. So, I paused on the new open source codebase, and set about preparing my original closed source code for a commercial release. Part of that prep is removing the cloud storage for the user's virtual file system. The new MVP plan is to use the user's HTML5 Local Storage or IE6-8 UserData as their persistent storage for programs and data. That is what I'm working on right now. I just got folders working, so only files, extents, attributes, and a syscall interface remains! I realize that the open source codebase is the only long term way to go. When my main competition is open source, I need to be as well. And, since I'll be marketing a service for kids, it will help with gaining parents' trust for me to be open with the code and the data I collect. Assuming that the MVP shows some life and gets some interest, the plan is to put the old codebase into maintenance mode and move all development to the github codebase, migrating users over to the new compy once I have everything reimplemented there. ------ n2dasun Trying to participate in NaNoWriMo right now. ~~~ mezod cool! Great to find that at least one person understood the question :D ------ andars Make one cool demo or write a post about something fascinating each week. Bonus level: twice a week. This week's: [https://andars.github.io/dynamic- system/](https://andars.github.io/dynamic-system/) Unsure if I can do it, but I am going to try. ~~~ mdcox Just a heads up, your javascript doesn't work for me in Chrome because it's assigning to a global `history` variable. `window.history` is read-only so the js errors out. If you scope your function or rename the variable it should work. Nice challenge! Good luck! ~~~ andars Thank you. Should be fixed now. ------ kwikiel Build Flask app for tracking using wifi beacons (backend) ~~~ abstractbeliefs Fascinating, I've done exactly this! I based mine on a collection of ESP8266 modules talking to again, a Flask app. They'd watch for both DHCP broadcast packets and also the visibility of the device on it's own radio. It also would regularly try to ping known devices to track "sessions". What plans do you have, what tech are you using, and where can I follow along? ------ 40acres Well, I have an interview with Google on November 29, so for the past few days it's been that. ------ mtw You can't do any of these examples in one month. Impossible to train a marathon without injuries in one month. Can't write a good book in one month (unless you've been preparing for it in the past year). Code a game yes. But that's assuming you have a fair amount of experience My challenge would be to clean up diet. That's doable. ~~~ zimpenfish > Impossible to train a marathon without injuries in one month. I disagree - I think a lot of people could manage a slow marathon (~6-8h, basically walking pace) without more than a month of training. ~~~ mtw It is not impossible. Yes, you can find people who can do it. By luck, you could have someone with very high determination and who has a good athletic base, even though they haven't trained recently. Is it a challenge anyone can take? No. I don't know of any training plan made to make you run a marathon in one month. The most aggressive training plans are 12 weeks minimum (3 months), and that's for people who are already fit. For those who are not used to running, the most realistic is 26 weeks ~~~ zimpenfish Again, you'd have to define "run". Do you mean sub-4h? Sure, I'd agree it was wildly unlikely a normal person[1] could manage that in a month. Personally I ran a 5h30 marathon (solo, carrying water+food, half-trail) without following a training plan at all - went from 1k to 13k to 21k to 42k in 15 weeks. By no stretch of any loose definition was I "already fit". [1] people who don't already have a certain level of fitness. [Edit: corrected 14 to 15 weeks after checking calendar] ------ sixdimensional Stand a project up, running on autopilot, which will make a minimum of $5k/month profit, 100% on my own without the need for any major expense other than time/effort plus simple and cost effective infrastructure. ~~~ mezod are you already working on it? or just an idea? ------ boyter Id like to get searchcode.com into the top 20,000 Alexa website ranking's. To do so id like to refresh the code results on it more quickly and add project pages. ------ atmosx Hm, let me think: * Get the AWS sysops associate certificate * Run at least 60km (I know it's not much - but it's okay for me) ------ pieterhg Launch my chat app for communities [http://chatbox.chat](http://chatbox.chat) Launch my coliving platform [http://colive.co](http://colive.co) Make my VR game where you can catch street cats and eat ramen [http://bar254.tokyo](http://bar254.tokyo) ------ DrNuke Can't work on my own apps recommender system atm, so taking part in the latest Kaggle competition from Santander instead. ------ random_coder I've been making a Django app for over a week because I wanted to learn doing web dev. I hope to finish it another 2-3 weeks. So far, it's been a intimidating and yet fantastic experience learning about django, http, html dom, js, jquery, css, bootstrap, sqlite, orm, templates and such. ------ code_champ1 I would compete on some crazy competition like MIT's battlecode (which usually is a month long event) ! I have worked several years, but none has given me the challenge/satisfaction of programming an AI Bot and compete with similar folks ~~~ mezod this sounds like a cool challenge. How does it work, like your code competes against others code I understand, but how? ~~~ code_champ1 Yeah. You build bots and it competes with other bots (software bots - just code). Check this out [https://www.battlecode.org/](https://www.battlecode.org/) ------ gina650 Meet more cool futuristic founders, upload my 50th episode of Tomorrow's Tech podcast...and land my first sponsor! [https://soundcloud.com/user-925097294](https://soundcloud.com/user-925097294) ~~~ mezod futuristic founders? ------ fgandiya Finish this Flask web app I've been putting off. And applying for internships. ------ pvsukale3 I would work on the job board site that I have been dreaming about for months. As soon as I'm done with the exams I will go to work on that site. Target : launching MVP by the end of first week of December. ~~~ mezod what will be special about your job board site? :) ~~~ pvsukale3 I want it to be very simple to search jobs. and You should be able to find EXACTLY what you are looking for. I know ton of others exists but it would not be a problem to implement one as a side project and see if people like it :) ------ quantumhobbit Figure out how to get a job doing data science or something else interesting instead of working on CRUD apps. I have the skills, but I need to figure out how to get my foot in the door. ------ sn9 You could take a self-paced MOOC and master its contents in a month. ~~~ mezod that could be a nice idea. Because you seem to have understood the goal of my question, I'll dig deeper. I need ideas on the WHAT. Like what would you take a MOOC on? The idea is that there's so many things I might not have even thought of that you might consider...! ~~~ sn9 Well the two general things to look for would be things which you've studied in the past and wish to review or things which you've never studied. In general, it's probably a better idea to strengthen one's foundation as they serve as the prerequisites for more advanced subjects. Google's guide to technical development [0] is a good place to start. As far as just finding courses to take, you could just search the course catalogs of sites like Coursera, edx, Udacity, and Stanford's online offerings [1]. [0] [https://www.google.com/about/careers/students/guide-to- techn...](https://www.google.com/about/careers/students/guide-to-technical- development.html) [1] [https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses](https://lagunita.stanford.edu/courses) ------ elnado Ugh, regardless of what we say we wish to do on this post, what I'm sure many of us lack is external motivation to do it. One app to help solve that is called Spar, developed by a friend of a friend ([https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spar!-get-better-at- stuff/id...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spar!-get-better-at- stuff/id1109640290)). You set a goal with your friends, e.g. read a chapter every day, and put 20$ or so in the "pot". Whoever does the best at meeting the goal, gets the pot, and if you slack on your goal you lose the money. ~~~ brendoncrawford When the incentive to finish a goal shifts from the innate satisfaction of completion to a fear of financial penalty, is it possible that the goal itself will unintentionally change in subtle ways? ~~~ Akarnani its called the Token Economy Problem. tl:dr; using tokens as an external motivation mechanism transfers away from buidling internal motivation. (e.g.,$5 for each book a kid reads gets a kid to read books for $5 bills and not for love of reading/imagination/thinking. $5 tokens run out? Kid stops reading.) ------ mdevere play playstation all day for 30 days ~~~ mezod that sounds like the easiest suggested challenge so far :P ------ tylerpachal I'd like to enrol in a culinary arts class to learn more about cooking! I think a month would be enough time to complete some courses at one of my local colleges. ~~~ mezod that looks like a good idea! I bet your stomach agrees :P Yeah a month should cover you on at least 5 or 10 recipes! ------ guptabot Grow my weekly newsletter to atleast 1000 subs from the current 100: www.tinyletter.com/harshalbot ------ rodolphoarruda I live in São Paulo, Brazil. I would try to get to Ushuaia by car via Chile all the way down to the Tierra del Fuego. ~~~ mezod Oh boy oh boy, you are one of mine! Roadtrippers for the win! Just do it! How many km do you estimate? ~~~ rodolphoarruda It's hard to estimate the KMs because you are always making small detours to visit places as you go. In terms of time/duration, the roundtrip takes a full month, so very much aligned with OP's question. ------ WorksOfBarry I'm gonna spend a lot of the month working on my git client for IBM i. New features, documentation and feedback ------ tdy721 finish [http://videopoker.academy](http://videopoker.academy) * Get a trainer version playable without sign in * Add history and stats interface * Work up a tutorial * Integrate Stripe * import style + FX from [https://poker.hyprtxt.com](https://poker.hyprtxt.com) ~~~ mezod cool idea... would I be able to learn poker decently in one month? :P ~~~ Chos89 Depends on the amount of quality hours you manage to put in ------ adolfoabegg Start a side project a have in mind, build the MVP, validate it, get feedback. ------ Matachines Master stoicism and Deep Work. ~~~ ak93 That is really great! I am doing the same thing too. I am reading Bhagvad Gita which stresses on a similar idea and reading Deep Work by Cal Newport! Any books you wanna suggest!? ~~~ dominotw A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy That one is pretty good. I also like Jiddu Krishnamurthi a lot but ppl here seem to be not big fans of him for some reason. ~~~ ak93 I have read Jiddu Krishnamurthi's work and I find it really interesting , rather helpful. I didnt know that ppl dislike his idea!? ------ ak93 Completing my indroduction with ML and doing one small challenge based on ML! ------ votr Become location independent. ~~~ amyfransz Hey, I took the leap from my corporate job earlier this year...it can be genuinely easier than you think! (disclaimer: I run ´The Remote trip´ - see profile for link), I´m currently putting together a 'remote worker' starter kit to help people make the transition like I did, it may help you out if you're interested. ------ fapjacks Finish my notification and tracking app that I haven't had time for. ------ baccredited Increase your savings rate by just 5% and retire years earlier ------ allnacho Launch my habit streak chrome extension ------ nolite Build a SPA in Vue.js ~~~ mattchamb I did a 1-day project Vue.js yesterday and I really enjoyed it. A lot of the ways they approach things make sense to me. ------ bgroat I'm trying to build my email list to 1,000 people. ------ arvinsim Make a plan to pivot my career for the next few years. ~~~ mezod from what to what? ------ wuschel Finishing a seed 2 fundraising campaign. ------ krapp Actually finish a project. ------ empressplay Ship and pay the rent!

How to set up a Raspberry Pi Web Server - JeremyMorgan http://www.jeremymorgan.com/tutorials/raspberry-pi/how-to-raspberry-pi-web-server/ ====== jgrahamc I have a Raspberry Pi attached to my home network with one of these tiny WiFi adapters ([http://www.expansys.com/edimax-wi-fi-150mbps-mini- usb-202741...](http://www.expansys.com/edimax-wi-fi-150mbps-mini- usb-202741/)). It's in a small white box ([http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry- Pi-case-professional-injec...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-Pi-case- professional-injection/dp/B0097NPQ8W/)) and attached to the wall. It's completely unobtrusive, looks like it might be something to do with the phones. ~~~ joezydeco The USB/Wifi dongle is interesting. I don't know much about this flavor of adapter, were the drivers already in the kernel? Any problems getting it running? ~~~ voltagex_ From memory these sticks are either a Ralink or Realtek chipset and are supported by all recent kernels. ------ shy_coder Something like nginx, monkey or pancake would be a much better option for a webserver/pi. <http://nginx.org/> <http://monkey-project.com/> <http://pancakehttp.net/> ------ thenomad Neat! I'm very interested to see some benchmarks for this. Given Nginx is pretty minimal in its system load (I think) might it actually be possible to run a reasonable-sized website off one of these servers? ~~~ agumonkey All network interfaces go through the usb stack, a few monthes ago there were issues with usb polling (usb driver being in the closed-source firmware iirc) eating cpu cycles. I don't know if it's been solved since. ~~~ grannyg00se Seems like moving to USB 3.0 would be a huge overall gain to the system. Is there some other component that would prevent full USB 3.0 speed? ~~~ agumonkey I'm not knowledgeable but I can only recall one SoC providing usb3.0, mind you those things are for embedded/phone devices, thus usb3 looks like a costly overkill. I'm all for it but that's hardly a motivation for them. usb2 would be fine if it was a sane implementation but AFAIK the rpi SoC was made for ~video-only appliances where there's close to no IO or cpu processing and thus the usb stack firmware code do some bold decisions that induce a nice penalty on usb/cpu. It's possible that they released a new version since (my data dates from a few monthes ago) or that someone published a binary patch to improve the situation.

Google shelves plan for phone with interchangeable parts - _pius http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-google-smartphone-idUKKCN11806C ====== xenadu02 Anyone paying the slightest bit of attention knew this was the ultimate result on the very day they announced it. To make something modular you need to wrap each piece in its own case, add bulky connectors, etc. Both weight and volume are at an extreme premium in mobile devices. All that metal/plastic going in to making the pieces modular is stealing volume and weight from the battery. The only realistic way to make the power envelope is to use an SoC, which means the CPU, GPU, and RAM must all be in the same module. That doesn't leave a lot worth upgrading... maybe just the radio module. Jumping up in screen resolution would mean replacing the SoC to get a better GPU too. Modularity worked in desktop PCs because they have gobs of space and an AC power connection. ~~~ peterjlee First thing that came into mind when I heard about project Ara was that, laptops aren't modular because the increased size and weight will out weigh the benefits. Seemed like the same situation applies to smartphones, only worse. ~~~ fnord123 They used to be modular until companies started to follow Apple down the current path. I had a Dell Inspiron with removable battery, removable DVD drive, and PCMCIA slot for modular functionality. Now we have come somewhat full circle with Apple's Macbook which has meagre hardware functionality and relies on USB-C to provide the missing functionality in a modular fashion. However it means a nest of cables so it's probably not what anyone wants when they want a modular laptop. ~~~ djsumdog I remember the old mid-2000 MacBooks. I had one with an easily accessible hard drive and ram right under the replaceable battery (which I did have to replace once too). People forget Apple was sued, and lost, in the 1990s for telling people to buy new iPods instead of selling replacement batteries. They started moving to user serviceable stuff briefly, but then went back to their own ways and people haven't challenged them since. ~~~ Jtsummers Re iPod: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#iPod_bat...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._litigation#iPod_battery_life_class_action) It was the 2000s, 2005 was the settlement date, iPods didn't exist in the 1990s. They didn't lose, strictly speaking, they settled (which is not the same as admitting fault). Settling lets them save face, even if they may not have had a liability, by not dragging their name through the muck with regards to the poor performance of the batteries and iPods. ------ IBM I've speculated for a long time that basically anything interesting Google says they're doing is essentially meant to be a jobs program to keep employees from leaving, PR for external stakeholders like investors, media, being attractive to potential employees, etc. They seem to have lots of formal ways to keep employees from leaving/close as well including investments off of Google's balance sheet (not GV or Google Capital) into ex-employee startups and just flat out paying people not to leave (which is the arrangement I'm guessing that Matt Cutts is under). It all seems very Microsoft of old. Can anyone at Google (or ex-employees) tell me if this is true? ~~~ ChuckMcM Flip it around, would anyone want to apply to Google if they weren't doing big visionary things? I've met a lot of people who want to work at Google, not because anything they want to achieve in life is only possible if they do it with Google's resources, but simply because "It's a magical place." as Phil Coulson would say. So whether or not it keeps people from leaving, if it is effective at getting people to apply to Google first, it meets its goal right? From my experience working there some of the "moonshot" type projects were rather hit or miss in terms of retention. Some, like the self driving car one, attracted a lot of great talent, some of the more interesting power related ones were only interesting to people who cared about power efficiency. But the feeling that anything is possible is intoxicating until you realize what you have to give up to make something possible. Then its sort of hit or miss. ~~~ xiphias Most of us at Google are not working on on moonshot projects, and still have a happy life. Still, most non-moonshot projects that people are working on are growing nicely, have a long term view, and making lots of impact. Also having free good quality, healthy food with big variety all day long makes a huge impact in life quality. ~~~ ethanbond I don't think Google's perks are anywhere close to a differentiator in the market these days. ~~~ eitally But even the things that aren't "perks" are still way beyond what most non- valley companies offer as benefits (insurance, retirement, education, leaves, parental benefits, internal training/development, etc). None of that is uniquely special, and many non-tech companies have pieces of the puzzle, but imho Google is unique among companies it size with the breadth and quality of employee benefits it offers. ------ apatters It's really sad to think about how far we've fallen in terms of hardware customizability since the desktop PC era. It was once a given that you could build your own device from scratch and change out any part you wanted to. You could keep systems usable for 10+ years this way and we got a generation of hardware hackers and enthusiasts who went on to make cool things. Now our corporate overlord announces a way to let you replace a few basic components like your camera and battery and when they later cancel it the dominant reaction is "no big surprise there." Replace the magic candy bar in your pocket every 2 years, don't look inside, don't think about how it works, just embrace your new role in the modern tech industry as part of the top 1%'s recurring revenue strategy. The big money won, consumers lost, hackers lost. Sure it's business and you can never expect corporations to be altruistic, they have a profit motive. But that's never meant that you should give an anti-consumer attitude a free pass either. Every year that goes by now drives me deeper into the open source camp and Stallman's welcoming embrace. ~~~ usaphp > "You could keep systems usable for 10+ years this way" Every custom PC maker friend keeps telling me that but realistically - have anybody ever used the "upgraded" pc for 10+ years? By the time the cpu needs an upgrade - there is a new motherboard needed and your case and power supply also becomes obsolete, never mind graphics card, so you end up getting a whole new pc instead. ~~~ omni > your case and power supply also becomes obsolete I've never found this to be the case, maybe it's because I try not to skimp on power supplies during my initial build. The last time I upgraded my CPU/mobo, I didn't change my case, power supply, video card, RAM, SSD, disk drives, sound card, SATA cables, or network card. Plenty of my "old" computer still works just fine. ------ beambot There are too many tangible benefits to close integration between CPU, screen, battery, and antennas -- the latter of which is probably the most difficult to modularize. A much better tactic would've been 1-2 expansion ports for specialized hardware modules -- everything from credit card readers (a la Square), medical sensors, portable oscilloscope, etc. A standardized peripheral interface for hardware expansion slots across all phone variants could've really enabled a whole bunch of new applications (and industries). I'm sad to see it abandoned entirely. (I wonder if there weren't some strong personalities that kept the "100% modular or bust" mentality?) ~~~ modeless Motorola did exactly what you're asking for. It's called Moto Mods and if it isn't abandoned as a failure within 3 years I'll eat my hat. [https://www.motorola.com/us/moto-mods](https://www.motorola.com/us/moto-mods) ~~~ jessriedel Yes, this is the rough idea, except that it was "designed exclusively for the moto Z". The fact that one proprietary mod standard didn't take off is hardly strong evidence against the general idea, and especially the viability of an open standard. ------ pronik Meanwhile elsewhere: Fairphone 2 is available, is modular and user-repairable (iFixit: 10/10: [https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+2+Teardown/52523](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Fairphone+2+Teardown/52523)). Ara looked cooler, but I guess I should cease any high hopes for Google innovation or market disruption. Which is sad, but probably the way things go in this world. ~~~ mintplant It's also still stuck on Android Lollipop, unfortunately. Otherwise it looks really, really cool. ~~~ voltagex_ Pretty much forever - drivers/BSPs won't be released any more for the Snapdragon 801. [http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/08/why-isnt-your-old- pho...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/08/why-isnt-your-old-phone- getting-nougat-theres-blame-enough-to-go-around/) ~~~ pronik Which only means it will be stuck on Marshmallow, not Lollipop -- until Fairphone releases a core module with another chipset on it ([https://shop.fairphone.com/spareparts/coremodulefp2.html](https://shop.fairphone.com/spareparts/coremodulefp2.html)). At least that is the promise. Might even use something from Mediatek which will probably drive the price down. ~~~ voltagex_ I hope they do go for a cheaper SoC - that core module is more expensive than the entire phone that's in my pocket alone. I get that the price reflects ethically sourced materials, but they're gonna have to do something about the price. I wonder how they'll handle software and retaining data through a cross- platform upgrade - a build for Android for the msm8xxx series won't run on a Mediatek SoC. ~~~ Nullabillity > I wonder how they'll handle software and retaining data through a cross- > platform upgrade - a build for Android for the msm8xxx series won't run on a > Mediatek SoC. At worst, ask people to reflash to another Android ROM when switching. User software and data is on another partition anyway, and you can force Android to recompile all user applications by clearing your cache partition. ------ electic It is 2016 and a lot of people are still not very good with computers, let alone mobile phone components. We live in Silicon Valley so it might be hard to understand this very simple fact. I invite everyone to go to an Apple store and just sit there and watch the scores of folks come in and have to be sat down and explained, slowly, about the simplest concepts for macOS or iOS. I have mad respect for Apple Geniuses. Now, imagine a phone that has all these components and imagine the overhead of supporting that. Now you might say it is for tech people..that market is not big enough to warrant the R&D and support. Right call Google. ~~~ pcurve ios has gotten rather complex and big over the years. Just look at the Settings. About as bad as Android settings. I'm a computer guy and it's a struggle to find things. ~~~ paublyrne I just switched to iOS after being Android for a while. Current Android Settings are great, at least in stock Android. They've finessed them over the years. They were poor two or three versions ago for sure. ~~~ flukus >Current Android Settings are great, at least in stock Android. They still won't tell you what drives an app is using data on. I need to free up space somewhere but can't tell where. ~~~ Nullabillity Huh? The user data partitions were merged years ago. ~~~ flukus The space the app is using on SD is being lumped in with the internal space. It's telling me audible is using tonnes of space but that's all on SD. And don't get me started on the shitty Google apps that can't be removed or moved to SD. ~~~ digi_owl Sadly the Android storage terminology is a mess. These days what comes up as the SD is more correctly a folder on the emmc (internal storage). Its just that for legacy reasons it is treated as the primary removable storage by Android. There is a Android/data/"app vendor uri"/ tree within that simulated SD that is used as a dumping ground for various files. ~~~ flukus So apps that think they're storing things on SD are actually using internal storage? How do I actually use the SD card then? ------ source99 Whenever I saw articles about this my first thought was always that it didn't make any sense. 1\. Why do consumers need to decide what goes in their phone. Are my needs really different that someone else's? 2\. Building hardware is hard. Building consumer hardware is really harder. Making it modular is just batshit crazy. I never once thought this would see the light of day. ~~~ dingaling > Are my needs really different that someone else's? Absolutely. I'm looking for an IP68-certified phone with a 3" 400 PPI polycarbonate screen and _without_ a camera. Such a thing doesn't exist, but Ara gave me a vague hope that one day I might be able to obtain a phone that fits my needs instead of those of a manufacturer. ~~~ shimon_e If there isn't enough volume for whatever component you are looking for get ready to pay an arm and leg. ------ flukus I've learned to completely ignore anything launched publicly at google IO (wave, ara, glass, etc). ~~~ kyrra Chromebook was a Google IO announcement, and I'm sure there are others that have succeeded. ~~~ flukus Turning a previously open category of computing into a locked down experience never particularly excited me in the first place. ~~~ digi_owl At least they have an official, documented, method for unlocking the product once you bought it. ------ mmastrac Disappointed about this one - I guess this was just too early (like glass). They had to create a lot of both hardware AND software to make it work. Expensive and risky work for a single company to take on. I was honestly holding off on a cell phone upgrade hoping to get my hands on the developer version of this early 2017. ~~~ throwaway2016a I had to scroll half way down the page to find someone like me... I'm disappointed as well. A lot of people here talk about performance and size. We seem obsessed with them in cell phones but at what point does performance and size become good enough and we can focus on things like sustainability and repairability. ------ ori_b I'm not surprised. I can't think of any way for it to actually be better for day to day use than a monolithic smartphone. My biggest surprise is that it was still chugging along until now. ------ wibr I always thought that Ara might be a useful platform not so much for smartphones but for all those hand-held custom devices, you could plug in a credit card reader, laser, special cameras, voltmeter or whatever you need. ~~~ Retra But next to nobody needs those things. ~~~ Nullabillity But just about everyone has _some_ such need, as well as components they couldn't give less of a shit about (the camera comes to mind, for me). The SoC is the expensive part that would need the economies of scale, but sadly there don't seem to be that many options in that space anyway. ------ optforfon If it came out tomorrow it'd be 10 years too late. Cellphones seem to have hit a plateau. All the parts are now good enough in a cheap phone that no one really needs this. I got a $150 aluminum phone with a huge battery, nice enough camera, fingerprint scanner, 3GBs of RAM, expandable storage, etc. etc. ... I don't feel like I need expansion options. What can the higher-specs really offer now a days? Samsung has the right idea, maybe we'll need better phones for VR. Or maybe built in picoprojectors will be a game changer. But for that you'll need a whole new phone - not just a module snaps on. ~~~ cubano We need phones that are basically indestructible and last 3 full days on one charge. ~~~ ahoka Do you really think so? I have an impression that the market is kinda OK with short battery life. Otherwise there would be a trend in this way. Maybe after other specs reach their practical limits? ~~~ flukus Has anyone released a decent phone with a long battery life? You can't tell if the market wants something if it's not on offer. ~~~ ebalit I just bought the Xiaomi Redmi 3 [1] with 4100mAh. The battery life is excellent. 2 to 3 days of battery is a comfort I missed from the "dumbphone era". 1: [http://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-xiaomi- redmi-3s-3gb-3...](http://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-xiaomi- redmi-3s-3gb-32-gb) ~~~ clarry For me it was 2 to 3 weeks of battery. Smartphone batteries are just miserable, and I'd happily take a heavier & thicker phone to get better battery life. ~~~ macintux There are plenty of well-designed battery/protective enclosures for smartphones. Thus those who want the extra battery life and are prepared to deal with the extra thickness and weight can do so. Now if you want 2 weeks of battery life on a pocket supercomputer, well, good luck with that. ------ ihsw > Axing Project Ara is one of the first steps in a campaign to unify Google's > various hardware efforts, which range from Chromebook laptops to Nexus > phones. Their new phone line will be called _Pixels_. [http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/01/exclusive-googles- ne...](http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/09/01/exclusive-googles-new-phones- will-be-called-the-pixel-and-pixel-xl/) ~~~ colemickens I can't help but wonder if they're co-opting the Pixel name to push ChromeOS on a phone form factor with the built-in Android runtime. It seems _very_ unlikely, but there's a part of me still wondering. ~~~ roymurdock Check out their efforts on the new Fuschia OS. I'm fairly certain it's Google's attempt to design a mobile OS from scratch to get rid of some of the overhead introduced into Android as a function of it being a Linux derivative. ~~~ flukus What overhead is there from linux? Most of it seems to come from there own API's. ~~~ pjmlp Not sure, but contrary to what many think, the Linux kernel on Android lacks many APIs and the set of allowed stable libraries is quite small. With Android N, they took the extra step to kill native apps that dare to link to Android native libraries, if not part of the stable list, like libpng for example. Regarding Fushia the overhead seems to actually be anything under GPL. ------ seanwilson It was an interesting idea but I could never see it working myself. It looked like a solution in search of a problem. So you're meant to buy a phone shell and separate components to plug into this, where you can upgrade different components over time? Ignoring technical issues, wouldn't the shell get out of date quickly as well as the components (with some components being incompatible with other shells and components)? It doesn't sound cost effective considering how cheap phones are getting and how often we are seeing physical hardware changes still (e.g. fingerprint readers, screen size, thinnest). ~~~ mindcrime > It was an interesting idea but I could never see it working myself. It > looked like a solution in search of a problem. Modularity worked out pretty well for the PC. When you make things open, there's no way to imagine ahead of times the things people will come up with. ~~~ umanwizard A key advantage of mobile phones is that while a PC is around 50 liters, an iPhone 6 is 0.06 liters; almost 1000 times smaller. You are relying on the assumption that the "modularity" is independent of the form factor; that if it worked in the PC, it can work in a mobile phone. Maybe the success of mobile phones is _because_ of their lack of modularity, not in spite of it. ~~~ mindcrime _Maybe the success of mobile phones is because of their lack of modularity, not in spite of it._ It's possible. But all I'm saying is that, in terms of it being "a solution looking for a problem", there is a historical precedent showing that openness/modularity can have powerful benefits. It would be hard to say for sure if that can/would/will apply in the mobile space as well. But it's not something, IMO, one should write off out-of-hand. ------ rajeshp1986 This project was longed to die. It should have died 3 years back. I wonder why the project team didn't understand or realize the dynamics of smartphone market. The equation is simple, there is no market for phone with interchangeable components. period. Chinese companies are manufacturing dead cheap smartphones. Indian market is flooded with cheap phone options. An average life cycle of android phone is now less than 2 years. People throw their old phone and buy a new one because new phones are cheap and easy to buy plus they get an overall upgrade. Maybe they didn't realize because the project was carried out in US where there is not much competition from phone manufacturers and Apple takes away major share of the market. This interchangeable components idea is much like Assembled computers back in early 2000s. Most people went for assembled computers because it was easy to upgrade single components/pieces. They should have realized that people don't do that with computers these days either. Only may be few enthusiasts and geeks, but definitely not by a common man. One more project dies at Google... ------ Animats That makes sense. All those connector pins and latches were inherently going to be troublesome and fragile. There's a market for various instruments one could attach to a phone, but it's not a mass market. You can get USB devices which give you a spectrum analyzer or an OBD-II connector, and there are apps to drive them. They're not something you get at phone stores. ------ karma_vaccum123 As the Moto Z will likely confirm, no one is really interested in modular phones. ------ funkyy I am quite surprised, that instead of allowing users to change modules (and thus are forced to build it up with casing and connectors) they didn't release certification on doing it and let people drop their phones to the mobile service points all over the world for free or small fee like $1 (including vacuuming insides to add extra value). Such shops would make money on selling modules. Modules could be less protected and delivered without the casing. Changing modules would take ~1-2minutes since the store clerk would be trained to do it and use 2-3 universal tools to open the phone and change the modules. Those 2-3 tools would be also available to buy, so owners could change the modules themselves. But since it would be quite advanced - same as with changing PC parts - it would void the guarantee for whole phone. ------ rch So a modular phone is a bad idea, but what about the spec? I could imagine widgets that connect to mountain bikes, toasters, and ski helmets; the phone is just enabling. > the company may work with partners to bring Project Ara’s technology to > market ...vague, but maybe. ------ yladiz This doesn't surprise me. I feel like the concept is nice, but they have to do a kick-ass job as making sure everything goes together well and can't just randomly fail -- I would hate if my phone's data got corrupted because a piece of it randomly fell off my phone or accidentally spilling some water on it, which would not affect a normal phone but may seep into between a pair of component edges. But beyond that, and more importantly, it has to make economic sense. Would it have been cheaper than a random cheap phone, especially in the developing world? ------ perseusprime11 I never saw the potential of this project given how slim the phones are getting and how the hardware is literally attached to screen. The design and aesthetic would have to be compromised for these modular phones. The two places where this would have been useful are camera and battery but there is literally no innovation happening in these two departments so expect for the next 2-3 years, our batteries and camera specs will not significantly change due to technology limitations and size constraints. ~~~ clintonb > The two places where this would have been useful are camera and battery but > there is literally no innovation happening in these two departments... From what I see in headlines the camera and battery are the two areas with the most innovation. Apple has a major ad campaign featuring photos shot on iPhones. Almost every new phone release mentions improved battery life. (Admittedly, these energy improvements may come more from decreased consumption than improved storage.) I see most marketing discussing the following features: 1\. Camera 2\. Battery life 3\. Screen size/resolution This makes sense given that there aren't many other areas to radically innovate. Someone's already tried adding decent speakers, a kickstand, and various exclusive apps. ~~~ perseusprime11 Unfortunately I don't see them. Nokia Windows phones were far more advsncedin terms of cameras than current iPhones or Samsung galaxy s7s. Anand tech said as much about this in their reviews. I don't see any improvement in my battery life from iPhone 5S to iPhone 6S. Do others see any improvement? ------ johngalt Of course. Something like that would be a compatibility and testing nightmare. Users aren't going to be content dealing with PC style driver issues with a mobile device. And to gain what? The ability to upgrade or customize a phone? Why? Do your mobile device needs change that often? A better idea is to attack the areas where apple and samsung are retreating. Replaceable batteries, memory cards, peripheral connections etc... ------ jasonkostempski Phones are at the point desktops hit about 10 years ago, they're good enough to use for general purpose until the end of time. Everything people typically want can be done instantaneously, cameras are way better than anyone really cared about and screens are perfectly clear. The only thing stopping us from having a phone for life is forced obsolescence. All we need back is removable batteries and storage. ------ ilaksh Modular smartphones or computers are still a great idea. They may have had trouble easily capitalizing at this time without interfering with other products. ------ xg15 > _“This was a science experiment that failed, and they are moving on,” he > said._ Semi-seriously, but I'd like to know where exactly they are moving on now. ------ justinlardinois I was excited about this, but after going dark for nearly a year and then resurfacing with a model that had most of the important components integrated onto the board, the writing was on the wall. It's a cool concept, but I don't think current technology would allow this to work in a reasonable way. ------ YZF There was an Israeli startup that tried to do this ( [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modu) ) and apparently Google acquired some of that IP. I wonder if this effort is related. ------ crbelaus It may shound harsh, but why should I want a modular Android phone? To update my hardware over the years to come while still running the same Android version without receiving updates. Google, your Android updating system is fucked up. Fix it first, and then we can talk about exending the life of hardware. ~~~ clintonb Limited updates are more an issue with the carriers than Google. ~~~ voltagex_ I don't think so. I'm still on the May 2016 security patch on a 2015 Moto X Style. No carrier involved - it's an unlocked LTE phone. Updating the existing phones doesn't make Lenovo any money so I doubt it will happen. ------ ungzd You can add new camera or bluetooth controller but you can't (sanely) update firmware to latest Android version. Great. (I mean sanely if it was like installing Windows or Linux and not specific build for single phone model made from hacks and insane backmerges) ------ clumsysmurf I had high hopes for this, but seeing how fragmentation is harming Android when the phone is a single integrated device - seems unrealistic they would be able to get all these components to play well together among various OEMs. ------ jordache This is my attitude regarding Red camera's lauded modularity. Ok so you can keep your handle and grip, and the little viewfinder. The sum of Those useless pieces doesn't mean you've "upgraded" your camera ------ erikb No Google! That is not acceptable! You can not always make people hope for years and then just drop it. When you start with marketing you take on some responsibility. You lost someone who believed in you. ~~~ bmer I think your naivete is as beautiful as the freshest spring rose. I wonder what this move has to do with what phone manufacturers are doing in general: hiding away components like the battery that were once open to the consumer, making it difficult to do anything but buy a new phone if the battery alone dies out. One can't get more anti-modular than that, and the Nexus 5X has the same deal: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYFbSpvSE-w&feature=youtu.be...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYFbSpvSE-w&feature=youtu.be&t=74) ~~~ voltagex_ I know what you're saying about the 5X, but it's not _impossible_ to replace. >The battery isn't immediately user accessible but isn't too challenging, or too adhered, to replace. [https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5X+Teardown/51318#s112...](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Nexus+5X+Teardown/51318#s112139) ~~~ bmer Does it void your warranty though? ------ eva1984 I am not surprised either. It is more of a gimmicky idea, than a revolutionary moonshot one. It is somehow hard to picture where is the market and how to convince customers to buy it. ------ jacquesm Finally. The first modular phone prototype I saw in Logitech HQ in 1999 or so was shelved for the exact same reasons. I'm expecting a similar announcement about project Makani. ~~~ majewsky I just heard about Makani for the first time, and after a quick glance at their website, it doesn't look absurd. Can you elaborate what is problematic about it? ~~~ jacquesm Yes: [http://jacquesmattheij.com/makani](http://jacquesmattheij.com/makani) ------ ngold Speaking off the cuff here. I think google wants ideas that might work then put a team on them. Close it down and aquire a company that makes it successful. ------ Scirra_Tom Isn't software the best interchangeable parts for a phone? Modular add-ons were doomed to fail from the go and no idea why they got any traction. ------ ankurdhama Its all about money -> Do incremental "innovation" but make people pay for the whole thing again and again each and every year. ~~~ umanwizard You know, you're not forced to buy a new phone, if you think your old one does the job just as well. ~~~ Retra My old phone was perfect, but my provider killed it by making it download trash until it was unusable. ------ wnevets Everyone always knew this was never reach the mainstream consumer but I would've liked to seen something released. ------ DropbearRob I think its cool that they at least gave it a shot, but in the process it used up their stocks of unicorn blood. ------ barnacs At least this time they killed the product _before_ rolling it out to users. Google is improving every day! ------ wslh What is the strong reason behind nodularization if we can have almost every component in place for cheap? ------ stonogo This is a Fuchsia casualty, and it won't be the last. Google cannot afford to innovate with hardware until they are done replacing the open-source kernel in Android. Once that's done, and OEMs are accustomed to writing Fuchsia drivers instead, they can use increased leverage over manufacturers to drive hardware innovations in directions they want. ~~~ cpeterso Why are hardware innovations not possible with Android's Linux kernel? OEMs' concerns about the GPL? ~~~ pjmlp Yes, the kernel is the only GPL component on the stack. Google just deprecated gcc and will only offer clang on future NDK versions. Native apps are so constrained in Android that they could replace Linux with something else and only OEMs writing drivers would notice. Fuchsia takes this further by not having any GPL component at all. ------ Uhhrrr I hope some of this reappears eventually as a scheme for a modular tiny desktop computer. ------ antoniuschan99 Have they released anything? Or was the lg g4 the closest thing to a modular smartphone? ~~~ Sylos The FairPhone 2 is also pretty modular. ------ source99 Can anyone name other modular products in high volume production. ~~~ jeeyoungk Lego. ------ rado Surprise. ------ stevenwiles Ever since the idea of a modular phone was first introduced "Phonebloks, or whatever it was" I have known for a fact that it was a fundamentally flawed concept and would never see the light of day, despite the enormous hype and support it received. Is this proof that I am more intelligent than everyone who believed in this idea? I think so? ~~~ OnlineCourage > Is this proof that I am more intelligent than everyone who believed in this > idea? No. ------ cloudjacker Finally I can say this was a stupid idea and by stupid, I meant economically infeasible, no product market fit words we associate with waste of time, in this sector

