skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Fair point, and I agree that years of experience is thinly veiled bullshit. It only gets perpetuated because people don't know exactly what they need employees to do. Life would be much easier if job listings said things like "you need to be able to work with Python with access to other engineers for help" or "you need to have encyclopedic knowledge of JVM options, internals and optimizations" instead of crap like "Python - 2-3 years", "Java - 10+ years" which don't really say anything but filter out candidates needlessly.

To your under/overrating problem, I think that's where ?'s have to come into play. Someone who ranks themselves very highly needs to be able to back it up, and it's your responsibility as an interviewer to get appropriate people to do that vetting if you can't. Someone who rates themselves as a 10 with Solaris, for example, needs to be vetted by the best damned sysadmin you can get. Someone who rates themselves as a 3-4 can probably be comfortably vetted by an experienced engineer.

I try to knock myself down roughly a point off where I think I ought to be, and I've found that works well in interviews. For instance, at my second job interview (after only a six month internship), I was asked "on a scale of 1-10, how do you rate yourself as a software engineer?" I replied that I rated myself a 2-3, but I considered 10 to be an engineer with a world-class reputation like Steve McConnell or Steve Yegge. Compared to the people with my experience, I rated myself an 8, but I recognized that I had a long way to go.

Humility works well if you make it sound rational and not just like kow-towing.
Common Lisp is not secretly Scheme with bad syntax
I hope that every tech you ever hire steals your projects and fucks you over.

Why? Because you're a horrible person who wishes harm on people who did nothing at all wrong.

That said, there's no danger, since you're just a pathetic wantrepreneur anyway. You will never have any success.
I don't know what I am supposed to be seeing. I see an input box and a tiny sliver of a gmap. I typed something hit enter, and then nothing again. Should my message show up?
The Problem with Just a Culture of Testing
hi from alpha.beepl.com struggling.
http://alpha.beepl.com
So what you're saying is W3Schools should not be called out for posting misinformation?
How so when no published material uses a double space? Did anyone notice and change their approach because of it? Why should HTML rendering change that?

People double space because that is what they were taught. People single space because that is what they were taught. Few people make the effort to change their ways for something they perceive as trivial and which they don't even notice while reading every single day anyway.
Thought experiment time:

I create a new computer company, and put automatic backing up to my servers In said OS. It's part of the price when you purchase. It is fully encrypted, and strictly there to alleviate these problems -- you can always restore backups from our servers. You know what happens? It isn't heralded as a bright and sunny day where the evil programmers and computer wizard finally did something right. Instead it is the "Worst Thing Ever"(tm) and we are invading the privacy of millions. We must be trying to rape children and torture puppies. We will be branded as evil and Fox News will call for our assassinations.

Just because we make the rules of the software does not mean we make the rules of the society and people who use them.
> No one is forcing you to use other people's best practices

This is only true if you only work on your own code or you call all the technical shots.

Part of working with other people is coming into agreement on how things are done. When you're working on someone else's code, you play by their rules. Nobody forces you to do this, but if you don't you're generally not someone most programmers would want to work with, professionally or privately.

This tends to occur on the job when you get something dumped on you with a time constraint. Your options are to use other people's practices, argue that yours are better (which usually requires a restructure and pushes back the time constraint), or quit. Nobody forces you to go for the first option but the second two are the more difficult paths.
I work in the physics department of a top university. The majority of work people in the department do involves a computer at some stage, from computational physics (likely involving supercomputers and months of compute time) at one end of the spectrum to using Excel as a data store at the other.

We do not have an IT department (we have one or two post-doctoral researchers who keep a couple of servers running for undergraduates).

We do not have IT policies, outside of university-wide intellectual property rules.

There are only personal laptops (in the sense that even though my machine was bought for me, I have full control of it and there is no oversight of how the machine is used).

To the best of my knowledge, this is true of the rest of the university (possibly even worse in other departments).
I was really unimpressed with Apple's Time Machine. Did you know it only goes backwards?! Lame. (Humor aside, it's actually quite well engineered.)
My muscle memory (using 2 spaces) after ~6 months of typing class was so conditioned it made it impossible to help my teacher evaluation some new software that used 1 space.
Hardly a unique problem to using personal devices. Also from the article:

"The design that we implemented was that no data or access to the device was enabled locally, so you can plug in your USB but it would not be registered when you have a Citrix connection."

To take another example of forcing security in a client device. I have push email from the office to my iPhone but it's implemented in such a way that forces using a passcode to access the iPhone.
but we will make it there.
Top 5 Cocktail Bars in Las Vegas | Drink Spirits
This isn't "bring your own computer", but "use your own computer to connect remotely and access the firm's computer". The data's still held inside the firm and the employee's PC isn't doing anything more than running a web browser.

