skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Um. How much does it cost the bank? Zero. Or very close to it. Unlike banks outside of North America, US banks earn well over 50% of their revenue from fees and charges.

The typical banking model of net interest margin (the amount earned by the difference in savings & loan rates) dominates revenue elsewhere. The American market, however, is so lacking in competition that they can get away with charging hidden fees and charges.

Sure, it helps if you check your balance. But do you read your full terms and conditions each time your bank changes them. I spent most of my summer reading the T&C's of every major bank account in America. You'd be very surprised by what they contain.

Here's a personal favourite of mine: most banks would retain the right to re-order your transactions in any 24 hour period before settlement so that withdrawals for large amount came before any smaller amounts, and then deposits were posted in reverse order. What this means is that if you were to start out the day with $100, then have a $2,000 check clear and post to your account, you could go out and make a purchase in the afternoon for $500 and _still_ get hit by an overdraft fee. And if in the morning you made a few $5 purchases, they would _also_ incur the $35 (median) overdraft fee, despite the fact that if the balance was updated in chronological order you would incur no such fee.

I say 'would' as this practice is being phased out. That said, overdraft fees, while expected to earn $40bn for banks in '09, are only about 7% of overall revenue. There are plenty of other tricks that banks have up their sleeve.

Falling back on the argument that banks are allowed to do whatever you agree to in your contract is intellectually and morally dishonest. No one reads their T&C's. Banks know this and use many invisible and often unavoidable fees to earn excessive revenue from unsuspecting consumers.

And even if you were to level the playing field in terms of fees and charges, banks are sluggish and don't grok what it means to have a good online experience. We are working on fixing this.

If you want to speak with us in more detail, track us down and we'd be happy to chat.
My typical day running a startup
I'll refer you to this post by Steve Blank entitled "Raising Money Using Customer Development" and then you can tell me how that graph is not the result of lean startup thinking...as for your desire to keep burn low by maintaining a day job while building your company, I'll go ahead and say your aversion to risk and lack of devotion the the mission of your company is uninspiring...enjoy your flat screen tv and 3:00 latte's while the enterprise value in your company grows at 1/10 what it would if you sacked up and worked full time on the startup...i'll check in with you next year when you are still an "entrepreneur on the side..." way to go man...you're a model for us all...way to keep that graph going up and to the right
Python's set is ridiculously optimized (since it's based on the dictionary which is used bloody everywhere). A few months ago when the "hashtables in functional languages" benchmarks were going around I implemented the "stick the numbers 1 through a million in a hash table and then get 1 out" thing in both Python and C++. Python was faster with no -O provided, and a little slower with -O3, but massively faster if you added psyco to Python.
Commercial grade WIFI monitoring & reporting
I don't think it would be fair or accurate to attribute it to post partum depression. The challenges Sam and his wife faced were/are extraordinary.

From the comment by "fr_of_sams" (http://www.nydailynews.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=84311):

Their children were twin girls. Born over one year ago. Severely premature: 24 weeks gestation. Severely disabled. Require 24-hour nursing care for their entire lives. Cannot eat, and will be on feeding tubes for the rest of their lives. Constant medical treatment and medical crises. Maybe someday they will walk. Maybe not. They will never really talk. The financial pressures on this couple were severe: they had already used up all insurance benefit limits, and burnt through their own personal savings with their retirement savings following rapidly...
Not really fair to include Wikipedia on this list. The Wikimedia Foundation actually has a completely separate secure server that actually forces you to use https for authentication and article viewing. As far as I know, it works for every single Wikimedia project and language. Wikipedia also has a bolded section called "Secure your account" below the login form with six security tips.
link to Steve Blank attached: http://bit.ly/2Sd87e
Luxurious Look and Romantic Feel Manhattan Pillow | Decorative Pillows
Well, due to inflated cost of living, Californians tend to be in higher tax brackets than workers in other states, which leads to a disproportionate amount of money being paid into Federal taxes.
I don't think so, as I deal with such startups every day and they are going very strong right now.

