skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
The Sistine Chapel Background is only in the Science SubReddit, which also has a lower-case t for the reddit icon. It got a chuckle out of me. :)
A/B testing case study: single button change = 6.3% rise in sales
> Secondly, is OpenOffice OOXML 100% Strict compliant yet?

Is it possible at all to be functional and implement OOXML correctly at the same time?

> it's easy for people to stand by on the sidelines and whinge that a year old bug isn't fixed

We could fix it, if Microsoft provided the source under a free license.

> it doesn't make sense to rewrite code many times before it becomes a standard

How long can possibly take to write code that implements the standard they invented based on their shipping products?

> I don't think this is overwhelming proof that they are going out of their way to destroy standardisation.

You are right. The subverted approval process offers such proof.
they support odf now..which is a open standard. Also, the author should note that development of office 2010 had already started when these changes were asked for.
I was going to say this too. You can download the bits and play with them. Its impressive that its all actually implemented/documented.
> So seems the only reason OO implemented it, is to encourage people to save to their own standard

"So seems the only reason OO implemented it, is to encourage people to save to the other open and pre-existing ISO standard."

There. Fixed for you.
I tried that as well. And was very relieved when everything came back on refresh. :)

I'm impressed at that level of attention to detail. The license.txt file points you to the source of the command line interface, which is a Wordpress plugin:

http://groups.google.com/group/wordpress-cli
Inc. Magazine goes virtual for a month
Hitler learns the truth about fourwalls: http://atlss.in/bMoCmm
Well since you are not a US citizen maybe you can incorporate somewhere else, if you really have to. A UK limited might be an option.
No, it doesn't manage to do that. Here's a laundry list of problems with DNSSEC:

* Amazingly, contrary to everything you'd expect about "secure DNS", DNSSEC does not in fact secure DNS queries from your machine. Instead, it delegates securing DNS to DNSSEC-enabled resolver servers. For securing the actual queries your computer makes, your browser is on its own. There's a whole different protocol, TSIG, intended to address that problem.

* DNSSEC has zero successful real-world deployments, and no existing integration with any TLS stack. DNSSEC obviously does nothing to secure your actual traffic; all it does is try to protect the name lookup. TLS protects both.

* DNSSEC does nothing to address all the other intercepts, from ARP to BGP4, that real traffic has to contend with. Once you go from name to IP address (or "cert" in the fairytale world where DNSSEC has replaced the CAs), you're on your own. TLS addresses all of these issues except for CA configuration.

* DNSSEC actually reduces the security of DNS in some ways: in order to authenticate "no such host", DNSSEC publishes a sort-of-encrypted list of all your hosts. There's a whole other standards group drama surrounding the proposals to resolve this problem (NSEC3, whitelies, etc).

* DNSSEC fails badly compared to TLS. When keys inevitably get screwed up in TLS, you get a browser click-through. There is no API support to recover from a "gethostbyname()" failure caused by DNSSEC. This sounds like a reliability problem, but it's actually a security problem, in the same sense as "the little blue key icon isn't big enough" is a security problem for SSL. We just don't know what the exploit is, because nobody has designed the "solution" for this problem.

* TLS has 15+ years of formal review (it is the most reviewed cryptosystem ever published). We still find things in it. DNSSEC has received nothing resembling the same scrutiny. It's ludicrous to believe we won't find horrible problems with it. You'd be asserting that a protocol co-designed by Paul Kocher will eventually fare worse than one designed by the IETF DNS working group. The IETF DNS working group would basically have to crush some of the smartest practical crypto people in the world.

* TLS is at least configurable (virtually all TLS problems are in fact user interface and configuration problems, not problems with the underlying system). You can nuke untrustworthy CAs. There is no clean way to opt in or out of different DNSSEC policies, as the drama surrounding DLV illustrates.

In the '90s, we designed web security to assume that DNS was insecure. That was a smart decision. "Security" means different things to different people. It's a policy decision. The end-to-end argument strongly suggests that it's something that can't be baked into the lower parts of the stack. DNSSEC is a step backwards. I think you can already see the indications of the problems it will cause just by looking at the places it already falls down.