The first few paragraphs miss the point, though: they imply that this kind of remote access is quicker if you're using a brand new laptop than some old Windows XP PC.
That's ridiculous. That means that EVERYONE who has used http://codebutler.com/firesheep can go to prison.
This is a perfect example of how to do a re-write: bit by bit, always keeping the existing system running.

It's fundamentally different from a re-write from scratch, and in effect much closer to refactoring.

There's no black and white choice between re-writing and refactoring.
Yes, obviously I'm a bad designer. I'm surprised that you say it's unclear what the function of the web app is. It's described right at the top. Also, it's funny you say to put the screenshots on the home page. I had it like that for over a month, but everyone said to put them on other pages... :)
Yea, sorry. You happened to try it during the exact moment that I was pushing some minor JS/CSS changes to that server. It should be properly functioning again.

Your messages should appear as you send them. And, when you first open the page you should see any previously sent messages for that area, too. (if there are any)
The first 4 points mentioned seem extremely valid:

* The product was eerily similar

* The developer had been using Proxlet for months

* Proxlet users were actively being poached on Twitter

* AdWords had been taken out against Proxlet

Only "Coordinated down-vote activity against Proxlet on Quora" could be considered unethical and even that isn't THAT bad. It also seems like Proxlet may not have proof that this is being executed by the competitor. Honestly, if I saw a self promotional Proxlet answer on Quora I would down vote it.
Cool algorithm. Does it produce as effective an MIS?
Why should Aperture be due for an update soon? It was only updated a year ago and has had a much longer release cycle than that in the past.
Really? Then how the heck to insurance companies stay afloat? How do home security companies profit?

Sorry, this doesn't pass the absurdity test.
This explains all the advertising on their site that I've been ignoring for the last decade. Mind = blown
I know it's hard to write pithy headlines, but describing open source as "programs written by volunteers" is misleading. A lot of open source software is actually written by people who get paid to do so, or who get paid at least partially because they do (or did) so.
I will look for some nice template designs to start with, and then maybe hire a web designer.
Even in America, MLA says you should place commas and periods outside quotation marks (unless they're part of the quote), whereas Chicago says you should place them outside. I prefer to put them outside quotation marks; there's a reason why this style is called "logical punctuation". MLA usually gets ignored in America, though.
Excuse the noob here: Djangocon.us doesn't have any updated information for 2011 http://djangocon.us/about/

Will the only django con this year be in Europe?
thanks for the feedback. Is it at least clear to you what Refynr does?
How to Use SimpleGeo and Polymaps to display Places on a map
While everyone else was busy bitching about ExpertsExchange, a few people got together, built a much better alternative, and now dominate Google search results.

As far as I can tell, these guys are dismissing that option because it's too much work.
Given the comparatively small number of games for the Mac pricing situations like this have existed for some time (visit your local Mac Store to check out the exciting line of 5+ year old games for sale at full price).

The other way to interpret this is that the $50 price isn't the "full price" of the game so much as it is the same discounted price as elsewhere plus the 30% EA would otherwise lose to Apple.
The double-tap on an iPhone only drops a period and single space, although I imagine it does reinforce a habit of double spacing.
Seems to be an advertisement for Citrix VDI and not legitimate news.
Yes it has changed. Note: it's changed. It's no longer correct to call Pluto a planet, and it's no longer correct to double space after a sentence. And the MLA style guide is not Solid Snake so it probably doesn't elude anything, though it might allude to some things (as long as we're being pedantic).
Could Apple Hit $1000?
Indeed, this really only seems to be an issue for the (admittedly large majority) of computer users who:

- write documents in a WYSIWYG editor

- don't publish those documents on the Web, or another setting where the reader's software (as opposed to the editor) makes decisions about how to display the text

Basically, this sounds like one more reason not to use Word (and similar), or share documents in .doc/.odt/etc. format [1]. It shouldn't even affect HTML email.

[1] Cf. http://goldmark.org/netrants/no-word/attach.html
But in this case of "on the job", isn't your real problem with the employer's best practices and standards? Surely there are lots of people and teams out there writing Java in ways that aren't insanely stupid.

Teams can use even the most pristine language and introduce a lot of dumb ideas and practices into it. I think you're beating up on the language unfairly.
The caption on the image of the iPad is misleading. If I´m not mistaken, virtualisation is not permitted on iPads even if they were capable; the picture seems to be illustrating remote desktop.
I didn't actually intend it to be a stupid joke; I was actually trying to parse the word, and then it turned out I was in the middle of a redditesque joke thread. But, no, I doubt it, especially given the number of downmods.
How much time have you spent around cancer researchers? I can assure you that many of the most brilliant scientists I know are all almost entirely computer-illiterate.

