skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I think you might be confusing accounting with bookkeeping. Bookkeepers are the people who determine what column to put data in and crunch numbers. Accountants make financial decisions. Accountants probably feel the same way about developers: we deal with just logical rules and mathematical theorems.

The thing is that you don't just put anyone into college and expect a productive member of society to come out. It takes so much more than that.
And will continue to be harder and harder as long as utter morons do the screening and hiring.

I made a local-startup an offer that no sane company could afford to refuse. I was a core developer for their main behemoth of a competitor and my non-competes have just expired. They could easily save millions of dollars in marketing, research and development by JUST running decisions by me and having me nod in approval if it sounds good. (I am not exaggerating; it's one of those businesses that require 10k in daily AdWords sacrifices to grok; lead generation)

Instead, they came back to me with the same two questions: do you know Django and do you know Agile development.

You incompetent idiots.

Fast forward to today; it took me 4 hours this morning to go from cold-call to interview at a research-oriented industrial planning company of <10 people minting millions of dollars per year. Within 20 minutes, the guy and I were talking about the history of Prolog, logics and finite-domain constraint solving.
I'm not sure.

Here is the rule: "Do no harm."

Why should we follow it?

A rule-consequentialist would say, "Because if everyone followed that rule all the time it would lead to better consequences, on average, than if people tried to calculate the consequences of each individual action and act to maximize them."

Why would that lead to better consequences?

A rule-consequentialist could say, "Because people are quite bad at calculating consequences, especially in the tumultuous time before making a critical ethical decision. While we have had the time to think and properly calculate the hypothetical consequences of everyone following the rule."

I think that's exactly the argument Eliezer is making.
Perhaps because the MPEG-LA does not offer indemnity, either. See the Alcatel-Lucent lawsuit against Microsoft, or the fact that WMV became more visibly patent-encumbered when Microsoft submitted it to SMPTE for certification as VC-1, to see how this sort of problem affects the "other guys," too.
That's changed.
It used to be (as of summer 2008), much easier to delete a profile from myspace.
This is a problem that has been recurring for a long time in many technical/scientific professions, and there's really no-one "official" telling the truth. When I went to college in the 90s were were told - by even the IMechE, the body meant to represent engineers - that there was a desperate shortage. Truth is if it were desperate, that would be reflected in salaries, and despite the UK's heritage engineering is not a well paid nor prestigious profession, and even our own professional body was in the pocket of employers.

And we've got it easy compared to physicists and chemists.
When I was in college (this was in Australia) I honestly felt like I was one of the few who genuinely had a passion for programming. I met one or two other guys during those years who had a similar passion, but by in large it was the exception rather than the norm.
This is very annoying their player is already terrible.
Marc Andreessen's Blogroll
It will still work with a flash container i've been told.
The problem there will be that the competent engineers - if they have any - will have been burned by too many dud candidates wasting their time, and have gotten HR to pre-screen the CVs...
Is the iPhone bad for the American economy? - The Curious Capitalist.com
"JumpForward interviews three to five engineers a week as it tries to fill four to six technology jobs, but most candidates don't have current skills or they lack the passion to stay on the cutting edge"

In other words, there's no shortage of software engineers, there's a shortage of perfect candidates. If these companies were actually willing to train people, they'd have a lot fewer problems.

The trend seems to be that software development, like a lot of other industries, is becoming increasingly winner-take-all, with huge demand for the very best of the best, and a lot less for anyone else.
If you watched the CCC presentation on the PS3, you know these people are more interested in running their own software than breaking the console to play pirated games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbUVgxw1yWc (30 seconds)
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make with the 4-hour test anecdote. But I think most people here would agree a warm body has more potential for harm than a cold seat when it comes to software developers. However you want to ensure you don't get a problem employee, whether it's with 4-hour tests or whatever, it is definitely a good practice regardless of how badly you need to hire someone.

Also, I completely believe that it's too hard to find good developers. I'm not sure if I've just been unfortunate due to industry or geography, but I know very few people I can recommend with confidence. And I have seen all kinds of mediocrity trying to pass as software developers. The places I have seen are the stuff TheDailyWTF is made of.
You can already do simple applications on top of Python / Perl.
See http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/
Ruby 1.8 displays non-ascii characters in the shell using octal escape sequences. \302\277 is ¿, \303\263 is ó and so forth. It should be fine to work with (eg, saving to a database or displaying in a template) as long as you know the encoding. I just glanced at the code, but it looks like it just takes whatever the Google Translate API gives it, which I'm guessing is UTF-8.
It sounds like they are grasping for straws with that claim. I think that it's likely to get thrown out. If it doesn't get immediately tossed out, or at least defeated in court, then it would be time to worry.
Who offers indemnification against unexpected patent threats in their codec licenses? Expecting Google to indemnify WebM users or MPEG-LA to indemnify H264 users are equally ridiculous. It's uncountable downside with very little upside.
Google names former Microsoft India MD as new India chief
He was just setting an example for people
DVD Data recovery for Mac, Linux, Windows - Stellar Phoenix
Software Engineers hard to find
Is Ruby making inroads in the corporate market?
> That is probably why big business can't fulfill their desire for a large pool of cheap but good developers.

