skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Kinect suffers from the same problem that all motion controls do: the technology isn't there to make it really precise and low latency, and that's a big problem for people who have been playing games for a long time and who have come to expect that precision, even for casual games.

It doesn't matter if the games are casual or not - the games aren't fun to me if I feel like I have to devote even a modicum of thought to compensating for the control scheme, or if I feel like there's even a little bit of "luck" involved. It's like how people complain that Mario Party isn't fun because you don't really feel like your skill has much of a bearing on what's going on - I doubt that most people care about being masters of Mario Party, but with even a little bit of luck, it invalidates the experience. It's not about being competitive, it's about the satisfaction of improving and applying a skill. Sure, if I'm drunk and just waving my arms around and my avatar is doing the same, of course it's fun, but without that precision, it's not a "game," it's a "toy." Toys are fine, but I prefer games.

It's crazy to think that we've got these awesome ideas for motion controls and some fairly impressive implementations that were unimaginable even a few years ago, but no way to make them even as close as precise as the control pads, buttons and joysticks that we've had for decades simply by virtue of the fact that they rely on simple digital technology.

EDIT/ADD: What I'm excited for is when the year-long honeymoon period is over and developers start moving beyond the obvious applications. I want to see stuff like two player games where one player has a controller and the other is using their arms to tilt the playfield or control something else, or a game where you have to stand in front of the camera with a controller in your left and and use your body and the stick at the same time.
A pawn shop / pawn store / pawn broker is a place where people can 'sell' items to themselves, via a broker.

If I needed money, but didn't have any, I could sell a possession of mine to a pawn shop, who would agree not to sell it as long as I either paid them back within a certain time or made monthly payments to keep it.

It's basically like saying "Hey, loan me $500! You can hang on to my guitar until I pay you back."

If you miss a payment, or fail to pay them back on the agreed upon terms, they'll sell the item you left. From long-ago personal experience, they do this sometimes anyway.

There are a lot of negative stereotypes for pawn brokers. They are often used as fences for illegal goods -- Using the above scenario, if the guitar is stolen, then you might pawn it and just run off with the money.
Yes, the rendering is much worse than in Preview. If you go to:

Preferences -> Under the Hood -> Content Settings... -> Plug-ins -> Disable individual plug-ins...

you can turn it off and have PDFs revert to downloading for viewing in Preview.
Pretty similar here, only 5 results and I used to work with one of them.
I'm probably going to buy this, but would anyone be able to explain the state of programming Lisp on Mac OS X?
I think that the best system is probably a non-partisan primary followed by a runoff election between the top 2 or 3.

I feel like this would help make more center of the aisle candidates more successful in the primaries. Part of the problem with elections now is that people voting in primaries tend to be near the idealogical extremes resulting in someone like Christine O'Donnell (A Tea-Partyer) winning the primary in a state where she doesn't stand a change in the general election.

Additionally in states where the population is more generally liberal or conservative than there will be two candidates that more accurately reflect the general populations views instead of one that nobody will ever vote for, making the general elections more competitive.
If I understood him correctly he said that he didn't want to try to do that.
there is a multiple sign in option with gmail... go to google.com/accounts once u r logged in... u can access multiple accs pretty easily... now i say its easy if its 2-3, 7 is gonna be a good try!
Why do you think current campaign finance laws reinforce the existing parties? Incumbency typically means more of a fundraising base and cozy relationships with lobbyists, but I don't see how rejiggering campaign finance changes that. Rich candidates can already self-fund, and eliminating limits would just strengthen the incumbents (why bribe a potential congressman when you can bribe a sitting congressman).

The highly gerrymandered districts in most states (70% are safe for one party or the other) seem to be a bigger problem to me.
i think the problem that may arise, is that the big players have the resources to roll their own solutions + their own solution would mean they can integrate the data that is specific to their app and the smaller players will have a problem paying(provided the platforms would have to pay for each datapoint)
I've always found that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission in a large bureaucratic technically simplified corporation, otherwise I'd get nothing done. Ask, and they say "no".
Jury finds Minn. woman owes $1.5 million for sharing 24 songs
"Please take this down and write your own book."
As with much security "win" is relative. If Microsoft can keep the hackers at bay until their next console release (or, perhaps the subsequent release) they will have essentially "won".
Slightly redundant to use a proxy to check for a speed increase from mod_pagespeed, is it not?

The added latency from the proxy is likely to counter the benefits of mod_pagespeed...
http://jacquesmattheij.com/The+Unofficial+HN+FAQ#pwlost
Oh, you're right, no idea how that snuck in, I could've sworn I just copied and pasted.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1824445
Guns are a good illustration of this. Where I grew up, kids have been known to get guns for Christmas so they can go deer hunting. It's probably not the safest thing but it's not really a problem. Here in NYC though it's completely different. A stray bullet has way too many opportunities to hit something important. Not to mention, all minor conflicts from people living so close together.
Sort of, I'm not going to try to write perfect code, but I will make myself a better programmer by doing this.

