skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Ask HN: How do you watch television content?
What device and/or software(TV, Mobile, CPU) do you use to watch your shows and what is your source (Cable, TiVO, Hulu, Torrents, iTunes etc)? If you use a computer what software do you use (VLC, Boxee, Plex, etc.)?. I am interested in seeing if HN people mostly still use traditional means or not. Thanks!
dude, now I'm hungry.
Metadata Hell
Clickable http://www.crowdbeacon.com/
I totally agree with most points.. it's really more of a mentality thing than an age thing. The only part I don't totally agree is the commitment part. It's hard to deny that you have much more free time at 20 years old than at 40. I mean, I'm ~25 and I feel I don't have enough time to do and learn everything I want.. I can't imagine that I'll have any more time with children.
waterside. Thanks for the feedback. We are adding this functionality in the next 5 days, because to your point we want people to be able to use the site to ask anything about any location they want. You're spot on, and we appreciate that feedback.
From anecdotal evidence I will put forward another theory. Because CS and programming are relatively new and rapidly growing fields a large number of programmers in the early years were random office workers who could type, press ganged into development duties. Education started to catch up in the 80s and 90s so young kids with a real grounding in fundamentals were coming into organizations staffed with older developers who didn't have a clue. On average, older developers were incompetent, not because they were older, but because they were less likely to a) have any formal education in what they were doing and b) a particular interest in what they were doing besides the paycheck.
I believe it's called "spec work".
And Radio Shack used to ask for your phone number when buying batteries (maybe they still do, it's been a while). In both cases, you can just say no.
From my experience at a political think tank, money comes from big donors who want intellectual support of their pre-conceived positions. There is some "independent research" that goes on along the edges of the "accepted stances," but when a big donor wants an article slanted this way or that, they get it.
I was going to apply, but I'm an agile lean scrum six-sigma CMMI kanban kaizen customer-development ninja pirate samurai, not a rockstar. Sorry. :-(
Completely fair point with respect to the Apple comparison.

In the long run, I envision an enormous amount of economic activity flowing through micropayments, where everyone is giving/receiving payments based on their production/consumption patterns. In that world, their rates are too high. But for the world as it currently stands, it may be ok.
Mubarak Leaves Cairo
Tell that to the US Government.

"After Anonymous imposed some very minimal cyber disruptions on Paypal, Master Card and Amazon, the DOJ flamboyantly vowed to arrest the culprits, and several individuals were just arrested as part of those attacks. But weeks earlier, a far more damaging and serious cyber-attack was launched at WikiLeaks, knocking them offline. Those attacks were sophisticated and dangerous. Whoever did that was quite likely part of either a government agency or a large private entity acting at its behest. Yet the DOJ has never announced any investigation into those attacks or vowed to apprehend the culprits, and it's impossible to imagine that ever happening.

Why? Because crimes carried out that serve the Government's agenda and target its opponents are permitted and even encouraged; cyber-attacks are "crimes" only when undertaken by those whom the Government dislikes, but are perfectly permissible when the Government itself or those with a sympathetic agenda unleash them. Whoever launched those cyber attacks at WikiLeaks (whether government or private actors) had no more legal right to do so than Anonymous, but only the latter will be prosecuted."

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/02/11...
Code reuse is fine for coding, but in language, reinventing the wheel is the way to go!

(Sorry, I'm a bit punchy at the end of this week).
Stephen Elop's LinkedIn profile says it best. Former employer was... *drumroll*
Of course. Nokia is going to take a beating until they have proven they are turning the ship around.

The company will be in both public and private turmoil until it either emerges as a turned around company, or a dead one.
Whereas, if the 'risk model' had failed for any other reason, there'd have been no consequences. What's to say their model was correct even on paper? Funnily, nobody would have said anything if the mistake had made money. So, caveat emptor!
A lesson for Nokia: what the JRuby team did when Sun went down.
Believe it or not my design sense isn't lacking as much as it would appear! It's just that I was trying to do something different with this particular app. The landing page uses the same framework as the actual app but it looks like that wasn't the way to go. I'll probably end up conforming to typical landing pages and repost within a few days. Please keep an eye out as proof that my design sense isn't as terrible as you think haha!
Years ago it seemed to me that Symbian was a dead-end. Just reading about the programmer APIs was enough to convince me of that.

