skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
There exists a tool called "Blue Prism".

I have an existence proof of an enterprise that was/is sold this tool on the basis that there is no code and the users will use the visual editor to create the code themselves.

Behold : https://www.indeed.co.uk/Blue-Prism-jobs

If it's so easy why are people being paid £500 a day?
We are working to make our new publishing platform, Bertie, into a AI-powered writing assistant. The idea is to have the machine writing stories alongside human writers, enhancing the latter's ability to write performant stories. I'd love your feedback!
> They've been trying the "let end users code in an impoverished pseudo programming language" for a long time and at best it only ever takes over small niche.

I bet spreadsheets are the most common form of programming on the planet. So at best it takes over a very large niche, becomes entirely mainstream and we forget it's programming at all.

(Of course spreadsheets can use 'real' PLs, but most people only use the basic formulas and ranges.)
It's not logic even slightly.

Multicellular organisms have internal mechanisms to track environmental changes and forecast things like how many offspring to have.

This sort of "thinking" isn't neurological, it takes place in epigenetic systems that can span generations, especially in mammals due to gestation.
Thank you. You explained everything better than I could.
Another good way would be to export the data as a CSV file and then double check that before releasing it.
You demonstrate a perfect example of that self-sure self-righteousness. I'd strongly suggest you maybe try to understand the perspective of other people more, instead of trying to paint it into a story that you can oppose.
No. I am complaining that the company needs to generate profit to pay back loans, and the size of profit generated is insufficient to pay interest on these loans.

If the company had successfully paid back the loans then they would not have failed, but often when that happens private equity simply takes out more loans until the company fails. In such cases failure is both profitable and by design because they effectively sell the company to banks for more than it's worth while profiting from the difference.
5 years of Clojure
Responding to your edit on respectful commenting, I can't see any disrespectful comments in this thread (and generally find discourse on HN better than other places). Have some been deleted?

The top-level comments are mostly positive, with one or two constructively critical ones. There are one or two sub-comments with strongly worded criticism of Wikipedia's markup (the code holding the text), but none that mention people or are in any way ad hominem.
Jerry, the independent inventor whom had 600+ patents, torpedoed big corps
Poke one finger of one hand into the palm of the other. If you are dreaming, the flesh will yield like putty, and your finger will go through. This also works most of the time with windows, and sometimes with walls.

Pinch your nose, close your mouth, and try to breathe. If you are dreaming, you will be able to inhale and exhale without any conceivable path for the air to flow. Also works if you are underwater.

Light switches always do something in my dreams. It might not be turning the lights on and off, but a thing happens when I flip the switch. (One time, it made some rabbits explode. That was fascinating, and I blew them all up one by one, and then felt guilty about it after I woke up.) Although most of the time, my dreams don't even have light switches, and I don't notice when they are absent from places where they should be, according to building codes.

I almost always have hands and a face, and the ability to move, so the two tricks above usually work.
Unless you're in dire need of thousands of wallpapers (most of them you are going to delete anyway) it's better not to hammer the website. I'd even limit the download rate.
The whole reason stocks where invented was so that you could spread the risk. Instead of owning 100% in one ship, you owned stock in many ships, so if one ship sank you didn't loose it all.
this may be an unpopular opinion (especially if the stock is doing well) but I've also done the exact same thing (sell on vest + diversify).
That's all well and good, but I have too many daily transactions to make that feasible (too many accounts for that matter). IMO, that level of manual tracking is a bug, not a feature. If I want manual tracking, I can use Excel.

Accounting is neither simple nor enjoyable, and a computer can easily do it for us. Why not figure out how to make the process automated but still form the habit of actively tracking one's finances?
It's perfectly fine to do that. A best practice is to explain the differences in an apples to oranges way rather than trash talk your competitors.

In other words, don't say "Our product is better and these other products are all shit because..."

Instead, say "Our niche is (describe your target audience) and our product serves that niche better than (competitors doing thing that serves other niche."

Here is a piece that lists four products in the same space and reasons individuals might prefer one over the other without trash talking anyone:

http://worldwidewebworks.blogspot.com/2017/12/accept-credit-...
>> The first is that you can make better abstractions in text-based languages, too.

>> Not always

Why are you writing and reading in text / code? Surprise, surprise - the English language is text / code. Please, to support your arguments send in some pictures or models or videos etc.
This is largely what I would have said if nobody had posted it yet. That "narrow set of problems" are still extremely influential problems that will have a powerful impact on society.
I think the converse is true, no?

That the shamanic practices will be pealed back, to reveal the familiar reality of scientific investigation.

I've had many lucid dreams, sleep paralysis, etc. "Navigating your dream state" seems really just like a lucid dream.