Further, the aim is to teach people how and why to write bulletproof code, not to demonstrate bulletproof CString tutorials.
It sounds like something The Bugle would make up, with their focus on geopolitical humor.

Edit: Or a joke on Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me.
It's built by Reevoo and powered by their reviews - here's what they say about the source of them:
http://www.reevoo.com/pages/review_collection
I am sure JK Rowling would still make a lot of money from American if the US had not signed a copyright reciprocity treaty with UK in the late 19th century.

I imagine that Rowling would sell her manuscript to US publishers in an auction house before putting her work on sale globally.

Who knows? She probably make a few million dollars on the low side and much more if the US publishers are real crazy about it.

Heck, this lead to a premises of my next novel(for the moment, I am writing a novel on a bunch of subversive robots). An American publisher/pirate decides to get into the mechanical computer business. He purchased an invention from a mother of an inventor and proceed to violate the inventor's patent by selling it to the average UK consumer, and then the world, ushering in the computer revolution.
Update: Doesn't work, anymore. Sad.
1) In the first round of the election, with 18,000 candidates and 18,000 voters, the impact of each vote individually is negligible. In scenarios where an individual vote is of negligible value, votes generally do not vote out of crass self interest, but vote based on how the vote makes them feel out themselves - people vote out of sense of duty, justice, or social solidarity. Thus I would not expect the elector-voters to vote out of crass strategic self interest because it wouldn't really help them, and it would make the person feel rotten about themselves.

In the later rounds, though, it might be a problem. One idea I thought of is that "honey pot" applications of known awful candidates get planted in the mix, and if you give a top grade to one of these awful applicants, you're vote is disqualified.

But overall you may be right - the variation in which people outside the election are allowed to vote would probably be better.

2) Here's a fundamental question - should voting and elections be viewed as a means to an end? Or an end in itself? If you view voting as an end in itself, that's essentially a religious claim, and there's no grounds for debate. But if you view voting as a means to an end, I have no problem excluding people who aren't willing to put in the time to learn about the candidates. I would much rather have people not vote at all then vote based on slogans and sound bites.

3) The financial requirement ( the median income or about $40k in net worth) is not very steep. By definition, an average person who saves 10% of their income a year will be able to meet the requirement within ten years. I want my Representatives to be competent, experienced, wise, long-term-thinking individuals. If a person cannot meet that requirement, it means that they are either a) young b) incapable or unwilling of holding down an average job c) a live-for-the-moment spender. I have no problem excluding such people from office.

Polarization happens not because of the two candidates, but because of party spirit. Party spirit is something that happens over time, its the result of agitators who cultivate a voting block by spreading and ideology, convincing people to pledge themselves in solidarity, etc.

You can have just as many problems with multiple parties. For instance, the Weimar Republic had six major parties, yet it is among the worst examples of the dangers of party politics in history. The problem with our two party system is not bi-polarization, or a lack of choice. The problem is as Noah Webster said - its party spirit. And the problem of party spirit will be bad with two, three or six parties.
Yes, gerrymandered districts are a huge problem, but the lack of ability for a person to act as a patron / initial investor for a new political party means that the new rich (any era) aren't able to topple existing parties. That initial pot of money could spur interest in "normal" people allowing them to believe change is possible and actually create it.

The only constitutional amendment I would love at this point would be something along the lines of all districts must start at the northwest corner and be as close to boxes as community and terrain allow.
I want to learn how to do something internet related with C.
Great concept, but are they getting the best price on the best one? Buying the best <X> is good, buying it at the best possible price is better.
When you can afford it, or when you're having a hard time to hire people without it.
Probably more useful as a "Does mod_pagespeed break my site?" test.
Apple iOS 4.2 to Support MIDI
email pg@ycombinator.com

Just include what you said here and the username in question. He should be able to take care of you.
I'm a fan of interchange-plus pricing for credit card processing, and your suggested approach of just adding it as a fee makes fine sense to me: $100 plus credit card fees with no markup. It's honest and transparent. If for some reason that is too complicated for your market, $100 plus 5% reads as simple even if it ends up costing them a bit more.
Agreed, should probably be advertised as such.
I see what you did there: you oriented toward an outcome of "value" and then substituted that with "earnings".

I take umbrage with your assumption that the goal of education is expressed in salary.
1. Communicate your ideas with people who are people's people. Those people you know who got great networks who can pass off word about your application.
2. Cold calling prospective clients and offering your software free trial for a couple of months.
3. Get as much feedback on the usability of your application, and implement concepts which you know would make your project better.
4. Write a blog and tell the concept of your application.