Motorola finally realized that P2K and their other proprietary stuff wasn't going to cut it for the future. Most of these mobile phone OSs were designed for very small, resource-constrained devices. Which is fine... that's all that was viable in the market at the time. But they weren't designed to scale up.

For example: Android uses Linux, and it has had MP support for a long time (late 1990's?). Even as of five years ago, many people would have thought that a phone with a multi-core CPU is crazy. Why would you need all that power (and power consumption)? And here we are in 2011, with the Nvidia Tegra 2 and other CPUs in shipping phones. For most of those phone OSs, adding multi-core support would be a multi-year re-write. Linux? No problemo.

And beyond that, there is database support, and support for various Internet-based protocols (chat, radio, web, etc.). And what is needed for that is a really solid TCP/IP stack. I've seen (and done) things to a TCP/IP implementation to get it running on a small device. It wasn't pretty. Or high performance. It will 'work', but not for heavy duty use like you'd need on a smartphone these days.

Edit: grammar. Mention of TCP/IP stack.
There was something of a collective and large-scale underestimation of how hard AI would be. Why that would be the case is interesting, especially since it persisted for some decades, across multiple fields filled with smart people. From probably the 1880s to, say, the 1970s, there seemed to be this widespread view that high-level AI was just around the corner, and mainly depended on some inevitable technical progress (faster computers and more memory, plus a bit of algorithms work).

There wasn't even really much debate, in either CS or philosophy or engineering, over whether computers would be able to do "routine" tasks like accurate object recognition, mathematics, playing chess, etc., in the near future. The biggest controversy was over whether computers could ever be "truly" intelligent and creative, e.g. whether computers would also replace Beethoven in addition to mathematicians, or whether they'd be forever limited to just being very capable automatons. Somehow everyone missed that even making them the "lesser" kind of intelligent, so they can walk around, recognize objects, translate languages, etc., would turn out to be pretty hard.
When I used it Qt was dual licensed, one way for commercial closed source, and GPL for open source. It can just be forked right?
Streety- Thanks we'll look into the video. You make some good points about the FAQ's as well.
No separate challenge for the in-between folks, or did I just miss it?
Worse still, they (being singular where gender is indertiminate, or you seek to be neutral) is not grammatically-incorrect, and has a long history in the English language. It's a bit like the split infinitive, which is often considered to be incorrect but isn't.

The author: they really should have known better than "s/he", to boldy write for RWW.

Edit: Added a sourcewith examples - http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html and the Wikipedia page seems to have some discussion about it too - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
Seriously, what's so good about Windows 7?

Can't speak for OP, but it's the first windows version that 'just works' :) And that means a lot when you have to use windows.
I had only one real love so far and it actually helped me advance. It keeps me being motivated.
streety: thanks for the feedback.

I changed the "Why did you start CB" answer. Very helpful input.

Regarding the $ question: it is a non-answer, and might seem like a throwaway but it is important to us that potential investors (who have pinged us multiple times now from the site) know that we're thinking about it. We're not Twitter, ya know?

Overall, I very much appreciate the feedback.
It depends on local law and where you are applying it. Elop's action can be interpreted as in breach of his duties towards Nokia shareholders. 15% of Nokia's value evaporated this morning.

There are places he could be arrested if there are any hints this value destruction is on purpose.
Perhaps an indication of how much time tgrep currently spends looking in a sample 70GB file would be of interest.
To who? The Board?
Elop's time at MS was quite short. IMO, he couldn't fill Sinofsky's shoes.
Android could be built/merged with MeeGo. They have the same kernel and all hardware-specific work would be reused. Both userlands could run side by side.
Nokia had been moving towards an open-source culture. Those are the types they've attracted the last several years.

