skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ask HN: Should you fire average devs and have only talented devs in a team?
Let's say you have a team with 10 developers. Some of them are great, but a year later you discover that 3 of them are average (they have no talent). They want to change something and learn new things, but still they are slow, make bad decisions and other dev. outperform them.<p>Would you fire them? Would you give them a chance to improve? Other ideas?
Holy crap that's cheap. How's the quality?
creed bratton, the character, is very real.
The Government's New Right to Track Your Every Move With GPS
Web Development and content provider
>Old people forget what it was like to be young, and lose their ability to rapidly adapt and learn as children do. And without fail, each generation grows up to believe they were somehow better than later generations.

I don't think this is an accurate description of the article at all. The author is specifically arguing that his generation has violated the social contract that they used to their gain, leaving the current, younger generation holding the bag.

He's not saying "goddamn kids these days"; he's encouraging the upcoming generation to fix what their parents (his generation) have screwed up so that the generation after them doesn't end up shackled in the same way or worse. In fact, he's encouraging them to engage their parents ("they still vote") to help them in fixing things.
Should journalism be subjective?
He turned it into Twitter for Just Links
Here's the original blog post by Mark DeLoura. http://www.satori.org/2010/08/moving-on-from-google/
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I would give them a chance to improve somewhere else.
An API for parsing JavaScript
A way to implement these ideas reddit-style would be amazing.

Maybe a 2D reddit, so you can add (and vote on) evidence and hypotheses; and then also vote on each intersection (a choice of 5 levels of consistency). Not sure about nesting; would it mean sub-evidence/hyp, commentary, alternative expression, or related evidence/hyp. Perhaps users could work it out, in effect adding dynamic untyped fields, like twitter's @name, with voting for significance. Let the users decide! The UI would look messy, but collapsing fixes it.

To avoid group-think, you could do pseudo A/B-testing, with different votes. Though I don't think users would go for this - and when would the results become "official"? It becomes more stately (stateful); one of the beautiful simplicities of reddit is that the model types/components are constant.
Clicky to digg: http://digg.com
Actually, when it came to the Saturn V rocket NASA deliberately destroyed the design documents in a "burn your boats" style to make the Space Shuttle the only way forward. Disbanded Wernher von Braun's team for good measure.

Which is a pity, seeing as how some of the details of the design of the first stage kerosene/LOX F-1 engines were said to be pretty well near magic (it had 7 years of teething problems according to Wikipedia).

On the other hand I know from an acquaintance that the NERVA developers including her father were gathered together no later than in the '80s so that their work could be adequately documented.
Check out the interviews section on the glassdoor.com profile of the company you are interviewing with.
...oh, that's lame. Hmm. Is there a startup opportunity here?

I feel like this is an instance where Google took on a project which was too big for them. But the idea is so good that with a little bit more push, I would expect to see better adoption. Hmm...
So here we have a Lisp programmer -- with no apparent irony -- using the term "cottage industry" in connection with Java.

> Watching Java programmers is like having a tribal shaman for a next-door neighbor.

This coming from the guys still harping on about the resplendent days of unbridled hacker ecstasy in the Garden of Genera.

Pot. Kettle. Black.
I just checked. They do appear to still be doing that.

a4agarwal's response at the time http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1309849
I'm pretty sure computer-to-computer was available globally from the beginning, and the oldest SkypeOut review I could find during a quick search involved someone calling the US, Canada, Romania and Argentina.

Skype was a European company, of course, and the headquarter and engineering office is still there. A slightly different perspective, perhaps?
I use a different method for calculating the "Avg customer lifetime (months)", which is implied by some logic from a great book called The Loyalty Effect: http://books.google.com/books?id=ctAj_SfSrKIC&printsec=f...

Using this formula, I get different results for "Avg customer lifetime (months)" than the OP.

I calculate the average length of the customer tenure based on the formula: 0.5 = (1-churn%)^t, where "churn%" is the monthly churn rate, and t is time passed in months. Basically, this formula says: when will 50% of the customers be left?

You can solve for t:

0.5 = (1-churn%)^t

ln (0.5) =ln(1 - churn%)^t

ln (0.5) =t x ln(1 - churn%)

t = ln (0.5) / ln (1 - churn%)

You can test this math by calculating how long t is for a churn of 50% (it's 1 month).

Using this math, the average tenure for a monthly churn of 1% would be 60 months. The average tenure is useful because you can then do a discounted cash flow analysis on 100% of the cash flows until time t, to calculate the lifetime value of the average customer. So in this case, you would be discounting 100% of 60 months of cash flows.

The average tenure goes down rapidly as you increase the churn rate. At 2% churn, the average tenure is 34 months. At 3%, it's 23 months. At 5%, it's 14 months. And at 10%, it's 7 months.