The State of Breach Protection - geek-advised https://www.cynet.com/blog/2020-state-of-breach-protection-survey/# ====== geek-advised Few highlights from the survey: \- Only 11% rated their consolidation level in their organization as high \- 78% stated that their main obstacle is the Management, maintenance and operational overhead of the security products already deployed \- 72% said that difficulties in managing the security products in place is the main reason for stopping new security projects in 2020 \- 77% said that a solution that they would prioritize investing in a solution that is capable of consolidating their required breach protection functionalities.

The 2020s will be known as the Remote Work decade - shizcakes https://twitter.com/chris_herd/status/1212412869251350529 ====== teddyuk Hope so

Ask HN: phpmyadmin alternatives for simple db tasks - codegeek I am not a db expert and when it comes to db management, I am just using phpmyadmin on my dev server. Yes, I confess. It is not pretty&#x2F;secure etc but it does the task specially in dev.<p>However, I was wondering what other options are out there that are easier and simpler. All I want is a GUI on top of my db (mysql,postgresql) to run select, insert, update queries as needed. No bloat. ====== hadem Have a look Adminer[0]. It is a database tool, much like PhpMyAdmin but in a single file. It's user interface is a bit more bare but it is really handy when you just need a quick way to interact with a database. [0]: [http://www.adminer.org/](http://www.adminer.org/) ------ glazskunrukitis Check out Datazenit - [http://datazenit.com/](http://datazenit.com/) It is a web based database administration tool. In addition to your asked features it has data visualization and rich content editor.

Ask HN: Why you keep coming back to HN? - pyeu ====== duiker101 Because I find interesting stuff and I get to interact with other like-minded people. I feel like I have always something new to learn. ------ philipkiely I found several of my clients and my most recent internship on HN, it may be small but for me it’s the best job board on the internet, and the articles and projects here have a high signal to noise for my interests. ------ rman666 Because it was first written in Lisp!

Ask HN: Please stop tearing each other up. - jacquesm I am beginning to believe that one of the unintended casualties of Aarons' passing is that HN is dying as well. I've never seen such a rift in the community as what is happening right now.<p>Can we please all stop this before there is no turning back? I understand the need to grieve, this is for sure not an easy time for any of us but the amount of hate-mongering that is happening right now is really beyond the pale. Please stop. Really.<p>edit: those flagging this: You really have to wonder what it is that you're trying to achieve here. ====== anigbrowl I think the Techcrunch article (top for much of today) is unhelpful. There's a vast gulf between aaronsw asking for help with the costs of a predictable, if improbable, legal defense that several people (including myself) felt he brought upon himself, and the implicit (via hindsight) suggestion that aaronsw was asking for the help needed to stave off suicidal behavior. I think it's most unfair to conflate a person's legal and psychological problems as this headline does, and equally unfair to single out a contemporary critical comment from a HN participant as if that participant's skepticism about the merits of Aaronsw's hacktivism were made with an understanding of his psychological fragility. Both the original comment and this story make the mistake of assuming the worst about their subject, but there's a wide qualitative difference between peer-peer commentary on a message board and pseudo-objective commentary on a commercial news site. As someone with a few suicidal episodes of my own, I can easily see how the stress of Aaronsw's socio-legal situation could have been a contributing factor to his suicide. However, the suicidal impulse is very often an irrational one and attempting to analyze it rationally often misses the mark completely and ends with projecting one's own views onto the dead person - doubly so where the stressors are political rather than personal and the person's death is widely viewed as an episode of martyrdom. People are not machines, and policy issues (administrative, legislative and judicial) do not operate in mechanistic fashion. It would be a more tractable and perhaps even a better world if people were as clear and consistent as computers, but they're not. Often, we end up attacking each other as a poor proxy for attacking a problem. ~~~ anigbrowl _a predictable, if improbable, legal defense_ Reading this later, it sounds as if I'm critiquing his defense case. What I meant to say was that while there was a low probability of a major prosecution, it was predictable that such a thing _might_ happen. I haven't read _any_ of the defense briefs and have no opinion on what his legal defense would have been. ------ jusben1369 I'd like folks to stop posting every conceivable article written on it. I've cut back my visits since it happened as the home page is dominated by Aaron's stories. ~~~ deevus Agreed. Aaron's passing is a tragedy, but the inundation of articles covering the same thing over and over is getting tiresome. I understand people need to grieve, but I don't think Hacker News is the place to do it? ------ lilfrost What rift are you speaking of? ------ Mz Out of respect for this request, I have posted an article (confession: my own blog post) which has nothing to do with Aaron Swartz or suicide. Unfortunately, my writings are generally of little to no interest to people here and I have no talent for finding stuff that would be of interest. But my experience is that getting people to talk about something else is generally the best way to move on. So if you wish to support this request, please post something on another topic, which has more hope of drawing interest than anything I ever post.

A Lawsuit Against Uber Highlights the Rush to Conquer Driverless Cars - easyd https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/technology/anthony-levandowski-waymo-uber-google-lawsuit.html ====== TillE “Our self-driving technology required human intervention. The vehicle operator had time to intervene, but failed to take over before crossing the stop line and manually proceeded through the protected crosswalk.” I believe this is exactly what people here predicted when Uber originally called it human error. Such a clumsy attempt at being grossly misleading while _maybe_ not technically lying. It self-drove through a red light, just as was reported. ------ bbatsell The headline really undersells the story. The New York Times has internal Uber documents, confirmed by multiple Uber employees, showing that Uber lied to the public and to regulators by falsely claiming that a self-driving Volvo running a red light on the first day of its operation in San Francisco was caused by human error.

StackOverflow bans one of its top contributors over frivolous matter - Envec83 https://plus.google.com/+BaukeScholtz/posts/GRjfSAXYw9t ====== fsk I contributed to StackOverflow a little when it first got started, got frustrated by the heavy-handed censorship (too aggressive about closing question), and then gave up and left. It seems any moderation-based community eventually has that flaw. If you deviate from whatever the majority believes, you will get disgusted and leave, and eventually you're left with a core that all act the same. I'll read Stackoverflow sometimes, but I'm never again contributing. Stackoverflow sucks! [http://fskrealityguide.blogspot.com/2009/02/stackoverflow- su...](http://fskrealityguide.blogspot.com/2009/02/stackoverflow-sucks.html)

God Help Us All - lfuller http://blog.loganfuller.com/god_help_us_all/ ====== ceejayoz God help his webserver, apparently. ~~~ lfuller I'm trying to get the cause figured out. Spun this up yesterday on a spare dev server - not the best idea in hindsight! ~~~ lfuller It's back up now. ~~~ mdonahoe FYI, I couldn't read this on my iPhone because your sidebar is position:fixed and gets all in the way. Your face stared back at me on top of the text. ~~~ lfuller Thanks for the heads up - I'll fix that now.

Google CEO: YouTube is too big to fix completely - Khelouiati https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/17/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-youtube-is-too-big-to-fix.html ====== charlesism It's only "too big to fix" because Youtube insists on fixing it centrally. They could fix it by delegating responsibility to creators, and implementing some sort of "user-rank" to avoid moderating every single bit of content via paid employees. If Google were serious enough about the issue, there's an opportunity here. If they created an effective enough, and flexible enough, distributed 'content moderation' back-end, they could probably offer it as a service to other businesses, too. ~~~ krapht This strikes me as somewhat unrealistic. Distributed ranking systems like PageRank are susceptible to being gamed; and it is a constant arms race with SEO experts. ~~~ charlesism If it's difficult, as opposed to unrealistic, then it's a good opportunity for a third party (or a google spin-off) to wholly dedicate itself to solving. Also, PageRank is easier to game because Google must stick to existing rules (eg: if it's on the web, Google is supposed to index it). When it comes to a service tied to a user account, the site operator has more agency to impose its own rules.

Optimizing Dynamically-Typed Object-Oriented Languages With Polymorphic Inline Caches - qwph http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.36.6379&rep=rep1&type=pdf ====== Hexstream This provides good insight into some of the techniques used to make intuitively slow dynamic operations very fast in practice! ------ markplusplus Good paper, but I wonder how relevant these optimizations are now that modern processors include indirect branch predictors. ------ fuzzy-waffle Sounds similar to <http://psyco.sourceforge.net/> ------ hugh It'd be nice to have a [pdf] warning in the title of this one. ~~~ qwph I don't think I can edit it now. I'd guess it's because it's not a direct link, so it bypassed the pdf logic. Apologies. ~~~ Hexstream Perhaps the submission page could have a PDF checkbox with the default state taken from the PDF autodetection function? This way we could correct the autodetection when it fails. Also it would ensure a uniform title "tagging" style. Now that I think about it we could have radio buttons: Regular, PDF, Movie, Picture.

Ask HN: Where best to sell an established website? - dawson Does anyone have advice/recommendation for where best to sell an established website?<p>The site was once mentioned/interviewed on The BBC, CNN, CNET, TheRegister, Forbes, Silicon etc and was receiving large numbers of unique visitors, now not so much though still steady. I have written an ad but am stuck on where best to promote it. Thanks ====== davidw I'm testing out an auction on Flippa.com: [http://flippa.com/auctions/83341/Innsbruck-Austria-rental- li...](http://flippa.com/auctions/83341/Innsbruck-Austria-rental-listing-site ---Ski-Season) So far so good. It was a pretty smooth process, and even though it's a niche site, I've gotten a few bids. I'm hoping the price goes up a bit, but I just want to unload it at this point, so from that point of view it looks like I'll succeed. ~~~ bgraves Can you give a few more details on the site itself? I'm fascinated by the idea of "flipping" websites, and wondering what your experience has been. Even though you may not have started out with the intention of selling it to the highest bidder, it sounds like that's your best bet at this point. -How many hours did you put into it? -Have you tried any other business models (advertising, subscription, ad words, etc.)? ~~~ davidw I put enough time into it that I don't think I'll get my money back, but I wanted to at least give it a try, and see how Flippa worked out, and I do want to get rid of it, because I don't live in Innsbruck anymore, and don't speak German well enough to really get the most out of it, and not having it will mean one less thing to worry about maintaining (although it doesn't require much time at this point, it's one less thing on my server). I put some adsense on the site, and it made a bit of money, but not that much. Subscriptions might work out, but I think you'd have to invest more time in promoting them and the site, which brings you back to doing stuff in German... ~~~ bgraves Thanks for the reply. I completely understand about having "one less thing to worry about" and it sounds like selling to the highest bidder is your best bet at this point. ------ bgraves This thread is extremely relevant to my interests. I've thought about this for a long time and I'm completely shocked when I see dog-allergies.com (which has only been online for 5 months) selling for $600! I know SOME of this is modern day snake oil salesmen, just working the system to eek out some small profits, but people are obviously making some money at this, right? ------ medianama Why don't you post it here. I am sure lot of HNers would be interested ~~~ dawson I have put the website[1] up on Flippa along with a domain name[2]. I'm unsure if I should put a low starting price and expected reserve, or expected start price and no/low reserve. Thoughts? [1] [http://flippa.com/auctions/85671/Planet-Tolkien-com-as- seen-...](http://flippa.com/auctions/85671/Planet-Tolkien-com-as-seen-on-CNN- Forbes-BBC-TheRegister-Silicon) [2] <http://flippa.com/auctions/85677/alert-ly>

CSS Animated Slide Toggle - tzm http://jsfiddle.net/joshnh/evePU/show/ ====== jmyc Just a suggestion: I was annoyed when I first tried to drag the slider. I figured out you have to click it instead, but some users may just quit first. ~~~ douglascalhoun You can drag it, you just can't end the drag motion outside of the dongle area. Took me a few tries to figure that out myself. ~~~ xymostech I think that's only because then the click is getting registered, not because of the dragging. ------ alexobenauer Very cool... in Webkit browsers. It's a shame few (if any) other browsers allow you to customize a checkbox this way. Nonetheless, nice work on theming a native checkbox so well. I'd love to use it if it were cross-browser compatible. ~~~ milesokeefe I wish joshnh would have included a note about webkit or lack of FF support. I toggled it for 30 seconds or so before opening the source, noticing it was webkit, and switching to Chrome. ------ yaix Looks nice. But I think the [x] or [ ] of a normal checkbox are more intuitive than two different colors that may have different meanings in other cultures/countries (and I am not even starting about color blindness). ~~~ peeters I agree. I think it would go a long way to have the visible side display a red X or a green checkmark, rather than an ambiguous background. ------ jacobr For CSS demos, I suggest using <http://dabblet.com> which will automatically add vendor-prefixes. In this case it might not have helped due to the appearance property (which was dropped from the CSS spec [1]), but often only webkit prefixes are used even if properties are supported in other browsers. 1: <http://wiki.csswg.org/spec/css4-ui#dropped-css3-features> ~~~ martinaglv This won't actually work in any other engine except for webkit, even if you vendor-prefix the rules. This is because he is using an :after pseudo element on a checkbox, which shouldn't work and is technically a bug in webkit (according to the specifications, you cannot use :before/:after on replaced elements). ~~~ jacobr Oh, didn't notice that. The specification actually does not explicitly prohibit pseudo content on replaced elements. This specification does not fully define the interaction of :before and :after with replaced elements (such as IMG in HTML). This will be defined in more detail in a future specification. [http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/REC- CSS2-20110607/generate.html#be...](http://www.w3.org/TR/2011/REC- CSS2-20110607/generate.html#before-after-content) In my opinion it would be cool if all browsers supported it. ------ mnicole I get a little tired of seeing people override their web form elements this way because they should only be used for gestural interfaces, and even then it can be annoying. Trying to translate it to web just causes confusion for the user -- they don't know whether to click on it (in which case it is too wide and bulky for many circumstances) or slide it (which is unnatural for the web outside of range sliders). ------ groue What about adding the ability to drag the slider, so that the widget acts as it should act, that is to say as other sliding toggles? It would then be perfect! Rationale : that's again the problem of half-baked UI elements, which confuse their end-users, while the developpers feel satisfied and enjoy long drinks. ------ sprobertson Thought it wasn't so cool until I checked it out to see that this entire thing is a single <input>, not even an image in sight. Great job. It'd be cool to see as a light-switch that did something with page contrast. ------ danielschwartz You'd probably have a better framerate if you used translate or translate3d instead of a simple transition. Framerate is fine in Chrome but isn't fantastic on iPhone/iPad ------ hk__2 I've already made something like this some months ago: <http://demos.bfontaine.net/d/icheckboxes> ~~~ i386 FYI, they don't work at all on iOS 5.1 ------ enoughalready On mobile devices, there is about a 1 to 1.5 second delay before the animation begins. touchstart and js might be a better solution... ------ alexchamberlain The best bit about this is that the HTML markup has not been changed for the visual effects. Well Done! ------ dakrisht That's nice ------ dr42 It's really hard to use on the iPad, it doesn't behave how one might expect, click it makes the window zoom, clicking a second time slides the toggle. Sliding the toggle does nothing. ------ gcb looks awful as hell in opera. somehow it makes the browser render the checkmark behind the checkbox, you can barely see the end of the mark.