What we need is a concerted effort to solve the security UI and policy problems that browsers have.
> Oh, there will be plenty of opportunities for iPad developers, in contracting, vertical markets, and corporate development.

The majority of iPhone developers I've personally met make their money from writing and maintaining apps for other companies. The company just needs to go through the iPhone developer application process and pay the annual $99 fee - and no one will ever know (win-win). Yes, they do have their own personal apps and some have done quite well.

Oh, and most of the developers I've met have spouses with a relatively stable full-time job (health insurance and financial risk mitigator)
Seton Hill to Offer iPads to Full-Time Students
How To Deal With Greasy Search Engine Optimizers
You know, once you are logged into Github, you can never see the Github homepage ever again :(
Great. Thanks!

Over the past year, I've been studying up on drawing, typography and other graphic design stuff. If not to get to proficiency myself, at least to get conversant in the topics so I can properly communicate with people I hire or work with. This will definitely help. Thanks again!
Behold YouTube's TEXTp video resolution
Scientists teach gorilla about death
version 2 ... when it's got a webcam.
Show HN: Review my startup: 99Audit, a data analysis service via email
Link to site : http://www.99audit.com

99Audit is Posterous for data analysis - email us spreadsheets and get processed data back.

The big idea is to provide a series of algorithms to run analysis on your data via email. One way to think about it is as a service for people that receive a lot of data without the time to confirm if the information is valid or not, or would like a gist of what has come in to help them prioritize.

You sometimes get a feeling that the data may not be correct, this service will scan through them and you can look at those that raise a red flag first - and we would want to create a broader spectrum of analysis tools from financial to sales monitoring.

The main algorithm currently is the natural number analysis based on Benford's law - which would analyze your spreadsheet and determine if the data inside matches a natural number pattern - a method used by auditors to detect fraud and can also help filter out probable data tampering.

Right now, you can start by sending an email with an XLS, CSV or ODS attachment to start@99audit.com

This is launching today as a simple service with a lot more work to do - and would like to get some feedback.

Thanks
Spirit isn't dead yet, it just went into hibernation mode. Its possible that it might wake up and keep on truckin'
Perfect device for what my little kids do on a computer, and I'd like to get their grubby little hands (literally) off of my wife's Macbook Air.
Yes, it felt like I was at the dentist reading a tabloid.
The Design of Design
I agree with everyone saying XKCD is their favorite. The easter eggs are simply brilliant.
Second on my list is Reddit, for making everyone a king for a day.

SSP (Shameless Self Promotion): My top 10 april fool's day pranks of 2010 - http://www.pallab.net/2010/04/01/top-april-fools-day-jokes-o...
Sniffing data off the Internet backbone was so practical that there are well-known cases of it actually happening to backbone providers. In one famous case, someone managed to hook solsniff.c up to Sprintnet's core.
Google's Chrome now silently auto-updates Flash Player
Design on mobile platforms is more important than everyday little webapps. There are many mobile apps I'd like to make, but the time of getting it to look fancy is such an unknown that there's an implementation paralysis right from the start.

Anybody can write an article, but few people can can produce a full graphically designed issue of GQ alone.

Check out the the showcase of mobile apps at http://wellplacedpixels.com/ then honestly ask yourself if you can produce both the application and graphic design of that quality by yourself.

As the song goes:
You got to work to feed the soul / But I can't do this all on my own / No, I know, I'm no Superman
And if you go back to the start and then go south:

A dark hallway.

Exits: north, south
You are eaten by a grue.
You're dead!

:)
Hey, it uses mibbit for its irc client - congrats axod :)
Apple has a world-class art department to produce this stuff. The indie developer in the garage does not.

That's why it's stupid to try to compete with Apple for things where this matters. Much better to attack niche markets that aren't worth pursuing to players that have the resources to make lavish graphics.