If you have enough data, you can use a non-constant churn rate as well, as churn rate definitely goes down over time.
I am reminded of an article on Ars Technica (POTUS 2008: Are you ready for some football?) from a few years ago about how political coverage has become more and more like sports coverage. It's clichéd, but I agree that the media should focus much more on the matters being discussed than on the people discussing them. At best, this personality-driven media obfuscates the issues. At worst, it tolerates and even encourages dishonesty.

As much as I enjoy and even respect what Nate Silver has done, he drives this "who's winning the race" style coverage nearly to its logical extreme.
The poster was clearly congratulating Nate, and then pointing out something specifically that Nate had done well.

It's like if you're congratulating Steve Jobs on a successful iPad launch. You aren't obligated to also mention all of the products he has worked on that haven't done so well.

And I hardly doubt anyone was trying to convince you, or any other reader on HN, that Nate may have mispredicted something. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there is no one on this planet who has not made a false prediction.

But since you're so adamant about this, could you put together a list of his complete record with links?

And sure, Krugman has a Nobel Prize, Clark Medal, Ivy League tenured job, nominated for a Pulitzer, but he'll have to live with spec calling him a partisan hack.

I'm not sure anyone would mind that tradeoff.
Agreed they are very relevant.

However, in the tech community there are a lot of eyeballs on them because they've taken so much funding that they need a huge exit to make investors happy and for the acquisition to look like a success on Digg's end. They've yet to find that even though they've talked to many companies including Google. Also, they are no longer experiencing the growth they used to have and have somewhat flatlined, so many are skeptics that the new Digg will really help bring more traffic.
This wasn't an argument "against" HTML5 at all. In fact, the blog author pretty clearly agrees with you that it's a welcome addition to our toolbox.

His only point is that there will still be a need for these other technologies that are sometimes incorrectly perceived as being rendered obsolete by HTML5.
> Krugman is a partisan hack that has a Nobel Prize is one very specific area of economics. It does not qualify him to opine on all other areas.

That seems to be a general feature of politically-engaged economists on both the left and right. I see Krugman as basically a mirror version of Milton Friedman: a blowhard whose statements on politics and policy preferences are usually wildly unsupported by empirical evidence, but who did also do some genuinely good economic work.
First ever IE9 screenshot leaked by Microsoft
I wonder to what degree that’s US specific. I just don’t seem to see the same thing happening here in Germany. Our campaigns are much shorter and we have less of them, also no 24 hour news channels (none that count, nothing like what you have in the US).

Coverage about the election is still dominated by the big public broadcasters and seems a lot less hectic. All not very entertaining, if you ask me.
If you had to guess, is it just that second-time founders have more experience, or is it that a lot of the first-time founders who aren't 'cut out' for startups try once and then give up? (Honest question!)
No no, it's the same in the US and Canada. Wikipedia tells me it's around 1% for a £100,000 asset (in the UK). In Vancouver (Canada), I pay roughly 0.3%, so if anything the argument is stronger in Canada.

While you were _technically_ wrong that no one taxes on the entire value of the property, I think your point still stands, because the property tax rates are so low.

I believe that, in Canada, my trade-off looks like this:

On real estate, I'd pay a very low property tax (under half a percent?) on the principle, plus capital gains on the appreciation when I sell, plus income tax on revenue from the property.

On stocks, I'd pay some combination of capital gains on sale, and whatever the tax is on dividends. So the percentage on my income is higher, but it's only on the income.

The thing is, if you're gonna pay capital gains on the "wealth" (your definition) when you cash it out, the only reason it matters you're not getting taxed on the growth is that it compounds faster. So you get to ask yourself, which compounds faster, the non-realisable asset without tax, or the realisable one with tax.
I'm not sure about the marketing here; I felt the same way as the author of the post with the anti-social aspect, but yet I now want to try it out for myself and I don't think it's a startup I'll forget.

If it had shown something more conventional, like a man and woman meeting in person on the bus because of their chat, I'm not sure it would have stuck in my head long enough to check it out.
You're right - it appears that he updated his model right before the elections and I only saw his earlier posts. However, he had a post in 2009 entitled "Could a Republican Win Ted Kennedy's Senate Seat?" with his answer being "Very probably not."
Google AdWords: Location Targeting
Dang it, thanks. Will have to read more closely after work.
Woah, their blog is powered by drupal. Odd. I guess their entire "about.digg.com" is probably Drupal. Looks like they're not doing a very good job scaling it :)
Actually, "face book" is the term used for a book containing photos/blurbs of all incoming freshmen, handed out to the Freshman class each year at many universities (including Harvard, naturally).
The memo is there for everyone to read. It is only 4 pages. Wikileaks can say whatever it wishes and by the way so can you or whatever commentator. The memo is there to read, uncensored I would think.