Since you identified already that your app would be targeting people on a more personal basis, I think you have to be a bit more proactive in promoting what your project can do for the bottom line of your customers/consumers.

HTH.
This is all because they want o put Kinect into Windows and mobile as a competitive advantage agains other desktop and phone platforms. Xbox is to make consumers familiar with it
This is pretty awesome! Congrats to Suhail and Tim!
As if everybody has the same preferences...

I don't want to be an average guy. ;-)
Don't forget that the courts can also amend the constitution, and it only requires a simple majority!
Really? Your response is "everything is bullshit"?
What if chasing success makes me happy?

I'm not sure who this advice is targeted at. It's certainly not for ambitious people who want to build things people use.

"Do not market" and "do not try hard" is a surefire way to never being successful at anything.

This is universally bad advice, and I wonder about anyone who takes it seriously. Do you think Apple is successful because they don't worry about competition or marketing?
Comparing NoSQL Availability Models
>And he didn't even use it to try and get into Canada

But he did. He would have needed a visa to get on the flight to Canada (carriers are responsible for ensuring that border protections are enforced), and this was his circumvention.
I kept confusing it with justbythis.com which gives a blank page. Awesome site!! Probably going to buy the compact digital you recommended - but at Costco, not amazon. You might consider rounding up sponsors without losing your organic/objective data to solve the Costco-guy problem.
Would be nice if "control-Z" performs undo.
It is. It was just a poor choice of a title for HN. That text isn't the page's title.
I would never purchase something like a TV or a laptop without thoroughly investigating it first. Could maybe be useful if you're looking to get a gift and are crunched for time. There should be a way to access the reviews though.
Linus Torvalds' Greatest Invention
whoa. was totally joking! no need to downvote.
I think just scanning the headers is precisely the kind of "reading" he's talking about. Don't take the headers at face value; think about their intended purpose, and what went through the author's mind when formulating them.
I appreciate this app greatly, since I was particularly frustrated that chalk didn't work on the pc. I also think it is a fantastic reminder of how important presentation is. The two apps have two very different audiences, and their appearances have a tremendous impact on how they are received. I am not denigrating marker at all, especially because many of my experiments are just to see if something is possible, as soon as I succeed at a proof of concept, I have reached satisfaction.

Lacking any real design ability myself, I am always frustrated at how big a difference it can make in how your app is communicated both verbally and visually.
Atlantic Molly: Evolution by Religious Selection
RTFM or urlslapping?
In the past year I've picked up a term "urlslapping", a gentler version of the classic RTFM. This is when you answer a question with the easily accessible URL for the answer, commonly when sending instant messages.

Example from today: "Is there any documentation for the memcache protocol?"

Answer: "https://github.com/memcached/memcached/blob/master/doc/protocol.txt".

It is sort of a way of saying "if you had just spent a minute looking you could have found it"

I'm not creative enough to have coined a new term, yet when I described this word to someone today they googled it, and swore that I had invented it, and that therefore I was just making shit up when I referred to this as urlslapping.

So am I really the only person to have ever used this term? Do the rest of you have some name for this practice?
but with kickstarted we all have to give somebody the money BEFORE they figure it out.

With a bounty you don't hand it over until it works
I'm not saying you shouldn't write the book because it might not be perfect. I just disagree with your concept for the book. I think readers must see good code even if they don't understand immediately why it is good code. C programs that aren't really good tend to be really bad because they crash or worse.

Not being perfect is not the same as going in the wrong direction.
MTV for Land of Lisp book.
.
Works fine in Chrome 7.0 Beta. Great work!
No I mean pitiless. The C channel I've observed for years is out and out brutal.
If you can't find even 2 or 3 real users through your network of friends and acquaintances, you might be in trouble.

I'm trying to say: you should contact your first users personally. Find them. Ask them if they mind using it. IM them. Call them. Don't just rely on some blog comments.
Does anybody know the answer to this? I too am quite curious.
At some level, you have to love zed. He gives and gives to the world, and the world just craps on him.

Of course, I have a feeling that his personal brand isn't going to be helped by this exchange.
I believe this is an even bigger market than the one Mixpanel was previously tackling. There are innumerable UGC sites online today, and they all want to offer analytics to their customers. For every one of them to build their own comprehensive web analytics system is just silly. Until now there was no product that solved this problem for them.

If Mixpanel's product becomes sufficiently powerful and flexible, it can become the standard for "analytics on someone else's site" just as much as Google Analytics is the standard for "analytics on your own site".
Nvidia is really pushing CUDA and OpenCL these days. If you follow the developer conferences the graphics feels like less of a priority to them.
Hi Mike. I hope not... I'm a real person. I used this site last week to buy a TV (the entry-level one) and loved it. I have started using it when non-technical people ask me which (TV|netbook|etc) to buy because it's pretty, and you know they aren't going to go that far wrong. If they don't like the one they get: http://www.justbuythisone.com/what-is-roomservice - which is better than my friends normally get from me!