It is interesting, this has been going on for a while. Initially many companies went and got a lot of cheap and mediocre developers (mostly through outsourcing) and replaced a couple good ones with dozens of average ones for the same price. They saw it as a deal. Eventually they are realizing that programming is not like picking potatoes -- "Just hire more for the same price, they all sit and type all day anyway, so just get more for cheaper and we'll get ahead faster". Well it doesn't work like that.

Once mediocrity starts to dominate, even the few good ones who are still hanging around, will leave as their work turns to teaching others and babysitting them full time.

In general it is not possible to replace a highly skilled programmer with an X number of less skilled ones. Many hit that realization and we start seeing lots of these types of articles even as unemployment is above 10%
NoSQL databases can have their own Structured Query Languages. What they lack are relational capabilities, so something like NoJoi might be better. :-)
I am pretty sure they once said the same thing about people not working in suits. If your company can't make it work, you shouldn't be surprised if you have to look for a new job because your competitors can get people you aren't able to hire.
http://code.google.com/p/gtranslate-api-php/

$gt = new Gtranslate;
echo "Translating [Ciao mondo] Italian to English => ".$gt->it_to_en("Ciao mondo");
This reminds me of a conversation (from before my consultant days), when a company burning a multiple of that daily was unable to locate budget for either SEO or A/B testing. The mind boggles sometimes.
Our solar system in CSS3
How many people move to take a bullet because it is the economically rational thing to do? Even body guards don't generally elect to take a bullet unless they really like the person they are protecting.
Ah, yes. Much better:

ruby-1.9.2-p0 > "Where is the bathroom?".to_spanish
=> "¿Dónde está el baño?"

Thanks
One accidental command and every entry is lost, not just one entry or the most recent. Adding a "git commit journal.txt; git push offsite master" or something similar to your journal script will alleviate that risk.

Edit: you also don't have file timestamps to show when an entry was actually written, in case that matters to you.
That may be, but selectively enforced laws are evil by their very nature.
Lift is hands-down the best web framework available today...

Can someone a little less involved please comment on the validity of this and the claims that follow it? Is it something I should be checking out?
The job of a good HR department is to at least be able to screen the really dumb ones and pass the rest up the technical chain for evaluation.

The good engineers might be burned out but if they know that not spending time interviewing and reviewing resumes will result in having to deal with a dud that gets hired, having to babysit them, teach them the basics of programming and watch them slowly destroy the code base, they would be quite happy to assist with evaluations.
Reap the Rewards of Letting Your Employees Run Free
Isn't it the cost of having direct access to the memory? Can you name another language where you can control so many aspects of the system, and still remain "clean"?
Two possibilities.

First, Google could go software only for older hardware. It will suck for them. But by the time YouTube phases out h264 there will be few of these and the latest hardware will accelerate both WebM and h264.

Second, there could be a way to utilize the h264 hardware decoder to work with WebM through a wrapper. The ffmpeg decoder for WebM is basically a wrapper around the existing ffmpeg h264 decoder already. I've never worked with decoders myself, but this at least seems plausible.

Regardless, I think bundling WebM software decoding along side h264 decoding in the YouTube iOS app is a no-brainer even if YouTube doesn't take advantage of it right away.
One of the best examples of Apple draconian measures benefiting us users.
Who's Afraid of the Verizon iPhone?
It's true, it is really hard to find software engineers nowadays.. Especially those who have real skills and passion for the job.. There are a lot of jobs available for them, but you just can't find one huh?:-)
Many students that i have talked to are mislead, they think that web development and programming are just for extremely brilliant people. I think not, one doesn't need to be a genius to make a website, is it not? Who's with me?
You just have to really like what you do and always think that if others can do it, there's always a possibility that you can, too, and maybe even better...

http://philcoders.tumblr.com/post/1147683365/new-staff-membe...
Yes, I've done it. It's pretty easy to do on your own. The only tricky part is understanding 'classes' and picking the correct ones.

Learn the difference between (TM) and (R) --The former is you claiming use of a trademark and the latter is having a formally registered trademark.

Anyone can claim use of a mark (TM), but getting a real registered trademark (R) requires jumping through all of the correct hoops (forms/fees), and someone at USPTO validating your claims.

There's often some confusing language about 'use' of your mark in commerce. If a mark is not used/maintained, it is abandoned. Similarly, you ought to be using the mark to get it registered.