You're pretty much able to create a life-like world at whim in a lucid dream. The ability of the mind to hallucinate sensation in great depth is tremendous, and im sure, tied deeply to dreaming.
It started out decentralized but quickly consolidated. Cryptocurrencies in theory should enable a sustainable decentralized network.
So... how and what do you propose to reach people who keep using walled gardens, despite what's known about them, and that they even have people trying to get them to used something else?
I was unable to control it properly and gave up.
My cousin Vinnie
Ask HN: What dumb phones would you recommend?
I have built a reputation for destroying my smart phones and I need something simple and durable. I've weaned away from using any social media for a year, so the only things I use it for is texting and calling. I'm an enthusiast for modern aesthetic and good design. Any suggestions?

I love the light phone 2, but to me it's just too expensive for what it actually offers.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/light-phone-2-design#/
As someone who spent the weekend figuring out `flexbox' to align copy around a webpage, after years of floating divs and pulling my hair out, I can appreciate this video. Creative destruction is an awe-inspiring, yet wistful force of nature.
> As an interviewer, how can I test for these traits?

This is one trick I haven't figured out.

I can ask problems that require tenaciousness to dig all the way to the bottom. BUT motivations and incentives in a 45min interview and an ongoing job are very different. There's a higher reward in the job interview, and you know an upper bound to how much time it'll take.

I've hired people who aced that, but then were pretty lazy day to day, even for looking up trivial stuff like "you submitted a python code review that wouldn't even run because you made a typo in the method name."

Stories can help, but stories are (even assuming true and not borrowed) from a past version of the candidate which may not be the same as the present version.

So I just do the best I can, but also recognize that I won't necessarily get a 100% perfect employee no matter what questions that I ask. But "pretty good" is about all you can realistically hope for, I think.
So they took a Company with 2.2b cash and cash equivalents private with just 1.3b of their own money. Man I need to network with gullible bankers too
Crashed my browser (but on mobile, so maybe expected for intensive webgl).

Chrome Mobile Version: 65.0.3325.109

Second launch didn't crash but gave the error: webgl hit a snag with the option to reload or ignore.

Reload: always gives the same error.

Ignore: if no "loading" visible then no further response. If "loading" visible then loading bar continues to load until ~95% complete then no futher response.
Along with everything else people have already said: something you do in your spare time which shows some level of motivation. Hiring/firing managers I've spoken to in the past have been very, very wary of hiring people who either don't list any hobbies in their CV, or in interviews reply to "what do you do in your spare time?" with "just watch TV or game". You don't want to be seen as that person who has nothing to talk about but work when everyone is out for a beer after hours.
I absolutely agree with that!

An ORM is an abstraction of a concrete system. For very simple use cases, that’s fine. For anything even slightly complex, the ORM becomes a tool that you can use to enhance code readability, or reliability, or modularity. But it’s essential to know what is going on underneath before using that abstraction, much like most other systems. There are too many times I’ve witnessed a less experienced developer build a shockingly expensive n+1 query using an ORM to doubt that :)
When you're logged in, it's the "MinervaNeue" option here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences#mw-prefsec...

Sidenote, if—like me—you actually prefer the desktop theme, and would like the opposite: to use it on mobile. There is a mobile-friendly version of it in the works, but not yet available. You can try the in-progress version on your mobile here: https://test.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page?mobilaction=toggle...
I restored a small scale letterpress several years ago.

That gave way to learning about hot metal typesetting, manual typesetting, and other essentially abandoned technologies and skills.

I also got to volunteer at a local university library [0] that has a fully functional print shop to learn the necessary skills to manually typeset. Needing several parts, I got to visit a collector who had amassed a warehouse of type, typesetting materials, presses, and parts. Here are some photos [1] [2] [3]

Linotype, and this video, represent the pinnacle of mechanical automation for printing. It took over 500 years to go from Gutenberg to the recording of this video, but only a couple of years to go from the invention of the microchip to digital typesetting. What a great reminder of the transforming power of computers!

[0] - http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/KLP/tour/

[1] - https://www.instagram.com/p/KSZCKGiPrAy_zXgJslBGhi6rRHkpSu1d...

[2] - https://www.instagram.com/p/KSZnFWCPrUTwdRHmwz6hrf_hQzmuWnD5...

[3] - https://www.instagram.com/p/KSaKYciPrhndq1LVqk1S-iQBvX60FNPD...
Every employee has insider information. For me at Google the biggest change was from Eric Schmidt answering directly to questions at TGIF and looking at easy to fix things when he could and looking for great growth possibilities to Larry Page talking about working hard for the sake of working hard to finally Sundar who's looking at Larry for every question and make sure to answer as politically as he can and not upset Larry. Also even project level big meetings took more than 50% of the time to speak about respecting women. I respect women, but when the focus on them is bigger than the focus on users/customers, I know it can't be the growth company that it was before.
Even simpler than that, most people simply aren't interested in programming. A lot of programmers seem to have difficulty comprehending this. As you say, there are of course barriers for many, but we can't continue with the premise that everyone could be a coder and would be a coder if X and Y were met.

