skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
He makes a really good argument. I agree with most of his points, especially this:

Technology people tend to vastly overestimate the things that people look at when deciding if a phone is good or not. They care about how polished the outside looks, how thin it is, and how smooth and fast the user interface is. There is really not much more! They don't care about multi-tasking or open source or any of that stuff - they care about how impressed other people are when they look at them using the phone.

I started with a MyTouch and moved to a Nexus One (which I have now). The more I use Android, the less appealing it becomes. Honestly... who cares that it's open source? It's a novelty. The AOSP stuff for 2.1 has been out forever, yet the only device to be using it is the Nexus. The fragmentation is killing it. I think a lot of Apple's success with the iPhone comes from a lot of it's restraints.

In the long run I still think Apple is always going to have the upper hand.. not only because it was first in this new generation of smartphones, but because they control every aspect of the device. OS, Hardware, Applications and App Store.

I wasn't even considering the Windows phone... but now it's definitely in the back of my mind.
If you look at the series of videos on YouTube, then you'll see this (the outdoor, night-time bit, at least) actually happens.

The rationalist chap gets cheesed off at being groped and pawed at, and finally agrees to a night-time outdoor ritual. which the channel airs as well. Predictable results, except this time the 'guru' signs off saying the effects of his actions manifest themselves 'gradually'.

[Link: http://www.youtube.com/user/rationalists - check out the videos that say Tantra Challenge - they're all in Hindi though..]

Just as an FYI, I used to be a moderately religious Hindu, and I recognise most of his 'mantras' as really benign, simple stuff that are:

a) Used by children to appease the gods and goddesses of education/knowledge/wisdom
b) Recited during wedding ceremonies
Agreed - this is a very hard problem. "Out" works well as incompetence/slow progresss is very obvious. But as OP suggests "up" is more tricky due to its less objective nature. And worse, if you try to make it objective by quantifying achievements, at the management level this leads to horrible short term decision-making. The promotion cycle is generally a year or half year, so that's how long you have to show results.

This method probably works very well for large scale, non-technical corporates because the aptitude to practice politics successfully would logically have strong correlations with other useful soft work skills (sales, negotiation, social skills). However in a highly technical company this might not be as effective. I wonder how Google does it?
You don't need that for pure number validation, no, but it can be a useful heuristic for short-circuiting your validation -- if someone enters a number which should be Visa but clicks "MasterCard", you know something is wrong and should kick back an immediate error message rather than proceeding.
"Don't Panic" is way cooler than "Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" and I will tell you why.

Diamond Age is a brilliant book with many fascinating ideas that I enjoyed thoroughly. But you know what, no one has read it. I know you and I have read it but the man on the street hasn't so you will forever be answering stupid questions. With "Don't Panic" you can be sitting in Starbucks and no one will bother you with more than a knowing smile and a nod.

This argument is based on the same principle as Top Gears "Cool Wall" (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoyBnuP0K9w) and I'm just being facetious so laugh.
I wonder how many receipts could be acquired from the ground or garbage cans outside the store? It would be a biased sample, possibly, but it is hard data and free of cost.
Let me play devil's advocate here. Users who are not tech-savvy or those who are new to using credit cards online might be afraid at each step that they do something wrong.

-Enter credit card!

-Uhm, I wonder if it means with spaces or with dashes or just the numbers, I hope the money won't go to the wrong place

If it says 'no dashes or spaces' at least it's clear and might be reassuring to the user that the designers have thought of the same thing as him/her, which sort of indicates that he/she is on the right track and hasn't screwed up yet.

I'm not saying this is good usability practice, but it would be interesting to test different versions for user reactions.
This blog post is sooo bad and uninformed, it's hard to believe he is making money with mobile software.

So, to his points:

Google does not care about me. Google does not give me any mode of getting in contact with them. With both Apple and Microsoft, I have access to their developers

Mh, what? Freenode irc channels, google code open issue trackers? a LOT of forums and blogposts to learn from? Official "support" on stackoverflow and mailinglists? Last time i checked finding iPhone dev information was rather hard due to NDA stuff (i was told that this is changing/has changed). To find people to talk to (even from google) is really not hard. Apparently the blog poster didn't even try the least bit.

Google does not seem to want anyone to make money on their platform. They just put their platform out there, and say : do what you want with it. There is no attempt to actually make people make money

What does this mean?! Put it in the android market, get paid with google checkout or put ads in your app with admob. "They just put it out there" is exactly the nice thing, especially for a developer. You can take a look at the whole source, you have everything you need!

Android as a user device is horrible. It's jerky, slow you have random flashes, and it's totally uninnovative compared to the iPhone. There is absolutely nothing new there.