I don't know mathematics, I want to learn it, where to begin? - l4m3r Practically the most advanced aspect of mathematics that I know is "1 + 1", I want to learn more advanced topics; where to begin? ====== Ixiaus These two books will get you started, I was very much in the same boat as you and endeavored to improve my mathematical skills in a self directed manner. "Practical Mathematics", C. I. Palmer (great for practice and learning your stuff in a framework that isn't boring) "Mathematics for the Nonmathematician", Morris Kline (great for staying inspired, it teaches a lot of history with good exercises) This website also has some great recommendations for books: [http://math- blog.com/2007/07/17/ten-must-read-books-about-ma...](http://math- blog.com/2007/07/17/ten-must-read-books-about-mathematics/) Good luck! I've enjoyed math much more since I've tackled it on my own time and under my own desire. ------ RiderOfGiraffes So I know more about your current knowledge, can you answer these questions? What is x if x+5=13? What is x if x times 5 = 13? What is x if x+13=5? What is -23 times 7? What is -5 times -14? You probably find those completely trivial, I know. Can you give me an example of the sort of question you would find more challenging? And I'm serious. If you're serious, knowing how you answer these questions means a lot. The other thing is - what do you think mathematics is? I'm not yet sure what you think you want to learn. Can you tell me more? ------ RiderOfGiraffes You haven't answered my previous questions, you may not have thought I was serious. I am. Very. Can you answer these? What's 3/5 times 8/7 ? What's 3/5 plus 8/7 ? What's 23/9 - 7/4 ? What is x if x^2-3x+2=0 and how did you get your answer? ~~~ jodrellblank Don't want to hijck the op's thread, but am curious where you are going with this even if they don't answer. ------ jmonegro mathoverflow.com and sosmath.com ~~~ pg The spammer was a coincidence. He posted all over. ~~~ jmonegro I can't edit my comment - is there a way you can do that for me? ------ roundsquare If you are being literal, than I'd suggest any grade school math book in your library. Assuming you actually mean that you know algebra/trig (or can review these quickly), I'd suggest a good calculus book. I don't know any off hand, but I'm sure someone here can suggest. Assuming you know calculus and you want to learn what you have heard of as "real math" there are a few options. 1) You can pick up a good linear algebra book 2) Pick up a book on discrete mathematics 3) Pick up a book on introductory analysis. I guess a big question is why do you want to do this? For fun? For your job?

Phil Schiller seems to deny talk of cheap iPhone - derpenxyne http://9to5mac.com/2013/01/10/apple-marketing-svp-phil-schiller-seems-to-deny-talk-of-cheap-iphone/ ====== matdrewin Would be sweet if Apple was developing a quality dumb phone a la iPod Nano or Shuffle. I like my phones small and with the iPad, I don't use my iPhone nearly as much as I used to. ------ fleitz Why are the quotes from Schiller borderline incoherent? It sounds like they were made up by someone with a poor command of English. ~~~ panacea They're translated from the Chinese translation. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers>

Building and Motivating Engineering Teams - yarapavan https://medium.com/@skamille/building-and-motivating-engineering-teams-24fd56910039#.suk0zdr0l ====== yarapavan > Respect that engineers are smart individuals who often have more to add to > your business than just their coding talents, and teach them to respect that > the other parts of the business have equally valuable skills and > perspectives. Engineers don’t need to feel like the company royalty to be > inspired to do good work, but they do need the opportunity to be treated > like a partner.

Postman - a JavaScript message bus - slace http://github.com/aaronpowell/postman Postman is a JavaScript library &#38; npm package which allows for cross-component messaging like traditional pub/ sub libraries but without the reqiurement on a message to be published after all the listeners are attached. ====== drdaeman Could someone please explain me what's the point of this? I can't imagine any serious use case. It looks inefficient (uses arrays instead of linked lists/queues, so every cleanup requires full array rebuild), lacks any sort of message ordering guarantees (or notifications of lack thereof), lacks queue length limits (only time-based expiry and custom cleanup functions seeing only the value of message are provided) and so on. Moreover, I don't get the following: dropByDate = (date, msgs) -> msgs.reduce (x) -> x.created < date I believe msgs is an array (cache[name].history), but IIRC Array.reduce does not work like this, it's Array.filter that does. ~~~ slace I wrote this because the application I'm working on has dozens of small JavaScript components loaded, some of which rely on messages published by others. Some of them are invoked in-place, others are invoked as part of dom ready events so ensuring that the handlers are added before the messages are raised can't be done. Message ordering isn't important and since it's intended for asynchronous programming it shouldn't be important. As for linked lists vs arrays I'm not convinced that a linked list would be a better performer than an array for iterative access (which is a rather crucial part of the library). The reduce thing is a bug (I've chucked it on the issue register) as well as a feature request for only keeping a finite message limit. ------ oinksoft No, it's a CoffeeScript message bus. ~~~ slace Well yes, but there is a JavaScript version in the github repository so you don't need to know what CoffeeScript is or anything

Show HN: A New Game I Built in Two Months - felipemora Sorry for using a brand new account. I&#x27;ve lost access to my old account of several years.<p>This is a game that I spent the last two months working on: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;play.google.com&#x2F;store&#x2F;apps&#x2F;details?id=com.noatechnologies.android.shooter<p>I built it completely from scratch. That means that I built the graphical user interface engine, the collision engine, rendering engine, and physics engine starting from zero. I release it to the Play Store a couple of days ago but so far I haven&#x27;t gotten a single download.<p>I&#x27;m starving for some feedback. I think it is a decent game for spending the time away in the bus, subway, or the doctor&#x27;s office but maybe that is just me. I need honest feedback. I want to know if it is total crap or whether I&#x27;m in the right direction. Please help me.<p>A bit about me. I&#x27;m located in the northeast, Connecticut and sometimes NYC. I&#x27;ve been trying to teach myself everything about games since 2010. Mainly I&#x27;ve been trying to work on this game: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;play.google.com&#x2F;store&#x2F;apps&#x2F;details?id=com.noatechnologies.android.flyingfighterbeta<p>But it feels like the Never Ending Story. I&#x27;m taking an indefinite break from that and working on creating the smallest games that I can possibly make. Like the game I just released.<p>I also worked on this game a couple of years ago with no success if anyone is curious:<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;play.google.com&#x2F;store&#x2F;apps&#x2F;details?id=com.noatechnologies.android.machinabuilderlite ====== aliirz What framework did you use to build it? ~~~ felipemora I didn't use an existing framework, other than OpenGL. The game engine that I'm using is my own and is something that I've been working on since 2010. I think I was not very clear but the collision engine, rendering engine, physics engine, and graphical user interface engine have already been built and all of them make up my game engine. What I actually built in two months includes the game design, game mechanics, the specific user interface for this game, and the graphics.

DreamHost offers free hosting (select apps, needs invite) - anuraggoel http://dreamhostapps.com/ ====== redrobot5050 Considering how oversold their servers are, and how draconian their copyright policies are, and abysmal service, you wouldn't want to host your app there. At least, no sensible person hosting an app with five or more users would. ~~~ anuraggoel Agreed. They are going for the 'hobby/early/novice hacker' market, which seems to be quite large as well.

Trash - tosh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trash_(computing) ====== tosh > In early versions of the Macintosh Finder, Trash contents were listed in > volatile memory. Files moved to the Trash would appear there only until the > Finder session ended, then they would be automatically erased. When System 7 > was released, the Trash became a folder that retained its contents until the > user chose to empty the trash.

They rap for funding (startup hustle) - mickhagen http://undrip.com/rap/ ====== samtp It seems nowadays that each startup team is trying to out "quirky" one another. Everyone is screaming about how unique and edgy they are. "Yeah, our brogrammer is a world class Japanese chef from France, who enjoys Native American artwork when he's not kite surfing in Togo! #gnarlykittens" After awhile it all just come across as obnoxious. Just tell me what you make and why I need to use it. ------ eli Not to be mean, but I got bored about 20 seconds in and now I'm not sure what your company does or sells. ~~~ JonLim I was about to say this. Was painful to watch all the way through, and their about page has absolutely nothing about what they do. At best, I am guessing that they're yet another filter for social noise. Seriously, not trying to be mean. I love the positive energy, but come on, give me something to work with guys! ------ jbigelow76 If the founder sold his previous startup to Chegg, and undrip is only looking for seed level funds right now why not boot strap? Or has angel funding become little more than trading equity for credibility to eventually move onto a larger Series A? ~~~ mickhagen Good point. I'm the Founder/CEO. This was more about exposure/hiring than it was about funding. However, we're definitely looking for great investors. Not about money, about people and what they can bring. ~~~ harrisontanh I made the jump into Twitter just a few days ago and because of my initial overenthusiastic following spree, I felt swamped and deluged within my first week! Just tonight I ended up already wading through the crowd of people I follow and un-following them much like I did a year into using Facebook! Troublesome people that presented a huge conundrum were Guy Kawasaki - great guy with cool things to share, but ultimately just too much of it was too irrelevant! If only there was a filter... _cough_ _cough_ Ironically, I came across Undrip's rap video soon after. ------ twog So much awesome. I know alot of HNers may view this as another sign that we are "in a bubble" but I think this is just good old fashioned creativity. Im rooting for you undrip. ------ rvenugopal Enjoyed the video. Loved the second rapper(Ryan Johnson???). Seem to be willing to hustle to get attention which is great. But I still don't understand what undrip does. Their about page has a bunch buzzwords which makes me think they are in the social media, content consumption space. But seriously guessing here. They don't have a mission statement either. Come on guys. Give us something. ------ bosch These tools remind me of the Icy Hot Stuntaz: <http://stuntaz.cjb.net/> ------ fapi1974 Aaargh - it's painful but I can't stop watching it! My bet is your videos make it in front of the angels. Though I didn't really try to find out what the company was about - maybe a CTA at some point early in the video? ~~~ aspir I agree with the clearer CTA- you'll get the attention of these guys, but if they don't know what you're doing within 30 seconds, they may get frustrated or bored. Your about page is pretty vague as well. Some tightly done copy at the top of both of these pages would work wonders. ------ Geekette Not bad; you should consider using rap format for demoing at conferences! However, I also still don't know what Undrip is; it would make your flow much tighter if you incorporated your pitch into it. ------ vinhboy Very well done. I like the second rapper. I would have liked to see more computers in the video. And maybe even some matrix code effects... ------ sfkaos If undrip doesn't work out, one of you guys may have a fallback. I was hoping for the value proposition during the rap. ------ ell So far, the only VC that saw the video is Ron Conway. ------ jpw314 check out the ron conway rap: <http://undrip.com/rap/ron-conway-rap/> ------ adrianscott white, fat boy should quit his day-job and rap full-time. for real. ~~~ jpw314 he does already! see <http://www.facebook.com/cswsprovo> and @DavidFPeterson just a friend who helped us out for the rap ~~~ adrianscott nice! ;) ------ rokhayakebe I don't know about the product, but you guys have a good t-shirt taste. ------ adgar The second guy actually has some pretty decent flow. notbad.gif.

Fire near LANL Whole town evacuated - lightweb http://nmfireinfo.wordpress.com There is a fire very close to Los Alamos National Laboratory. They have begun to evacuate the whole town. Here is some info from someone on the ground: Our main concern is that the Las Conchas fire is about 3 1/2 miles from Area G, the dumpsite that has been in operation since the late 1950s/early 1960s. There are 20,000 to 30,000 55-gallons drums of plutonium contaminated waste (containing solvents, chemicals and toxic materials) sitting in fabric tents above ground. These drums are destined for WIPP. We understand that LANL has been working since late last night to build a fire line in Water Canyon, between the fire and Area G. Over the last 26 hours the fire has grown from 0 acres to about 45,000 acres – about the size of the Cerro Grande fire in 2000. ====== lightweb There is a fire very close to Los Alamos National Laboratory. They have begun to evacuate the whole town. Here is some info from someone on the ground: Our main concern is that the Las Conchas fire is about 3 1/2 miles from Area G, the dumpsite that has been in operation since the late 1950s/early 1960s. There are 20,000 to 30,000 55-gallons drums of plutonium contaminated waste (containing solvents, chemicals and toxic materials) sitting in fabric tents above ground. These drums are destined for WIPP. We understand that LANL has been working since late last night to build a fire line in Water Canyon, between the fire and Area G. Over the last 26 hours the fire has grown from 0 acres to about 45,000 acres – about the size of the Cerro Grande fire in 2000. ------ lightweb <http://twitpic.com/5hvqed> ------ lightweb Holy crap it's serious! I may have to bug out!

Grakn – The Database for AI - nikolay https://grakn.ai/ ====== dreamcompiler Or you could just use prolog and then you wouldn't need to invent yet another graph query language. ~~~ zmonx Prolog indeed seems eminently suitable for this use case. For example, let us consider the first use case shown on the page: graql>> match $x isa movie; $y isa person; $z isa movie value "Avatar"; ($x, $y) isa directorship; ($y, $z) isa directorship; select $x; This finds movies directed by the director of _Avatar_. Here are a few relations in Prolog that we can use for this example: movie('Avatar'). movie('Titanic'). movie('Aliens'). movie('Terminator 2: Judgement Day'). person('James Cameron'). directorship(X, Y) :- movie_director(X, Y). directorship(X, Y) :- movie_director(Y, X). movie_director('Avatar', 'James Cameron'). movie_director('Titanic', 'James Cameron'). movie_director('Aliens', 'James Cameron'). movie_director('Terminator 2: Judgement Day', 'James Cameron'). These are Prolog _facts_ and _rules_ that suffice to illustrate this use case. In Prolog, we can _query_ this database as follows: ?- findall(X, (movie(X), person(Y), movie(Z), Z = 'Avatar', directorship(X, Y), directorship(Y, Z)), Xs). Note how closely this query corresponds to the initial example! Prolog answers with: Xs = ['Avatar', 'Titanic', 'Aliens', 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day']. Note that this is in fact more complete than what the example shows: results>> [ {"isa": "movie", "value": "Titanic"}, {"isa": "movie", "value": "Aliens"}, {"isa": "movie", "value": "Terminator 2: Judgement Day"} ] Interestingly, this _misses_ _Avatar_! ~~~ doctormiko Hi, Grakn developer here. In fact you have just caught a mistake in our website! If you run that query on a live system, it will return Avatar: we missed a line in the example query specifying that we want movies _different_ from Avatar. We will fix the website asap ------ rspeer Does "distributed" mean it _can_ run efficiently on multiple computers, or that it _requires_ multiple computers to run efficiently? I've seen too many graph databases that say "oh no, you need a cluster" when presented with graphs that fit easily on a disk but not in RAM. If I have 30 million annotated edges on one computer, will this be faster or slower than PostgreSQL at importing and querying the data? ~~~ domenico_c Grakn developer here. That's interesting, do you have any particular graph database in mind? Grakn runs fine on a single machine. One of the core architectural points is that the engine should not be too tightly bound to the storage layer. Currently we rely on Cassandra for storage but we are experimenting with other solutions. The answer to your last question depends on what query you are performing. If the domain you are modelling is represented naturally as a graph, then you can expect much better performance than PostgreSQL (we'll publish some benchmark results soon).

SourceWeb: A C/C++ source code indexer and navigator - vmorgulis http://rprichard.github.io/sourceweb/ ====== guruz There's a similar tool here which is running inside the web browser: [http://code.woboq.org/llvm/clang/include/clang/AST/ASTContex...](http://code.woboq.org/llvm/clang/include/clang/AST/ASTContext.h.html#_ZNK5clang10ASTContext15getTypeDeclTypeEPKNS_8TypeDeclES3_) [https://code.woboq.org/](https://code.woboq.org/) [https://woboq.com/codebrowser.html](https://woboq.com/codebrowser.html) ~~~ nephyrin Mozilla's DXR deserves a look as well [https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla- central/source/](https://dxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/source/) [https://github.com/mozilla/dxr](https://github.com/mozilla/dxr) ~~~ TACIXAT Source Navigator is a non-web source code viewer. [http://sourcenav.sourceforge.net/](http://sourcenav.sourceforge.net/) ------ pedram_hadjian I have been looking for good code navigation in vim and find it weird, that ctags and scope is oftentimes advertised, as it only does index symbol names. If two different c++ classes use the same identifier for a member and you even fully qualify it in a .cpp definition (e.g. A::Temp and B::Temp), ctags/cscope still just picks the earliest occurrence of Temp. Using the clang parser is the obvious thing to do (Qt Creator now has a plugin like this). The real downside to the linux command line tools I found (clic, rtags) is, that you need to provide compiler invokations for all .cpp files to the tools. With cmake, this is easy (call it with -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON), but with plain make files, this is pain (specially, if you don't want to setup the whole dependencies): if it doesn't compile, you can't parse. I would love to see a "parse what is possible", because I'd like to learn from source by running "apt-get source ..." and navigating through parts, that I am interested in without trying to compile everything. Best example for source, I don't want to compile is the Android source code (AOSP). Am I missing something? ~~~ ryanprichard SourceWeb needs a list of C++ invocations (compile_commands.json), but it ignores compiler errors, so I'm not sure how precise the invocations need to be. If all the C++ source files in a directory were naively listed, the index might still be useful. I've never actually done that, though -- I normally use the sw-btrace tool to build the JSON file. The indexer comes up with a globally-unique name for each "symbol" it indexes. This turned out to be a hard problem for things like templates and macros. The indexer names static functions by prepending a filename, e.g. "bio_ssl.c/ssl_write". For local variables, it also appends a file offset. With templates/macros, it can determine that a single identifier corresponds to arbitrarily many different symbols, and when you right-click that identifier in the GUI, it attempts to show them all in a popup menu, which fills the entire screen. ------ i336_ IMO, this is less interesting than the tiny little homemade screencast app powering the part at the top of the page. Its FPS is so fast I knew there was some magic going on behind the scenes, so I poked it. Turns out there are a bunch of JSON arrays that cross-references x,y coordinates with PNG files, and a tiny player to "render" these in realtime. The tidbits are right there in the element inspector. ~~~ vmorgulis Good point! The screencasting tool from the same author: [https://github.com/rprichard/x11-canvas- screencast](https://github.com/rprichard/x11-canvas-screencast) ------ ausjke This looks really interesting, source-navigator has not been actively developed for years, source-insighter is windows-only, eclipse etc is just too heavy for code navigator. however the 0.1 release is done on 2013.5.6 and that is it, not much development was done since then. Also the 'apt-get' list for compiling simply failed (could not find those packages) on debian 8. while I really like a light-weight source code navigator,this one needs lots of work it seems. ~~~ aethertap The master branch worked without issue for me on ubuntu 15.04 and 15.10. I had to install clang-3.6 and libclang3.6-dev, if that helps. ~~~ ryanprichard Someone just sent a patch this morning upgrading it to Clang 3.7, which is available in the Ubuntu 15.10 repository, but not earlier. There are also official x64 llvm.org binaries for 14.04 that work. I don't actually use the program on a daily basis, but I do pull it out on special occasions. Most recently I used it while tracking down [https://github.com/atom/electron/issues/3380](https://github.com/atom/electron/issues/3380). It's helpful because Electron/Chromium is big and I'm unfamiliar with the code. ~~~ ausjke Just built it on 15.10 and it will segfault when I do "sourceweb index" but will run fine "sourceweb ./index", seems like a path is mandatory. All in all this is not as feature complete as source navigator, which is old but works for me better still. ------ KayEss Nice. I've been wanting something like this. I can imagine using this as a starting point to hack something up with as it appears to have examples for all of the bits I was thinking was going to be hardest :) Hopefully it'll mean I can forget about doxygen. ------ jhasse Awesome! Would be cool if this could be integrated into Atom. ------ castratikron Might be cool. I'd like to see how it compares with cscope. ------ mellery451 looks interesting, but I'd rather have a tool that exposes a data API so that it can be plugged into vim/emacs ~~~ Arkanosis I think you're looking for rtags: [https://github.com/Andersbakken/rtags](https://github.com/Andersbakken/rtags) ~~~ martincmartin +1 for RTags. I recently got it working, and have been enjoying actually navigating through C++ code. Plus, it can do things like show you preprocessor output, show all places where a function is called, show all implementations of a virtual function, complete symbols, show byte offsets of fields, etc. ~~~ jhdevos Any idea what the best vim plugin for rtags is? I see there are several... ~~~ jguegant YCM is good for vim too: [https://github.com/Valloric/YouCompleteMe](https://github.com/Valloric/YouCompleteMe) It uses Clang for C/C++/Objective-C/Objective-C++ and exposes itself as a server usable from vim, emacs, sublime ...

Ask HN: why is computer graphics research important? - phd_student Many areas of CS have "practical value": algorithms help us understand asymptotic speed of algorithms; security helps us avoid getting hacked; networks teach us how to deal with distributed, unreliable machines; machine learning helps us deal with noisy, large data sets; ... however, computer graphics research these days seems to be focused mainly on entertainment ... anyone here see what uses will come from it besides computer games / holly wood? ====== comatose_kid Entertainment is important. If that's not up your alley, there's medical imaging, data visualization, novel HCI stuff (eg, Johnny Lee's work at CMU). CG has practical value - much of what is currently displayed on your screen (windowing systems, anti-aliased font rendering) is a result of CG research. ------ mcav GPU research seems to be increasingly important in the search for faster processing power (in conjunction with CPUs). As we grab better, larger, higher resolution displays, graphics will become more useful for displaying data. Without great graphics to match increasing CPU power, we'd be left with a rather boring computing experience. ------ noodle simulations. medical simulators, flight simulators, etc.. ------ jibiki MRI stuff, but maybe that's already been done. ------ JMiao there's a graphics group at stanford that simulates surgical procedures (scalpel to skin precision, etc.).

Can BitCoin, the First Open Source Currency, Threaten the Dollar? - TuxPirate http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/90660/can-bitcoin-the-first-open-source-currency-threaten-the-dollar/ ====== markkat I have BitCoins, so this only is of benefit to me; but I have the feeling that stories about BitCoins are being promoted on HN, not only for the community's interest in BitCoin, but in an effort to pump the exposure to increase awareness and value of their stock. I don't mind the effect too much, as I personally find the Bitcoin phenomenon to be endlessly interesting, but I feel compelled to point out what might be a small elephant in this room. ~~~ trotsky The relentless promotion campaign that is conducted here and similar places makes it very hard to not interpret the whole phenomenon as a type of penny stock style pump and dump scheme, regardless of the technical merits at the core of the system. One would think that anyone who thought of themselves as not of part of a speculative frenzy would realize that promoting such a bubble, and not caring about giving people the impression that they are, would be bad for its mid to long term success. ~~~ wladimir It's certainly over-the-top. I tried to flag this post down, as it has nothing to do anymore with Bitcoin as open source project and thus hacking. But there's just too much incentive to get it on the front page, I guess... I like the idea of cryptocurrencies very much but can we stop the overhyping? Nothing good can come of it. ------ DiabloD3 Small problem, he says "They cannot be taxed, which would remove yet another source of power the state has over individuals." I hate to inform everyone, but Bitcoins CAN be taxed. Anything that is normally taxable in USD transactions are also taxable as a BTC transaction. Remember people, pay your damned taxes. ~~~ rd7 Why does everyone miss the point that once you cash out your BTC you're paying USD taxes. ~~~ wccrawford Because they are dreamily thinking that they will spend BTC directly, and never convert to USD. ~~~ stonemetal No conversion to dollar necessary. An American citizen say lives on the US Canada border and has a job just across the line and gets paid in Canadian dollars they are still expected to pay income tax. If an American citizen lives and works in France for a decade they are expected to file income taxes in the US every year. Income tax is just that, tax on income it applies to every citizen of the US no matter where they live or what currency they get paid in. BTC is no different. ~~~ yread I am no expert on american taxes (eh, IANEOAT?) but I believe there is a treaty between France and USA preventing double taxation. You might or might not be forced to file the papers but if you're already paying taxes from the income in France (as would be the case - since the employer would just deduct it) you wouldn't have to pay the US taxes. Sorry for the OT ------ inoop Bitcoin uses a distributed timestamping server. The paper literally states that "new transactions are broadcast to all nodes". This effectively means that they need a global broadcast to the majority of nodes for every bit coin transfer. This doesn't scale in terms of number of nodes, and it doesn't scale in number of transactions. They can not compensate for an increase in the number of transactions by adding more nodes because instead of distributing the work load over the nodes, they are in fact replicating it. The rationale seems to be that as long as you have more honest nodes than malicious ones the system will not be hijacked. Of course, the chance that a Russian botnet has more CPU power than you do is quite real. They go on to say that if an attacker has more computational power than everyone else they would do better to use it mining coins than to break the system, and they seem to leave it at that. Counting on the rational behavior of potential attackers does not seem like a good strategy to me. Maybe I'm missing something here, but I'm pretty sure this thing will simply not scale. It reminds me of Gnutella, which implemented search through scoped flooding and somehow promised both scalability and coverage. I have the same feeling here. Scalability _and_ security in a peer-to-peer network? Surely you jest. When something sounds too good to be true it probably is. edit: link to the paper: <http://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf> ------ wccrawford Governments aren't governments because they control currency. They control currency because the people gave them to power to do so. They were already governments before that. ------ Duff Answer: No. ------ seociety Bitcoin will change the world; end of story. ~~~ rd7 no it wont.

