jkeisling/hacker-news-corpus-2007-2022 huggingface dataset:
Serl- Sexp-based ERLang
http://forum.trapexit.org/viewtopic.php?p=43927
Can't get enough of Erlang news items?

Here's your chance to learn /both/ Erlang and Lisp ;). Compared to LFE, which is like Scheme, Serl is more like Common-Lisp. I tried to throw out the pieces of onion.

Features:

-support for aribtrary namespaces.
--import/export of macros and special forms.
--special forms are just macros that takes the compiling environment
as an extra argument. Serl defines itself with special forms.

-avoids unintentional capturing in similar way as common-lisp's
package.

-Syntax objects.
--Quotation and quasiquotation are used only to build syntax objects.
-macroexpansion in pattern.
--so named patterns are possible.
-syntax objects are pattern matchable.

-fancy lambda-list as in common-lisp.
--&option, &rest, and &key don't interfere with each other.

-syntatically consistent reader macro based on heredoc.

This is release 1. So it's for the brave and dangerously curious only.
Show HN: Startup – OvaFlow: Powerful Infrastructure Data Analytics
https://www.ovaflow.com/?ref=hn1
We are a startup company wishing to spread the word of our upcoming product: OvaFlow. Please follow the link to read more about it. Any feedback on the usability of the Website will be appreciated. Cheers
Fund Raiser for Google PageRank Alternative
http://www.indiegogo.com/cdnpal-search-engine
This Open Source Project aims to bring some real time trending, Open Graph factoring and transparency to web search. Please help us make this a reality.
Show HN: An RSS aggregator with productivity and retention in mind
https://symfoz.com
Hello HN !

I'm the founder of https://symfoz.com which is basically a RSS aggregator that allows people to partition the content they want to see in dedicated spaces called "Playlists", thus reducing the time needed to find the information they need.

Why Symfoz instead of other RSS aggregators ?

- Create playlists of content, avoid mixing too many feeds in the same place. You know where everything is.
- Follow people or playlists, people can create some playlists with AWESOME content, you may benefit from it.
- We handle classic RSS feeds, but also Youtube channels, Twitter feeds, Spotify Podcasts, sub-reddits.
- An easy UI interface (This is still WIP, UI is very hard haha)
- Promote retention of information by allowing people to take notes (not highlighting but really take notes), instead of just consuming content and forget it. You'll be able to find your notes easily.

A bit more about the project (you can skip this!), this is a side project that I've been working on for almost a year.
I'm a back-end developer and the stack runs in Python. If you'd like more details, please feel free to ask, I'll be glad to answer !

Thanks for taking the time to read this, feel free to give any feedback, I would be really grateful :) !
Ask HN: Is there any reason not to be able to run iOS4 on 1st-gen iPhones/iPods?
The 1st-gen and 2nd-gen iPhone and iPod Touch share the same processor (an ARM11) clocked the same (412 MHz) with the same amount of memory (128 MB). The only difference between the original and 3G is the 3G-capable radio. The only difference between the original iPod Touch and the 2nd-gen one is the addition of a Bluetooth radio.

While I would completely understand if iOS4 didn't support the 3G but ran fine on the 3GS, I cannot imagine anything other than pure unadulterated greed as the reason for it to run on 3G and not on the original.

Anyone wants to offer a clue?
Ask HN: Low level multiprocessor implementation?
I was reading https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8798799 about what languages to learn. I was interested in how Terra leverages lua, a technique I learnt on BBC basic to develop ROMs for the BBC micro. Sort of like a super assembler.

I've been programming for over 40 years, and thought I'd build a framework for the parallela board. I don't see why we have great hardware coming along yet there's no vision in the tool chains. Just C/C++ and openCL. Don't get me wrong, I've done C++ programming since late 80's, it's just I know I can't put a clojure or JavaScript run time on nodes in an epiphany chip.

I'm aware of various activities. As much as I enjoyed my time working with Forth (Jupiter Ace) I'm not sure that developing solutions for the greenArrays chips in ColorForth will become mainstream.

I know there are 'technology clusters' but they are mostly academic talk shops. Here I expect pragmatic answers. I want to do something.