If I had a dollar for every lab computer I've seen whose desktop is full of a few dozen Excel files ("data1.xls", "data2.xls", "new data.xls", "jim new data.xls"...), I would never need to apply for another grant as long as I live.
One advantage of unified computer inventory is faster and cheaper service. Software installation tend to be much easier when hardware is unified as well. BYOC is a worst nightmare of system administrators and technicians.
I'm sorry to hear that you use W3Schools as a reference. http://gul.ly/qt
Good eye :) This app was an homage to one of my favorite windows utilities, space monger.
(1) whatever happened to backups?

(2) the hardware could have failed just as easy as the laptop got stolen who would get the blame then?

(3) I don't buy the premise that there is 'cancer cure data' on this laptop to begin with until after it has been recovered they come out with a cure for cancer within measurable time.

(4) If the data is on the laptop it got on to the laptop somehow, either by doing experiments and recording the data or by copying it from some other medium, data does not exist in a vacuum as it's 'only copy'.

(5) $1,000 reward? really? that must be some crappy cure.

(6) What if the researcher 'lost' their laptop on purpose? That's a stretch, but with a claim this big I'd really like them to get to work on re-creating their miraculous results rather than cry over spilled milk, after all, recreating the results can't be nearly as much work as it was to do it all the first time. Assuming the experiments were real there should be a whole pile of knowledge that only needs to be verified rather than created from scratch so this is just a matter of time.

(7) I had a laptop with the design for a small and safe nuclear fusion reactor, unfortunately it got stolen...

What sickens me most about this whole thing is that the 'cure for cancer' gets trotted out again giving a whole pile of people hope that there is such a thing.
yes ;)
No. W3Schools is nowhere close to being 99% accurate. They refuse to correct blatant, longstanding errors. They refuse to make clear that they are not affiliated with the W3C. They repeatedly encourage very poor practices.

Moreover, the site in question, at its very top, suggests some very clear improvements to W3Schools, the most obvious and effective being to convert it into a wiki that will allow for self-correction and keeping the content up-to-date.

They also detail how there have been numerous attempts at building alternatives, but W3Schools retains too much unwarranted Google juice for those alternatives to be viable.
Just because this person did not bother to find out about backups from her IT does not make it ITs problem.

It was IT's problem before this person ever came along. That's the whole point.

A few quick questions:

1. Are you capable of implementing an IT infrastructure where it is impossible for a user to lose mission critical data? If not, then you're incompetent. Move along, please.

2. Are you willing to implement an IT infrastructure where it is impossible for a user to lose mission critical data? If not, then you're
insubordinate. Move along, please.

3. Is it possible for a user to lose mission critical using an IT infrastructure that you have implemented and administer? If so, then you have a problem. Fix it.

Again, in an institutional environment, it is not the user's responsibility to safeguard mission critical data. By definition, this is one of the primary responsibilities of IT.

(Here's a hint: Mission critical data ever on a c: drive = IT failure)

I'm sick of this attitude of ...

And your customers are sick of your attitude. Thanks for demonstrating my point far more effectively that I could ever verbalize it.
I think that meme is funny too, but lets keep meme only posts over on reddit.
All's fair in love and war, and there's no point getting bent out of shape about it.

That said, spending time & money on these sorts of tactics is almost always less efficient than spending time & money improving your product. Every hour you spend improving Proxlet while your competitor's fussing with AdWords and downvoting on Quora is an hour you're winning.
Let me get this straight, you take pity on a business because people are outraged that the information they are providing is incorrect and they are deliberately tricking people into believing they are affiliated the W3C standards group? As well, it's not as if several better resources don't already exist. Too bad they don't have the advantage of such a deceptive name.
I don't see how that's ridiculous.

Firesheep is a tool whose sole purpose is to facilitate hijacking a user's session. If you use Firesheep to gain access to a user account which you don't own, you're guilty of breaking the law.

The fact that the tool makes this easy has no bearing on its legality.

So yes, everyone who has used Firesheep to gain access to another user's account without their permission is guilty of breaking the law.
I generally agree. Ads targeting competition are fine, depending on the copy.

The only thing that has calmed me in similar situations is knowing that competition that does things without class doesn't do well. If your marketing is around a very small competitor instead of the usual alternative (nothing), then you're incompetent. If your product design is based on copying the competition, then you're incompetent.
I think this is a good method. A good tip for people to remember: the resume isn't there to get you the job, it's only there to get you into the interview.
Probably because it was coming out of her own pocket, and researchers generally don't make that much (especially if she was a post-doc). I'm pretty sure that the NIH won't let you charge "stolen laptop reward" to your grant, and your university sure as heck isn't going to shell out for something like that.
Show HN: Codr.cc
I finished building Codr.cc last night.