"Totally uninnovative"? What? The first phones (i owned the G1) were rather slow due to slow hardware, sure. Current Hardware (Droid & Nexus One) is fast and responsive, no doubt about that. I'd rate the Nexus One on par with the iphone (and most iPhone users i have met agree).

All in all, the blog post starts with heavy trolling... and i shouldn't even respond to that.. :/
Thank you marilyn, I must say, that out of most of the replies, your's has been the most helpful.

I must say that the other replies that I've read have also been helpful, I cannot disregard the other replies though, and I am still torn between quitting and keeping my current job which pays student assistant wages yet still, we do most of the work in the department.

-ins0mniac
The downside of Windows Phone 7 is that it is the most limiting and sandboxed development platform of all mobile operating systems. No native code execution like Android, no multitasking, no direct access to the camera, no sockets support and more. Even Silverlight has less restrictions.
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Hmm, the economical success of the iphone apps was always linked to the high number of pre-existing itunes accounts.
Said that, android and w7 phones looks the same from the app dev point of view.
In my opinion, currently the problem with android users is that they are still more "educated" than their iphone counterpart and less prone to spend money on one of the multitude of the copycat/not-polished/useless apps the the average iphone user throw money at.
And we could also discuss about the maturity of the android market offer as a whole... Still hard to find application comparable to the iphone best ones (see games).
If by "effect" you mean a superposition of quantum states, then it doesn't matter how long it lasts, you still cannot "see" it. Once you make the observation, you will see just one of the states. The distribution of results from repeated observations is the quantum mechanical effect you can see.
Try the Palm Pre!
Rahul Mahajan Swayamvar Winner
Rahul Mahajan Swayamva is the Groom of the show, 'Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jayega' and Rahul will take a final decision about his sweet bride in the final episode of season two on Saturday
Now is the conference of our discontent...
If you were to believe a lot of the job postings, Ninjas might also be a workplace hazard in the IT industry.

Below an example from 37signals

http://www.google.com/search?q=site:37signals.com+ninja
Responding to jacquesm's challenge
If there ever was a comment that justified the 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' proverb then this is it.

Yes, but it's also a little like the joke about the sheik with many wives, 'each more beautiful than the last': Only if you line them up that way.

Congratulations

Thank you!

it looks like you've had a tough deck to play with and you're making the most of it.

I had a head start: I learned to play poker and deal cards when I was about 4 years old. Daddy was a cardsharp. Couldn't have a relationship to him if you didn't play. :-P
First and never
Yeah, I wouldn't assume all those companies' programmers are simply incompetent. For all I know it might be a business rule and the programmers are specifically asked to do that kind of validation. I'd rather ask some of those programmers before writing a web page about it.
It's just that it sounded very one-sided in a very weird way. For example pointing to the countless .NET developers. There are countless Java developers, too. Same with the "they'll throw money at it to make it successful" - so will Apple and Google.

Many of the other points are mostly a matter of taste, I suppose.

Why does Microsoft care that you earn money?

Good luck with Windows Mobile!

Edit: I just remembered another thing - smart people can rationalize everything. Maybe you are just trying to rationalize your decision for yourself, that is why it sounds a bit weird to the outside.
While Benny Hinn is a faith healer and regularly puts on his show, he will not allow himself to appear in a situation that is not within his control in a manner preferable to skeptics.
Facebook QR Codes Are Part Of Their Location Plans
Good. But I'll be really amazed to see how we can link Microsoft Blend to Visual Studio and be able to build cool, interactive applications.

Now, any dotNet developer with some reading can build his next Windows Phone application
Tesco offers an API (still in beta until later this year), although it's poorly documented and all the examples are in Microsoft languages...
"Most Christian pastors will say..." Well, genuine spiritual masters in India would say the same, e.g.:

"The way to God is not a circus"* or:

"He who knows doesn't say. He who says doesn't know."

The term 'guru' is meant (from ancient texts) for someone beyond 'teacher' - someone who is a master of him(her)self, of ego-motives, of crass personal ambitions (including petty TV fame :/ ) - someone who is capable of lifting student-disciples "from darkness into light" (light in the sense of enlightenment).

From the perspective of devout and discriminating Indians, the display of tantric / shakti / spiritual power for personal/ego aggrandizement is no more a display of spirituality or holiness than is paedaphiliac "love" a sign of being a Christian "man of God's love."

[/outraged rant]

*cf: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0876120834
I hear you have to have a dance too?
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> They also are not aware that they can do a lot of the things they buy for free on some website.

Or alternatively (in my case) they know a free alternative exist, but they are ok to pay on a paid version if it saves them some time to be spent with their friends, kids, hobbies or sideprojects.
New exoplanet like 'one of ours'
As an Android user for the past several months there is not a single app that would compel me to stay on the platform.