So, my question:

What small systems should I consider to load onto 64 nodes (4 boards) that could enable embedded development with visualisation?
TargetContact Goes Live!
http://app.targetcontact.com
Hey guys, i've been working diligently these past months to bring you TargetContact.

Here is some marketing blurb from our corporate site:
Newsletters have long been a powerful marketing tool that builds brand awareness and offers improved communication with customers and prospects. But, busy professionals can't afford the time it takes to create a professional looking piece. The solution is TargetContact!

In 2007, TargetContact, Inc. set out to create a simple and affordable marketing platform for professionals looking to increase their visibility. The objective was to create something that required very little time and ongoing maintenance, but provided real results. The founders of TargetContact knew that if they could create this tool and offer an engaging monthly newsletter that professionals could put their own brand on, it would be very valuable.

Today, TargetContact serves Insurance Agents, Attorneys, Accountants, Loan Officers, Realtors, Consultants and many other types of professionals nationwide. With its easy to use campaign manager and engaging newsletter, TargetContact provides its customers with a high value marketing tool at an affordable price.

sign-up and let me know what you think. i'm dying to get some feedback! We've put so much effort into making this app really solid, useable and affordable. At the moment we're offering a 30 day free trial so if you actually have a need for something like this you get 30 days to evaluate it.

./rm
Ask HN: How do you advertise your new service/app?
What have you tried and what worked and what didn't? How would a new service present a face to the world?
Video of VC explaining how to do your cap table, term sheet, etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3HJFJrrSmg
well done video of VCs talking about term sheets, cap tables and the like.
Show HN: Medusa-Extender
https://github.com/adrien2p/medusa-extender
Get some cool features with your medusa headless e-commerce
Ask HN: What can we do about customer service
I come from India and here most companies suck at customer service. It's even hard to find relevant email ids or phone numbers, let alone getting the problems resolved. I am guessing that this is a universal problem.

I would love to do something about this. I have a few ideas and I am interested in knowing how others think this can be solved. To start off, I am thinking of a platform that provides info on customer service numbers, email ids, twitter and facebook urls etc of widely used services. Also, people should be able to write what worked for them and what did not. This information would be presented in a well organized and an easily searchable fashion.

Will this help? What else do you think can be done? Can there be a service around customer service?
A Great Place to Meet Chicks: World of Warcraft
http://mashable.com/2012/03/22/world-of-warcraft-dating-infographic/
Will the future of online matchmaking be based around things that people are already doing online (Like playing WoW), and not around dedicated dating sites like match.com?
Ask HN: How do you visualise new ideas and concepts?
By visualise I mostly mean the first thing that comes to your mind. For example, considering the term "search" you may visualise a text box or a relational database or a business plan or some software specifications.

I know there are many programmers/engineers in this community but also many designers and business-oriented people. I think this would make a nice discussion and help us all understand a bit more about how others see things.

As for me, I tend to visualise interfaces and interactions. For "search", I will think of a text box first and then try to think something better (or at least different) than a text box.
App Downloads Are A False Metric
http://subprint.com/blog/app-downloads-are-a-false-metric
As a voracious reader and consumer of data and infographics, I've come across a growing trend that many companies, agencies and developers are using to measure the growth or impact that an app may have and they measure that by aggregate app downloads. This is fool's gold. Usage is ultimately what matters.
Facebook Subscribe Button
http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=10150280039742131
Very similar to twitter following...discuss
What do you think of this complete startup guide?
http://grasshopper.com/jump
I wrote this guide for entrepreneurs and small biz owners and am looking for further feedback and insight. What did I miss? What would you add?
(Almost) Zero to 'Rockstar' in 6 months: The Challenge
So here's something I've been thinking about for a while now. I've always wanted to learn to program and not be reliant on others to help build things I've thought up. It's really very frustrating being the "business" guy in projects, even though I'm lucky enough to never have a shortfall of great developers to work with. I've been fooling with python, but I just don't seem to get anywhere fast grappling with it after work or on weekends, although I haven't been as focused as I could be admittedly.