I argue that programming languages are not complicated. Although most people butcher the English language, it's a far more complicated language than C, which has relatively few keywords and an unambiguous syntax. But programming languages, especially C, are tremendously repetitious and lack nuance because of the fact that they are so simple. Simplistic units in principle are really good at building different complex things, whereas things that are more complicated are usually better at articulating simpler ideas. No wonder nobody programs computers in English! A programming language that tries to meet parity with English, or any spoken language, would be an utter nightmare to deal with.

My point is that someone who has any innate interest in programming can make their way past the layer of intimidation, especially now more than ever with the sheer amount of information that didn't exist when I started coding. I remember when looking at code was intimidating because it didn't match my understanding of what a language was, and it was in the era of "Just F###ing Google It" when nobody on forums would help you, online documentation was terrible, and there was no Stack Overflow. Now, there is really almost nothing holding anyone back besides the will to do so.

There is a limited amount of things that most people are willing to learn. When one is hardly autodidactic, they will choose the path of least resistance and only learn when it is a necessity. When programming to any degree isn't a necessity for someone, they're not going to want to do it. Heck, sites like Wix and Squarespace are insanely easy to use, and I know people who want to make their own site for their business and drag their feet in using site builders because they find it annoying to understand what it even is they're doing when they're dragging around components. They don't want to have to learn, and would rather someone who is interested in building sites do the work for them.

Hence, why there are still programmers.
> Blockchain tech is ultimately about trust. Trust that the accounting hasn't been altered.

A simple git repository offers this property. Really it's just any data structure where only growing it is permitted. You don't need a blockchain to get this.
<3 message received from //everyone// involved in its creation. Thanks!
Although I agree that this seems badly optimised, I too have a Macbook Pro, and the fans spinning up is quite normal when using 3D applications. Ie. Although webGL, I think most of the work load is the "GL" part not the "web" part.
My home server is my 2nd gen i7 laptop, the battery can still keep it running for roughly an hour if it is not under load.

The modifications done, were replacing the DVD drive with a 2.5" Driver adaptor for a raided system, and putting two new high capacity 2.5" drives in.
technology isn't going to solve a culture problem. I also don't think that the walled gardens are even part of the problem. It's that anonymity gives too many people the license to treat others poorly. I'm not saying we need to take anonymity away, we need to change the culture (of the world) that regards mutual respect as a default even when remaining anonymous.
> when that happens private equity simply takes out more loans until the company fails

This is incorrect.

"PE-backed firms are no more likely to default than other firms with similar leverage. Distressed PE-backed firms restructure more out of court, restructure faster, and are more likely to remain an independent going concern following the restructuring, compared to leveraged borrowers that are not PE-backed...Hence, PE investors do not exacerbate the likelihood of financial distress and seem to resolve distress more efficiently than other firms."

Furthermore, "companies that were previously owned by a PE fund that [have] exited within the last five years have nearly a 50% lower default probability than other firms in the sample, including non PE-backed firms with no history of PE ownership. Consistent with the findings in Harford and Kolasinski (forthcoming), this result suggests that PE firms leave their portfolio companies in relatively strong financial shape when they exit."

All in all, PE-backed companies default about 5% of the time versus 3% for population (Table 2).

http://portal.idc.ac.il/en/schools/economics/about/documents...
Alot of font terms comes from that time, like leading and kerning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerning
Great skill, but a far better skill is knowing when to give up and move on from the problem instead of wasting days on something while other backlog work piles up.
Guess who’s the highest paid lawyer in America? One of Jerry’s former lawyers, the “Babe Ruth of patent trolls” whom also happens to be one of the major supporters of the Aspen Institute.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_D._Hosier
The topic I was responding to was that currencies were a poor use case for blockchains, so yes i was talking about the distributed trust aspects. I'm not an economist so I can't speak to what token economics Bitcoin may have gotten wrong.

I do know that there is at least some usage of it as a currency because I work on a p2p marketplace and talk to people that buy and sell things almost every day.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5434972/
is an _excellent_ documentary about just this topic, science and all...and it's funny.
> He left GE with an annual pension of $85,000 and company stock valued at more than $280,000.

> Retirement looked pretty good until GE shares collapsed. His shares are now worth about $110,000, prompting a late-life job hunt.

I don't understand; it says he has an $85,000 pension. Isn't that more than enough to retire on? His stocks collapsed to about half their worth (roughly $110,000). This isn't exactly a crazy one off scenario; if you are invested in a single company and do not diversify, it's hard to place the blame on "others" and "complain" about having to find another job after keeping an almost six figure pension at the same time.