Many companies make very questionable (nearly fraudulent) trademark claims with (TM) designations that would obviously NEVER be approved by the USPTO. I classic example is Intel claiming a trademark (TM) on the word "Core" when it has been in common use in the specific area of commerce (class) for a long time before Intel started asserting the bogus claim.

If you do some digging and studying, you'll find getting a registered trademark is really fairly simple.
You are right. I used the term incorrectly, I meant it as a blanket term for all investment fraud.
Especially with the super strong AUD right now.
A Localization Horror Story: It Could Happen To You
No Run III for the Tevatron
It's typical for the stock of high-growth companies to be harder hit in a recession (a higher beta).

This doesn't explain the time of onset of the trough, but contributes to its depth and breadth. They are likely several factors.
"The other thing that primates have that is so bizarre and interesting is that they are the only animal we know that practice deception and games of manipulation among each other. There is no other animal on the planet that we can say that about."

Some male cuttlefish will pretend to be female in order to sneak past the alpha male and mate with the female he is guarding. I am sure there are many, many other examples of non-primates using deception/manipulation.
It may seem like renting to you, but unfortunately those licensing terms you agree to when you open a package of new hardware or install a piece of software, are legal.
It is a shame, but if you don't agree to it, don't buy and use the product.
Sony, in this case, has strong reasons for wanting to protect their console. Namely because of the contracts they hold with certain chip makers, and because they are expecting profits from playstation games to offset production costs of the console, of which there are none if people are buying loads of them to run their clusters.
At most companies the hiring process is severely broken. They are being too careful and are so scared to train the right person.
1.) People pay public relations firms a lot for press coverage. And they pay Google ~ $30 billion a year for AdWords ads. If SEO is way cheaper (and it typically is) then what makes it overpriced (when similar traffic streams indicate that rates should be, if anything, higher)?

2.) Surely you were not knee deep in link building if you felt overpaid. ;)
Isn't TrueCrypt open-source?
All over the map (sorry, bad pun). It depends on where you live, who you work for, what technologies you work in, and (more than any of the above) your skill in marketing yourself to the right clients.

I have personal knowledge of folks who do software development at a range of price points between $25 and $200.
It's really devastating to see that. My heart goes to QLD; much love from NSW.
No, he comes off as biased because whenever Apple flip-flops in an opinion Gruber is always standing by to defend them, even when the switch is, by all standards, incoherent.

Four years ago Apple was all about claiming UI superiority through consistency. Now it's "old". If Apple had had tighter supervision on iOS UIs I'm sure Gruber would have never said what he did. This is but one example among many.
I prefer this 'interview':

http://www.oceanwave.com/technical-resources/humor/c++-hoax....

:D

(In the proper article) The first improvement he mentions, being able to end the template with >> instead of > > is of course because of potential clashes with the >> operator. This reminds me how much I despise C++ templates.

I used to read Dr Dobb's journal(?) in the late 90s and I remember this long running discussion about creating a generic pointer with templates. Every issue someone would point out the subtle faults with the previous attempt and then make a brilliant improvement... repeat ad nauseam. I don't know if they ever got one that actually worked with no bugs.

I also remember the enormous screaming matches over adding generics to Java. Fundamentally the problem was that there wasn't any way to vote no. That showed that the JCP was broken long before Apache tossed their toys out of the cot.
I was an iPhone user and switched to Android three months ago without a single complaint. In contrast to what others have said, I say, Switch.

Of course, your mileage may vary depending on which device you choose, but I've had no problems moving from iOS to Android on a HTC Desire. Some thoughts from a past user of a 3G and 3GS, all opinions are massively subjective:

Pro's

- Battery life is far from dismal. Good, in fact. Better than the iPhone 3G and 3GS.

- The default keyboard was very poor: inaccurate and horrible to use, even with some tactile feedback turned on. I switched to Swype a few weeks back and now can't imagine using anything else. Typing on my gf's iPhone is a horrible experience in comparison.

- The HTC customisations are surprisingly nice (I removed them for two weeks to test the alternatives and went back).

- Web browsing is not as fast, but provides a better experience.

- No iTunes. I can't stand the application, and being able to manage my music using a simple folder structure was a breath of fresh air.

Cons

- The apps are not as polished as those available for the iPhone and not as numerous. Your favourite and most-used apps may not be available.

- Contact management can be a bit of a pain (more in a moment).

How should you prepare for the switch?

- If you don't already, get yourself a Google account. It will make life so much easier.

- Get yourself over to http://www.google.com/contacts and correct mistakes, merge contacts that it, and remove any unnecessary entries. If you don't, it'll cause havoc when/if you import your Google contacts into your phone.

Conclusion

- I wish I had moved to Android (or, more specifically, Android on a HTC Desire) sooner.

- I've had no regrets about moving.