My Question: hypothetically, if one could take 6 months out off work/life and just devote them to learning the skills I want, what would a good suggested path be? Assume that I am practicing, reading, watching whatever you suggest 10 hours a day, 6 days a week along with any overtime you think would be needed. I know there are a couple of books everyone recommends to start with, but what I'm really looking for is as close to a lesson plan I can get! Also, I have a bit of experience writing C for an base level course in college, used to be able to write HTML way back in the day and have been around technology my whole life, so it's not like I'm coming at this standing still.

Suggestions, possible plans, words of advise are all welcome, of course.
Why good companies choose freedom
http://www.myplanetdigital.com/digital_strategy/blog/why-good-companies-choose-freedom
Inspired by the Netflix presentation found on here recently.
Show HN: Chrome extension for collapsible and alternating colored comments on HN
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hacker-news-collapsible-a/agjacimdflechekccnohppaaanjmadpi
I got bored over the weekend and made a chrome extension for better HN reading. Inspired by reddit enhancement suite. Here's my code if you want to fiddle with it. https://github.com/louisinhongkong/Collapsible-comments-for-Hacker-News/
Why power outlets look weird in other countries
http://gizmodo.com/5972640/why-power-outlets-look-so-weird-in-other-countries
"Getting foreign gadgets to play nice with the local power grid is a nightmare any time you travel internationally. Here's why every country on the planet (except yours) totally screwed up indoor wiring."
Who Would You Finance? Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn?
http://www.infochachkie.com/tom/
The planning styles of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are compared.

Entrepreneurs are implored to write a Huck Finn Business Plan.
Show HN: Turkey Needs Your Retweets Against Dictatorship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QCgbUpsmH5Q
#SesVerTürkiyeBuÜlkeSahipsizDeğil Turkish media behave like a monkey not heart not saw not know hide everythig
15x better Neo4j write throughput on Linux ext4
https://structr.org/blog/neo4j-performance-on-ext4
Hi,

maybe some of you have experienced poor write performance on their Linux boxes as I did, esp. with small transactions.

In my tests I was able to increase the throughput by a factor of 15! Here's a blog post about my findings:

http://structr.org/blog/neo4j-performance-on-ext4

Comments?

Best
Axel
Ask HN: Do algorithmic coding problems efficiently reduce false negatives?
Question: Do time bounded algorithmic coding problems efficiently reduce false negatives as opposed to a technical design interviews (whiteboard & marker), practical coding problem (here's a web-service, add a feature), hiring & exercising probation (this may be a UK thing)?

I know this question has been asked & discussed a million times but I want to take a some what different perspective on the matter other than bashing & moaning

My experience is that the industry norm to ask algorithmic coding problems, for example given two string '1100101' and '101' add together and return '1101010'. In the book 'Cracking the Coding Interview' by Gayle Laakmann McDowell they speak about how these exist to reduce false negatives. However my question is that under the artificial stress of an interview and time pressure, does this actually correlate with ones performance? Such that the classification technique is the best for such screening?

Would be interested to see what other people think?

Plus this is my first 'Ask HN' so go easy one me :)
Google+, my personal opinion
http://www.dev-articles.com/article/Google+-434001
Google plus seams to be another great success of google. Next will be the google+ api.
Yahoo? Can Somebody Explain The Bear In The Next Cubical?
http://i.imgur.com/uPC6O.png
For some context, folks on twitter are trying to figure it out.

http://search.twitter.com/search?q=flipzagging

What the hell is a bear doing in Yahoo's Offices?
Now You Can Add Value to the Community, and Get a Book for Free Too
http://o2js.com/contest
No pain, no gain ;)
Ask HN: Why should I not use a recruiter when moving?
If you move to a new area, you will generally need to work with a real estate agent. One of the benefits as a renter / purchaser is that you get the help of someone who knows availability in the area, who knows the local laws, and they can help you personally to find a home that is a good fit for you.

A tech recruiter be seen to be providing a similar service. I will be moving shortly and will most likely need to find a software engineering job in the new area. In this area I don't know anyone. It would be easier if someone could guide me through the process of saying, based on my personal preferences, what companies may be a good fit for me. They may have more information about local salaries as well and can be of guidance when negotiating salary as well.