I did find out about it because we work with the guys who built it (http://www.reevoo.com) but I thought the HN crew would enjoy it - it feels to me like a hardware version of this classic XKCD: http://xkcd.com/627/
Let's say "open version".
Off the Rails: GOP Opens Reign By Killing Jobs
Federal Reserve imposed a 20% tax on you with QE2 to benefit banks T-shirt
> Angus: Youtube's Flash implementation uses more battery than their HTML5 equivalent on my machine.

Apologies for this, it seems to have evidence in it: http://apiblog.youtube.com/2010/06/flash-and-html5-tag.html

It's hard for me to compare HTML5 to Flash if the Flash version has a truckload of abilities being used that cannot be utilized in HTML5. What's so hard to understand about this?

Does the MacBook fan only come on for Flash? It seems unlikely. Seems like it might engage for CPU-intensive processes that contain audio, video, Internet access (WiFi or 3G isn't cheap on the battery) and a mixture of other features.

I'm not trying to get any one to agree to Flash being better. I just don't see an equal argument. Ever.
#1: You'll learn to write good code, I'm not going to ride the bicycle in front of you though. That said, I won't lie like math teachers do either.

#2: Plan on it, although I won't be teaching "MAEK GTK GUI LUL" either. That's up to the student to do on their own time.

#3: I'm not clever enough to make clever C code. I can write Python that peels paint though.
> There have been postings in the F# forums of devs wanting to use F# because they know it's good, but being very clear that corporate policy is going to restrict them unless certain conditions are met.

Maybe the F# people should rename it "C# Functional", then the devs can write code in it and if the managers say anything, just tell them it's part of C#, and they'll be none the wiser.
url slapping is more friendly, and it shows you care enough to do a google search for someone.
Four Steps To Raising Capital From Angel Investors Written by Adam Hoeksema
Thinking Like an Economist
Book of Odds is serious fun
Downvotes help the S/N ratio, so yes, there is a need.
Oh, and no matter which art you pick, the most important question is, how do you find a teacher who knows what they're doing, if you have no previous experience with the art they're teaching?

Some of the things to look at:

- If they have been teaching for a while, have they taught anyone to the point where that person became a teacher? A lot of people call themselves Sifu's - but technically, a Sifu means 'grandfather', which means it's someone who has taught someone else to be a teacher, preferably more than once.

- How long do their students stay with them? Do they keep progressing, or is there a high turnover rate? Is there a good spread of skill ranges in their classes (indicating that new people are joining, and old students are sticking around to progress), or do all their students seem to max out at a certain phase (if they have been teaching for 10 years, but none of the students in their class have been there longer than 2, that's a bad sign).

- What's their teaching style? Do they explain things in detail, or are they more of the 'do as I do' school? Do they leave you to figure it out on your own? Do they invite questions? Do they give meaningful answers, or fall back on mysticism or tradition as explanations?

- When they give an explanation, try to actually test it and apply it with another student, and if it doesn't work, keep pushing the teacher until it makes sense. A good teacher will tailor the answers to the student's understanding level, you should never leave class confused or unclear about the proper application of what you're learning - if you are unclear about what you're training, you are wasting time, because you can't actually tell whether you're training the right thing, and thus, you can't tell if you're improving.

- Invite a couple of their students for a coffee and pick their brains about their experiences attending that class. Listen for things they say as well as what they don't say.

Good luck.
Physicists get set for little big bangs
Newer protocols use techniques such as MIMO, OFDM, and turbo codes that were invented and refined relatively recently. Thanks to Moore's law newer radios can also use a lot more transistors at the same cost; even if such complexity was possible in the past it would have been too expensive.
Web/DTP is not the same thing at all. DTP is static. The web is dynamic.

You can envision some paragraphs of text in a blog post being re-flown but the web is more than that. What about interactive text? Text in SVG? Multi-language text in the same paragraph? Various stacks of text in varying z-indexes, css-3 animated? Text manipulated with Ajax? In a mobile browser AND in the desktop. Not so easy anymore when you have to cover all of those --and possibly in a W3C or HTML5 sanctioned way, compatible with concepts like "overflow" and all.
The memory model. Explain why given: int a[100] and char* p = a, a and p point to the same place but a + 1 and p + 1 do not. C's memory model is easy in concept, one huge array of memory cells. But in practice it can be a rats nest of pointer arithmetic.
Not sure how accurate this picture is, but I see xserve's and sun servers there: http://www.cultofmac.com/interview-apples-gigantic-new-data-...
I know a line cook that codes C on his free time that would strangle someone who was paid to code that couldn't make a fake object + method calls out of a struct and function pointers.