- My girlfriend (a bigger nerd than me) is convinced: when her iPhone contract ends she's already said she'll be switching.
More on that Void Between Super Angels & VCs
The beancounter's acid test is profitability. If public transport were spun off into private hands (perhaps the buses are too big for some routes). Then, allow competition. If then they still made no money, perhaps it's better for people to just own more cars.
Totally untrue? So one country in Europe works therefore all the other countries do as well?

I would welcome more countries adding a plan like the one you described. But so far that's the only one I've seen.

By comparison the Verizon plan supports over 200 countries. You just go (after enabling Global Roaming, of course) and your phone recognizes the new towers automatically. You don't have to buy a new SIM card, hope this country's carrier has some kind of non-outrageous data plan, and so on.

I think SIM switching is works best for people who move to one place for reasonably long periods of time and know a decent number of local people they want to call/text. For example I know a few people who are from Taiwan who go back for a few months at a time to visit family. Getting a local SIM for those few months is really nice. But getting a SIM for France for a week then another SIM for Spain for three days and another SIM for Italy for a week. That's just a pain in the ass.
Thanks for highlighting. I will be switching to Bing on my iPhone.
Controlling Robots with Smartphones and Tablets
As far as I know the only pieces of GPLed software in AOSP are the Linux kernel and the userland half of the bluetooth stack. Neither have any copyright assigned to the FSF or any relation to GNU. All the Google-authored userland code is under the Apache license.
Excuse me, I misspoke (mis-wrote?) ... I meant to write that I could -- theoretically -- use the iPhone internationally. In fact precisely because of the exorbitant costs, I have rarely ever done so, and any event, never for anything other than text messaging.

I just meant that at least, being a GSM phone, the capability is available. I didn't even realize Verizon had global phones -- how does that work? Are they dual band CDMA / GSM? -- so thank you for sharing this with me. Time to rescind that entire last clause of what I wrote it looks like. :)

Would edit that previous post but I guess after a certain time edits are not possible(?).
> Once again, they were not kids movies.

Thats fine. I just wish they'd made that clear in the trailers.
Have they really had to scale up at any point in the last 3-4 years?
How to Use Node.js to Use Kinect to Control Flash
It's funny how the mind plays tricks on us. I had thought that Steve Jobs had made much more off the sale than that - when I looked at their numbers 7.4 billion return on 5 million invested over 20 years? Pffft. Then I ran the numbers...

... it translates to a 44% compounding annual increase over 20 years ...

Oh that I should do so well for anyone that would invest in me!!
It's missing from Windows Mobile 7.
This is a joke, right?

I can't believe you're seriously comparing online platforms owned and operated by their creators to a hardware platform that's neither.
Shouldn't you be shorting it? If they can't keep him from doing something that stupid, then they haven't coached him right. (Even if they'll rake in some money now, defending him.)
please don't ask us about all that proprietary stuff we still do

Like what?
Well, Mozilla's already gone down the road of hypocrisy ("H264 bad! Plugins insecure! Keep shipping Flash!")

Sigh! When did the Mozilla ever claim that they do not ship H.264 because it's insecure? They stated, as far as I recall, that they do not wish to support a patent crippled technology in their browser. A decision a lot of the more technically inclined users, who remember the GIF fiasko fully support.

In addition: The Mozilla project does not ship Flash. You have to download it from Adobe's website and install it yourself.

I'm calling bullshit, badly disguised as a strawman.
Brown and Cornell are Second Tier
engadget article says it's just a restraining order? unless things have changed since they published this post:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/11/sony-sues-geohot-fail0ver...
Which would be legally established in the absence of a) proof of intent at the time of the threat and b) proof of the threat itself (way to go, Internet). Just saying..
Best Wedding Dresses, Cheap Wedding Dresses, Wedding Gowns Blog
How-To: Doing a CES Booth for the first time
Interesting. From the looks of a little searching, it was unusually for them.
Mutual fund award winners employ different investing strategies.
The effect is a larger percentage of Android users will switch to iPhone compared with the other round. Android OS should start to innovate and be different, rather than look like a shanzhai version of iOS. But I have no faith in Google phone UI design, they should have bought webOS and be done with.
Making an Interactive Photo Booth
But that raises the false positive rate of unqualified applicants that are only in it for the money. Given that such a programmer may have net negative productivity, underpaying qualified developers migth even be beneficial for the employers, as they can be sure that the remaining pool of applicants will only contain persons with a qualification level commensurate with the offered wages (which can easily be filtered out) and people passionate about programming. They may loose some of the best that way, but they loose all of the duds, too. </cynic>
Single page link: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/01/10/110...
There is a lot of misunderstanding around this so-called "theorem". ONE monkey and FINITE time is all you need to produce the full works of Shakespeare. Infinity is unnecessary.
To everybody at HN: excuse me for having missed the "approach to comments" section and for having ignorantly posted a comment to my link. I'm new to posting on HN and will make a point to follow the guidelines.