My sense is that the general prevailing idea is that you should never work with a tech recruiter.. despite my above points why should I not use a recruiter?
Ask HN: Dropbox and ZumoDrive taking PR turns?
It looks like Dropbox and ZumoDrive take turns for sharpening/implementing their PR strategies! few months a go it was ZumoDrive all over places (media, blogs etc.) before that it was Dropbox and now it is again Dropbox. I wonder if anyone has noticed this.. though its a good way to keep it like this as it keeps them away from direct comparison and competition. BTW had anyone seriously used both the services on daily basis and compared without prejudice? it would be interesting to know who's the winner?
How to fill a job nobody wants
http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/09/how-to-fill-a-job-nobody-wants.html
Tips on finding a good person to take on your company's drudge work.
Talks to Learn More About Node.js
http://blog.modulus.io/five-talks-learn-more-nodejs
I know that we all learn differently and one of the easiest ways to learn is visually. Your time is important, so I've compiled a list of some of the most relevant Node.js talks that have occurred over the past few years.
Will Your Next Server Be Designed by Facebook?
http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/10/will-your-next-server-be-desig.php
In April, Facebook announced the Open Compute Project (OCP). It sounded pretty crazy at the time: Facebook was proposing an open, commodity infrastructure for Web-scale infrastructure. But the idea has legs, and today announced a formation of a foundation for the Open Compute Project. Will your next servers be designed by Facebook?
Google+ reaches 100 million mark
http://mytechmafia.com/100-million-active-user-for-google-still-facebook-mark-not-touched/
Google+ now with 100 million users is part of overall google experience along with Youtube,Google Play,Google images etc ..

Well though the performance of Google+ is not as fast as compared to Facebook but still Google+ contributes lot to the bussiness prespective of many organization…Mytechmafia is a hardcore follower of Google+.We wish in India we understand the significance of Google+ and does not consider Facebook the end of social networking era.
Best typing exercise ever:Z-Type
http://www.chromeexperiments.com/detail/z-type/
A Space Shoot'em'Up where you type to shoot.
Visit patterns in the Tesla dashboard Browser
https://www.quantcast.com/inside-quantcast/2014/04/stocks-and-surf-how-tesla-drivers-are-using-their-in-dash-browser/
Stop looking at drudgereport while driving!
Show HN: Slack App for Scrum Poker
https://slack.thisiseffort.io/
Hey I am Ben and I have built a slack app for scrum poker (slack.thisiseffort.io).

You can anonymously vote on software development tasks within slack, it is used by a few remote software developments teams currently and I am keen for more feedback.

It is very easy to start a voting session using the /effort command, followed by the title of your task. This then invites everyone in the channel to start voting anonymously, ensuring that no one influences anyone else.

Really keen for more feedback and it is also free to use!

Enjoy.

Ben
Ask HN: Does Buzzup.com have a chance to compete against Yahoo Buzz up
http://www.buzzup.com
Please give your opinion.
Seven Twitter Tips that Will Blow Your Mind Out of Your Skull
http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/seven-twitter-tips-that-will-blow-your-mind-out-of-your-skull/
- Try not to follow more than follow
- Say something interesting
- Don't complain
- Track things
- Tweet at the right time
- Engage in conversation
- Here is my last tip

More in the post - of course.
Show HN: Weekend Project, Social Network Without Users 
http://doadoing.com
A proof of concept i've developed several months ago . The idea was to build a social network without users and learn Django.

Warm Regards from Argentina.
Martin.
What is the best way to send and receive transactional email?
I run a web-app where I would like receive facebook style transactional emails. For example, send an outgoing mail with a dynamic reply-to address of the form reply+2a3b4b2a34@domain.com (2a3b4b2a34 is dynamically generated hash)

This is in order that people can respond to notifications by replying to notifying email itself (rather than coming to the app). Now this poses multiple potential problems

1) Currently, I collect all incoming email to update@domain.com using google-apps. I then pull it to my server using IMAP, and then parse the response. I am a little uncomfortable doing this because I wonder if google really wants to use its email service in this manner. Or if they might have an issue with me receiving thousands of emails on this address.