Startups can be viewed from what I call an "MBA perspective" or from an "independent founder" perspective, and these views are fundamentally different. The Economist sees the world from the MBA perspective and is not at all focused on what might be called the street level where independent launch and grow their ventures.

This is now actually a very promising time for early-stage ventures that do not have immediate capital-intensive needs.
Easy way to contribute to Haitian Relief
For those using Venmo, text "pay venmocares $X for Unicef Haitian Relief" and they'll donate 100%.
0.4 bn = Population of the united states
Your interpretation is incorrect. Google have quite clearly stated that they are no longer willing to accept any censorship of their search results on Google.cn and that they are prepared to shut down their operations in China if it's not possible to legally run Google.cn without filters. As it seems unlikely that the Chinese government will permit Google to operate such an unfiltered search engine, Google is effectively announcing its exit from the Chinese market.
Do not implement crypto algorithms in Javascript. Very dangerous. Also, there's no way to serve them securely unless the whole login process is SSL/TLS anyways.
This leaks memory like a sieve on Chromium, unfortunately. Be very interested to see where this goes eventually though.
Also: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/01/skype-class-action-settlem...
The link to the original tweet, with the phone number to text to if you're not already using Venmo: http://twitter.com/VenmoCares/status/7722023481
A Negative View of White Space
Sometimes the ancient Roman practice of exposure seems almost humane.
I think you may have a rather stereotypical view of the natives. Not all natives were Sioux. A lot of the natives (probably the majority) were farmers themselves. And a most of them were rather friendly towards the early colonists and eager to trade with them and intermingle. If the Europeans simply taught the natives their higher efficiency farming methods, there would not be a conflict for land either, because America has enough land to support much larger populations than were present at the time.

Of course some natives were hunter gatherers and they would have to change their lifestyles, so I am sure there would be some battles, but if the hunter gatherers had an option to assimilate, they would not fight to the death either, they would eventually see that there is no way out after losing a couple of battles. So there may be some war but there would not be genocide. As it happened, they only fought to the death because they knew there wasn't another option.
Yeah, it seems I was wrong and it was some hole in adobe products:
http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_adobe-software-may-ha...
"... We built the whole thing ourselves ..."

Impressive. I'm always in awe of those who build their own houses. It's much harder than it looks. How well insulated is it with the cold?

RSJ "I" beam ~ http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/building/100_0259.JPG.html

Excellent, solar panels ~ http://pics.ww.com/v/jacques/building/100_0384.JPG.html
Take your time but hurry up
Facebook Bra Campaign: Lessons for Online Organizers
Desktop Linux Market Share Will Rise, Thanks to Microsoft
If you go to Nart Villeneuve's blog http://www.nartv.org/, which Google's blog post linked to, he's got a cool pdf on tracking GhostNet (Chinese government cyber-espionage network). The command and control servers that were discovered in earlier attacks do in fact operate this way.

In tracking Chinese infiltration of the Tibetan movement, they discovered compromises in various embassies and other organizations in countries all over the world.
I noticed that too yesterday when trying to see if google.cn was in fact uncensored and mistyped it "tienanmen".
For the Ann Arbor SPARK program, does this operate as an early stage accelerator program or as more of a conventional incubator?
I am located in China. I can confirm you that i see the uncensored results when searching for images with "Tienamen"

http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&um=1&newwind...

Screenshot : http://hotelcostantiga.com/specials/censor.jpg
Hey, IT Goons. Spy on the network traffic to find out who is using encrypted communication, and who they are communicating with. Then pass that information to the knee-breakers, so we can find out what they are hiding.