It is not merely the fact that some crazy person joins some vile organisation, it is more important in regards to the implications. It mentions cases where clearly one sidedness is shown. Why was that person not allowed to testify in a democratic court? Why must the US not be subjected to the same requirement it demands of other democratic countries in regards to extradition. It is not for lack of reason that the case of the Hacker in the UK keeps making front page news.

The leak I believe is a service to humanity. It is a shining light to reason amongst the dark pits of greed.
SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck
There's actually some research, which I couldn't find that points out just the opposite. The best performers often like being the best performers, and actually take a slight pay hit for being considered the best.

But there's probably also a difference between working with someone who does no work, takes 3 hour lunches, and never gets anything done on time. Versus the person who works hard, but just takes 20% longer than you to get stuff done. The former really bug people, but the latter tends to just make you look good, while still helping the company.
Is this obsession with free will about culpability? Why ask why :-)

God says...
native warring small family part stranger Mercy hint affliction
willed come createst Books knottiness Hebrew flagitiousnesses
requires blow variations extolled loving apparently conflicting
beginneth fields echoed enact United princes it universally
Old usage bread Apollinarian ended an labour
Fraid not. Employers in Melbourne are very reluctant to sponsor.
Ideally political journalists would concentrate on exploring the issues, comparing the candidates' policy positions, exploring their likely consequences and so on. To the extent that it's not possible to do that objectively, yes, journalism should be subjective.
I actually thought it would describe some kind of green soylent-ish scenario with calculations about number of people required...
What's lolcode?

I'm serious about brainfuck. You can explain it in a minute and can expect a smart person to work with it from the start (even a non-techie (although the compiler question is for techies)).

Don't test knowledge, test smarts.
Nothing at the moment but occasionally such roles come up. Most of our employers tend to be looking for programming/software engineering skills more than design. The home page of our website (URL above) has instructions on how to apply.
Its also illegal.
> They use the word because it was a play on the name and idea of a "yearbook."

What are you basing this on? I'm pretty certain they called it "the facebook" because it was literally meant to be an online replacement for the print facebook. That was how it was explained and used when it started.

It wouldn't have functioned as a "yearbook" (a way to find old classmates) because at the time they picked the name it was only open to current college students.
It appeared from your original statement that things not listed in the Constitution were opposed by you. This includes the Department of the Air Force. The Constitution allows for the Department of the Navy and the Department of the Army but nothing about the Department of the Air Force.

I would say promoting the general welfare includes making all non-copyrighted materials publicly available. Clearly we differ on this but the assertion that it's unconstitutional is not so clear cut as you make it to be.
This is generally true of politically-engaged writers of any sort. Politics, at least popular politics (versus academic writing), is polarizing by definition. And generally the data isn't there to support any preference (or equally true... the data is there to support any preference).

This is why, I believe, that why someone supports a particular preference is almost as important as the preference. Although I should add figuring out why people have certain preferences is often difficult, since people are often not forthcoming with their underlying assumptions.
Two things that seem somewhat contradictory are that on the one hand, pg would bet on increasingly efficient markets and would not bet on anything that restricts the flow of information. On the other hand, he thinks that the iPhone is so awesome that it will take over the world and that the App Store approval process is something that we are stuck with.
Absolutely; I expect I'd enjoy Nate Silver's blog a lot less if I was American.
Honestly, I don't find value in 538 based on the accuracy of its predictions, I find it in Nate's thoughtful and uncommonly math-informed analysis and commentary.
"no talent" is "average"? That sounds a bit... well, wrong. Granted, really talented people are orders of magnitude more productive, but "average" means someone that's worse than half of people, but also better than half; more or less.
The YC startup initiation journey (pic)
I'm basing that on the explanations I've read in various news articles about FaceBook through the years.
Anyone know of an app that provides daily check marks?
After reading about Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret ( http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret ) I have been interested in using this in many areas of my life. It is extremely effective, especially for things I only want to spend a few minutes on per day, but I know if I just spend those few minutes I will make long term progress.

Examples of things I want to try to do every day:
- Practice Guitar (at least 30m)
- Learn a new joke or 'bar trick'
- Exercise (at least 30m)
- Clean one area of my apartment
- Write a letter/email to one person I care about

And so on. The tricky thing is that I ran out of a good way to track my daily checkmarks. The best system I have tried so far is to use stickers on a calender, but the cognitive overhead of "ok, a blue star == learn a joke" is annoying.