2) What is a good way to remove quoted text in the incoming email (so that I can only use the actually reply)

Ideally, I would like to use an external service that takes care of such transactional emails, and use my server only for things that directly pertain to my app.
Homestuck history
http://homestuck.info/
Homestuck is a story that was made for the internet. It was designed to exist on the internet, crafted to exploit the versatility of the internet, and posted page by page, as quickly as I made each, on to the world wide web, a thing that is often referred to by cyber-savvy dudes as: the internet. And this thing you are holding-this floppy, rectangular thing in your hands-this is a book.
Facebook for Loners: Lonerbook launches
http://smartstartup.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/facebook-myspac.html
New site to go toe-to-toe with Facebook, Myspace, and Friendster.
How Chrome & Firefox are Winning the Browser War - Cheating with Version Numbers
http://www.domain.me/blog/chrome-firefox-browser-wars-cheating-version-numbering-1832
Several weeks ago, Mozilla released its Firefox browser 5.0. Being a techie and a geek that I am, I hurried to download the beta version and try it out. To my surprise, I downloaded the 4.x edition. Or so I thought.
Tell HN: I just launched Log Anything and want to give away some API keys.
Hi hackers!

At my day job I wanted my code to track a few simple metrics over time. All the products I found were more complicated than I wanted and usually involved maintaining yet another service on my network.

Log Anything is my solution for any programmer who wants a very simple way to log a whole lot of events and get simple aggregated reports over time to use on websites, in Excel or anywhere else. It's first task is helping me track down why one of my applications seems to get slower after lunch!

If you would like a free API key to help me test things out drop me a message. Obviously I am looking for your feedback in return. Now back to work, so much to do...

http://www.xovert.com
Ask HN: Is it worth getting a top 5 MBA?
Is it still work getting an MBA from a top 5 school? How about Harvard, Wharton, Stanford?

I run a consulting business that is profitable for me now, I also have some tech projects, but looking for more stability in the long-term.

Do you think getting a top MBA is worth it? Do you know anyone who got one and how much did they make 4 - 5 years out of school? Did they seem like it helped them?
New PC company, started completely by one person
http://www.sandbonline.com/
New PC company that specializes in selling custom gaming PCs. Interesting enough, the it was started by one person. Everything from web design and the actual making of the PCs is done by this one person.
EBay hit with new fine over counterfeit Louis Vuitton products
http://business2press.com/2009/11/30/ebay-hit-with-new-fine-over-counterfeit-louis-vuitton-products/
eBay has been hit with a massive €1.7 million (USD $2.55 million) fine after the company failed to adhere to an injunction that ruled the company wasn’t doing enough to block the sale of counterfeited Louis Vuitton products.
Show HN: Dataherald, no-code tool to help people see and understand data
https://medium.com/@anuj.saigal/dataherald-product-updates-from-q1-curated-content-suggestions-for-users-new-create-graph-flow-8cb3ffeaee8
Hi everyone, Anuj here, Dataherald CEO.

There are a bunch of EXTERNAL data sources in the world that people use a lot -- think census data, Bureau of Labor Statistics (unemployment, inflation), but even proprietary data sources. I was tired of getting these into useable data pipelines every time I need need to use them.

Dataherald simply creates data pipelines to hundreds of data sources and then lets you create auto-updating data viz -- all in under 60 seconds. The goal is to enable non-tech users to more easily use data, which has been a huge problem for me throughout my career.

We initially launched with local newsrooms because there was a huge technical barrier for local reporters to use data to educate and inform communities; we've started to solve that.

*We've overhauled the search feature of the product and looking to share with the HN community.*

Pls take it for a spin

-Anuj
A game made without coding
https://www.scirra.com/construct2/games/the-next-penelope
I was just amazing that a non code based environment could create such an amazing piece of work.
Ask HN: Project Management Software or Google Docs?
I'm working for a startup in the travel industry and I've been thrown into a project management role. I've been using Google Docs to manage the development backlog but it's getting pretty messy. Wondering if anyone has any insight on whether or not moving to something like Rally Software or a different SaaS project management tool would be overkill or a good move for a small dev team (3 coders and 1 designer)?