This has nothing to do with breaking crypto. The breaking is done in an oubliette.
Well, since we control the root servers maybe we can fight fire with fire and have some fun with China. We could randomly allow innocent (to the Chinese govt) sites to be redirected to free speech and human rights activist sites.
I did not associate your comments with that of a founder of a fashion startup
Amazon too. Everytime I used to think "well, duh ..."
I'm sorry, I have to ask: Who is the degenerate case here?
Why dont they want to sell it?

And how does that scenario compare to the invasion of the United States in the 1500s?

It wasnt invaded to save the population of Europe.
The drop in customer service quality from Mindspring to EarthLink after that acquisition was rough; I bailed after a couple of years.
Most PE guys I know of are having a hell of a time trying to acquire banks. While there has been some indication of a relaxing of the bank holding company act (that would otherwise prevent PE, or any non-banking firm from acquiring a bank), the issues that I mention in my other comment seem to be blocking any acquisitions.
Is this perhaps a misinterpretation of "within the law"?

"[...] over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all."

They talk of filtering as an all-or-nothing concept. They want to operate unfiltered search (not semi-filtered, or filtered to the extent of the law). "Within the law" refers to the fact that they want to accomplish unfiltered search in a manner that is legal and their statement is rather clear that failing that they will be shutting down.

You're right, though, that this being an ultimatum isn't stated in clear (binding) legalese—quintessentially their wording of "not willing to continue" instead of "will not continue". This is almost certainly intentional.

However, it is a press release that declares intent, generates expectations and has a common and obvious interpretation as a take-it-or-leave-it deal. From a public relations standpoint, Google would not benefit from doing something completely different.
Further proof :
http://images.google.cn/images?hl=zh-CN&um=1&newwind...

Screenshot : http://hotelcostantiga.com/specials/censor2.jpg
>an account that doesn't allow an unauthorised overdraft

Is that even possible.

No account with a cheque facility could prevent you making an unauthorised overdraft. Nor indeed could it have Maestro (et al.) as balance is not normally checked when making authentications or done as part of the purchase process. So it would have to a cash only account... and then the chance of the bank making money from you must be low; meaning they'd probably have a standing charge?
Speaking of which, what's new with Omnisio since Google acquired them? It seems like Google shut down the service to new sign ups for many years now, similar to what they did with GrandCentral, and likewise with Etherpad.
Heh, I was thinking of selling my Google stock, but I'm glad I kept it for financial and emotional reasons. I just wish they'd look at my job application again ;-)
Congratulation Patrick!

I second John Clark's comment on the business of software forum. You should see if you can negotiate some freelance work with your ex-employer, that's what I did with the company I used to work for in Japan and it worked very well.

And, if you can justify a certain amount of revenue each months like this it can help renew your visa in Japan.
I'm only a (very happy) user of WriteRoom, but my comments should also be taken with a grain of salt.

I find WriteRoom to be extremely pleasant, in a way that OmniWriter isn't. The experience of OmniWriter is nice, certainly, but it's not any more or less pleasant that WriteRoom. The pleasantness of WriteRoom comes from the obliteration of distractions. I can add nice imagery (which I don't) and a great soundtrack (which I do) on my own.

(To be clear, I don't think anything negative about Omniwriter, but it's not my kind of pleasant.)
Americans have no goods that are as valuable to them as oil.
More (and I've found this to be true) that once you learn most basic programming concepts in one language, moving to another becomes easier. The more you learn the easier it is to switch to another language.

This I agree with fully.

But at least on initial reading that was not how I took. He seemed to be saying that language choice does not matter, and at least at my current point of development it matters a great deal.
I have a member of an extended family that is like that. So sad. I feel for you.
You've now tied yourself in the curious knot of [...]

You keep saying things like this (here and in earlier threads) as if that must make them true. But you haven't shown anything of the kind.

"Unsurpassed" means ≧, not ﹥. You're critiquing as if PG wrote ﹥, which would have been a much stronger claim (indeed, one everyone agrees is silly). When PG says he chose the word "unsurpassed" precisely because it means ≧, you respond with accusations of disingenuousness. Exactly what part is he supposed to be lying about: what he wrote, or what the word means?