Evaluating potential co-founders? Try going camping. - jesselamb http://notmylawyer.com/post/745869535/evaluating-potential-co-founders-try-going-camping ====== hnote Vladimir Vysotsky, Song about a friend <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN0YzyUEhbo> Original version, without subtitles <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2xO_FWR1z8> Lyrics at <http://bit.ly/cxpOJd> ~~~ jesselamb Oh wow, I'd never seen that before. I thought about hiking too but I've never been so I don't know what it's like. I also thought about suggesting sailing for a couple weeks, but I was worried about what liability there'd be if some startup team got lost at sea. :) ------ tzs Make sure _all_ the co-founders are on the trip. Anyone remember a Unix workstation company from the early '80s named Callan Data Systems? David Callan was one of three equal founders, so one might wonder how it came the bear just his name. The three founders were all ready to incorporate. All that was holding them up was the name for the company. They were just unable to come to a consensus. After much discussion with no progress, two of the founders went away for a weekend hunting trip. David did not go with them. When they got back, he told them he'd went ahead and filed the papers, and the company was named Callan Data Systems. I believe he told them this was just meant to be temporary so they could move ahead, and it could be changed later once they agreed on the "real" name--but of course they were never able to agree on a "real" name, so it stayed "Callan Data Systems". ~~~ jesselamb Haha. Great point. ------ aarghh I met my wife while on camping trip to the Himalayas. Of the 4 women in the group, 3 married people they met for the first time on that trip. Anecdote, rather than hard data, of course. You could always claim that high-altitude made my wife's decision making suspect - hence she's saddled with me. ~~~ jesselamb Haha. You may have uncovered a whole new industry: extreme dating. ------ smokey_the_bear I've found this also works well for evaluating boyfriends ~~~ jesselamb I bet. I'm glad my wife didn't test me on my camping abilities. She'd probably have left me in the woods. ~~~ pjscott I think the point is more to test your ability to deal with having sucky camping abilities, without turning unpleasant under stress. ~~~ jesselamb Exactly. :)

Web SQL Database: In Memoriam - daleharvey http://nolanlawson.com/2014/04/26/web-sql-database-in-memoriam/ ====== actsasbuffoon The great thing is that we're on the verge of not needing Web SQL anymore. sql.js ([https://github.com/kripken/sql.js](https://github.com/kripken/sql.js)) is SQLite compiled to JS (via Emscripten). It can do everything you'd normally do with SQLite. You can take the db and serialize it down into a format that can be stored in local storage, and rehydrate the DB from that when a user returns to your site. The only thing preventing this from being practical is that sql.js weighs in at around 2MB. Still, there are caching mechanisms that could get around that issue. I think it's fantastic that we've reached the point where we don't need databases baked into our browsers. All we need is fast JS engines (which we have) and a dumb data store (which we have), and we can provide our own client side databases. ~~~ ken47 I've used both sql.js and WebSQL. Sql.js will get the job done in a lot of cases, but it is not a perfect substitute. Sql.js's performance is an order of a magnitude worse than WebSQL when put under heavy load (this likely has more to do with ASM vs true native code than Sql.js in particular). Particularly, sql.js starts to stutter at a far lower query load than WebSQL for a given machine. Furthermore, Sql.js uses sqlite3_exec() under the hood, which means that all results get converted to strings, _regardless of the underlying type of the column_. And finally, effective memory capacities are not the same. ~~~ jwise0 Yes, I just wrote a small app around sql.js, and I was surprised at how poorly it performed. I was expecting to be within a factor of three of native, but I'm seeing performance down by an order of magnitude or so. The sql.js page alludes to bugs open in Firefox and Chrome for these issues; I imagine they'll shake out over time, but it's certainly not a buttery smooth experience just yet. Even still, it certainly works better than the alternatives! ------ batbomb It's unfortunate most of this was debated at the beginning of all the hype around NoSQL data stores. It would be some work, but still be relatively trivial to build a query spec, probably based off of SQL 92, and a basic type system spec (Strings, numbers, and dates are the bulk of it), and then an implementation of everything else. Facebook did it with Presto, although they haven't finished the DML part of it. Reading the emails, I get the feeling most of the people involved didn't have as much experience with databases as they probably should have in order to make a truly informed decision. ~~~ pornel The problem is that all pages aren't written to the spec, they're written to work with implementations. When there's only one implementation (that authors care about), then every quirk, bug and accidental misfeature can be depended upon, and SQLite has plenty of those ("FLOATING POINT" parsed as "INT", magic of ROWID, the lax type system even more forgiving than PHP, etc.) If there was another implementation then lack of overlap in quirks/bugs would prevent authors from depending on them (e.g. if you wrote something stupid then it'd work in one browser, but not the other). ASCII venn diagram of 2 implementations: { bugs1 ( usable standard } bugs2 ) ASCII venn diagram of all browsers just shipping same Sqlite: {( usable: standard and all bugs }) ~~~ nolanl That's a good point, and one I could have added to the post. There are bugs in Web SQL, but they're largely the same on both Chrome and Safari. IndexedDB is trickier, because the bugs are all different between Firefox, IE, and Chrome. Again, another situation where libraries can help out. Although in general, it's sad that the "independent implementations" mantra basically guarantees a lack of consistency across browsers. It's like we only have a choice between "pointing to a pile of C code" or ending up with a pile of browser bugs. Maybe the W3C could write acceptance tests to go alongside the specs. ~~~ pcwalton > Maybe the W3C could write acceptance tests to go alongside the specs. Like these? :) [https://github.com/w3c/web-platform- tests](https://github.com/w3c/web-platform-tests) ~~~ nolanl Heh, I learned a thing about a thing! :) Curious to know how so many quirks slipped through, though. Maybe I should do a PR on the tests for bugs that the browser vendors might not know about, e.g. [https://gist.github.com/nolanlawson/8330172](https://gist.github.com/nolanlawson/8330172). ------ clxl WebSQL is remarkably simple to use, works on the most popular browsers on mobile and desktop, and gives you the power of SQL. In contrast, IME indexed db felt like pulling teeth. The discussions seem to suggest that institutional intransigence by Mozilla pushed the internet back a step. (And yes, SQLite + Emscripten is significantly slower than websql on chrome and iOS Safari) ~~~ rjd From a personal perspective I stopped building HTML web apps after I started to transition my WebSQL apps to IndexedDB. I really really disliked the experience (messy code/overhead) and haven't had any desire to write another with a client side DB again. The bright side for is however it drove me to learn iOS and Android development... not such a great day for the web though as I suspect my experience isn't unique. ------ mwexler As always, there are some problems IndexedDB document stores solve well, and others that SQL is really well suited for, and I think it's great to have both options. What sucks is when people say "Sure, we'll support that there is more than one way to do this (TMTOWTDI), as long as you recognize that my way is the right way in almost all foreseeable cases, so we'll build the tool this way". That statement is rarely correct, especially when making a browser capability. (Yes, I know, trying to disprove a generalization with a generalization isn't very persuasive. Oh well.) I read all the concerns (it's a standard built around sqllite, and who wants that?!?!, etc.) and I still sigh a sigh of disappointment that it's come to this. I know, Web SQL isn't going away, as the author points out, but it will be a 2nd class citizen for the foreseeable future, and that's just a missed opportunity, imho. ~~~ yogo Exactly they both have scenarios that they work very well for just like you have with the server-side SQL RDBMS and the NoSQL ones. IndexedDB is fine for simpler apps or apps where there isn't a real need for joining, grouping and ordering the records in a very flexible way. Web SQL is definitely dead in native Chrome apps. It was never born actually given IndexedDB was the only solution that was pushed. ------ DArcMattr WebSQL yet another web spec that the Mozilla Foundation won't implement because of "problems". There are a few bits of CSS that I would love to use all over the web, like "display: run-in", but Gecko is the only holdout. ~~~ mccr8 It sounds like Blink and WebKit are actually removing display:run-in, according to the Gecko bug: [https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2056](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2056) ------ MatthewPhillips Shamless plug: My (now quite old) library Gazel puts a Redis-like API on top of IndexedDB making it pleasant to use: [http://gazeljs.org/](http://gazeljs.org/) ------ MatthewPhillips The flip-side is that IndexedDB being an independent spec means they are able to extend it in ways that wouldn't be possible with WebSQL. For example, in IndexedDB you can store arbitrary Blobs as values. This means you could store an HD movie if you wanted. With WebSQL you had to base64 encode blobs to store them. I think this articles kicks on one key thing that explains the lack of enthusiasm around IndexedDB... people primarily want a database on mobile. And iPhone doesn't support IndexedDB yet, that is enough to kill it. ------ estrabd > Often in the tech industry we’re too quick to eviscerate some recently- > obsoleted technology (Flash, SVN, Perl) Perl is obsolete? LOLz.

What being hopelessly single taught me about pitching tech celebs - iseff http://www.geekwire.com/2011/hopelessly-single-taught-pitching-tech-celebs ====== pg Maybe my case is unusual because YC takes applications online, but I don't like it when people walk up to me and "pitch" me by reciting some preformulated speech about their startup. I can almost never understand what they're talking about. And it makes me feel like a target, in much the same way it probably does to women when guys walk up to them and recite preformulated pickup lines. The unit of conversation with a "tech celeb" need not be a pitch. I'd suggest trying an ordinary conversation instead. I don't know about other people, but it would definitely work better with me. ~~~ zach This is a tough thing for founders. I was in this situation earlier this year after I won a ticket to Google I/O. One of the events was a Google Ventures mixer, which turned out to be a "speed-dating" event. I was excited to meet Joe Kraus, who gave my favorite Startup School speech ever, but what to do in this format? Launch into a cooked-up pitch? But I wanted to talk to Joe, not use him for target practice based on his job. But wasn't that kind of what I was expected to do? Still, what a borderline-presumptuous missionary tack to take with someone I respect. But wouldn't I get over that knowing teammates were counting on me to get us funding any way we could? At last, I decided to skip the pitch, chatted very pleasantly with Joe, got some great advice and his card. In retrospect, that was really about as much as I should expect in a five-minute sit-down. He seems twice as much of a great guy as I thought he was. The pitch can wait until the next time we cross paths or it's been a lot better tested. But I better recognize now how awkward these situations can get. ~~~ pg Probably the optimal plan would be to engage the investor and let them draw the idea out of you by asking questions. Not just because this is less aggressive, but because it's more efficient. Preformulated pitches are usually so bad that it makes my head ache trying to figure out what the company does. If I could just ask questions I could probably narrow it down pretty rapidly. ~~~ illumen The 'What do you do' question almost always comes up. Or the 'what are you working on?' question. That's when you can say your few words about what you do and what you are working on. If the other person is interested they might ask a question. You say something like: "I'm a app/web developer who just finished contracting at the fastest growing company in the world making apps for fortune 100s and am now working on a start up doing Travel Guide-Apps." Their eyes may glaze over half way through your "I'm a web developer..." at which point you notice this and drop it, ask them what they do, or ask them some other question. Anyway, I guess that is basic 101 conversation techniques. A fun game I used to play with friends in bars/clubs was introducing someone else. My friend would pretend to be a french student new to the city and I was introducing them around. Got into some very funny conversations with people... especially when they realized what the game was. ~~~ dagw I think you could seriously improve your 'What do you do' answer. If you'd simply said "I develop travel guide apps" you probably wouldn't get any eye- glazing and in all likelihood it might even lead to an interesting conversation about traveling and favorite destinations. Don't brag about how awesome you are and don't get into details about who you work for or how awesome they are. Simply state in as high-level terms as possible actual real world problem you are solving, and don't worry if your short answer isn't technically correct. If they care you can clear up any confusion when they ask for more details. ------ Mystalic Coming from the point of view of somebody who gets pitched daily... I can barely distinguish them from each other. Sure, I'll give you my card with contact info, but it doesn't mean I will be interested when I get the email. Yes, you did more than most people and had the balls to approach me. Great. But that won't fix a mediocre product or a product I'm not interested in. I'll just end up ignoring your email. I look for cues, such as who is funding you, your background and whether you got an introduction from somebody I trust. These things are my filters to finding the stories and startups that matter. Beyond that, I agree with PG: I prefer ordinary conversations. Again, the people I know and find genuinely interesting are more likely to catch my attention when the time comes to pitch me. ~~~ gaius _I look for cues, such as who is funding you_ Someone has to go first, no? Why do you trust rival VCs more than your own judgement? ~~~ uniclaude Either I'm mistaken, or you do not know who you are answering to. Mystalic is an editor at Mashable, not a VC. Therefore, when asking "who's funding you" he's not looking for _rival_ VCs, but as he said, for cues. That does not, however, really invalidate your point of him making is own judgement instead of filtering by VCs. ------ patio11 So hypothetically if you have a very busy person who is mobbed by a lot of cold pitches, they might have a bit of pitch fatigue and assume that anybody cold pitching them is likely about as good a fit as the average cold pitcher, which is to say "total waste of my time." That very busy, selective individual probably has friends who are less mobbed by pitchers. Those friends might even be flattered to hear from you. Pitch them, with the goal of convincing them your startup/story/invitation to dinner and a movie/etc is so attractive that it is worth giving a warm intro to their friend. A warm intro in the Valley appears to be frequently a short two-sentence email: this is how I know X, here's why he's valuable to you, you guys take it from here. This is how the real world works, over and over again. ~~~ leviathan This also works in the dating game where you approach indirectly by striking up a conversation with the less attractive friend. ------ jonnathanson I, too, used to suck at approaching women at bars (I still do!). Rather than polishing up my pickup game, I adopted a different strategy: be interesting. Go to fun parties. Throw some fun parties. Become known as a cool person to hang out with, which results in more invitations to more parties. Create your own momentum. I suppose the tech-industry corollary here is to do some agenda-free networking, and build up an agenda-free network. You may have a hidden agenda, and that's fine, but push it to the way back of your mind for now. You need to spend time building up a circle. Where to start? If you're in the Bay Area and working on a startup or a personal project, I'm sure you know at least 5 or 10 other folks in the same boat. Start getting together. Set up a weekly dinner or drinks. Start finding out about other peoples' dinners and drinks. Socialize and be interesting. Help other people without any expectation that they will help you. This is a slow game, played over a longer term than many people are comfortable with. But it's a more organic way to meet and "pitch" people. I'd much rather find a way to become friendly with Big Investor X than find a perfect 30-second pitch for a chance encounter with Big Investor X. I can always pitch a friend, after all, if a bit down the line. _"But none of my friends is interesting / knows anybody cool / has any different friends outside our group."_ Time to diversify your social circle, then. Reach out and connect people from different stages of your life: childhood friends, college friends, work buddies from former and current jobs, interest-group friends, and so forth. Go to mixers and meet new people, too. All of this may sound patently obvious to some folks here, and if you're among those folks, awesome. Just know that this stuff didn't occur naturally to me, and I bet a fair number of people are built similarly. I'd always struggled with the apparent phoniness and strain of "networking," until I learned why: I was trying to compress a long-term process into short-term transactions. It felt unnatural because it _was_ unnatural. I was always approaching people out of the blue and asking for something. That's not a winning strategy for becoming liked and getting helped. You've got to be doing things for others before expecting others to do things for you. ~~~ lolcraft Things are complicated. Beware of the potential phonyness lurking there. "Instead of making a business offer, pretend to be friends long enough so that the other party will (maybe) want to make business with you." Cool and all, but _sometimes_ a pitch is just a pitch, and a fuck is just a fuck. Also: personally I would _never_ start a business with a friend I _really_ cared about. _Never_. It's just like having a "friend with benefits": it can go perfectly or it can be hell on earth. ~~~ jonnathanson _""Instead of making a business offer, pretend to be friends long enough so that the other party will (maybe) want to make business with you."_ That's not what I'm saying. Rather, I'm talking about cultivating a network of friends in and around the business. If one of those friends happens to be an important person, great. If not, great. It's possible to have a long-term agenda and not to be mercenarily seeking things from people along the way. In fact, the less you do the latter, the better. Ironically enough, you'll probably have an easier time getting help from people if you're not solely trying to get help from them. To refer back to the girls-in-bars analogy: you'll have an easier time getting laid when you're not trying hard to get laid. When you're simply trying to have a good time and meet interesting people, getting laid is icing on the cake. It's not the goal, but when it comes along, it's a bonus. ------ joshu Here is my email address so I can escape this painful conversation. It will be much easier to ignore your email. ~~~ dpritchett Similarly, whenever anyone cold calls me or knocks on my door to sell me services I don't want I ask for a brochure to "read over" later. ------ sunir My title is literally Chief Handshaker at FreshBooks. I wheel and deal for a living. When walking up to people randomly, I find it is immensely helpful to be genuinely interested in people. They will often pay you back the favour by being genuinely interested in you afterwards. To be honest, I do what I do because I love people. They are endlessly interesting. I don't do it to build my Twitter follower count. If you walk up pitching they will just turtle and get rid of you. Have faith they will ask you about you in due course. ~~~ sjs I guess the question for those of us who aren't inherently interested in people is how do we build such an interest, curiosity, and love for everyone? You can't just read Be Here Now and suddenly be enlightened and feel one with the world. (The question is not exactly directed at you since you seem to naturally have such an interest.) ~~~ sunir I used to be a curmudgeon until my early 20s, wondering how everyone could be so dumb. Then, enlightenment! I learnt I didn't know everything. I am just curious. Everyone acts rationally from their point of view. Why do people do what they do? What makes them successful? Failures? What is their take on living? Most people are passionate about something, so tell me about it. I'll learn something new. I spent a lot of time learning how to actively listen, not just wait for an opportunity to jump into a conversation with my own immature opinions. (I have many.) I am not afraid to ask dumb questions in an effort to learn. I have no fear that people will think I am stupid. Actually, asking questions makes you look like a genius. Caveat: There are some people who lack the spark of life. I don't spend time with them. ~~~ ctdonath _Most people are passionate about something, so tell me about it._ That's my sticking point: in situations referred to, the person in question all too often isn't prone to discussing what he _want_ to discuss, but what his fans do. How to, as a random face wandering up as so many do, can one elicit some fragment of "say, what do _you_ want to talk about or do?" The nuance struck me when meeting (as just another face in the room) Steve Reich and Philip Glass. During a talk, Reich lamented that everyone wanted to gush over his early works, which he made clear he viewed as immature - not bad, but something he has moved far beyond. Able to stand nearby someone's hallway chat with Glass, I was struck by how _much_ the two had to talk about, how the other person wasn't anyone the great composer knew, and how I had absolutely nothing to offer/initiate in conversation despite a desire to do so and an ability to work a conversation well _once_it_started_ on some point - but alas I had no point to start on. To wit: when opportune, I want to say to great/famous person X "so, what might _you_ want to talk about?" but such phrasing is inane. ~~~ dagw A few years ago my mother helped organize a literature festival and at the closing banquet was seated next to a famous author with several critically acclaimed bestsellers to his name. My mother introduced herself and added "I have to admit I've never actually read any of your books". "Excellent!" the author replied, "that means we can talk about something else". And they spent the entire evening having a really great conversation about all manners of topics. My mother said she could really tell how excited he was to get a chance actually talk about something other than his books. ------ sid6376 From the comments here, I infer, VCs probably don't like being pitched unsolicited. Girls don't like being hit on. I have never pitched a VC, so i am basically theorizing here. The trick is not in approaching them, but approaching them in a way which does not activate their natural defense mechanism. If you come across as interesting the girls will give you attention. Its better to lower their defenses with an approach that they don't expect. ~~~ klipt Maybe girls don't like being hit on by the wrong people, or in the wrong way. But ultimately they do want to be approached by the right guys, or they wouldn't keep on going to places like bars where one of the main selling points (unless it's a gay bar) is meeting people of the opposite sex. ------ cek Great article. The first thing I do when mentoring noob entrepreneurs/founders is ask them about their networks. "How are you growing it?" "Who are your mentors?" "Who are your mentees?" "Who are the big-wigs in your network?" I have found, much to my surprise, given that I'm a "black belt ninja networker type" (apparently;per the article) that people haven't really given much thought to these questions. They know (or get the sense) that having a strong network is important but they've never really worked on building it. This article provides some good insight on how to build your network. Specifically it makes it clear that in order to build your network you MUST NOT BE SHY. It also makes it clear that it's work. As I like to say: "Building your network requires, well, that you build your network." ~~~ jadoint Hi, I've been an HN lurker for a few months but finally signed up today just to inquire about mentors when I saw your comment. I am a complete beginner when it comes to startups. In fact, I happened to stumble into my niche rather accidentally. How do I go about finding great mentors or at least a group of like-minded people that I can learn from? If it helps, I'm currently located in NJ about 45 mins from NYC. I apologize in advance if this is a strange venue to ask this type of advice. Thanks! ~~~ cek I searched Bing for "New York Tech Startup Calendar" and got this: <http://startup-ventures.meetup.com/cities/us/ny/new_york/> Just start attending events, smiling, and introducing yourself to people. Make sure you are not shy about asking for what you are looking for. For example "I'm just figuring this startup thing out. I think I've got some great ideas but I don't have any mentors. If you know of any one I could talk to that would be great." Good luck! ------ neurotech1 I remember meeting Mike Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, and he said that he "hates being pitched to [unsolicited], I'll probably think its a bad idea. I thought twitter was a bad idea.." Not sure how that changes with CrunchFund. My guess is that some Angels/VCs are way more approachable than others. ~~~ donalddesantis Agreed. While most people (incl. me) can benefit from moving outside their comfort zone and be more assertive, you still have to use judgement/discretion. It's a challenging line to tow. I've got it wrong at least as many times as I've got it right. I'd like to think that my instincts in this regard have improved over time. ------ tgrass The price tag is key: if I'd pay someone ten dollars to make my pitch... Ten bucks? Whether its a phone number I want or a pitch I'm making, ten bucks is way low. And if I'd pay a hundred for either, clearly I ought to suck it up and get in there ans get what I want. Put a price on it. Makes you realize when you are just being a little bitch. ------ codeslush "I didn’t get the first phone number I asked for, nor the second. In fact, the first number probably came somewhere between tries five and ten." This applies to so many different areas of life that it should just be made a rule, if it isn't already. ------ FreshCode getting good at "game" has led to improvements in almost every other aspect of my life, including pitching. ~~~ brk Funny. I have recommended 'The Game' by Neil Strauss to more than one person for reasons beyond just meeting women. Learning how to start and manage a conversation are powerful tools. ~~~ FreshCode I wonder how many "hacker players" hang out on HN? :) ------ mittermayr it's a tough thing to accept, but you outlined it pretty well. most things don't just happen. nobody believes it's the time, place, moment and right person to "risk" being declined, ignored or laughed at. and that's so wrong. people who succeed, typically, tend to be a bit more open than others. everything else is an excuse to hope for pure chance or being discovered. and in all reality, try it with beers, go to a bar, hit on a random girl, just to get started again. it will be really, really tough at first. ------ aneth I agree overcoming "approach anxiety" is key to just about any goal that requires someone else to be attracted to you in one way or another - dating, investing, friendship, ordering a drink in a crowded bar, .... However, the key to ultimate success in all of these is that the person needs to _like_ you and _respect_ you. Girls don't like guys that approach them and rattle off about how funny they are, how much money they make, and what a great lover they are. Girls respect guys who are confident and layered, not guys who throw all their cards on the table in a 30 second pitch in a desperate attempt to be liked. Bartenders will first serve patient, confident, respectful customers, not eager, aggressive douchebags flashing twenties and snapping fingers. Not being a super-experienced investor or fundraiser, I'll leave the translation to investment pitches up to others, but I have a mixed reaction to this post. For most people, the hardest part of reaching out to others is shutting down the the internal chatter that talks them out of opening the door. How you conduct yourself afterwards though, is also incredibly important. I suspect investors as a class try to grit their teeth and discount awkwardness and narcissism in the hopes of finding the next Mark Zuckerberg, however I also think being a genuine and likable person - which for the most part means genuinely liking other people - is a great path to a good relationship in this and any other circumstance. ~~~ peteretep There seem to be an infinite number of parallels between 'the game' and networking in general. I worked for 4 years as a full-time dating coach, and many years before that trying to get my game up to scratch, and the benefits in contacts, in rapport building, in sales arenas, in any area where I need to present, are immeasurable. ------ billpatrianakos Awesome! Not only is this good business advice for me but it also gave me some dating pointers which I, as a newly single, rusty, guy, probably needs. Thanks.