I've been patiently waiting for the Android Market to start filling up with polished apps, fun games, and tools to help me at work. Unfortunately, I'm several months in and the best-selling games are Bejeweled knock-offs, and a $3.99 version of Doodle Jump. I didn't make my choice of phone platform based upon game selection, but it definitely seems that iPhone developers are focused on building businesses and making money, while Android developers are mainly hobbyists, tinkering on niche projects.

To the author's point, if the existing .NET development community can leap-frog Android in terms of app output and app quality, then they would make a believer out of me.
Giz Explains: How You're Gonna Get Screwed By Ebook Formats
The kana part is a pet peeve of mine. It also happens for the address part. The only site I recall that does the conversion automatically is Google Adsense.
Show HN: My Thursday-afternoon project: Notey
IME, all you "know" is that they entered the number and forgot to pick the proper corresponding card type.

The requirement to select a card type always seems wrong to me. When you swipe a card at a terminal, you don't have to tell it if you're swiping an AmEx or a Visa. It can tell JUST from the number.
Rentokil's misleading marketing is "brilliant"
... claims chief of a PR agency.
Obviously, deluding myself into believing what I want to believe is a big problem that we all face. But I'm well aware of this, and I've factored it in into my decision. I'm here for the money, not for any misguided loyalty to open or free software or any company. It appears to me that Microsoft is going to do the right thing. It has the prerequisites for this.
I don't care if it's open source or not, I care if it works and is well designed.

Silverlight is neither of those things as far as I've seen.

It's worrying some people consider microsoft a credible source of technology and innovation.
So how do vacations work? Can you still get that week off where no results are expected from you? Or would bosses presume with all this flextime you are already on vacation? "Sure you can go on vacation, just make sure you make those calls and send out the emails"
You're aware of the amount of religion in the USA, right? I think India may be more diverse in its beliefs, but then it seems (from outside at least) to be more diverse in absolutely everything else as well! (no criticism intended - I am very impressed with the way India manages to stay a relatively coherent nation).
> Current Hardware (Droid & Nexus One) is fast and responsive, no doubt about that.

I have a variety of current generation smart phones sat on my desk. I can assure you Android is still the least responsive OS :)

My personal choice is an iPhone and I dont agree. :)

> Last time i checked finding iPhone dev information was rather hard due to NDA stuff

Just as a point I think max was talking about getting in touch with developers at Apple, Google and Microsoft. Not just getting in touch with other developers on the platforms. (Google are people notoriously hard to get hold of at times :D So I am guessing that's what he means). Though I make no comment on if he is right or not.
Please support this.
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Well, at first I thought 'What the ...'

Then I thought 'Well, it _is_ pretty cool'.

And then I realized this makes a ton of sense. Those controllers are very mature and thus, precise and fault-tolerant (because a game needs precise controls, as does a robot). And you get a lot of other benefits too, those game industry developers worked on making them ergonomic, they are cheap, ...

wow. ingenious.
Apple won this round because they already had access to people's pocketbooks through existing iTunes users.

It will take years (5?) for any other company to build up a marketplace like iTunes. Honestly, Amazon or eBay could out-compete Google or Microsoft in this area right now, because they have regular paying customers. Hell, Amazon already has some experience with mobile devices (Kindle).
In 1999, when I was 19 years old, I started working at a "web buraeu", as we called them in my country back then. I did html, asp, php, graphics, design. All that. A jack of all trades, sort of, as I've always been talented with pretty much anything technical, and as it was a small company that needed its employees to "pitch in" where they could. I worked with this company for 1.5 years, until march 2001, when me and two others had to leave because of shortage of work. At this point I had developed a sociophobia and various, severe stress disorders, among them panic attacks. I took a position with another "web bureau" 2 months later to try maintain an income. 9 months later, in march 2002, just having had my 22nd birthday, I was broken down to the point that I often needed help with grocery shopping and most other daily errands related to the outside of my home. In late 2003, the side-effects hit their climax; on average I left my apartment 3-4 times per month - just to take the trash out. Today, march 2010, I have still not fully recovered my ability to work in the capacity normally implied by a "9 to 5". My normal hours in the two jobs that broke me down ranged between 10 to 14 hours per day, and I worked most saturdays and sundays as well.
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I can't help but think these sorts of issues aren't limited to the IT world. Programmers and sysadmins are not the first, nor the last, groups to be asked to work long hours (or work them voluntarily), nor are they the only groups to sit at a terminal for most of the work day.