Codr is a code snippets sharing website much like pastie or snipt.org, but with a few innovations. First is that it autodetects the language and highlights it accordingly.

The second, killer feature, is that it allows you to create snippets from files on your computer. You can select a file using the file browser, or you can drag and drop it into the site.

The app will read its contents and create a snippet from it - ready to share.

--

Now, I'm a college student in need of some quick cash. Recently I sold wrttn.in rather quickly thanks to HN, and I began to wonder if I could make a few hundred extra bucks a month by doing what I love (creating nifty webapps like this one) and selling them at relatively low prices.

Codr was a fun experiment but my intention is to sell it as fast as possible, so if you're interested in buying it, e-mail me at jmonegro@gmail.com or leave a comment below. If it doesn't work I guess I'll keep it and grow it.

--

Let me know what you think!
easier to read == easier to understand == less need to recall
IBM computer gets a buzz on for charity 'Jeopardy'
Wow, pretty impressive mentors you have there. Will there be any money involved? Or is it simply mentoring?
The last comment on man-made earthquakes is actually already here: man-made 3.1 in Switzerland:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/geothermal_powe.php
I agree with these suggestions, but there's another huge component to the problem -- peer group.

If all your peers are going on expensive vacations, to expensive restaurants etc, and you're not going then you can't really hang out with them.

I.e. there're both perceived and real costs-of-entry to certain circles. As an independent-minded adult, this is easier to resist, but for a school-age kid it could be overwhelming.
Real men use tabs.
Perhaps that is the point, you shell off the responsibility to somebody else, pay some money to some 3rd entity and you have insurance, and you pay premium the more lacking you are in responsibility.
Thats not to mention the case that some insurance policies are a legal requirement, case in point car insurance.
I'm dismissing it because the information is wrong. I also contribute to https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/ in support of the http://promotejs.com/ initiative.

So as far as I can tell, you're making comments that are wrong because you're not informed.
The more you focus on decoding something, the more neurons are activated, so more connections are made. But are these connections superficial, or are they actually meaningful? They should have asked critical thinking questions rather than easy "recall" crap.
What does it matter, word processors format this automatically, right? I was taught this rule in primary school I think, but have never used it (two-spacing). Slows down typing speed to much.
Researcher Breaks Wi-Fi Passwords Using Cloud Computing Power
Apple counts down to 10 billion app downloads
My first question is, why am I using you rather than my accountant? My second question is, why aren't you contacting my accountant? :)

I like the design, I don't like some of the conversational tone.

---
You are super important to us. We answer emails at all hours of the day and night. Really. We'll get you up and running in no time

or

Think about it – 88 cents in stamps, about a buck in envelopes, paper and toner cartridge. Not to mention having to resend the 1099s to those who keep losing them. That’s $2 in materials alone, plus another $2 in time and effort. At least. Call it $4 total for one 1099-MISC.

A/B test this:

Save Money

No more stamps, no envelopes, no expensive toner cartridges. No more snail-mailing of 1099s that someone lost.

I've always been told (and experience tells me) that using No on the page reduces conversions. Additionally, the people you are trying to attract, may not understand 'snail-mail'.

Fix this: Refunds are not given if recipient refuses e-delivery.

Even if I had to pay more to get it delivered, you now have me going in to the system to figure out who didn't accept, then exporting that data and printing it myself. Notify me a few days in advance rather than the day before.

Other than that, looks like a pretty solid service. What are some of the tech details? I noticed Amazon ECS - what is the backend running?
I tried whoishostingthis.com on both beerby.com and cakecentral.com to get reported of 404 error.

Edit:
It worked at the second attempt
beerby.com is hosted at Acquia hosting and cakecentral.com at Amazon
Project Euclid's MathJax displays 'beautiful math' online
Assume all money is dumb until proven otherwise and let the market set the price.

He lays out decent guidelines for pricing, but questioning a founder's judgement for taking more money at a better valuation?

If you really have a 'go big or go home' venture fundable business to build, get the best war chest you can and get to work.

I'm not saying that raising too much money can't be a mistake for various reasons, or that there isn't inherent value in working with certain investors, but given the choice between too much or under capitalized, take the money.
I'm well aware of that. But I think that's ridiculous, it's Internet, not your house. Even though people nowadays seem to think that you have privacy on the Internet, you don't. Do you go to jail if you open another phone in your house while your sister is talking to someone on the phone? You don't. Yes I think he did put some effort in guessing the question and took control of her account, and yes he should be punished. But jail?

That's ridiculous. He didn't deform anything, he just presented the information he had. You also break the law when you go too fast on the highway and you don't go to jail.
from the other thread: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2099885

The flip side to "I want my e-mail treated like normal mail" is that the same penalties will need to be levied. Private citizens can get in a lot of trouble for tampering with regular mail.
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