Work in Silicon Valley and Spooked About Trump? Canada Wants You - kushti http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-01/work-in-silicon-valley-and-spooked-about-trump-canada-wants-you ====== n00b101 What exactly do they propose is the incentive for founding a startup in Canada instead of just doing it in the US? It can't be Waterloo because those grads don't want to stay here, as things stand (brain drain effect). It can't be the weather, or taxes. It definitely isn't the investors, Canadian investors are notoriously conservative when it comes to new ventures (unless your business is to dig a new hole in the ground and pull out rocks). It isn't the cost of living, the average price of a home in Toronto is $1M. The only support for startups is a decades old tax credit program called SRED which requires you to domicile your company as a Canadian owned private corporation (e.g., no Delaware corporations) and it is notorious for being beuraucratic and it clearly favours larger established companies over true startups. The government has failed miserably at incentivizing startups. This latest pitch seems to be based on nothing more than dusting off the old canard of Canada being more "multi-cultural" than the US, and using Donald Trump to attract startup entrepreneurs? This coming from the institutions that gave us Stephen Harper and Rob Ford? These gimmicks are more of an indication that they're not serious abot incentivizing startups, they are just trying to score political points at home. ~~~ altotrees My uncle is an engineer in Toronto, and often speaks positively of the startup scene in parts of Canada. I know Waterloo loses quite a few grads to the Bay Area and other major U.S. cities, but haven't some companies actually relocated to be closer to the scene there? I am thinking Pivotal Labs and Google off the top of my head. I am genuinely curious on your take, since you seem to have direct knowledge. I have seen many people say things in the same vein, but also hear positive things from people in Canada and outsiders as well. ~~~ gavingmiller I can speak a bit for western canada; Vancouver has seen many of the larger/top companies open offices: Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, etc. so plenty of jobs to be had there. I live in Calgary and have seen many peers move to Vancouver for better job prospects. Re: SRED credits - I've been a part of the application process twice. Documentation can be a bit cumbersome, but not much more than 5 minutes summarizing the weeks work in a spreadsheet (for each employee), and tracking their hours spent on related tasks. Add in source control and the numerous artifacts that software devs come up with, means low amount of effort for high payout. And by high payout, I'm talking 1-2 devs salary in a 10 dev shop. We also hired a consulting company that specialized in SRED applications which saved us a ton of overhead. Cost 10-20% of payout, but was worth not having to deal with the application and/or any audits had they occurred. ~~~ Grishnakh >I live in Calgary and have seen many peers move to Vancouver for better job prospects. Where do they live? Even a crack house in Vancouver costs $1M. Vancouver has probably some of the most expensive real estate in the entire world now. ~~~ gavingmiller One friend is in a townhouse in North Vancouver. Rented for a while, then bought. Real-estate is stupid silly there. I've also heard talk of people moving to Victoria as an alternative. ------ maxsilver I love the idea of relocating to Canada. But every time I've looked into it, companies seemed to only pay entry level wages for experienced positions (80K-100K CAD which is 60-75K USD), while having high coastal-type housing costs (500K - 1M CAD, which is 400k to 760k USD) Sure, greatly reduced health care cost. But even accounting for that, it still seemed like a big financial setback. Unless I'm missing something, it seems like if you could afford a home in Toronto, you might as well sell it and buy a house in NYC or SF or Boston. Your cost of living would be about the same, but your income would jump roughly 2x or higher. EDIT : For example, Sortable is the Canadian company in the article. Their "3+ year experience" Software Engineer position on their website maxes out at 100K CAD, a salary 25% lower than Amazon's Seattle _interns_ make (~100K USD). ~~~ jordigh Downtown Toronto is probably the most expensive place for housing. The salaries are about comparable elsewhere in Canada, with much cheaper housing options elsewhere in the GTA, or in Mtl or Vancouver. I wouldn't say I'm making bank in Mtl, but my salary is comfortable and gives me slack. Most people I know start buying homes here in their mid-30s. ------ jbob2000 No, we don't want people who, at the first sign of trouble, pack their bags and leave. If you don't like Trump, stay there and fight for your home. ~~~ pmoriarty The problem is that this is far, far from the first sight of trouble in the US. I'll spare the detailed history lesson, but Trump would not be the first right-wing, reactionary President in the US, and there are plenty of other reasons to leave. Many in the US feel helpless to affect politics for a variety of reasons. Trump may be, for some, more of the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. ~~~ jbob2000 Oh please, every country has problems, the US is just in the limelight because they own like 90% of the world's media. Canada just kicked out a right-wing government that held power for almost 10 years. The people who would leave for greener pastures would come to Canada, find that it's not so green, and head for the next "fad". ~~~ Grishnakh Do you want highly-productive knowledge workers in your country to boost its tech economy or not? If not, then fine, we'll find another country that wants to greatly improve their tech sector. You don't want anything like the economic juggernaut that is Silicon Valley in your country? That's your choice, but seems pretty shortsighted to me. Most countries actually want to import people who grow their economy a lot and contribute a ton in taxes without draining their social-welfare systems. ~~~ jbob2000 Wow, get off your high horse. 50% of Canada's population hold a degree and more, we are quite knowledgeable, thank you very much. If this is the kind of elitism we would get if the Silicon Valley-ites were to return, then you can fuck right off. ~~~ Grishnakh Ok then, where's your Silicon Valley? Where are your world-leading tech companies? Do you have anything at all you can point to as world-leading, like we do with Google, Amazon, Intel, etc.? Hey, if you're happy being a backwater full of degreed people who don't actually produce anything that anyone's ever heard of, that's fine. If you enjoy having Silicon Valley-level housing prices but no Silicon Valley-level jobs or economy, that's fine too. ~~~ imtringued > who don't actually produce anything that anyone's ever heard of You know I > could make the same argument that I don't spent any money on these "world > leading tech companies" their value to me is effectively zero. Is zero value somehow supposed to impress me? ~~~ Grishnakh This is rather stupid. How exactly did you write this post without using an Intel or AMD CPU? (Both American companies) Do you never use any search engines? (Google and Bing(MS) are American, as is DDG, which just reuses results from one of those two.) You don't have an iPhone (this is quite possible, as Samsung/LG/HTC/etc. are not American)? And how are you getting by without using American-made software from Microsoft or some variant of Linux (which is largely contributed to by both Red Hat, an American company) and various other American contributors on the Debian side? Even if you don't spend any actual money directly on some of these things, you're certainly deriving value from them. ~~~ escape_plan It's rather unfortunate that the same companies you talk about are keeping their money in tax havens, they hire foreign born workers and most of the manufacturing they do happens in China or Asia. In the end a non college educated American loses to this high skilled labor and cannot afford to live in Silicon Valley which has a broken real estate system, people commute from far distances and BART is in end-of-life stage. ~~~ Grishnakh You're absolutely right about all that. I never said it was perfect here, and in fact things are definitely getting worse in many ways. However, we're comparing present-day US to present-day Canada, and I'm not seeing any advantages to living in Canada, except for living around friendlier people. Economically, there don't appear to be any advantages at all to professional tech workers, only big disadvantages. If you think Silicon Valley has a broken real estate system, have you checked out the real estate situation in Vancouver? Personally, I'd love to live in Vancouver, but there's no way I'm going to get a job there that pays enough for me to buy a house that costs several million dollars (CAD), given that even crack houses there cost $1M. At least here in the US, there's still a lot of cities besides SV where there's a lot of tech jobs, the pay is really high for them, and the housing costs are bearable. ~~~ escape_plan Right but Silicon Valley is still the best place to live and own instead of moving somewhere else, I know there's reverse immigration (Book: The rent is too damn high or something), but are there good schools, good neighborhoods? I am kind of spooked by just looking at this Election Campaign which has revealed the dirty underbelly of this country to me. I would still consider long term stability where I know the society is accepting, and I think down the line the economics can be improved if you think about it, because there are good cities, well educated people, but lack of enterprises and small business/startups to employ these people. I saw 500 startups just open a 30Bn fund for Canada and see small but solid indicators that things are changing. Finally! [http://qz.com/656320/dear-prime-minister-trudeau-a-modest- pr...](http://qz.com/656320/dear-prime-minister-trudeau-a-modest-proposal- from-a-canadian-american/) ------ pcmaffey Hah, I was denied access to Canada for a 3 day business trip to meet with a client. So we applied for a visa, and that was denied because there's no category for software developer or designer or PM in NAFTA. And even if there was, I would have required an engineering or graphic design degree to be eligible... without doing a costly analysis to make sure no one else in Canada could do my job. Agreed with above comment about this being a gimmick. ~~~ jordigh Business trip, NAFTA? I guess you're Mexican? I don't think you need a visa otherwise. Trudeau said he would work on lifting the visa requirements for Mexicans. So, perhaps this problem will resolve itself soon. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-proposes- lift...](http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/justin-trudeau-proposes-lifting- mexican-visa-requirement-1.3122651) In the meantime, you probably can get an ordinary tourist visa? I don't think you really need to go through the NAFTA categories or get a Labour Market Opinion for a 3-day business trip, do you? ~~~ pcmaffey US citizen. There on business (client meetings), denied access for visitor visa. Applied for work visa, denied because didn't fit NAFTA categories. I should have said I was there for pleasure, but I was trying to be ya know, honest. Now my passport is flagged for 7 years, so I better have a rock solid vacation plans if I want to try to enter on a tourist visa. ~~~ bryanlarsen US citizens do not need a visa to travel to Canada for business visits. According to [1], client meetings are specifically allowed. You cannot do 'hands-on labour' though, so it can be a fine line that you must have crossed. As a Canadian, I once travelled to the US to assist a client with integration for a week. I got pulled into secondary questioning. He asked one question about what I was doing in the States, and then spent a few more minutes grilling me about what exactly the first level agent had asked me, how I had answered, et cetera. I could tell he was preparing to ream out the first level agent for wasting his time... 1: [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/business- who.asp](http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/business-who.asp) ------ ap22213 I would love to help pump up the GDP at a new country. What I'm looking for: Efficiently run government, low corruption, policies that encourage education and health, and progressive expanded rights and freedoms. I'm in. But, based on what I know about Canada, I don't think it's it. ~~~ caiob Canada is the closest thing you will get to those goals without being trapped in a boring isolated Nordic European country. ~~~ S4M How about France and Germany? ~~~ realusername French here, France is the complete opposite of an efficient government. The bureaucracy is massive and everywhere. It's quite outside of the scope of this topic but the short answer is don't create a company there. ~~~ S4M I'm French as well (expat, though). What you say is true, but it strikes me as a lesser evil than the ones that are plaguing USA: little social protection and high cost of education among others. ~~~ realusername Also expat on my case (London). Yes indeed I agree. My problem with the French system is more the bureaucracy than anything else. I'm from the countryside in a post-industrial area so it makes it even worse than in cities. I have a brother who has a shop and honestly, it's impossible to manage the paperwork nowadays, I don't want to put any anecdotes here because people won't beleive me and I will probably be downvoted. I think around ~70% of the shops in the area are close to bankruptcy and the system is crashing really hard currently. If it stays like this, everyone will be relying on some sort of black market to purchase goods in less than 10 years. While I guess main cities are still okay, things are not really working anymore in remote areas. ------ at-fates-hands The insanity about this is HE'S NOT EVEN THE NOMINEE YET. Considering how pissed the establishment Republicans are that he _might_ be the nominee, they're all betting on an open convention followed by some combination of a Walker, Cruz, Rubio, Ryan ticket. I can't believe how people have lost their minds and he most likely won't get the amount of delegates required to get the nomination outright before the convention in June. Clearly whatever he's doing, he's struck a HUGE nerve somewhere, because there is a fuck ton of panic in the streets and it's still very, very, very early in the process. ~~~ pmoriarty Candidates like Trump often serve the useful purpose of making candidates that would otherwise seem extreme look moderate. I'm almost surprised there isn't some sort of loud-mouthed, extreme liberal anti-Trump candidate on the Democratic side to make some of their other candidates look more moderate by comparison. ~~~ beeboop Taking extreme positions doesn't win elections unfortunately. Trump has a few of his own extreme opinions and I feel relatively confident he's going to lose pretty bad to Hillary because of it. Hillary is the master of no extremes. ~~~ pmoriarty _" Hillary is the master of no extremes."_ That really depends on where you're coming from, politically. Compared to some places in the world, the most "liberal" and "socialist" Democrat (no, not Hillary) is already a right wing extremist. For starters: She's a hawk. She and her husband deliberately came in to office to push the already right- leaning Democratic party further to the right. She's for enlarging the already massive surveillance state. These are not moderate positions to a lot of people. Maybe moderate compared to Trump. Regarding whether a moderate or an extremist is more likely to win, there's little evidence that Presidential elections get decided on political positions. Sadly, personality and style are far more significant. ~~~ Grishnakh I disagree about her being moderate compared to Trump. I fully intend to vote for Trump if it comes down to a race between Trump and her, because in my view, Trump is far more moderate than Hillary. As you said, Hillary is a war hawk, and I believe she'll start another war in the middle east. Trump, by contrast (despite all his crazy rhetoric about building a wall etc.), has preached non-intervention for the most part, not starting unnecessary wars, and really pissed off the Republican establishment by calling Bush's Iraq war "stupid". I don't believe he'll start a needless war. He might do a bunch of other things, but to me that's a big enough factor that I'll vote for him over Hillary. Add in the plain fact that she's sold out to Goldman Sachs and the private prison industry and Trump really looks quite reasonable by comparison. Of course, my preferred choice is Bernie, but with how plainly and obviously corrupt the DNC is, I don't have a lot of hope of him getting the Dem nomination and running in the general election. Maybe things will go totally haywire and both Bernie and Trump will get pissed and run as independents after the establishment railroads them both, and then we'll have a 4-way race. ------ pbourke I saw the Sortable ad in my Facebook feed. Good for a few laughs. Presidents come and go, but the opportunities in the US have been consistently better than Canada for decades now in tech. Canadians come to the US for a better standard of living, comparatively more affordable housing (yes, even in the Bay Area!), a diverse and booming job market with interesting opportunities and a less conservative startup culture. None of that seems to be changing anytime soon. ------ JMCQ87 Not even Trump would make we want to work in adtech. ~~~ cabernal This is true, a lot of startups (in the Toronto area at least) work on ad/marketing tech, but if you look closely you can find places that are working on interesting projects (WealthSimple, Quandl, TopHat) ------ gist Absurd. Even if for some odd reason you buy into the unproven idea that things would be bad for what you do with Trump as President, moving to a new country when someone might only be in office for 4 years is ridiculous and shows that you act on emotions, not rational and logic. ~~~ Grishnakh I'm sure someone said that back in 2000 just before Bush got elected. Bush's reign has had a huge effect on the American economy and culture, lasting far longer than just 4 years. ------ neom Wonder what visa they want us on. (I'm Canadian, but still) ------ jnordwick I'd love to create a statup in a bureaucratic, third-world country. Canada sounds perfect! (preparing for modbomb oblivion)

Connect Watch: first AsteroidsOS powered smartwatch - PascalW http://connect-watch.com/en/ ====== PascalW Very excited to see AsteroidsOS getting it's first hardware product. Hopefully this will stir AsteroidsOS adoption in general. I like having an open source, free smartwatch OS as alternative to Wear.

EU dropped plans for safer pesticides because of TTIP and pressure from US - de_Selby http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2015/05/eu-dropped-plans-for-safer-pesticides-because-of-ttip-and-pressure-from-us/ ====== tzs See also extensive discussion from 2 days ago: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9587772](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9587772) That was a submission from a different publication, though. ~~~ de_Selby Apologies, I completely missed that discussion. ~~~ po No need to apologize, frankly this needs a lot more discussion than it's probably going to get. ------ Maarten88 To me this whole TTIP feels like the US trying to bundle and export their most profitable corporate lobbying results through the corrupt and payed-for US politicians to the EU. Secret negotiations, state-investor dispute, all of this seems organized to help big corporations screw consumers further. I simply hope the whole thing fails, I really don't see the benefit to me. ~~~ mercurial I'm sure the EU corporations are doing their share of lobbying, but I agree that all these trade agreements seem to be tailored for Big Business at the expense of consumers. ~~~ Brakenshire Yes, there's no need to make the US the bad guy. The key point is the way in which a treaty like this puts a whole class of what would once have been domestic legislation beyond the reach of democratic decision-making. Both in the treaties themselves, and their transnational private courts. ~~~ _yosefk Can't a democratic decision be made to get out of the treaty? Also - international obligations in general, by their nature, restrict democratic or any other kind of sovereign decision-making. Decisions such as waging war, defaulting on debt, etc. which are often made by sovereigns illustrate that restrictions on sovereigns aren't necessarily bad. (Not saying that TTIP is a good thing, just that I'm a bit baffled by the framing of the problems with it as a conflict between democracy and corporations or such. I'm even more baffled by the framing of defaulting on sovereign debt as a "democratic right" \- again, regardless of the fact that a country's citizens might have gotten a raw deal because a corrupt government issued debt it shouldn't have, say, because it was bribed and needed liquidity to buy something useless/overpriced from whoever bribed it, etc.) ~~~ pjc50 The lack of a sensible bankruptcy procedure for countries is a serious problem. Individuals can discharge debts in bankruptcy in order to get back on their feet. Companies have at least two different kinds of bankruptcy depending on whether they can be run as a going concern or not. But a FX- denominated debt is potentially an anchor on your country forever. Look at the Argentine "pari passu" fiasco for example. Imposing an unpayable debt on a country that forces poverty on its citizens has a real and serious cost in human life. Wars have been fought over this; it's often argued that the reparations debt imposed on Germany after WW1 was a contributing factor to WW2. ~~~ _yosefk I'm not saying I know what to do about unpayable sovereign debt, just that defaulting on such debt is not a sensible example of a democratic right. "We had a referendum and decided that you can all wipe your asses with our bonds" is probably not the "sensible bankruptcy procedure" that you mention. I did not claim anything beyond that. Why do I think my point was worth making? Because there's a huge amount of issues boiling down to poor coordination between different states today, the nature of today's economy ensures this will become increasingly common, and I think it's worth pointing out that simply insisting on "democratic rights" interpreted as "doing whatever the citizens want, the rest of the world be damned" doesn't really cut it. And this "interference with democracy" theme is really really common these days, I bump into this sort of phrasing every other week. ------ motbob The article uses numbers pretty dishonestly. "[T]the health costs of EDCs to Europe are between £113 billion and £195 billion (between €160 and €277 billion) every year." There is no mention that pesticides/herbicides are a very small percentage of that number. It doesn't matter whether it's "still bad" that it's a small percentage. Arstechnica willingly led me to believe that the impact of pesticides/herbicides was in the hundreds of billions of Euros. These numbers also, notably, came out long after the 2013 negotiations mentioned. What was the scientific consensus on EDCs in 2013? ~~~ Tosh108 Further down the article there's an indirect reference: “I would recommend that pregnant women and children eat organic fruits and vegetables and avoid using plastic containers and canned food, especially in the microwave, because containers are usually treated on the inside with substances and compounds that can leak into the tomato soup and may act as endocrine disruptors,” he said. ------ based2 Chemicals Legislation [http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/chemicals/legislation/ind...](http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/chemicals/legislation/index_en.htm) [http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european- standards/...](http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european- standards/harmonised-standards/pesticide-application-equipment/index_en.htm) Measuring REACH and CLP Enforcement - new study Published on: 19/05/2015, Last update: 20/05/2015 [http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools- databases/newsroom/cf/itemd...](http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools- databases/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=8280&lang=en&title=Measuring- REACH-and-CLP-Enforcement---new-study) src: [https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/eu- monitoring/...](https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/eu- monitoring/dg-environment-explains-delegated-acts-biocides) [http://newsletter.echa.europa.eu/home/-/newsletter/entry/4_1...](http://newsletter.echa.europa.eu/home/-/newsletter/entry/4_12-bjorn- interview;jsessionid=FA3521FA977B29C9D750FBFC67D0605E.live2) ------ tim333 While I'm against the TTIP, the "the health costs of EDCs to Europe are between £113 billion and £195 billion" mentioned in the Ars article seems to be from the Guaridan article "(£113bn-£195bn)" [http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/06/health- co...](http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/06/health-costs- hormone-disrupting-chemicals-150bn-a-year-europe-says-study) that says "Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with the human hormone system, and can be found in food containers, plastics, furniture, toys, carpeting and cosmetics." no mention of pesticides in their opening bit. I'm guessing the percentage exposure coming from pesticides is very small so the financial figures in the Ars article are misleading. ------ realusername How can you seriously defend the EU to the average European when you see things like this ? This kind of stories are not going to help to reduce the current distrust of everything related to the European union. All this corruption really does a disservice to the EU. ~~~ peteretep Honestly? Because my first thought was "there's no way the EU signed off on this". I challenge anyone to find a stauncher protector of consumer rights in history than the EU... ~~~ andy_ppp This is the strange thing about the EU, it is almost as barmy as the BBC but like them somehow largely manages to do the right thing. It's amazing that most of our politicians believe with a kind of religious faith that big business and the free market is the solution when it seems fairly clear the psychopathic behaviour and the free market has bankrupted government and ruined the economy. Instead of saying let's put in further more stringent regulations the neocons have got more of their policies through. I think this is largely due to an obedient and corporate controlled media. ------ reimertz Do people want TTIP? Nope.([http://goo.gl/FD145h](http://goo.gl/FD145h)) Do people want pesticides? Nope. ([https://goo.gl/AQNdZv](https://goo.gl/AQNdZv)) So what is the problem? ~~~ danbruc _Do people want TTIP? Nope._ That's (sadly) (possibly) not true. I thought it would be scandalous if Europeans didn't want TTIP and they just ignored the people and continued negotiating. But then I found this chart [1] and in almost every country the majority is for a trade agreement. I don't know if the numbers are wrong, if people are uninformed or if they just don't care, but if the numbers are correct then it all is just democratic, the majority wins, whether I or you like it or not. [1] [http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/29/is-europe- on...](http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/29/is-europe-on-board-for- a-new-trade-deal-with-the-u-s/) ~~~ taejo Those survey results show people who are "for a free trade and investment agreement between the EU and the USA" \-- not those who are for _this_ trade agreement; the objections to TTIP are arguably _not about the freedom of trade and investment_. ~~~ minot Exactly. How am I supposed to say whether I like it or not when I don't know what "it" is? Lets leave surprises for company pot luck lunches. Would any elected official dare ask the same about the legislative process? Isn't a trade agreement that sets precedent as legislation the opposite of a participatory democracy? It just makes no sense. How can they have things like TPP and TTIP and still complain about the lack of involvement in politics by ordinary folks? ------ benaston Parliamentary democracies are often deeply flawed and in need of reform. That much is obvious (in the UK at any rate). The problem with the EU is that is is _even less_ democratic and hence less accountable than the pre-existing system of national governments. Furthermore, as this article shows, the EU makes it easier for large companies and trading blocks to pull-off greater subversions and abuses of power via lobbying and corruption, since power is concentrated in a much smaller number of people. The founders and implementors of the EU "project" used the term "ever tighter integration" in their founding documents, where they laid out their vision for a United States of Europe. They even describe how they intended to implement this via a technique called "gradualism". The idea being that big sweeping reforms would be rejected by the individual polities, but that more gradual, subtle changes spread over time could achieve the same effect without the same resitance. And we have seen this in action over the past forty years. A bit like the apochryphal boiling of a frog. The problem is that this is in some sense subversive and in another, presumptious that the EU project is desired and/or sensible. At some point the frog metaphor breaks down and people begin to realize what is happening and what has happened. And in the UK at least, finally, we are beginning to see a debate being held on the desirability of the EU being a _political_ union (rather than the more prosaic free-trade area). ~~~ higherpurpose All democratic republics are in dire need of an overhaul for the 21st century. However, US and UK tend to be worse than many because of the first past the post voting system. ~~~ minot I feel bad for the voters in the UK. LD got trounced in this election but in the previous two elections they had 22 and 23 percentage of votes. In 2010, Conservatives had 47% of the seats with 36 percent of votes. Labor had almost 40% with 29% of the votes. LD had 8% with 23% of votes. Even in 2015, they had 1.2% of seats with 7.9% of votes. If you have almost a quarter of the population voting for you, you'd think you can make things happen. What went wrong with the referendum? What could the YES proponents have done differently? More importantly, has the damage been done? How long do UK nationals have to be quiet about alternative voting now? ~~~ petercooper We already had a referendum about it four years ago - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Alternative_Vote...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_Alternative_Vote_referendum,_2011) \- and it was overwhelmingly in favour of the status quo. ~~~ minot I am very convinced that a full proportional representation would be very much better than the status quo. Can we have a referendum again? When would be an optimal time? ------ matternew ``EU plans to regulate hormone-damaging chemicals found in pesticides have been dropped because of threats from the US that this would adversely affect negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)'' They shouldn't drop them, we should regulate freely and be removed from TTIP. Being involved in TTIP isn't a privilege or in any way desirable, it's an undemocratic exercise in futility. So, to me, being ejected is a win-win scenario. ------ ck2 The do-nothing-congress better crash and burn that thing in the House. It's going to be crazy if this is one of the few things they pass this year. ------ PythonicAlpha The problem about "TTIP" and "free trade treaties" is, that they are continuously used to support the interests of big corporations -- and thus, lowering health, environmental and other standards is one of the big targets of those treaties. I lately saw a documentation about the trade treaty of the US with Mexico. They said, that standards where lowered in both countries. Take two or more countries and make today a "free trade treaty" between them, you get the lowest common denominator, since the big corporations are at the head of the table. TTIP starts to reduce standards even _before_ it is signed. ------ cyphunk Collectively the EU bloc represents the larges global economy (18tr GDP). It should be the US forced to accept EU regulations to participate in the EU economy, not the other way around. ~~~ adventured The US economy is about $1.8 trillion larger than the EU economy presently. The EU economy is roughly $15.7 trillion (€14.3 trillion), and hasn't grown in seven years. During that time, the US retook the lead in size and added around ~$2.5 trillion to its GDP. The dollar run in the prior year has also lifted the value of the US economy at the expense of the EU economy, by about ~13%. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union) ~~~ cyphunk thanks for updating my outdated data :) ------ parennoob > EU regulations would have banned 31 pesticides containing endocrine > disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that have been linked to testicular cancer and > male infertility. Obvious criticism of sweeping trade treaties aside, this is another blatant case where the health and well-being of males takes a back seat to political considerations. I'll bet my bottom dollar that if these chemicals caused, say, ovarian cancer, Governments on both sides of the Atlantic would be racing to ban them and get political brownie points. ------ joering2 _Just after the official launch of the TTIP negotiations on 13 June 2013, a US business delegation visited EU officials to demand that the proposed regulations governing EDCs should be thrown out in favour of a further "impact study."_ May I please know the names of those scumbags, or at least how can I find out? I want to know more about those brainacs, perhaps place a few phonecalls, express my disgust. ------ ddon And what can be done now? ~~~ higherpurpose Write to your MEPs. [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.html](http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.html) ------ fleitz Is the EC in charge of the EU? Couldn't they just say no? ~~~ SagelyGuru and they are unelected ~~~ matt4077 Neither are Merkel, Cameron, Tsipras and probably about 50% of the heads of government. I doubt there is a country where the Secretary of Defense is elected. There's nothing wrong with an elected parliament choosing the executive, and the EU actually moved to a more direct election with the 'Spitzenkandidat' system. People still didn't care to vote for the EU parliament. ~~~ benaston Your comment re Merkel, Cameron et al is a strawman: just because the existing system of parliamentary democracy is deeply flawed, it does not follow that another even less democratic system is acceptable. You point out that Cameron (for example) is not directly elected as PM. He does however have to be elected to parliament via a democratic vote. Unlike the European Commission, where commissioners have no democratic mandate to speak of and yet they hold immense power. 34% of those eligible voted in the UK European elections (i.e. for the European Parliament). Your comment re people not caring is overly simplistic. People will not vote for a wide variety of reasons. Only one of which is that they "don't care". Edit: please explain your downvote, so that I may improve my comment or respond. ~~~ babatong >He does however have to be elected to parliament via a democratic vote. Unlike the European Commission, where commissioners have no democratic mandate to speak of and yet they hold immense power. You are incorrect. Since the Lisbon treaty at least, the commission is proposed by the council and then has to be voted on by the parliament. If anything that gives it even more democratic legitimacy than Cameron, as in his case only he himself, not his cabinet is voted on by parliament. You are of course within your right to criticize the parliamentary democratic system within it self. However a claim that the processes by which the commission is put in place are less democratic than the processes by which Cameron or Merkel came to power are just outright false. ~~~ benaston @germanier and @babatong No, you are both wrong. The democratic mandate for EU commissioners is less strong than for directly elected officials. @matt4077 called out that even Cameron is not elected directly as PM, and that is correct. The problems with the existing parliamentary democracy in the UK are well understood. So having a "somewhat undemocratically elected official" Cameron, nominate a person for the commission who has not been directly elected _at all_ by the populous, is less democratic because it is one step further removed from direct election. This is how we have all these "unknown faces" wielding immense power in Brussels - like Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council. The democratically elected European Parliament then vote for the nominees, but at this point the nominees already have less mandate (for reasons given above) than the members of national parliaments (and the EU parliament). And, I might add, more power. This is one of the main problems with the EU as a political union. It is a move away from grass-roots democracy towards a centralized monolith that disenfranchises millions and millions of people. ~~~ germanier You seem to miss that the vote in parliament adds and doesn't remove mandate from the candidates. The MEPs have a very strong opinion on who is a suitable candidate and who isn't. They used their power to refuse candidates and demand others in the past and will do so in the future. By your standards the European Commission has a mandate that is at least as strong as the one of any European country's government. ~~~ benaston Not at all. The question at hand is: do the EU commissioners have a stronger or weaker democratic mandate than national MPs? When considering this question, the vote in the EU parliament is neither here nor there, because the person being voted for by them has not been directly elected by a single member of the public, possibly ever. If a person is directly elected by the people he represents, then he has a stronger mandate than another who has not been directly elected. Mandate gets weaker the farther you are from direct election by the people. ~~~ germanier Comparing commissioners to national members of parliament isn't fair, they are doing completely different jobs. A member of the European parliament is one degree removed from public vote, just as a member of a national parliament. A European commissioner is two degree removed from the public, just like a European head of government. A minister in most member states is three degrees removed. If you don't consider the vote in the EP for commissioners as a real vote because they can't pick their own candidate then it's three degrees removed as the candidates are picked by the heads of governments. In any case I can't see how it's less democratic than the election system of any member state. The commissioners are as far away from the public vote as almost any member of government in the member states. ~~~ benaston Both national MPs and EU commissioners are public officials who form public policy that affects citizens' lives. In that much they are comparable. Both procedurally and in scope of effect there will be differences of course (commissioners are much more powerful, and therfore should be held to a higher level of scrutiny). In any case, similarity of jobs is orthogonal to the narrow question - who has the stronger mandate? Take Person A who via an elected representative would like to effect legislative change in their nation. Who has the stronger mandate to take action? In other words, which representative would be closer to the truth in saying that "they were acting in Person A's name"? 1\. For the sake of argument, let's take the UK Prime Minister. He is voted for by a party consisting of members of the public via an open process to represent a specific platform; is elected directly by a constituency numbering in the low tens of thousands of people who happen to live in a geographical area of the nation under representation. Furthermore, the representative is a widely known public figurehead with a well-known platform meaning that although members of the public in other constituencies cannot affect his election to parliament directly, they can affect the amount of power he wields. The election covers 70 million people. 2\. For an EU Commissioner a shortlist of representatives are chosen _in secret_ by a team of people, each of whom is a proxy, elected via a process similar to (1). One of the shortlist is chosen by a vote from members of a directly elected parliament. The election takes into consideration the views of 3/4 billion people. The EU commissioner shortlist process is secret (and thus open to nefarious influence - go on: tell me this will not happen), the final vote is diluted by the views of an order of magnitude more people, spread over a much greater geographic area (meaning a much wider range of concerns need be taken into consideration), and the commissioner need not have been elected directly by anyone from the population he represents (other than via proxy). Based on this, it is clear that the representative in scenario (1) has a stronger claim to be said to be acting in the name of Person A than the person elected via process (2). The EU is hence less democratic than the institutions is is replacing, and is in some sense democratically regressive. (And this is before any discussion about the differences in the legislative path between Westminster and the EU). ~~~ SagelyGuru I agree. Thank you for the expanded explanation of the reasons behind my above brief comment. I just note in passing with wry bemusement, that my comment that sparked such illuminating discussion apparently deserves only 0 points. ------ sillygoose You know, if EU countries were genuinely concerned about their beloved citizens coming into contact with damaging chemicals, they could warn them on the evening news or something. Hey there Dear Citizens, these products have been found to cause cancer. Please avoid using them, and tell your friends to avoid them too! Best Regards, Your Benevolent, Caring Overlords Do you think that just _might_ have an effect on the companies producing the toxic crap they force on us? "Those naughty companies haven't stopped putting cancer-causing chemicals in their products. You should still boycott them." If they really cared, they could just keep informing the citizenry until they were safe. ~~~ imron Uh-huh, right, because EU governments have editorial control of the evening news, and also have bigger marketing budgets than the companies producing such chemicals. Sure. _If they really cared, they could just keep informing the citizenry until they were safe._ No, if they really cared they would ban or strictly regulate the use of such chemicals. ~~~ sillygoose > _Uh-huh, right, because EU governments have editorial control of the evening > news_ Well yeah, they largely do: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuC_4mGTs98](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuC_4mGTs98) But even if they didn't, surely news organizations would co-operate for a noble cause, yes? > _No, if they really cared they would ban or strictly regulate the use of > such chemicals._ Sure, and if they _really cared_ , they could do that even despite the TTIP, or they could reject or re-negotiate the TTIP. There's no way around that, regardless of whether you trust that governments are operating with _our_ best interests at heart. ~~~ imron > But even if they didn't, surely news organizations would co-operate for a > noble cause, yes? As privately run corporations, news organizations go where the money is and I trust them even less than I trust the government. The number of _ignoble_ causes they have cooperated on in the recent past leaves them with a very large credibility gap in my mind. And while the government is not perfect, at least I live in a country where lobbying (aka bribery) is no where near as institutionalised and prevalent as you see in the U.S. So while my government might not always have _my_ best interests at heart, they are definitely more concerned and more trustworthy than a news organisation. ~~~ DanBC Didn't the 911 conspiracy theory video link make you think that maybe it's not worth speaking to silly goose? ~~~ imron To be honest, I didn't even click through to the video. Your point has been noted. ~~~ sillygoose He didn't have a point. He just signaled that he can't think independently. The video is a summary of _what we were told happened_ , through the mainstream media. The story is _absurd_ , which means _it 's not actually true_! That, in turn, means that there was, in fact, a conspiracy! Here's a few videos of an invisible plane hitting a building, which then collapses seemingly on its own: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWorDrTC0Qg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWorDrTC0Qg) .. but it wasn't on its own, of course, because an invisible plane hit it! Feel free to start thinking for yourself any time now. ------ jokoon I hate to say this, and I don't think it's justified, but that's the kind of stuff al-qaeda would fight against. Someday having anti-american opinions might equate with being a terrorist. ~~~ andy_ppp Someday! Funny that you should say this but David Cameron wants us to never be left alone by the state and anti terror laws are regularly used against people who are not terrorists. The police are being militarised and the human rights act is being removed from law here in the UK. Someday looks like tomorrow to me. ------ kokey Opening up trade is bad by default... to those that benefit from the barriers that are in place. I am always suspicious of a lot of emotive campaigning in response to trade agreements that opens up trade. ~~~ msvalkon Did you by chance read the article? This has little to do with opening up trade and much to do with providing ridiculous amount of power to any major corporation. EDIT: Suppose I'm a producer of bottled water from Germany. I bottle a lot of water in California. The Californians vote to move to heavy water rationing and regulation due to the threat of continuous draught. This hurts my business, so should I be allowed, as a corporation, to sue the state of California, have any possible trials and hearings within a closed courtroom and possibly overrule the vote? ~~~ RobertoG Agree, the motivation of all this is, at least, worrisome. You should be allowed, as a corporation, to sue the state of California... in California. But this is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about the creation of new special courtrooms above the laws of California, staffed by people that worked for corporations and when they left the job are going to work for corporations again. If this is not worrisome, you tell me what it is.