Now, excuse me, I have to start packing for my family's month long road trip....
Looks nice. I've noticed that sometimes when I click to create a new note a previously created note gets the loading gif and a new note is not created. When I click again, a new note is created.
I'm using Chrome 5.0.342.5 dev on Windows.
I hope its not your objective to generate comments. I am not an expert (under 200 karma) but will advice anyways :-

1) Ask something when you need help and its not something obvious. Googling on your question before posting might help. For example, "What is the search engine you guys use ?" is a bad question.

2) Show something when you have something worth showing. Many people here are creating something and they like seeing what others are creating. If you are proud of something you built, show us.

3) People usually tend to contribute to a discussion when the original author seemed to have done some research himself. Take the "Brag HN" thread for example, I wonder if the author hadn't posted some examples about what kind of "about you" he wants to hear, it would have generated so much discussion.

4) Lastly, follow your instincts and have fun.
no sockets support? sounds like a dealbreaker. does it have something similar to take up the slack, like a web access framework or something?
Meaningful might be something else to you than it does to me. The meaningful relationships in my life include my wife, my child, my family, my friends, and of course spiritual relationships. The government does nothing in these.

I don't want a relationship with the police department, the fire department and I don't see a purpose for the government to regulate phones.

Then there is also the issue that contracts can be voided if the government decides to.
I noticed strlen, too. But I don't think it's strlen. Some say can be also randomwalker.
> why do people disallow characters such as ,./:;'"[{]}\|-_=+

Because there are keyboards other than the U.S. PC keyboard. The one I'm using right now, for instance, has '=' as shift-0.

With characters echoed as asterisks, if there is any sort of problem with key mapping, the user will be locked out. And giving up or calling support.
IANAL, etc., but I believe you have it exactly right. The principle in question is the Clean Hands Doctrine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_hands).

In short, an entity can not seek an equitable remedy if they themselves have acted in bad faith.
The idea is great, but the iPhone client is pretty poor, no offense intended. I had to restart it after every step, and when you initially install it, it's very use unfriendly. It says "create notifo account", but does not tell you how or where to create this account.

It's a great idea with a real need, but it's a bit poorly implemented.
Android has native code execution via the NDK:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/ndk/index.html
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PB takes 0.47s, JSON takes 1.2s. JSON is 2.55 times slower, so it's over 2 times higher... Not sure where the problem is.
I wrote something like this a few months ago, with the idea being that the OSX dashboard stickies could be replaced with something synced remotely and shared with other people. I got it to the point where the dashboard (or web interface) would sync, but I didn't polish the UI enough to make it presentable. Worth looking into if you want to keep developing this.
why do you need an email address?

Also, it would be cool to be able to just start adding notes to a blank page without signing up - then have the option to sign up and save it.

Nice app though :)
There's a click-to-create-a-dummy-account link - but I know what you mean :) I cloned the login from another app without really thinking about it too much; it's one of those apps that could really do with OpenID.

Great idea on the sign-up-to-save, though - thanks!
Yeah, learned something too. Thanks.
I'm confused. What do you do in Japan if you're too sick to work? Go to work anyway and vomit in the trash can?
There's something that nobody has told you yet in this forum: you don't have to do such a good job to remain employed. I agree with everyone who told you to find a job first. That is not mutually exclusive with the advice to quit. If yor job sucks you should quit, but don't underestimate the stress of being "on the beach." My point is that you can keep your job and paycheck while commiting 60-70% of your current energy to it and then devote the excess time and energy to your job search. Good luck.
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From a strictly technical point of view, the title of this article will hold true - many people will lose out and there'll be data that becomes inaccessible on other devices, especially as manufacturers come and go.

However, consumers often bring about unexpected outcomes that have little to do with what's best judged by specification, or which platform follows principles of openess best.

There's much that I don't like about the iPhone, especially Apple's veto on data transfer - "What?! I can't bluetooth data to my phone?! I can't even transfer my own ringtone, I have to buy it?!" - but this hasn't sufficiently bothered millions of consumers.

Instead, I bought a Windows Mobile phone - I can transfer all the data and ringtones I like via USB or bluetooth, I can get all sorts of free/paid software for it too. It's got a high res screen, and a zippy processor. Technically, it's a winner, but the experience downright stinks, needing a reboot every other day.

And of course, there's the old Betamax/VHS, MiniDisc/CD, HD-DVD/Bluray comparisons - usability and marketing prowess often trump rationality.

By the way... which ebook would you buy?
All that support stuff is great for hobbyists, but completely unacceptable for businesses. With Apple and Microsoft you get incident support. If something comes up, you email them your project, they dig into the source, and they tell you what's going on at the code level. The iPhone Developer Program gives you two code-level incident supports, and the ones after that are absurdly cheap. Microsoft also gives you a phone option.

This is how real business support works, not forums and mailing lists. The latter is cool, but you also need the latter to have a serious platform.