The great thing about the Apple platform over the web is you can get away with creating fewer graphic resources. You can make a nice looking app using native controls. I'm hoping that Cappuccino and Aristo do the same for web apps.
Padrino Ruby Web Framework (sits on top of Sinatra)
Last Train to Doucheville
The OOXML project was a great success.
The point was to allow MS to claim that there was no propriety lock in and so it was perfectly reasonable for governments to standardize on it's format.
The aim was also to ensure that nobody could realistic produce a competitor to office using the format - double win.
Don't press any key to continue
Shameless self promotion - http://tweetsworth.com/e

Submitted it here for testing a few days ago but few people realized it was a joke.
So normally, if I were a huge douchbag trying to twist someone's arm or make them look bad, I'd CC their boss or client on a message that isn't directly relevant tothem,just to shame them into compliance.

So this feature could then be used to appear to be a douchebag by using faux shame?
IPad striptease: It's what's inside that counts
now there's a cool job
So would this mean we could sell software that technically infringes US patents, in NZ?
Seems like the easiest solution would be for web developers to show the address in their country's format, if their customer is from their country, and to show a textarea box for anyone else.
Picassa Lifesize isn't bad: http://picasa.google.com/lifesize.html
Um? http://www.google.com/search?q=git+http

Also, using git-daemon or gitosis makes it pretty simple to create an central git repo. And the complaint about SSH keys is exactly backwards, they make it pretty easy to authenticate if you're using SSH already (which you probably are).
Taking HTML5 to a new dimension: Opera proposes new 1D Canvas Element
Google: 'We will launch 3D apps via Chrome soon'
Would be an interesting data collection exercise, too.
ABC and CBS to Stream Shows on iPad for Free
Downvotes for the truth?
Why isn't there a British Silicon Valley?
This reminds me of the fitbit delays... similar product.
The delayed email sending is exactly what Gmail's 'Undo Send' labs feature does. It's really useful.
I find them all annoying. April 1st is basically my break from the internet.
Sneak Peek: Hundreds of Approved iPad Apps [video]
I've been in Park City (30 min from Salt Lake) for a year and half and have been pleasantly surprised at the vibrancy of the SLC startup community. A couple things to check out:

www.launchup.org - startup "barn raising events", excellent networking opportunity. I met a designer presenting at one of these and we went on to form a company that was contracted to build a Twitter app that eventually sold for 6 figures. Exciting!

Funding Universe's CrowdPitch events. Great for networking even if you go as a spectator.

www.boomstartup.com - Accelerator; you'd need to find a cofounder and not sure if the visa issue would exclude you, but there will probably be networking events around this.

www.siliconslopes.com

BYU Web Entrepreneurs Group

There's a lot more, too. Informal meetups, overlap with social media events (sometimes--other times these can be painfully dull) . . . overall I've found founders here, big and small (and yes they do get big here), to be very approachable and helpful. Get on Twitter and search for some entrepreneurial types here and you can check out the Twitter lists they are on to find more.

I'd offer to meet and help, but I'm moving to Los Angeles in a few days and can only hope I find it as startup-friendly as Utah.
You can do that anywhere in the world that the US does not have a patent agreement with.
What's a solution to the voting up of empty articles problem? I'm tired of this whole "everybody's vote counts the same" tactic.

If people vote together all the time in close time proximity, let's not count them as high (stomp out voting rings).

If somebody upvotes 50 articles a day, maybe they aren't the best judge of quality, so they can get ratcheted back to 1/4 vote weight.

Perhaps vote weighting can become stronger at cliffs after every yearly anniversary of the account while the account is engaged on the site (asymptotically approaching a vote weight of 2 after 5 years of contributions).

Accounts may not be discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or national origin. Only stupidity, brilliance, and gaming the system can reduce or increase your vote weights.
Laptops + Pico projectors = Bonfire
I love this idea, confirmation dialogs are the bane of ui design, and having undo is much much better than asking "are you sure" all the time, but for irreversable actions not much has been done.

the mockup looks good too
Should managers know how to code?
I think it's pretty darn good now, but I'll get one in a month or two.