Ask HN: How do I know if my startup is infringing on patents? - maxmzd_ With all of the patents out there, what is the best way to figure out which features I&#x27;ve added might infringe on a patent&#x2F;idea I&#x27;ve never heard of? ====== davismwfl Well. First IANAL. But from my understanding you are better off moving forward without researching patents in depth. Obviously if you depend on a specific algorithm used in a specific way you should likely validate you are free from incumbencies. But outside of that you are safer not looking up patents because you can claim you had no knowledge and invented it on your own. While maybe not a saving factor in the end it can save you significant legal consequences. Of course when in doubt an attorney has his/her usages. Also others here may have better or more experience. ------ cat9 Given the way that software patents work, you probably are. But for the vast majority of startups, this is not something you should be worrying about early on. Let the lawyers sort it out later during due diligence. Worry about getting customers first. You should consult your legal counsel (rather than the internet) about your specific case, but in general...build the damn thing and start selling it, instead of looking for excuses not to.

China’s TikTok Sued by U.S. College Student over Data Use - JumpCrisscross https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-03/china-s-tiktok-sued-by-u-s-college-student-over-data-use ====== li-z "...her lawyers said in a filing that didn’t provide evidence to back up the allegations." WTF

Funding Brooklyn Castle - maudlinmau5 http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2013/06/funding-brooklyn-castle.html ====== Sealy I admire the VC companies that pledge towards charitable causes. Its nice to see one that actively works towards promoting these causes too.

Show HN: ChessBoss – enhancing physical chessboards with computer vision - yeldarb https://devpost.com/software/chess-boss We built ChessBoss at the TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon this week. It didn’t make the top 10 but I thought Hacker News might think it’s pretty cool.<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;devpost.com&#x2F;software&#x2F;chess-boss<p>There are these really cool smart chessboards that can suggest moves and track your games... but they’re $400 and weigh 19 pounds. And of course there are apps that can analyze games but tracking and inputting games by hand is a huge pain. Or fully-digital chess apps... but board games are way more fun in real life!<p>We wondered: “why can’t you just do that in software and bring the best parts of chess apps into the real world?” So we did!<p>A camera passes a feed of the board through our machine learning model which interprets the state of the board and passes it off to Stockfish to display move suggestions in real time.<p>We didn’t quite get to recording the state over time in PGN but we hope to continue this project and add that soon!<p>Would love to know what you think. We’re working on enhancing other board games with computer vision as well; if you want to help us beta test sign up at https:&#x2F;&#x2F;boardboss.com ====== levischoen Where’s the code? ~~~ mhuffman > We plan to launch a Kickstarter to get funding so we can turn this into a > real product to enhance Chess for people playing in the real world. I expect it is not available! ------ yeldarb We built ChessBoss at the TechCrunch Disrupt hackathon this week. It didn’t make the top 10 but I thought Hacker News might think it’s pretty cool. There are these really cool smart chessboards that can suggest moves and track your games... but they’re $400 and weigh 19 pounds. And of course there are apps that can analyze games but tracking and inputting games by hand is a huge pain. Or fully-digital chess apps... but board games are way more fun in real life! We wondered: “why can’t you just do that in software and bring the best parts of chess apps into the real world?” So we did! A camera passes a feed of the board through our machine learning model which interprets the state of the board and passes it off to Stockfish to display move suggestions in real time. We didn’t quite get to recording the state over time in PGN but we hope to continue this project and add that soon! Would love to know what you think. We’re working on enhancing other board games with computer vision as well; if you want to help us beta test sign up at [https://boardboss.com](https://boardboss.com) Also I live tweeted about our progress during the hackathon so if you’re interested in how the sausage is made you can check out the blow-by-blow here: [https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1179424684502388736.html](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1179424684502388736.html) ~~~ psuter Congrats! We tried something similar a few years ago (also at the TC Disrupt Hackathon [1]), but had to take a lot of shortcuts to get to something working. I'm impressed you had the time to train a proper model (we went with old school CV hacks). Looking forward to seeing what BoardBoss could become. These days I've been wanting a CV app to track backgammon games. Those dice can be pretty tiny though :) [1] [https://devpost.com/software/chesseye](https://devpost.com/software/chesseye) ~~~ rocauc Great minds! Love that you deployed to a Pi – I’ve thought about the same to complement or replace smartphones. Can you shed some insight into your ML process? One thing we did to simplify the vision problem is capture images from the same perspective (hence our tripod). We labeled 2894 objects across 292 images. We had 12 objects to detect: each piece for black and white. We struggled with occlusion, especially if a pawn is behind a queen. ~~~ psuter I described some of the process in a previous HN thread: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19567549](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19567549) There is also a presentation we had prepared for an informal talk: [https://github.com/chesseye/chesseye/blob/master/presentatio...](https://github.com/chesseye/chesseye/blob/master/presentation/slides/slides.pdf) Hope this helps! I always enjoy talking about these things, so feel free to reach out if you want to discuss it more. ------ Aspos Would suggest using two cameras for stereo photogrammetry. Using mini- projector to highlight clues would also be cool. I see a micro-projector with two cameras just 10 cm apart on a single tripod. With stereo the tripod does not need to be that big for reliable detection. ~~~ yeldarb Ooo cool idea! Have you seen Tilt Five? It’s an AR headset that operates off a similar concept. Instead of trying to figure out the passthrough optics they put projectors in the glasses that reflect back at the viewer. [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiltfive/holographic- ta...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tiltfive/holographic-tabletop- gaming) ~~~ Aspos Having to wear bulky glasses would ruin boardgames for me. But I see your point. ------ billforsternz This is very cool. One very important application would be simply recording competitive games. There are electronic boards that can do this, and they are ubiquitous at top level events. But they are infeasibly expensive. At our chess club one selfless and heroic volunteer inputs all the scoresheets into a PGN every week (shameless plug: he uses my chess GUI, Tarrasch [https://triplehappy.com](https://triplehappy.com)). But it takes something like 5 minutes a game, and gets tedious after a while. I have thought about trying to build a phone app to compete with the electronic boards, but who has the time? You guys do! ~~~ yeldarb Yes! Absolutely on our road map. We were hoping to get this done at the hackathon actually but it turned out our v1 model wasn’t stable enough to track the game state over time. Hopefully v2 of the model will let us do this. An added bonus over tracking it by hand is that a computer vision powered version would be able to track the time taken for each move as well. If we built this would your club be willing to help us beta test? ~~~ billforsternz Yes! ~~~ yeldarb Woot! Shoot me an email: brad at roboflow dot ai ------ lern_too_spel Similar project from 2015. [https://medium.com/@daylenyang/building-chess- id-99afa57326c...](https://medium.com/@daylenyang/building-chess- id-99afa57326cd) ~~~ rocauc Nice - I like how your project demonstrates a Bird’s Eye View angle works well. We’ll aim to support the view from a seated player on each side of the game. ------ ospohngellert This would be an awesome tool for streaming :) You should also consider posting this on the chess subreddit: [http://reddit.com/r/chess](http://reddit.com/r/chess) ~~~ rocauc We think streaming and creating game logs will be great features to add. We’ll likely share to the 147k /r/chess when we have an app others can demo. Good call. ------ malux85 Wow this is cool! Any plans to open source it? This is something I'd love to hack on. If not, anyone else wanna work on this together? email me (in my profile) ~~~ yeldarb We’re thinking of doing a kickstarter to fund making it into an actual product if there’s enough interest. But I’d love to chat more about what you’d be interested in building! I’ll follow up with you. ~~~ malux85 Reach out, I’m connected to funding. We may be able to help. ------ thom Really glad to see a few projects like this recently. For teaching it's _so_ good to be able to quickly help kids analyze a position (even when you have no real right to be teaching people chess) without blundering. I do think the loop needs to be closed with better, more explainable chess engine analyses on the other side though, but this is fantastic for a hackathon project! ~~~ rocauc So, as we think about making this into a production app, a feature you’d request is the ability for a user to add input as to why a given move is being suggested? At present, we’re simply outputting the recommended move from StockFish, which also does give a “Why.” Perhaps letting users add that commentary in the app sufficiently solves that need. ~~~ thom Oh I'm not sure I'm making a practical suggestion here, I think it's a tremendously hard problem to humanize engine outputs (quite often the answer is just "because otherwise in five moves you lose your knight" etc). Some people have attempted this: [https://decodechess.com/](https://decodechess.com/) ------ _jayhack_ Very cool! I did something similar a school project a while back, shameless promotion here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOA1ew- zYc&t=256s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZOA1ew-zYc&t=256s) ~~~ rocauc Nice. We’ll dive into your repo, too. How did you handle a queen occluding a smaller pawn behind it? Simply more training data? ------ ngcc_hk Sorry no mood but that seems to be a project I would like to do but for WeiQi/Go ... ~~~ yeldarb Nice! What software features would you like to see added to those games? ~~~ karmakaze I also want a Go game recorder. No features just a game recording to have the enjoyment of playing with a real board and still have the game file for later review. ------ mustacheemperor This inspires some nifty applications for headset/eyeglass AR. I second the request for source code, it’d be great to play with this on something like the vuzix or HoloLens. ------ dangero Would love to see something like this done in augmented reality so you point it at a chess board and it gives you info about the game in progress. ~~~ yeldarb Check in later this week :) (Not chess but I think we’re on the same page!) ------ tonyinthehouse This could be very useful for building your own chess bot! I am definitely going try this out when I have some free time.

Alum Charged With Hacking Into Texas A&M - terpua http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-College-Hacking.html?ex=1346817600&en=2b7a3ceda0264fcf&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss ====== jsjenkins168 I actually know a few people who go to A&M who discovered similar vulnerabilities. A friend gained access to the Windows LAN Manager passwords and cracked them, getting access to login and passwords of the entire freshman Engineering class. On a separate occasion, he noticed a windows folder share on a server which contained the logs for the Engineering departments student portal. The logs contained every login attempt with the login and password stored in plain text! Not kidding. So he told the department system admins and they basically shrugged him off.. Maybe now they've learned their lesson?

Alexis Ohanian is speaking at Justin.tv Thursday the 26th at 5:30pm (Tomorrow) - as Reddit co-founder Alexis and his good friend 'Pierre' will be here at the JTV office to talk about his experience in Web 2.0 startups and a bit more! Free pizza served at 5pm.<p>Everyone is welcome. We're located at 36 Clyde St. San Francisco. Please RSVP arram@justin.tv<p>You can also watch online at http://www.justin.tv/hackertv ====== nose is there an archive of the talk?

Ask HN: What robotics company would you start? - nraphael8 ====== gradschool Drone swarms for high-speed low-cost temporary housing construction -- A shipment of bricks arrives at a disaster area or refugee camp by helicopter or truck, drones file into a holding pattern around it, the bricks are dispersed into the air by explosives, each drone catches one flying brick with a claw before it hits the ground, and then the drones cooperatively build a structure by individually placing each brick where it belongs. It's a great technical challenge and also great for humanity. ------ cell9840179419 Personal Home Asst, who can: Pick things around and put them away. Switch off gadgets and lights when not in use. Make beverages on order or on time. Do laundry, and press the clothes Deweed the lawn or garden mechanically and grow plants and vegetables. Shave, wash and massage a human. Drive a human in an automobile. Watch humans for falling, vital statistics and changes in person's chemistry footprint. ------ cell9840179419 The big picture emerging from the Covid pandemic is, stop using biological interfacing. We need a mechanical firewall to survive! The face mask is the symbolism for a larger meaning. When humans became extremely toxic, tarnishing, targeting and frightfully self righteous omnivores, the nature has abhorred and grounded us. Wake up and realize the big picture.

Amazon EC2 Issues in Frankfurt AZ - mrmattyboy https://status.aws.amazon.com/#Europe ====== intsunny It is baffling that the Europe tab for AWS' Status page posts timestamps in PST. What the fuck is PST? We have the ability to do everything and anything in Javascript EXCEPT for fucking UTC or localized time zones. Is PST the new UTC? Is there an RFC for this? Did I miss the memo? Un-fucking-real. ~~~ sm4rk0 That's due to the general ignorance about the world outside the US. ~~~ lxgr Outside the Bay Area, really. ~~~ sargun AWS is based in Seattle. ~~~ lxgr Sorry, Bay Area plus Seattle ;) ------ carlsborg This is a non-issue. "We are experiencing elevated API error rates and network connectivity errors in a single Availability Zone." Key fact "A SINGLE AZ". Availability Zone's are isolated from each other with redundant power supplies and internet connectivity and most often physically different datacenter locations. Well architected applications are designed to allow for a single AZ to become unavailable. This is precisely why the cloud is useful: you can bring up new capacity in the other Availability Zones behind the same load balancer with zero effort - the autoscaling does that for you automatically. ~~~ gjtempleton Except it's not currently handling this nicely, we've got an ASG behind an ELB, spread across multiple AZs including the affected one, and the ASG doesn't see the new instances as it scales up as ever coming into service - they just stick in "Not yet in service" ~~~ carlsborg I spun up a new t2.small instance in eu-central-1 and it took less than 90 seconds, which is more than it usually takes, but not that bad. [https://pastebin.com/WC1hkh0c](https://pastebin.com/WC1hkh0c) (see ts on uptime command, ignore timezone differences) ------ Roritharr We were affected with one of our marketing pages that we migrated to ECS in a non-HA configuration, our main applications are setup in Multi-AZ HA Configs and weren't affected by this. Not a big deal to remediate as all the other AZs are working. ------ nrki Looks like this took down TransferWise (debit card/forex/payments processor): [https://status.transferwise.com](https://status.transferwise.com) ------ fyfy18 I wonder if this is related to TransferWise issues, their app and even card payments have been down all morning. [https://twitter.com/TransferWise/status/1194168200210124800?...](https://twitter.com/TransferWise/status/1194168200210124800?s=20) ------ mangatmodi This year has been really bad for the cloud vendors in terms of stability. ~~~ StreamBright This is a single AZ. Your application should tolerate single AZ outages. That is the first rule of building reliable, highly available services on AWS. 12:08 AM PST We are investigating increased network connectivity errors to instances in a single Availability Zone in the EU-CENTRAL-1 Region. ~~~ mvanbaak True, but autoscaling at the moment is unable to scale in/out because of this issue. If your autoscaling group includes the affected AZ, you are out of luck because those instances are being terminated since their health checks fail. But because of the failures, autoscaling is unable to complete this, and unable to launch new instances in the other AZ's as it is stuck on the terminating part. ~~~ StreamBright That is an interesting detail. Would you consider having 3 separate autoscaling groups (one per AZ) or this is not feasible for some reason? One of the interesting aspects of running services on AWS was to remove the AZ from "rotation" while the outage lasts. Meaning, having a DNS change and exclude the public endpoint from taking any traffic. If you have 3 separate groups doing 1/3 of the load and having independent DNS entries, autoscaling groups, etc. then moving traffic from one AZ to another is probably easier. Not sure about the details of your setup though, you might have reasons not to do this. ~~~ mvanbaak A setup with an ASG per AZ makes it a lot harder to do real autoscaling based on load/mem/connections. If it was purely for running a fixed amount of instances equally spread acros AZ's this would probably work, but not in our setup where we have unpredictable traffic and load patterns. [edit] I know it can be done with combined metrics etc, but it would make it a lot more complicated ;-) ~~~ StreamBright It is most certainly more complicated. We were ok to be put up with that additional complication because service reliability (especially tolerating single AZ outages with ease) was higher on the requirements than avoiding complication. :)

Your Startup’s First Hire: Leading and Learning at the Same Time - ttunguz http://tomtunguz.com/management-and-teaching ====== applecore _Anna Karenina_ is a novel by Tolstoy, not Dostoevsky :)

New Tesla car comes with a button for biological weapon attacks - janisS http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/tesla-model-x-new-electric-car-comes-prepared-for-biological-weapon-attack-and-has-sweeping-falcon-a6673506.html ====== loco5niner Yes, it has a funny name, but really it's purpose is to combat air pollution in places like china. ~~~ hga Won't help with the sulfur dioxide or ozone (from smog), but filtering out particulates ought to help. At least on long time duration trips, every time you open a door.... ~~~ loco5niner True on the first. On the second, I would bet that the entire air supply in the car could be sucked through the system in under 3 minutes once the door is closed. ------ jweather Aka hay fever season? ~~~ hga Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Too expensive for me, but it would be really nice to have. I use only HEPA vacuum cleaners because by definition they suck up a lot of allergenic dust.

How to Build a Discovery Feature for Course Platforms with PredictionIO - smhchan http://blog.prediction.io/build-discovery-feature-course-platforms-predictionio/#.Uji_7WAyWid.hackernews ====== smhchan PredictionIO is an open source that you can download form github.

Is The Web Really Just Links Or Is It Evolving? - jpro http://www.dzone.com/articles/web-really-just-links-or-it ====== dlsym No - there are awful lot of dead links, too.