Your curator's quote (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=984644) doesn't fit what you claim either. It's clear that he's refuting ﹥, not ≧: he says that paintings after 1500 "don't represent a decline" (i.e. ﹥ is wrong), not that they do represent an improvement (which would be the negation of ≧).

Meanwhile you point to authority left and right while claiming that the other guy is doing it and make all kinds of personal attacks ("weenis"? really?) while accusing the other guy of arrogance. It makes the reader (this reader, at least) wonder what your problem is.

Incidentally, I appreciate most of what you write. It's smart and incisive, and when it's funny it's often damn funny. That's what makes this thread and its predecessor so weird.
I took his Information Theory course at U of T. He was a brilliant guy. I remember him young and full of life. This is shocking and very sad.
Pretty much!
Doesn't work with firefox 3.5? It's recommending Safari to me, which I'd rather not use. Think 3.6 beta would work?
Right. Absolutely. Thats essentially what i was observing.
Cheatsheet for time travelers
Of the sites which don't send passwords in the clear, any idea how many are just obfuscating? (Xor, base64, etc).
I'd also be interested in hiring Patrick as an AdWords/marketing/optimization consultant :-)
The current issue of SciAm has an article saying "nanobacteria" (as "fossilized" in Mars meteorites) are just crystal formations that look a lot like tiny bacteria. The authors demonstrated growth of "nanobacteria" in solution.

Tiny online excerpt: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-rise-an...
Fair.

That said, my points still stands. I used the 90s for contrast purposes. The changes in China over the past 20 years are PROFOUND. Over the past 10 years they are only slightly diminished but no less amazing.

I've been traveling to China annually for pretty much the last 6-7 years and lived there for an extended period of time a few years ago. The changes have been dramatic in both urban and rural areas. In fact I found change to be even more visible in the rural areas. Literally over a year farm fields would be transformed to high-rises and cosmopolitan residential communities.

The changes in infrastructure/economic development has also fostered great changes/progress towards a more civil society, etc.

Even if we were just to compare 2000 vs 2010 the changes are great. To say that there have been no major progress in 10 years and to suggest that South Korean and Japanese development in that same period of time has been greater than China's is patently absurd. Like dum-dum circus absurd.
I will not sign your non-compete NDA. They are two separate things. An NDA is required to protect info from disclosure, even if we never use it (i.e. work together). A non-compete means our areas of business are too close and perhaps we should not be exchanging confidential information in the first place. However, an NDA with language that states you will not use confidential info except for the benefit of the person you received it from is perfectly reasonable.
Unlicense Yourself: Set Your Code Free
Ok, well let's compare that with a real life situation. Right now there are thousands of people dying from easily preventable diseases every day in Africa, which could be cured for a few cents each.

American pharmaceutical companies have this medicine, and they are operating in one of the most profitable industries that have ever existed.

Africans have no goods that are as valuable to them as medicine. Should African countries invade America to get this medicine?
I always thought a good anti-piracy measure would be to name your TV Show / Band / Game "The".
Understanding Your Personal Information’s Value = The End of “Nothing To Hide”
There are a number of tactics to make sure NDAs you sign are reasonable:

1. If possible, use your own. This prevents you from having to pay your lawyer to review Yet Another NDA.

2. Ask for the bidirectional NDA instead of the unidirectional one most companies start with. A 2-way NDA is usually more reasonable because both parties are bound by it so no one wants to screw themselves over.