Then I'll get another when the next generation comes out (and waterfall the original to the kids).
Is Greenpeace right about Facebook's coal habit?
Cheat

gets you free shipping?
You can, you just have to know the URL: http://github.com/home
"the author" is Alex Brown, convener of the OOXML BRM. Some would argue that the only reason OOXML passed as an ISO standard is becuase of his actions in dismissing large numbers of issues. He's well aware of the facts of the matter.

For those not following the OOXML debacle you could imagine Alex Brown is to OOXML as Miguel de Icaza is to the .Net platform. He worked closely with Microsoft to try and turn their proprietary format/platform into an open standard (and got called a shill and worse for his efforts) and is now disappointed they've screwed it all up with their shady behaviour.
How to Make Money on the iPad
Top Big Brother Companies: Ranking the Worst Consumer Privacy Infringers
Man thanks for posting this. I wanted to post this when I first saw this thread, but I was too chicken shit to say it.
You are welcome back as a moderator any time on my watch.

That doesn't mean anyone is cashing out. Eventually Jeff and Joel won't be running StackOverflow. At some point you need to hand off control to someone else or let the site disappear. (Long term here, people don't live forever) All Jeff is saying is that he is welcome back as long as Jeff has the power to give him his job back. Jeff can't promise a future owner of SO will honor an agreement made now.

Then again, it could just be a figure of speech Jeff tacked on. :)
How long did it take you to learn it? Did your wife help you at all?

Probably it can be learned - the question is, is it time effective?
Reminds me of this dystonia case where the woman can hardly walk forwards or speak properly, but seems fine when running http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR5p_bD3uLc
What you're seeing is that people are starting to realize that this device can do the vast majority of things that people want to do on their computers. And with nearly none of the time/cognitive/frustration burden of a "computer" -- notice how "normals" don't think of the iPad as a "computer": they think of it as... well, an iPad. Normals don't want computers but they want what computers can do.
World hottest news: Edmund Hillary ashes 'to be spread on Everest summit'
I think the one of the most telling nuggets in that piece is from designer Jonathan Ive:

"For us, it is all about refining and refining until it seems like there's nothing between the user and the content they are interacting with"

Also, as someone with experience in quantitative marketing, the following quote made a lot of sense as well. In my opinion, quantitative marketing and analytics are great tools, and as we've seen in both sports and business, people use them do have an advantage. Again, however, in my opinion these tools are too reactionary and don't leave as much room for creative thought.

"It's not for us to predict what others will do," Ive says. "We have to concentrate on what we think is right and offer it up."

You gotta give it to jobs, that Ive guy is obviously incredibly bright and Jobs takes credit for finding him too.
Announcing the FlickrPad
@#$#: FCC to Possibly Fine Yahoo CEO for Swearing on TV
This looks really cool. I'll be checking back when more of the site is up to get some more detailed information on the capabilities and the offering.
Meet the First Person in Line for the Apple iPad [video]
DOD IT nominee lacks military experience, but does that matter?
Take a lesson from Indiana Jones: Never _threaten_ to sue - either do, or don't
> Also, the things I'd like to see, so that I don't have to build them myself, would be:
1. Worldwide address geocoding with no usage restrictions. AFAICT, this service does not exist.
2. Worldwide address canonicalization. If I'm missing a postal code, province, etc, or if a phone number is in a weird format, I'd love a service that would clean that up for me.
3. Address unification among services. I'd love to be able to tie together the primary ids of a given address among the various services: Yelp, foursquare, Gowalla, OpenStreetMap, etc.

I think #1 and #2 here are the most interesting -- with really limited providers to solve the problems. Address geolocation is a PIA, foreign address geolocation is even worse.