Ask HN: How did you get over your fear of shipping? - fratlas Currently building a web app and feature creep and an intense feeling that the product is worthless (I enjoy using it, but it&#x27;s niche so hard to user-test) is a daily occurrence. is this normal? ====== rgbrgb Here's an open secret that might make you feel more comfortable: you can launch as many times as you want until people notice. Here's an awful public launch: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13343276](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13343276). There's no signup, buttons seem not to work. Nobody's going to care/remember if they try again when the app is more baked in a couple weeks. If you're not sure if your thing is usable, find someone who you can watch use it in person. ~~~ screensquid > If you're not sure if your thing is usable, find someone who you can watch > use it in person. If you can't find someone to use it in person, you can get user experience feedback with a session recording tool. I am the author of such software, which you can find at [http://screensquid.com](http://screensquid.com). ------ CodeWriter23 This may or may not apply to you. Try it on and if it fits, then work to break the chains of bondage. My experience with this syndrome is fueled by a character flaw known as "perfectionism". Being detail-oriented as most good software developers are, it is easy for me to just keep adding more details to the list and crunch them. It's going to make the product better, right? WRONG! This is where I confront my issue. Perfectionism is merely a tool of the ego, engaging various games of self-righteousness, to only one end: giving me that charge that "I'm right". But what works for me, though often right, isn't the point. It's what works for the user. The user is who gives my work life. They use the bits to accomplish tasks, rather than those bits sitting on a DVD on some shelf in my office, dead. So how do I serve my need to be right and have a product that is living and breathing? Only one way. Get it into the hands of users. And be open to their input of the what sucks and what they'd rather have. They don't get to dictate the final form of the product, but they do inform my future decisions. See, the key to being right is learning, and all I learn from the bits resting on my shelf are lessons in organization and expense. To really learn, other people have to be involved. And I need to be open to not just their input, but to experiencing a range of uncomfortable feelings. Let me apologize up front for this brutally honest comment. Since you have problems finding users for your product, chances are it won't be a huge success. Sorry for my brutality. Your project is still valuable. First, it has some value to you, so finish it and use it. But don't be afraid of being wrong in the process. Just tell that bitchy little part of your ego to shut the fuck up, and get your code into the hands of others. As developers we are often way too close to our work and benefit greatly from external feedback. Learning the process will make you a better developer. So like I said at the start, this is my experience. If it might work for you, great. If not, scroll on by, there's a lot of other help here too. I admit what I've said here might be worth less than a nickel. ------ sheraz Include a public URL in your build process from day one. I use dokku for this and simply git push dokku master right after I got push origin master. At any given time those who have the URL can see what I'm doing and ping back with feedback. That, and Show HN her is great. Reddit has /r/startups which I also think is supportive and helpful. ~~~ augustflanagan I completely agree with this. My co-founder had a post[0] on HN yesterday in which he mentioned that our MVP made him cringe. What he didn't mention is that that cringeworthy MVP was public for almost two months before we started showing it to people. It was out there with broken features, placeholder text, etc. That made shippin easy. It was done on day 1 and then we were very motivated to make it actually do something useful since it was already public. [0] [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13347307](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13347307) ------ soneca Normal yes, not much beneficial. I dont have this problem at all (take a look at my long list of Show HN of all kinds, including several very poor half- baked things that I'm not that proud of), so I dont think I can give any empathically useful advice. But I would love to know, what are you building? (Who knows, maybe it does indeed requires a longer gestation period). ~~~ fratlas ML-based social platform where the algorithms learn a user's tastes. Limited to images, it's somewhere between Tumblr/VSCO/Pinterest/IG. It works for me, and my girlfriend loves using it, but the problem is she always wants to export her chosen images back to another platform for posting. I sense it will be a chicken and the egg problem. Was mostly so I could learn how to handle big data (~1B edges) ~~~ NumberCruncher No product survives the first contact with the customer. This already happened to you despite of having only one customer - your girlfriend. If I were you I would be really happy about her wanting to post the chosen images back to an other platform. This means your product would go viral on its own without any help. Think of a fair annual price, triple it and go live. There are many bored people out there with to much money in their pockets. ~~~ fratlas I suppose you are right. At the very least it's an item for the resume. ------ aarondf By shipping. That's not sarcastic or dismissive, it's just the best way I've found to get over the fear of shipping. By simply shipping it. The next time will be easier. And the next, and... etc. ------ Mz You need to find some way to connect with people and get feedback. I wish I knew a better word than _feedback_ because I do not mean that people are necessarily going to engage you in good conversation and say "X is good and Y is bad." That almost never happens, and when it does, the feedback can be terrible and counterproductive. But you need to find some way to get it out there in the wild such that you see how people respond and what they do with it, what gets used and what doesn't. If it isn't resulting in a lynch mob reaction, you need to not view the negative responses in a bad light. You want critique, and that means hearing both what works and what doesn't. You do not want nothing but fan boys, massaging your ego, saying nice things and not mentioning problems at all. So, I don't know what path will work for you in specific. But you need to get some kind of engagement that puts useful information in your hands to inform the development. How people get that varies. But your fear of shipping is because it involves tossing it out there into a giant unknown void with zero idea of how that will go. The antidote to that is getting some engagement so you aren't just flying blind. How people do that is very individual. ------ rsoto That's me for the better part of 2015, having a product that gives me value, that I use every day and yet no one was interested in it (also, it was bleeding a couple hundred a month). What I can tell you is that if your product is too innovative, you'll walk into walls, and that's fine. Most of the people I spoke to didn't get the service, and others seemed interested, but they were just polite. What you have to do is to launch and get out your product to the world, and then find the first customer, even if it's at 10% its price point—it will give you confidence and will validate that your product is valuable. As for the feature creep, I think it will happen always, as each customer has its own view on your product, and since you're the one making it, they will tell you things, some are good ideas, but most of them are not very good, since most don't know what they want. You'll have to find balance. The thing that helped me a lot is being in a big city. I'm from a way smaller place and I've been building stuff for 15+ years, and the big city mindset is way more open than the small city's, as they will use anything, but only once it has been proved. I hope those pieces of advice help you in your journey. If you want to talk a little bit more, my email is in my bio. ------ genbit If you now someone who can/want also use your product, ship early versions to them. Even screenshots. If not, try to find these users, and ship to them :) I think, early fear of shipping is a symptom of uncertainty "will someone need this product?" You should try to find this someone as soon as possible, and get feedback from them. ------ mcmatterson I'm facing the same dilemma with a hardware project of mine ([http://tooner- test.moshozen.com](http://tooner-test.moshozen.com)). In the past month alone, I've been stuck on several things (public name, dealing with constant ID creep, finding a mill that can resaw, among others). Though they're contradictory, it seems that half of the roadblocks get solved through putting them off (and usually thinking of a better solution, or a workaround), and half get solved by #JFDI. 'Shipping' means something much different for hardware projects of course, but nonetheless I think the advice to ship on day one is really foundational. I've always been fond of the idea that 'if something hurts, you need to do it more often'. Make the game about iterating and not shipping. ------ eecks Agile sprints are a good way to get shipping done. Make a backlog of tasks. Set a time for your sprint (2 or 3 weeks). Estimate how long you think the tasks in your backlog will take (don't focus on being 100% correct in your estimates). Include what you can given the sprint time and the estimates. Release at the end of every sprint. Rinse and repeat. ~~~ fratlas That is a good idea. Forces you to really nail down tasks between you and your goal. ------ Huhty Keep getting constant feedback as you build. Understand that there will be a lot of people that your product/service isn't for, which is just fine. Build your audience (with a landing page) now, not after you ship. ------ sh87 This isn't fear of shipping, but fear of failure. Only way I know to overcome this is fail fast -> fail more -> learn -> fail less -> maybe succeed -> repeat. Somehow, you need to get comfortable with not knowing how it will all work and make sure you have given your best. Now best, would not mean the best product but something with the best fit. So it's not a step by step process here. The more and better you try, the more and better you understand the goal and how you may get there. Learn to be just ok with failing and have someone to get you back up on your feet. ------ appleiigs Ship alpha, beta versions. Even the general public knows what a beta version is and know that it's a work in progress. Then add a roadmap where users can see where it's going and look forward to it. ~~~ adventured Interestingly, the beta label that was so common 10 or 12 years ago on new web services, seems to have mostly disappeared. I very rarely see it any longer. One of those cycles where it got very popular, then the backlash about putting it on everything and a negative connotation develops, then people become afraid to use it. ------ kayman I haven't gotten over my fear of shipping. My first product I posted on Hackernews, I got ripped to pieces. (password emailed to user in plain text, no terms and conditions). It was harsh. But it wasn't the end of the world. Manage your expectations. See it as a process. How do you create good stuff? By creating lots of stuff, enjoying the process and some of it will turn out ok, some good, some bad. Like a musician. Just focus on getting better. Your workflows for launching etc. See it as feedback not a definition or critique of you. ------ tom5 I think it is more about paradox instead of fear. a)you want to add enough features to attract/impress potential users. b)you want to ship it, so you can get feedback asap. a) and b) are pulling to opposite directions, hence the paradox. There is no easy solution for this. However, if you change the question to "what do I need to build to test my assumptions (about the market and user)", the answer will be more obvious. ------ iisbum Never really had a problem with shipping things, guess I'm pretty thick skinned, but I try and remember that feedback, good or bad is better than building in a vacuum. ------ bostand By shipping. The are tons of issues that show up only after you have shipped so striving for perfection before shipping is pointless.

The Art and Skill of Radio-Telegraphy 3rd Edition [pdf] - pmoriarty http://cw.hfradio.org/cw_resources/The_Art_and_Skill_of_Radio_Telegraphy-3rd-edition.pdf ====== Animats If you want to listen to some Morse code, the ARRL has an archive of MP3s. This is perfect machine-sent code with long spaces between the characters, intended for practice.[1] CW Morse is not an efficient use of bandwidth compared to modern modulation methods [2], but it beats AM voice. If you're really serious about this, the Marine Radio Historical Society has an large ship-to-shore station in Marin County.[3] They got it after it went out of business, and because it was built on Federal land, it became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. They use Morse and some radioteletype. Each Saturday they power up the huge old tube transmitters and talk to museum ships and such around the world. It's not a ham operation; they applied for a commercial marine radio coastal station license and the FCC granted it, as KPH. Thus, they can use power levels above the ham limit. They usually run 3-4KW. They're authorized to give the exam for commercial radiotelegraph operator. This gets you a real, but not very useful license. [1] [http://www.arrl.org/15-wpm-code-archive](http://www.arrl.org/15-wpm-code- archive) [2] [http://wb8nut.com/digital/](http://wb8nut.com/digital/) [3] [http://www.radiomarine.org/](http://www.radiomarine.org/) ~~~ mrbill >They're authorized to give the exam for commercial radiotelegraph operator. This gets you a real, but not very useful license. This brings back memories. I was a board op (and then later on, full DJ) at a 100kW country radio station in my small Oklahoma hometown from 1990-1993. Before I could start, I had to fill out paperwork and send it to the FCC with $35, and get my "Restricted Radiotelephone Operator's License". All of the people that worked on-air at the station had theirs pinned up on a corkboard in the back of the control room. From what I read, the FCC stopped requiring these in 1995 or so. Apparently they are/were for life; I should see if I can dig up the records online and request a re-print! ~~~ budman1963 1978, I worked for a small town AM/FM in western colorado. At that time you had to have a "Third Class Radiotelephone License with Broadcast Endorsement". This was a test that had to be taken at an FCC field office. If you had a license, you could get a job. Even if you were 15 years old. ------ jdietrich If you'd like a taster of morse, I can highly recommend the Android and iOS app "Morse Toad". It teaches the basics of morse code in a gamified format. If you're serious about using morse code, I'd suggest the LCWO trainer. It's a browser-based suite of tools for learning morse. The UI is a bit clunky, but it does the job. [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mikelovesr...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mikelovesrobots.morsetoad&hl=en_GB) [https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/morse- toad/id906586079?mt=8](https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/morse- toad/id906586079?mt=8) [https://lcwo.net/](https://lcwo.net/) ~~~ pthreads Thanks. I just installed morse toad. I like it already. ------ kaoD For anyone interested, you can listen to radio over the internet (including many amateur bands) for free using WebSDR ([http://www.websdr.org/](http://www.websdr.org/)) My favorite in particular is located in University of Twente ([http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/](http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/)) with many bands available. ------ mannykannot When I watched "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly", it occurred to me that Bauby could have communicated much faster if he had known Morse code, rather than by having an assistant cycle through a set of cards, each displaying a letter of the alphabet. I have to admit that I have not yet followed up with the sensible next step, which is to learn Morse code myself. ------ sverige Thanks for posting this! I have heard that since the code portion of licensing was removed, there are actually more people using code on air. I like the idea, since it's such an efficient use of bandwidth. ~~~ grandalf It's true, and really fun too. I do it a few times each week. ------ lutusp Not emphasized in the linked PDF is the fact that sending Morse code is relatively easy, but accurately receiving it is much harder. One would do well to spend the majority of one's time learning to accurately receive Morse code, and not spend nearly as much time learning to send. Also, now that Morse code proficiency has been removed from the list of requirements for most amateur and commercial radio licenses, learning it is like learning Latin -- an art for the dedicated purist, in keeping with the true meaning of "amateur." ~~~ aparks517 Oh my! Strictly speaking, it may be true that most folks will spend a bit more time on receiving practice to become minimally proficient. But I would caution against de-emphasizing sending practice for two reasons. First, there's a wide gap between sending /something/ and sending intelligible communications. At low speeds, an iambic keyer with strict timing can cover up poor technique, but at higher speeds or when sending with a straight key, it's surprisingly easy to send gibberish. If I can't make our your call, I can't respond to you ;) Second, effort spent on sending practice helps reinforce receiving practice. It also helps break things up, provide variety, and generally make practice more fun. As you point out, the code is no longer compulsory. It's a hobby and should be fun! :) ~~~ lutusp I agree with your points. My comment was based on my personal experience as a radio amateur. When I was young, when Morse was still central to radio communications, I spent too much time learning how to send and far too little learning how to receive, such that my receiving speed is now still far below my ability to send. > Second, effort spent on sending practice helps reinforce receiving practice. Perhaps to some extent, but I find that I can send with much more adeptness that the reverse. This (or its reverse) may be a common experience. I think time should be devoted to both, so I think we're in essential agreement. > It's a hobby and should be fun! Complete agreement, and how times change. After the Titanic went down, nautical authorities promptly required that radiotelegraph sets be installed on all large ocean-going vessels. Now Morse is a diversion, an interesting historical artifact. ------ aparks517 I can say first-hand that Morse code is not just a bandwidth-efficient means of communication, but also a fun and rewarding hobby. If you're interested in learning using modern and effective methods, I sell a course developed by an expert in memory and cognition. The first couple of lessons are available for free at [https://skilman.com/try- it/](https://skilman.com/try-it/) if you would like to try your hand at it and judge the course for yourself. ------ bsagdiyev This is an awesome post. I just sat my Technician license test yesterday and even with prior practice I'm still nervous about cutting my teeth using morse in a real-world environment when my callsign gets assigned. This seems like it is a great piece of material to read. ~~~ dbcurtis CW Ops is for you. [http://www.cwops.org/](http://www.cwops.org/) They will connect you with a CW mentor who will help build your skills. ~~~ bsagdiyev Thanks, I will check this out! ------ cylinder714 An HTML version of the second edition, and links to various translations of the third edition are at [http://www.tasrt.ca/](http://www.tasrt.ca/)

The Limited Role of Utility Calculations in Moral Judgment - randomname2 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0160084 ====== throwaway3042 I'm kind of disapointed that this doesn't really reference existing philisophical ideas about morals or ethics. A lot of what the article talks about is well known in philosphy. Utilitarianism isn't very popular today as it has a lot of flaws. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism#Criticisms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism#Criticisms) Here are some relevant keywords that I expected to see in the article, but didn't find. Ethical intuitionism Deontological ethics Virtue ethics Consequentialism ~~~ twblalock This is not an article about ethical philosophy per se. The article is concerned with how people _actually_ think when they make moral judgments, not how they _should_ think, or what their conclusions ought to be. In particular, the article asserts that people don't think in utilitarian terms when they make moral judgments. Besides, it's not like every paper related to ethics should contain a summary of every ethical framework you listed. It's a research paper, and its intended audience knows those things already. It's not a syllabus for a sophomore survey course on ethics. ------ adrianratnapala Although this is yet another study about how human beings differ from some "rational" ideal, it doesn't conclude that we are irrational. Rather it seems to give us pause for thought about utilitarianism. I think people are mostly right to have counter-utilitarian intuitions. Utilitarinism automatically places the the reasoner in the position of an omniscient fairy-empress how knows what is good for everyobody and can act on it. But nobody is really in that situation. We are interacting parts in a enourmous system. We affect other people, and we adapt to the effects that others have on us. All this works better if we obey certain rough and ready rules of right and wrong and respect each other rather vaguely defined rights. Evolution has given us a moral sense that encourages just that. It isn't perfect, but it works a lot better than pretending to be a fairy-empress. ------ alexvr A class on moral philosophy screwed me up for a while early in college. All the critical thinking and fancy vocabulary about the topic made me think morality was in some way real - I was all concerned about violating "moral laws." It's amazing how smart people can be so grossly deluded and incorrect about things like this. "Am I wasting my potential?! Is this action maximizing my contribution to general welfare?! Is Famous Person better than me because he helped more people?!" Totally neurotic. This kicked off an era of serious philosophizing, and I began to see countless contradictions and paradoxes with utilitarianism, etc. For example, I started to see that the notion of "selfhood" was just a social invention or cognitive construct, because I reasoned that we're just perpetually changing aspects of nature, and our separateness is just opinion. So then I wondered how the hell anyone could be deserving of blame or credit if they don't actually exist, or if it was their "former self" who committed the crime, etc. It's kind of annoying but cute to see some popular "thinkers" and writers -- fancy-smarty-pants _neuroscientists_ and _atheists_, even -- who actually think morality is real, as though there are actual objective problems out there somewhere. As though you could actually do a "bad thing" or a "good thing." That grinds my gears a little because it's very hypocritical: They'll write an entire book disparaging religious people who believe things without evidence, and they'll write another book on why, according to their pseudoscientific-philosophical horse shit, morality can be "derived from science" [vomit]. But it's easy for smart people to cling to morality as an existential anchor point when they don't have religion to fall back on. It's hard to accept that you're in free fall. But it's nice once you come around and accept reality for what it is. ~~~ lbhnact What words would you use to tell your friends and family about why someone shouldn't stick a gun in your face and take anything they want? And if the complicated and often contradictory paths through considerations of ethics are 'annoying' to you, why? Are they 'wrong' on some moral plane that 'doesn't exist?'. Ethics, life, and why we are all here is hard stuff. But if you think there's no point, then please don't vote in the rest of our elections this fall! ~~~ alexvr It's not wrong to stick a gun in someone's face. It's fine to pull the trigger too, if you're not considering the laws our civilization invented. It's all just opinion: You might not like being robbed, shot, or killed, but that's your opinion; it's not "bad" in any real way whatsoever. I don't like pain or the idea of dying before I'm ready either, but it's not an actual problem or anything like that. Just preference. It would be quite remarkable to somehow violate the way things are. Next time you see someone do something "wrong," or "bad," or "unethical," please try to use your senses to observe the "bad" or "problem" in the situation. Where is it? I'd love to see a picture of a real violation of nature, a real problem. To your second question, such things are annoying to me because it is my nature to be annoyed by ignorance. Many humans are naturally compelled to seek understanding. There is nothing wrong with ignorance; it's just my nature to find it annoying. Also, downvoting my comments doesn't make them incorrect. ------ michaelmrose The trolley problem conflates too independent issues in a very artificial set of circumstances. Whether we are willing or required to make a utilitarian moral judgment and whether we have the right to do so. In a real life trolley problem on the battlefield or in the hospital the commanding officer or doctor has been invested by society with his/her position and is expected to do hypothetically the best thing for his patients/soldiers. He has both the power and the right. I'm aware the military situation is a LOT murkier but lets not over complicate. It seems to me that many are conflicted over their right to take power over other peoples lives and the expected benefit. Note how most feel that you are required to switch the trolley when nobody would be harmed on the other track. Most feel it unacceptable to take responsibility for choosing which party to die in a one to one switch but find sacrificing one for 5 at least acceptable as the benefit mounts it becomes harder to be squeamish about taking power over others. Maybe if they analyses more realistic scenarios it might be somewhat clearer.

Encounter 2001 Message (for aliens) - alexwg http://www.matessa.org/~mike/dutil-dumas.html ====== biot This is like a combination of the Voyager message and the math/logic primer from Contact. It's fairly easy to eyeball what is going on: mathematical and geometric equivalents are laid out while introducing new symbols which are deduced based on the mathematical properties, such as the use of a symbol representing pi in combination with the circumference and area of a circle on page 5. ------ RodgerTheGreat A few of my friends and I got together one afternoon and did our best to decode the whole thing. It's really a fun puzzle if you don't spoil yourself by reading the papers that explain the message. ------ SoftwareMaven How do you communicate "base 10". The primes on the first page assume it (unless I missed something), but how would you let somebody know "11" is "11" and not "2"? ~~~ sp332 Because it has 11 dots next to it.

Cumulus: A free, open-source replacement for CloudApp that uses your own S3 - nrj https://github.com/nrj/Cumulus ====== mykel242 Sweet!

High Class Escort 2013 InfoGraphic - 1.4K Hours - $2K/Hour - act9 http://averyplayfulblog.com/ta-da/ ====== TrainedMonkey Interestingly enough most of her hours are spent in DC by a large margin. City with second most hours is graced with only a third of the time DC gets. ------ weaksauce Unless I am missing something the advertised rate on the site just now is 2k for 2 hours at the most expensive.

The Real Kings of Chess Are Computers - ColinWright http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-real-kings-of-chess-are-computers-1420827071 ====== asdfologist A major point missed in the article is that computers aren't just stronger than humans but also play an extremely monumental role in human chess itself. The entire opening book played by top grandmasters is the result of thousands (millions?) of hours of computer analysis, and many top-level games these days, especially the infamous ~20-move "grandmaster draws" are little more than one grandmaster's home-prepped computer engine analysis being pitted against the other. In other words, many "human" games are effectively a game between two computers :) ~~~ pk2200 Chess opening theory is the result of ~150 years of mostly human effort. Grandmasters do use computers to assist with opening preparation, but it's certainly not the case that computers have completely rewritten the opening books. In fact, I can't think of a single example of a computer significantly altering the evaluation of a major opening system. They do make small improvements, but almost all of the major openings that were popular 30 years ago are still popular today. ------ toolslive Does Usain Bolt feel bad about himself, because a Ferrari is faster on the 100m flat? Should he stop competing because of it? Does a weightlifter feel bad because a fork lift exists? Does this kill weightlifting as a competition? So why would this be the case for Chess ? Anyway, is it just me or does the article feel like having been written by someone who doesn't know about computer chess? ~~~ tbrake Viswanathan Anand himself had a quote which reflects this mentality and is a good way of looking at it : "[...] but since most of chess is tactically based they do many things better than humans. And this imbalance remains. I no longer have any issues. It’s bit like asking an astronomer, does he mind that a telescope does all the work. He is used to it. It is just an incredible tool that you can use." ------ blazespin Great article, [http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/are-computers- mak...](http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/are-computers-making- society-more-unequal) which talks about human/computer chess competitions. So rather than computer versus computer or human versus human, it's a hybrid. What I'd be curious about though, is there ever a case where the strongest computer program + a human could beat the strongest computer program? ~~~ asdfologist You're referring to Advanced Chess [0]. Yes, humans do add value, or otherwise this form of chess wouldn't exist at all, i.e. the human's best strategy would be to always take the engine's top recommended move. [0] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Chess](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Chess) ~~~ gwern But at some point Advanced Chess will be 'dead' in the sense that the best human players no longer help the best software win: the human will pick better moves less than poorer moves, and blow games. It's hard to tell when, but given how large the margin is, and how finely balanced the best chess engines are now (Lipton has some interesting posts on computer chess, most recently [https://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/the-new-chess- worl...](https://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/the-new-chess-world- champion/) ), I wonder if that moment has already passed? ~~~ Houshalter Another observation is that humans only add value for their pattern matching ability. Computers have worse heuristics, but make up for it by being able to explore many moves into the future. But now deep neural networks have been catching on. They've shown good results on Go, being able to predict the move an expert would make 44% of the time. ------ raymondh The article makes a surprising and unattributed assertion, "Mr. Kasparov’s obsession with Deep Blue’s surprising strategic insight was partly responsible for his loss in their 1997 match. Today, smartphones play better than IBM ’s supercomputer did then." Does anyone have a link or attribution for this? I would be gobsmacked to learn that 2015 smartphones play better chess than Deep Blue in 1997. Could this possibly be true? ~~~ Athas You have to remember that Deep Blue was not a top-of-the-line supercomputer in 1997. It was a large machine for sure, but the software made it a chess champion, not just the raw hardware. Many 1997-era computers were faster. ~~~ Someone But it did have quite a bit of custom, chess-specific hardware. [http://chess.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Blue](http://chess.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Blue): _" It was a massively parallel, 30-node, RS/6000, SP-based computer system enhanced with 480 special purpose VLSI chess chips"_ Also, [http://www.csis.pace.edu/~ctappert/dps/pdf/ai-chess- deep.pdf](http://www.csis.pace.edu/~ctappert/dps/pdf/ai-chess-deep.pdf) states that the VLSI chips _" provided most of Deep Blue's computational power."_ That page also answers a question elsewhere on this page about whether computer+human can beat computer. As long as the computer is imperfect, humans may be able to analyze and improve it. In particular, Deep Blue had a weakness that it couldn't learn about. Programmers changed its program to correct for it: _" The rules provided for the developers to modify the program between games, an opportunity they said they used to shore up weaknesses in the computer's play revealed during the course of the match. This allowed the computer to avoid a trap in the final game that it had fallen for twice before."_ ------ stolio Can't find the link but I once saw Carlsen (or maybe Nakamura?) say a computer miscalculated the value of a pair of pawns in a position. Essentially the value of the pawns wouldn't become clear until much later in the game and the heuristic the computer attached to space could overvalue it in certain circumstances. More common than that is a top player might make a move that the computer disagrees with until it gets to a depth of 20+ moves when it suddenly thinks it's THE winning move. For a really interesting computer vs. computer game see Kingscrusher's commentary on Houdini vs. Rybka: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWdMqvGMxF4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWdMqvGMxF4) ------ kingkawn A computer can win chess, not invent it. ~~~ rpearl [http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33767/yavalath](http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/33767/yavalath) is a board game that is commercially available and was generated by a computer. It's got a decent rating, too. Higher than chess, in fact :) ~~~ kingkawn hahaha i was wondering how long it would take for my statement to be wrong