Does anyone know of a web app that can handle this for me?
I'm assuming you were using a Kindle DX (the others don't auto-rotate). But anyway, you can lock the orientation:

http://thekindle.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/screenrotationd...
What's "free will"?
Click-friendly version of link: http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-se...
Hijacking Miss Universe 2010
I know Joe's Goals gets mentioned frequently for Seinfeld's "Don't break the chain" method:

http://www.joesgoals.com/
Or perhaps it's more like Apple Records suing Apple Computer which was not thrown out as frivolous and ultimately ended in a settlement.
The professor doesn't adequately quantify what has gone wrong due to a generation's alleged lack of paying it forward. Generalizations like "failing infrastructure" and "less spending on schools" do not exactly get the fire started in my belly - because I don't see anything glaringly wrong with those items. And, maybe this old man's view of a failing infrastructure is a result of something petty like a crack in the sidewalk directly outside of his house.

And, maybe his generation has spent less time worrying about cracks in sidewalks and potholes in roads because they were investing in things that are now more foreign to an older person. Like biotech, wireless tech, green tech, etc. (I'm sure there are better examples)

BTW - I just used the term "old man" to add impact to my statement. I love my older generation and the insights they bring.
I don't think I can stress this one enough. Not only will a team run out of money with a perfectionist co-founder, but the other obvious result will be that competition may ship a product before you do in what was previously a vapid market.

Should you happen to bring a perfectionist computer scientist on board, implement first (even if it's not DRY) and cleanup/refactor later. Always stress this message. Particularly Ruby programmers. You can remind them that once you ship, they always have the opportunity to clean it up during maintenance nights. You can make it work with a brilliant computer scientist, but always make sure he's focused on shipping rather than perfecting.
There are corollaries to a bunch of these items:

1. You will need to be more agile than you could ever imagine. It's amazing how much dexterity and foresight is needed to manage things when they're moving at such glacial pace, but timing is critical. An hour could mean the difference between eating next month or closing up shop.

2. Some items will succeed quickly, but only temporarily. You need to burn the kindling, but you also need some good wood. This is especially critical when you're in a service-based company. Your first few clients might bring you a lot of bacon, but the clients you build relationships buy you a pig farm.

3. You can't do it alone. Whether it's financial, technical, social, or moral support, you're going to need it eventually.

Overall, I think this list petered out a bit in the end, and some of the points missed the mark. Overall, I think that running a business is a lot like fishing, playing a game of poker, and riding a bicycle at the same time. You need patience, attentiveness, social and observational skills, and endurance.

And a very understanding wife.
Yeah, it's an interesting concept, but why not just strike up a conversation? Should be called Wallflower messenger. Could be interesting though as lowering the social barrier for those people could create interesting possibilities.
Microsoft Surface and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio Controlling Robots
No, that poster was claiming that his coverage was "well-deserved" and I disagreed. He was not obligated to mention his failures, but I did, and that apparently troubles you greatly for some reason. Silver's whole reputation is based on his assumed accuracy and that's why it is important to provide a more complete record of his predictions (not that my post claims to do that or that I would care enough to do that; since you are so impressed by him, you're welcome to try).

Krugman's reputation as a partisan hack that opines on matter he is ignorant about is among other economists with no fewer accomplishments (but his reputation as a pompous ass is among everyone else).
Keys to Being Excellent at Anything
Very nice. Those 47 points are basically the Bible of Game Mechanics.
25 Excellent CSS3 Button Tutorials
25 most excellent CSS3 button tutorials and techniques (google style button,mac OS X button, mobile button, ipad button, iphone buttn, photoshop like button).
Germany Plans Limits on Facebook Use in Hiring
They are; your admin needs to turn them on. Go to:

https://www.google.com/a/cpanel/example.com/DomainSettings

Under New Services and Pre-release Features
He sure as hell wasn't at Startup School 2009 -- he was bouncing up and down in his seat during the presentations raring at the bit to be an asshole, and interrupted several in just about the rudest possible way (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=901438).
Down With Social - Social is immeasurable and a waste of time.
A bit of discussion attached to a Techcrunch article on the same proposal: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1626825
University of Reddit seems like one possibility:

http://universityofreddit.com/

Feels a bit hacked together. Has anyone taken a class there? What was your experience?
That's an opportunity cost, and it turns out that the main thing to understand about opportunity costs is that nobody thinks about them the right way (including me, of course).
Notice I said "started out". :-)

Plus, what do you think the i stood for? And do you know of any other companies that put a superfluous i for internet in product names (or at least did at the time)?
This is true of any large organization. No government bashing required.
The problem with that approach is long, drawn out threads filled with phony politeness.
Case by case basis. There are many factors which can make a developer good for the team.
OK, maybe wrong wording, but by average I mean people who will never exceed your expectations and have moderate problem solving skills/or development speed/or technical excellence attitude.

I am thinking about tough decision now, and so far I am going to fire those average people and hire 1-2 great developers instead.
Wannabe angels: Watch the video of every speech from AngelConf
Great list, but I sense in a year or two a backlash by users who develop 'game-resistance': "Stop toying with me!"
College Dropout Factories