3. Work out the NDA separate from any contract terms. An NDA should not establish a business relationship.

4. Always ALWAYS have an expiration date, both of the NDA and any confidential information disclosed under it. This way you only have to keep track of the last N years of NDAs, not infinity. Also, this limits the risk of someone unreasonable coming to power in a company in the future and using the NDA against you. Life changes, nothing should last forever.
How Conceptual Metaphors are Stunting Web Innovation
This is not true at all. Flash is now an "open standard", in that Adobe released the specs to the file format, the VM, and most (all?) of the video format. For what it's worth, outside of a few errors in the documentation, it's fairly well written; I was working on a Flash->iPhone App compiler before Adobe announced theirs, and it was fairly straightforward to implement most things.
Easy enough to throw your lot in with the one who stood up to the bully first. Especially after you've already handed over your info to the Chinese government.
Could you elaborate on this for us security newbs? Maybe expand the acronym?

I know enough to encrypt my password storage, but I never thought to encrypt passwords client-side. I'm interested in knowing what are best practices.
Hmmm, the the are surprisingly searchable:
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8...
I'd say emergent, especially intelligent life would make the stats pages.

What makes you think we're intelligent?

Less facetiously: what makes you think we -- or our signals -- reach the minimum threshold of intelligence to be of interest?

(Danger, Will Robinson: anthropocentric assumptions ahoy!)
12 Trends to Watch in 2010
Funny seeing this. I'm currently reviewing a NDA & contract for a consulting gig and came across this gem:

Recipient agrees that any violation or threatened violation of this Agreement will cause irreparable injury to COMPANY, entitling COMPANY to obtain injunctive relief in addition to all legal remedies without showing or proving any actual damage and without any bond required to be posted.

without showing or proving any actual damage

yeah, whatever.

Consultant agrees that all right, title, and interest in
and to any copyrightable material, notes, records, drawings, designs, inventions, improvements,
developments, discoveries and trade secrets conceived, discovered, authored, invented, developed or
reduced to practice by Consultant, solely or in collaboration with others, during the term of this
Agreement and arising out of, or in connection with, performing the Services under this Agreement and
any copyrights, patents, trade secrets, mask work rights or other intellectual property rights relating to the
foregoing (collectively, “Inventions”), are the sole property of the Company. Consultant also agrees to
promptly make full written disclosure to the Company of any Inventions and to deliver and assign (or
cause to be assigned) and hereby irrevocably assigns fully to the Company all right, title and interest in
and to the Inventions.

I probably won't be getting the job due to crossing off all of this crap.
If I may quote another movie:

"I'd like that.. but that shit ain't the truth."

Other than merely agreeing with the commentor on this aspect of human nature, I do have a point. I believe to deny the brutality in our nature is extremely dangerous.

I suggest the whole point of civilization is to recognize the destructive potential in us all and to regulate it.

Granted, you may be right. However, the consequence of putting in unnecessary protections against destruction are much more mild than the converse case.
First 1000 point story?
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1050482
I know you heard from a bunch of people before you met us in Chicago, Patrick, but I'm still going to say "I told you so" on the consulting thing.
No, because the invasion would fail. A good leader does not lead his troops on suicidal missions.

But the oil example actually did happen in real life. You're the ruler of Japan in 1941. The U.S. has just cut off your oil supply. You have months left before your population faces severe hunger and deprivation. Do you invade Indonesia to take their oil? I think if I was ruler I would. How about you?
"How many seconds are there in a year? If I tell you there are 3.155 x 10^7, you won't even try to remember it. On the other hand, who could forget that, to within half a percent, pi seconds is a nanocentury." --Tom Duff, Bell Labs
Making the DNS even more unreliable isn't good for anyone. Also, you're talking about returning an IP that is probably blocked by GFW anyways. So instead of getting the web page for the "innocent (to the Chinese govt)" website, the end user just gets a TCP RST.
How Google Ranks Tweets
Feds to universities: don't buy Kindles until they work for blind
IMO the disadvantages of license proliferation outweigh the benefits of "unlicensing". MIT/BSD licenses are already compatible with everything. If you really want to avoid "enriching lawyers" you shouldn't invent new (un)licenses, since many companies will require the unlicense to be lawyer-approved before they'll touch it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/License_proliferation