How many problems does this solution create? - eswat http://dl.dropbox.com/u/506504/solving_problems_by_yongfook.txt ====== patio11 If I can make one comment, hard won from painful experience: if there is just one of you, there are only two acceptable answers as to when you'll have something done: "It is already done." and "It is not done." Customers tolerate missing features surprisingly well, and if they don't there are more fish in the sea. Missing promised shipping dates, on the other hand, costs you tremendously disproportionate amounts of goodwill. _Making them_ often requires stress wildly disproportionate to the business value involved. Example: When I started (and was stupid), if a customer asked me "Does the software do $FOO?", and $FOO was in active development, I'd say "I'm working on $FOO right now and it should be ready on $ESTIMATE." Often $ESTIMATE was about a week away. Now that I'm older and wiser, I say "$FOO is not ready but it is planned for a later version of the software. Would you like me to email you when $FOO is ready?" This happened not two weeks ago with an enhancement to the online version of my software. It didn't support consistent columns yet (some users to call bingo games by word and column, which cuts search times for players down drastically, especially important when you're playing with older folks who don't have great eyesight). I've implemented that in Java before and thought it would take me less than one day in Ruby, and had a Saturday free. When I was young and stupid I would have said "I expect to have that done on Sunday." Good thing I didn't -- Friday I got enough overtime piled on to totally exhaust me, and I didn't get up until 3 PM on Saturday, with a planned social engagement at 6. But its _all OK_ because my customer doesn't know any of this! It just took me until this weekend -- I sat down, banged it out, and just emailed her about it. If she buys, great, if not, none of us is worse off. ------ jason_tko Ironically, the solution of sharing an article through a Dropbox linked text file has created the problem of no text-wrapping, and low readability. ~~~ eswat Apologies for the lack of formatting. Guess I need to reread this message a few more times for my own good. ;) Formatted HTML: [http://dl.dropbox.com/u/506504/solving_problems_by_yongfook....](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/506504/solving_problems_by_yongfook.html) ------ Kliment Most of the discussion appears to be about word-wrapping, but I think the actual content is pretty important. This is an excellent evaluation strategy for people doing you favors. "How much trouble is it?" is my first question when thinking about something that might save me money. Annoyance has a cost. ------ chipsy It's definitely the case that I've written programs - or just specific features - that were wrongheaded and caused too much maintenance overhead for the perceived benefit. But when you're thinking in terms of an organization, the overhead of most complex solutions can be waved away by throwing people at it. And that, in turn, can be the foundation of a strong business - or a huge wasted effort. ------ Dilpil Hmm, doesn't word wrap for me, and is unreadable as a result. ~~~ chipsy View source has a word wrap option. ~~~ tome That depends on what browser you're using! ------ lunaru I'm often inspired by the software that Yongfook churns out (fan of Sweetcron and Open Source Food). This just shows that it doesn't matter who you are or how talented you are - you have to find a problem you're passionate about solving. If the passion isn't there, there results won't be either. I think that's another way to state the article title. ------ SlyShy I haven't applied this principle to my daily life like he has, but it is an important problem solving technique that I apply when programming. Most people just call this "managing complexity". ;) ------ zb There are some very interesting examples of this given in the book "The Logic of Failure" by Dietrich Doerner. ------ keefe problem #1 : poor documentation <ctrl+w>

Booking system for makeup artists and hair stylists - xxxxtj https://www.appearancer.com/start ====== xxxxtj Welcome!

Manchin Demands Federal Regulators Ban Bitcoin - imd23 http://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=237cbd66-6a26-4870-9bcb-20177ae902b0 ====== ColinWright Extensive discussion: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7307299](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7307299)

First complete dinosaur skeleton ever found has finally been studied in detail - woldemariam https://phys.org/news/2020-08-dinosaur-skeleton-ready-closeup.html ====== brzozowski The paper has some nice illustrations in case anyone is interested in reading about it in more detail: [https://sci- hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa06...](https://sci- hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa061) ~~~ neolog I wonder why they're using illustrations instead of 3D models. ~~~ jazzyjackson Not everybody's got a high res 3D scanner laying around ~~~ bigiain /me looks at the front facing camera and tof sensor on his phone and sighs... ~~~ TeMPOraL Technology, meet business goals :(. ------ HenryKissinger Can someone recommend (non-fiction) books about dinosaurs that are scientifically accurate and aimed at a college educated but non-expert audience? ~~~ dilippkumar Not a book, but I enjoyed this talk from The Royal Institute: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f-jD7kQvyPs](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f-jD7kQvyPs) ~~~ cbsks That was a good talk! The speaker (David Hone) plugs his book at the end “The Tyrannosaur Chronicles: The Biology of the Tyrant Dinosaurs” ------ kace91 I wonder: since we have skeletons of living species, and the living animals themselves, couldn't we theoretically train a model to go from bones to pictures of the animal (or 3D models or whatever), and then apply it to dinosaur skeletons to see what comes up? Is there any way that could end up getting us somewhat realistic depictions? ------ shreyansj Honest question - what has stopped us from bringing extinct dinosaurs back to life? Which variable in the equation is unsolved? ~~~ eru For one, we don't have their DNA. See eg [https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/could-scientists-bring- dinosa...](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/could-scientists-bring-dinosaurs- back.html) ~~~ TeMPOraL On top of what the article says, even if we _had_ pristine dinosaur DNA, the way we clone things is through a living host - so whatever we'd clone would be half-dinosaur, half-cow, or half-whatever animal volunteered a womb/egg. ~~~ simcop2387 Not necessarily half. There'd definitely be some sharing but when we clone things we replace the genome in the egg that's used. That said it'll share mitochondrial and other things during development ------ DougN7 Wait, this is the first complete dinosaur skeleton ever found?! What have I been looking at in museums? ~~~ SNACKeR99 Possibly the first+N complete skeleton ever found. The first was over 160 years ago. ------ Melting_Harps Hey, that's all well and good; but can someone get some web development work for Alexandra? This her bio/profile: [https://sci-hub.tw/alexandra](https://sci-hub.tw/alexandra) ~~~ p1necone The waving gif link in the sci hub page posted by another commenter is _excellent_. ~~~ codetrotter Which gif, and where? ~~~ p1necone [https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa06...](https://sci- hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa061) ~~~ codetrotter I’m super confused. I don’t see any gifs or links to gifs on any of the pages of that PDF. ~~~ cx4 It doesn't show up on mobile. Try requesting desktop site if you're on mobile.

Which hosted and simple acceptance testing tools are out there? - matlock I am currently researching which hosted tools there are to get started with testing your application. Something that everyone in the company could set up and start using instantly. Testing here encompasses clicking through the website and asserting correct data as well as checking for regular uptime, failing links, missing images and failing javascript.<p>There are a couple of candidates, but all of them are either unstable, do not have the necessary features or have a horrible usability.<p>The ones I've already looked at are <i>) Pingdom.com </i>) Saucelabs.com <i>) Simpletest.io </i>) Browserstack.com *) and a few others that are not at all interresting<p>There are hundreds of testing frameworks out there, but all I've seen require at least an understanding of how to write code, which is great for us developers, but a nogo for others.<p>I couldn't even find a testing framework that gives you the ability to run your tests in very close to natural language. Anything out there you know? ====== brutuscat Have you take a look at Cucumber? <http://cukes.info/> I don't personally use that (I use capybara for acceptance testing) but it seems to do the job in terms of natural language and "versatility" ------ drean A couple of useful links: <http://webdevchecklist.com/>

Spire.io: A New Platform For Serverless Apps That Work On Web & Mobile - airnomad http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/09/spire-io-a-new-platform-for-serverless-apps-that-work-on-web-mobile/ ====== jtchang I have no problem with these new backend as a service providers. Parse, FireBase, Spire.io, etc. The problem I have is what happens when you have all your data hosted with them and they go away. You are stuck either rebuilding the same API they had or migrating to another provider. That said I have used Parse and it is amazing at how fast you can get up and running. I will definitely be giving Parse a good look when I spin up my next app (whether it be at a hackathon or otherwise). For now though my attitude is cautious optimism. And what really is the end game in all this? A lot of these have similar APIs. What's to prevent you from just copying the API (hope that they are deemed uncopyrightable). ~~~ rohansingh One thing I like about Parse is that they explicitly support data portability. Of course, that is only the data you're getting, so you are correct in that you would have to reimplement the API if you wanted to move away seamlessly. That's not the end of the world, though it does influence which of these providers I choose. For example, I feel more comfortable building on Parse because I'm fairly confident that they won't disappear without some warning. I think it's a trust barrier you have to break through to become successful in this particular market. ~~~ spladow You are correct on all points here. Stability and trust are very important in this market. Obviously, we are planning on being around for a long time, but it may take a little while for everyone to gain confidence in us. The best thing we can do is to keep iterating and prove that we are building something that's meant to last. As far as building trust goes, we plan to automate the process of exporting your data soon, but until then we will provide it upon request at any point. We also stick to open standards and open source software wherever possible so that your code is not dependent on any proprietary technology from us or anyone else. Our own server code is based completely on widely supported open source projects, ranging from Node to Redis. Finally, we are open sourcing our own stack as aggressively as we can and already offer limited licenses to firms that are concerned about being dependent on our code. In short, we're doing everything we can to ensure that you are never "locked in" to our technology or any one else's. Our goal is keep innovating so that you don't want to use another solutions. ------ pbnjay I love how using the term "serverless" for a backend provider immediately confuses me about the actual product. Win? ~~~ Void_ They want you to build server-less apps, so they provide the server. It makes sense. ~~~ samtp But the apps aren't "server-less". The server is just controlled by a different party. ~~~ rohansingh Agreed. These apps are "serverless" in the same sense that outsourcing development makes your application codeless. ------ akrymski From giving Spire and Freebase a quick glance, none of these services seem to be designed to work in offline mode. What I'd love to see is a different kind of architecture: a server-less app with its local database (websql or indexedDB) which syncs with a server-side database instead of making RPC style calls. ie disconnected mode of operation with syncing when online. This is how Meteor works from what I understand, and we've had to build this ourselves on top of Backbone for Post.fm. Perhaps we're a special case, but something tells me that the infrastructure of the future is not RPC calls but data-sync. (I guess MS Exchange is one of the first large examples of this). ~~~ DenisM RPC is an anti-pattern. I've been beating this drum for years, but it feels awfully lonely... <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2317568> <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2972345> ~~~ dyoder FWIW, we use HTTP as intended, not to tunnel RPCs. ------ amirmc _"And then, the realization: 'let’s build the picks and shovels, instead of panning for gold.'"_ Something about this line really irked me. Not really the kind of thing I'd want to read as a potential customer. ~~~ augustl It's exactly the thing I would want to read. I'm the expert in gold panning, damnit, just give me the tools I need. ~~~ newobj You're an expert in gold panning yet you need tools? ------ equark There is a real need for an open source clone of one of these realtime datastores. I'd lean towards Firebase since it has the best API I've seen so far. If anybody wants an open source sprint, I'd be willing to donate to such a project... ------ hnf0r3v3r I'm working on something similar that I want to open source. The idea is to be able to build apps quickly on the front end, and only have to mess with the back when necessary. Anyone interested in this sort of project? ------ g0su What is the difference between this and Firebase? ~~~ equark Firebase has a much nicer API. It's organized around a realtime, ordered, tree datastore. This makes it much more akin to very granular database than a message bus. Spire is just an authentication service + channels. There is no state beyond the historical list of messages in a channel. That makes it a really thin layer over Socket.IO. Firebase solves a much harder problem of state synchronization. Firebase allows you can listen to any part of the subtree and query particular children of a node. Data is synchronized in realtime, optimistically, and the events that fire allow you to easily tie your UI or Backbone model to the datastore. It also has critical features like transactions. This is much more flexible than what Spire.IO currently provides. ~~~ cortesoft I am not sure what makes you say it is a thin layer over Socket.IO... or even the comparison to Firebase. I would say Firebase solves a different problem, not really a harder one. Firebase doesn't have an identity service, does it? Firebase doesn't seem to address the issue of security or privacy at all, which seems to me to be fairly important to a web application. ~~~ dyoder Also, you can implement data synchronization over a messaging layer but not the other way around. So I'd say our approach is actually more flexible. And we do plan to introduce APIs to make data synchronization easier. ~~~ equark Implementing the Firebase API is nontrivial. It's an entire datastore with fine-grained monitoring and optimistic, distributed, data synchronization. Messaging falls automatically out of their API -- all you do is push child messages. And it's better messaging protocol than pub/sub since you get windowed queries into the channel history for free. ~~~ dyoder You get 'windowed queries into the channel history for free' on spire.io as well. ------ newobj For god's sake at LEAST put a towel over your head when recording a voice- over. ------ maybird Sounds like Firebase. ~~~ jxson We get compared to other messaging services quite a bit, the big difference is that real-time messaging will not be our only service. We are already working on other services that will cover the most common needs of developing apps (data store, cdn). The new Identity service combined with real-time messaging and our upcoming services will allow developers to very quickly develop really powerful applications. I don't think that is something businesses exclusively in the real-time messaging space (like firebase) are working towards. ------ wavephorm You want me to hand over my entire backend infrastruture to your company and be entirely limited by your capabilites and rewrite my app specifically for your system? Seriously? Are there people actually interested this? Who's the target audience? (I hope you don't say backend developers) ~~~ cortesoft I think spire.io is more geared towards people making new applications. If you already have a working backend, keep using it. However, if you are making a new web application, you need to pick your battles; do you spend your time writing server code and setting up a server, or do you spend your time writing the actual application? It is a reinventing the wheel thing. You want to spend your time writing the parts of your app that are DIFFERENT and actually core to your application.

Toolkit - prostoalex http://titon.io/en/toolkit ====== n8m It's good to see something else than Bootstrap. If you like this, have a look at: [http://www.semantic-ui.com/](http://www.semantic-ui.com/) \- I love using this as every component can be downloaded separately. ~~~ im_dario I tried to use Semantic UI and I didn't grasp it properly. Don't get it as negative criticism but I found there is a simple tutorial and its grid is kind of unusable even looking examples. In my last project ended using Zurb Foundation although I had Semantic UI as first option. Any pointer will be useful. ~~~ desireco42 I got lost too, they do present it nicely, but using it is not as easy as I expected. So I had to abandon it. I like Bourbon quite a bit. ------ cnbuff410 I hate heavy and opinionated frontend framework like bootstrap. I have been using Pure css and plain css/js/html to do some prototype and really enjoyed the process, and the only concern is I'm not great at design, so all the prototypes I did don't feel like modern and slick. I started trying Web Starter Kit[1] recently and really like it, it's light with principle of "don't get in your way", it has very fine default design feeling yet still allow you to easily customize the look and feel. Toolkit looks like it's even lightweight and share the similar "minimal" principle, I will give it a try and see if it provides enough out of box, and I hope to see more of this kind of light yet modern frontend framework. [1] [https://github.com/google/web-starter-kit](https://github.com/google/web- starter-kit) ~~~ tracker1 If you use Bootstrap from the source, it's actually pretty modular. I bring it in with npm, then copy the bootstrap.less and variables.less into my own project (updating the references to those in the node_modules path)... this lets me do quite a bit in terms of not loading the kitchen sink, while still being flexible. As an aside, I'm not quite sure why less hasn't won over sass... By nature of less being JS driven it is much closer to best in breed tools you need anyway for web development (npm) in my opinion. It kind of bugs me that to do modern web development, you are likely to want/need to have Node (or io.js), Python and Ruby installed. I tend to stick to Node based tools (there is sass for node, but it brings in a binary module). This isn't to be expressly negative, just that I'm surprised there's still broad support for both less and sass... with sass having a bit of an edge in the greater community, it would seem. ~~~ omegavesko Do developers really care whether a tool is written in JS rather than Ruby, or vice-versa? If you're running *nix it's pretty likely you have Ruby installed out of the box anyway. There's nothing inherently tying you to Ruby anyhow, anyone could write a SASS parser in JavaScript. It's just that nobody has because there is no need for it. ~~~ LukeB_UK The SASS team are writing one in JavaScript so they must feel there's a need: [https://github.com/sass/node-sass](https://github.com/sass/node-sass) ~~~ omegavesko Node-sass isn't a JavaScript port of SASS, it's a Node.JS binding for libsass, the native (C) SASS compiler. The first paragraph of the readme tells you as much. ------ alixander Normally I wouldn't be picky about a web design flaw, but seeing as this is a project aimed at helping web design: [http://imgur.com/qqwqiA8](http://imgur.com/qqwqiA8) ~~~ nsgf It renders fine if you disable Adblock. ~~~ flippant It looks fine with NoScript too. ------ jakejake I might be dense but it took me a bit of hunting to locate the online demo at [http://demo.titon.io/](http://demo.titon.io/) Possibly because on iOS when I scroll to the bottom of the page with a quick flick, the site navigation goes kinda wonky and covers some of the page content. ------ jitl How is this different from Bootstrap or Foundation? Is this just another CSS framework? I wish they had a "what's good about Toolkit" section describing the advantages of this package over Bootstrap et al. ------ nerdy In less than two minutes I noticed a few issues. Some examples: \- In FF37 the left hand navigation to components overflows into the footer: [http://titon.io/en/toolkit/2.1.1/components](http://titon.io/en/toolkit/2.1.1/components) \- On the main page toward the bottom where components are listed, the tooltips always appear above the element in question, even if the element is at the top of the window. This means the tooltip is above the top of the viewport and cut off or entirely not visible. ------ sam1r This is awesome! Just checked the docs, and thankfully there is a jQuery-free version coming soon! Perfect for those who develop for mobile-optimized frameworks or those who follow angular best practices. ------ cobalt One quick observation, i would make the checkboxes and radio buttons more obviously clicked. (Also better :focus) ~~~ adrianmsmith Agreed, if you only had two radio buttons and one was checked you'd have no idea which the checked one was. [http://demo.titon.io/?input&rtl=0](http://demo.titon.io/?input&rtl=0) ------ girvo What I think is far more interesting that the CSS/JS framework, is their framework for Hack, Facebook's statically typed PHP derivative: [https://github.com/titon/framework](https://github.com/titon/framework) ------ andrea_sdl Am I the only one thinking that the "flat" design of buttons has room for improvement? Almost every available framework now uses flat buttons, but they are not as clear as the old style button (although they are obviously more stylish). Titon seems to have improved a bit (by adding some bordering to help the user undestand that the button is a button an not just some kind of alert), but I guess there's still work to be done. ------ thomasfoster96 Good to see the support for ARIA roles and attributes on elements. I wonder if a framework in the future will start using attribute selectors to use ARIA roles instead of classes to style things like tabs. On the subject of tabs, I'm surprised that no one has removed the JavaScript dependency for simple components like tabs. Pure CSS tabs are possible in pretty much all modern browsers (>= IE9). ------ BinaryIdiot This looks interesting. Projects that roll up multiple technologies are always great for getting a prototype going. I'm a bit too old fashioned with using something like this for a long term project but that's my issue. I would love to see web components used in projects like these :) ------ burger_moon Not sure if it's designed to be this way, but when scrolling the sidebar gets locked into position until you reach the bottom of the selected component example. If I hover over the sidebar I should be able to scroll the sidebar separate from the example. ------ obisw4n I actually got really confused on the examples page, it took me a moment to realize there was a dropdown box with all the features.. I think displaying them all in a column on the left/right like bootstrap docs do, would make it easier to know whats going on. ------ nawitus I prefer a more modular approach to UI components. After using Bootstrap for a while I find myself often choosing a standalone component over the one provided by Bootstrap, since I can choose the component that best fits to the rquirements. ------ baby I was using Foundation and Bootstrap for years and I recently switched to the amazing semantic-ui. This seems like a clone of semantic-ui (kind of) and I don't really understand what's the difference. ------ smrtinsert I'm really in materializecss.com lately. ~~~ SkyMarshal Let me link that for you: [http://materializecss.com](http://materializecss.com) ------ xjia I'd love to see a "related work" section on the homepage.

Watch Paul Graham write his latest essay - jballanc http://etherpad.com/ep/pad/slider/foundervisa ====== dctoedt As a lawyer, I was both fascinated and horrified by the replay. Imagine a company routinely using EtherPad (really cool, BTW) to create documents -- in the process saving thousands if not millions of interim drafts. Now imagine the company getting into a lawsuit. Some subset of N documents -- and of all interim-draft snapshots of those N documents that are still in existence -- will have to be screened for possible disclosure to the other side. (There are tools for partially automating this, but lawyers and paralegals will still have to individually look at many documents / drafts.) In PG's case, there were 2,886 such snapshot drafts for just one document. Makes me shudder just to think about the legal expense. ~~~ dctoedt Another goodie comes to mind: Imagine that in a lawsuit, PG were to have his deposition taken by the other side's lawyers. The lawyer representing PG or his company would almost certainly insist on prepping him beforehand by reviewing with him, page by page, each of the documents the other side might ask him about. (Failure to prep a witness for deposition can result in the other side's playing a video for the jury, consisting of damaging sound bites harvested from the witness's testimony.) The lawyer's prep of PG will likely include at least a glance at, and perhaps a discussion of, each of the EtherPad snapshot drafts for each of the documents in 'the PG collection.' Imagine what a time sink that could turn into. ------ jballanc This feels like a weird middle ground between voyeurism and watching a master at work. ~~~ quizbiz Or a different way to learn some writing skills? At least if you're a terrible writer like me. But is that still a feature made available only to PG? ~~~ pg They could easily release it for everyone, and they probably will at some point, but right now they're busy working on the version that lives inside companies' firewalls: <http://etherpad.com/ep/about/pricing-eepnet> ------ plinkplonk It would be cool if we could see PG (and other good programmers) code with Etherpad. Watching a sophisticate peice of code "evolve" from the first line/function would be fascinating. ------ jongraehl I liked the evolution of persuasion: it would be easy, just use Erdos numbers ... detailed explanation ... to finally, just hiding the details entirely. The accelerated replay is a good default. My attention span would require some kind of commentary track if it was less than 200% sped up. ~~~ jballanc _I liked the evolution of persuasion: it would be easy, just use Erdos numbers ... detailed explanation ... to finally, just hiding the details entirely._ The best writing advice I ever received was this: When you are writing for a general audience, any time you find yourself agonizing over the correct way to word a certain detail, delete it entirely. Extra details scare off casual readers and anyone truly interested in your idea can approach you for a further explanation. On top of that, it's nearly impossible to anticipate how details need to be described to get through to any one individual. If you let that individual come to you first, then you can tailor your response to the way they form their question. ------ robotrout I saw a lot of thoughts getting deleted and never re-appearing again, but I was too slow to grok the significance of his choice to remove them. It occurs to me a person could do some sort of git style display. Anything that's over 5 seconds old is revision 1, and if you edit that later, you see the old crossed out, and the new highlighted. (this would be a mode that could be turned on/off as desired, as it could be distracting) Such a mode would allow a window into the thought processes of the writer, both for the voyeurs, and for the writer himself. ------ vaksel I wouldn't mind seeing ehterpad work in real time...just to see how much time it takes him to come up with the stuff/changes ~~~ rugoso agree, if you've got this far, why not show it real time, as an option maybe ------ csomar This can give you an idea how essays are written by famous writers! ------ Xichekolas So now I'm curious PG, what's your Ronco number? ~~~ pg 1\. Ron has invested in several YC-funded startups. ------ omarchowdhury [web 2.0 derivative mindset] We could have a new site just dedicated to PG etherpad submissions! [/web 2.0 derivative mindset] ------ ftse Fascinating. However, don't think you are seeing the complete creation of an essay from its spark to completion. The first sentence appears (to me at least) considered and calculated. I'm sure much more thought has gone into the essay than the animation would suggest. ~~~ pg I start when I think of the first sentence. After that, as you can see, it's two steps forward and one step back. ~~~ electromagnetic I've worked as a writer, and am currently in the process of writing a novel (the first I actually think someone would pay a penny to read) so I was actually about to comment that it does look like the complete process. I'm sure a video of me writing would appear very similar. It can take me a long while to think of that first sentence, sometimes even a few days, but once I've got it in my head it usually comes out onto the page near-completed. Frequently I hit the first key and don't stop until 200 words later. However, it's once you get past what's sitting in the buffer in your brain that things drastically slow down. As a slight aside, not knowing your personal history or the grades you got in high school, it's quite rare to see someone with a clear and (what appears to be) a natural writing talent coming from a programming background. From what I've seen, programming has a propensity to decrease literacy skills. It's especially impressive that it wasn't your standard five-paragraph essay, some people manage to succeed at those and fail at anything a hint more complex. ------ TheSOB88 What this needs is a chunk model - to be able to see what was written in one chunk, from the first insert up to the next delete, then to the next insert, etc. You'd be able to see more clearly the purpose of every keystroke and wouldn't miss the small word changes, while also not having to press "next" 60 times to see a sentence unfold. Oh yeah, by the way, cool idea.

Infinity Hook – Hook system calls, context switches, page faults and more - MikusR https://github.com/everdox/InfinityHook ====== MikusR "Hook system calls, context switches, page faults, DPCs and more. InfinityHook works along side Patchguard and VBS/Hyperguard to subtly hook various kernel events. InfinityHook is incredibly portable and stealthy, it works in all versions of Windows 7 to the latest versions of Windows 10. InfinityHook stands to be one of the best tools in the rootkit arsenal over the last decade."