Is there a chance that GE could forfeit on their pension payout requirements if they lose more capital? Not sure how that works so forgive my ignorance.
>This is the only time I've out-visioned Elon ... I want to meet other people in other solar systems.

You're not out-visioning Elon; it's a petty attempt at one-upmanship. It just doesn't seem genuine. I want to meet people in other Superclusters. Now she's been out-visioned!
Thank you - this is a very nice case study.
if you think your company will outperform in the short term you could set up a stop loss limit to allow only a certain percentage of loss in your company stock that way you are only exposed to upside
Microsoft devs hid a secret puzzle in Windows backgrounds they knew would leak
This seems another vague anticapitalism story portraying the VCS as bad, whereas they bought a stake in the company and tried to turn it around. They also lost.

90% of new businesses fail - most often from not finding or matching/addressing the market. The market also changes so anyone who doesn't adapt end on the Darwinian company list.
Cloud is not required with Google. What are you talking about?
Chinese Tech Companies’ Dirty Secret [video]
Ba-dum, tish
100% of the blame lies with Jack Welch and his short-term thinking, reckless cuts that hollowed out the company, well now those bills are due.

Did you know his own retirement package included lifetime usage of the corporate jets?
I am partial to well written resumes. Most resumes I see are just a long list of things they have done. And then there are a few that are interesting to read and give you a sense of the person.

Since the guy you are talking to is applying for remote positions this would be even more important to me. For remote work you need people who are reliable and don't need constant handholding.
Build an Ethereum Oracle with Node.js
Just because you don't enjoy those activities doesn't mean that they aren't respectable hobbies. You don't want to be seen as that person who has nothing to talk about but how other peoples' hobbies aren't as interesting as your own.
Disrupt (with Speed) Aurora Blows the Doors Off MySQL 5.6
Seems you're right. I didn't pay a lot of attention to it tbh ;)
There are tons of lenders who will give you a mortgage with < 10%. They're much more concerned with income than a down payment because you're paying PMI.
Thanks for sharing and this:

>I looked at your CV, and my guess is that for you, the hardest part will be to focus on one thing for the next 4 years.

Is an astute observation although I've found more than enough things in my lab to keep my interest so far^^"

Could you please link or mail me some of your publications? I'd greatly appreciate it
making the assumption the pension sticks around through the next recession..

look at those who had a GM pension...
Car-theft kit for sale on Amazon
I blame Corporations getting rid of Retirement Plans for the sake of profit.

My father's side grandfather had 2 retirement plans, 1) Navy Seals (12 years) 2) NYC Handy man (25 years)

My mom's side grandfather 1) Custodian in NYC 20 years + 2) Jazz Musician Union 10+ years.

They both were able to live a decent life after retirement and didn't work a single day afterwards. This will not happen for me. I also have a privatized plan for 15 years but my son had cancer for 5 years (Drained my retirement early) and we had 5 kids and chose to have my wife stay at home for about 7 years. Not very easy to save, heck I have no debit outside of mortgage and some student loans still. Zero credit card debit and no car payment. I know I am ahead of the curve but what about everyone else up to their necks in debit?

The system is broken and most people don't save enough and a few can't. https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-03/the-401-k...
In many parts of the world SMS is still very popular (most popular?) and upgrading that experience seems a net win. I wish there was a push for end to end encryption but I doubt the carriers would have agreed to that given that in many countries they are legally obligated to hand over data when a court deems it necessary.
can you recommend a good UI book?
In my experience, a lot of interviewers will ask questions along the lines of "What's the trickiest problem you've had to deal with?" I feel like those kinds of questions are excellent for bringing up this sort of thing if the candidate is so inclined. If they go in a different but still not disappointing direction (e.g. coming up with a process for stable development an environment where requirements are constantly changing), you might re-ask with the focus more on problems encountered while coding.
I developed this skill because of a combination of social anxiety and wanting to keep my first job.
Thank you, great video!

This 30 minute movie from 1960 explaining mechanical typesetting is absolutely fascinating if you're curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzilaRwoMus
Rust at Chucklefish [pdf]
This is pretty cool. I'm looking forward to the day that not only can we reconstruct what was removed, but reconstruct what's not in the photo (image sensor), but could be inferred. Can we reconstruct the 3D scene and fill in the parts the camera can't see? For example, if it's a front view of a person, make a 3d model of a person and texture the backside clothing.

It seems like if we put together all the advancements these deep inference engines are producing, we may be able to reconstruct a reality, and allow people to walk around in it using VR glasses, or less advanced 3D shooter style controls.

It could be like a live earth view, any photo with a timestamp can contribute to this view and we'd create a sweet 4D model of earth across time and space.
I read Cyberiad in English - it did't seem like a translation; it just seemed like the product of an eccentric author, which I imagine is right on the money.