A non-connected private version would also be worth something (lots of money in the Government for this kind of service, usually not on the Internet).
I think they switched from a Lithium Ion battery to a Lithium Polymer battery. The latter performs much better and lasts a lot longer. Most new cell phones, and incidentally, RC Helicopters use this too.
"# We have a simple formula for the amount invested: $4 million + $1 per line of code written."

haha that is great.
For any DJs out there, the "Enable Auto DJ" button in Mixxx changes to "Enable Pee Break Mode" on April 1st.

http://www.mixxx.org/
Interestingly, you can see it log every unrecognized command via a GET request to /unixkcd/missing (look at source/firebug). It appears that he's been updating the source code with things that people commonly try ('rm' didn't used to be supported); I also look forward to a "what you crazy people on my site tried" comic.
I don't know if this analogy is safe to draw, but compare the Mac price of iWork ($80) to Mac Office Home ($150). Both are quite successful. Maybe pro apps will be able to take off at $20 or more on the iPad.

On one hand, it is much less than the corresponding PC software titles, but at the same time many of the variable costs (especially testing & support) are reduced due to the cohesiveness of the platform.
Person Recognition (with Python)
For my Msc thesis I have developed a system build in Python which does person recognition and have shown that it is possible to obtain a better recognition rate with this system than by using Google’s Picasa
This is the kind of time where you build something larger than the minimal viable product. Something you may want to consider is building an open source project, then charging commercial support once you get a green card.
This strategy is interesting but seems to beg the question: how do you get traffic to your blog?

With a myriad blogs out there, I assume it's difficult to get your blog noticed.

Is it easier to drive traffic to your blog than to drive it to your main website? If yes, is this because search engines prefer sites with more "meat" (text) in them?
Good article, and a rather epic job. A fun read :)

I liked the comment about repossessing a train car. That's somewhat more difficult, I have to admit.
I'm not sure you understand what the post was suggesting. All it was suggesting is that instead of validating the SSL certificate sent by using the hardcoded certs in the browser, it's validated by doing a DNS lookup to retrieve a hash of the cert. Where DNSSEC is used to "secure" the validity of that lookup.

It could even be an addition to the protocol, so the validation is done as normal with the CA's certificates which are hardcoded in the browser, but then a DNS lookup is done as well. That would defend from unscrupulous CA's that create additional certificates for a domain and give them to government organisations.
We did it (traveling back and forth by 1 ms in time)
The original post was suggesting that we augment SSL by using DNSSEC to distribute cert authenticators instead of CAs. I'm saying that, for a lot of reasons, grafting DNSSEC onto web security is a solution far inferior to simply keeping TLS and solving the UI and policy problems we inevitably need to solve anyways.
That's how they are marketed, after all. Not by everyone, but check out the "features" on GoDaddy's SSL cert page: http://www.godaddy.com/ssl/ssl-certificates.aspx?ci=8979 "Bigger, more colorful icons! Yay!"
The final email suggestion is a lot like gmail labs' "undo send" feature [1]. It allows you to 'undo' sending an email by not sending it for five seconds.

[1] http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-in-labs-undo-send....
India launches biometric census
I'm pondering a Countdown Greasemonkey script, that would hide all articles I haven't clicked on within 5 minutes.

The problem is I keep coming back to procrastinate, and end up reading the irrelevant articles, too. Maybe auto-hiding them would help :-)
OSM, waze, Google Map Maker announce ClosedStreetMap Alliance
It's fun. You say "No way! That was way too obviously a joke, guys." And they say "seriously, try it", and lo and behold, it actually works.

It's kind of like a 2nd-order April Fool's joke--they trick you into thinking they're tricking you.
Well, your tax laws need some changing and fixing your stance on free speech (libel). Can't do anything about the weather.
It'd be useful to filter certain things for one's attention, as well... for email/SMS/other alerts or simply as a different tab in HN.
I'm not kidding here when I say I do believe you've hit upon the profound, central truth of the iPad.

It's not about the fact that it's a tablet. It could have been any form factor, even been a desktop computer with a mouse; the tablet form factor just helps it in this central regard: It's about abstracting every last thing, to the best of its designers' and engineers' abilities, away from your task at hand. The goal is nothing short doing things with all the help of a computer and none of the hindrance.