This is a very radical departure from their previous path.
Focus on your USP, try some A/B testing to figure out what people react to best. Maybe a 1 minute intro video to what you do on the front page.

When you know a little bit more about what makes people tick, get a complete redesign from 99designs or similar. You need to show people quickly what you are selling! I usually look at a landing page, read maximum 5 sentances of description that is prominent on the site. If I am still interested, I check out the video on the front page. If I'm still interested, I check for a prominent "pricing" link.
Arguing against fanboy conventional wisdom with mere facts? Sadly I don't think that's enough.
Thanks for replying. Definitely let me know when you have the new landing page b/c the homepage right now really isn't good :) As for new for the market you'll definitely have to explain that aspect. In terms of starting a business: if you are passionate about robotics ... focus on robotics. My passion happened to be starting businesses so in that regard we're probably different then!

I still wish you the best of luck!
Europe's anti-trust laws are very different from the USA's. I don't know enough about it to be sure, but simply making anti-competative actions such as partnering can be illegal.
The market could just as easily be registering the fact that new management determined that Nokia's product pipeline was uncompetitive.
An executive switches from company M to competitor N then abruptly throws much of N's development investment in the trash and signs a deal to license all of it from M instead, it smells funny.

I'm not saying anything actually is wrong, I don't know enough about it to care. But what I do see is Nokia being a big employer and part of national pride for Finland. This will likely become an issue in politics there.

They'd be wise not to lay off a single soul due to this deal at this point. Ironically, if Nokia really did need to trim R&D expenses, they may have more trouble doing it now.

Keep in mind the EU is still active in MS antitrust and users are offered the choice of Firefox when they install Windows. I would not want to be the guy who's name was attached to the sinking of Nokia at the advantage of Microsoft.
The 5% + $.05 pricing isn't actually new on PayPal. The program has existed for years, it's just been very well-hidden.

I remember it took us hours and many phone calls with different people there to get it set up for us. Glad to see it got bumped to more visibility.
Regardless of whether you agree with the CEO's position I think it's pretty childish to walk out on your job.
They do it precisely because they have less info than they get online.

How do you determine the response rate of a newspaper insert? You insert it into one zipcode one weekend and a different zipcode a different weekend.

How do you track unique vs repeat customers? You ask them for a uniquely identifying number.

Around these parts, I believe it's referred to as A/B testing and analytics.
I was recently hunting for a new phone. I have a plan with my mobile company where I get a new phone (any that I want) for approx. $1.99.. I needed a new phone right away since I accidentally dropped my old phone and it broke, and it was just a right time to get a new one for $1.99...

Anyway, there was a waiting period for iPhone 4 and HTC Desire HD (obviously they're popular), and I needed phone right now and I saw a Samsung Omnia 7.. and thought what the hell, just give me the phone - I only use it for talking (a lot) and occasional sms and email...

I am really surprised how WP7 is good - it lacks polish, little details, thought lots of them, but it's pretty much all there.. if they focus on those details and pimp up a marketplace a bit and let more countries in, I'm very optimistic about it.
President Mubarak has stepped down as president of Egypt
Origin poisoning
If I understand the garbled translation, the Nokia workers took advantage of extremely flexible work time to stage a coordinated, but totally non-rule-breaking walk out. I've never heard of this sort of half-strike method, but it's interesting. Is this something that is common in Europe or Scandinavian countries where a more flexible work schedule is common?
Nokia granted exclusive rights to customize WP7
Ask HN: How to handle small collections?
Does anyone have any good idea of how to handle small collections? We have a $700+ invoice which is now several months late, and they have no intention of paying, apparently.

Taking them to small claims court would not be cost-effective, plus they're in a different state, etc.

Does anyone have experience with "reasonable" collection agencies for this kind of very infrequent collections? Or a better way entirely?
It basically is; the technique used here is sometimes called a delayed join, which is also extremely effective on huge sorted queries.
Sorry -- I posted this as a comment below:

waterside. Thanks for the feedback. We are adding this functionality in the next few days, because to your point we want people to be able to use the site to ask anything about any location they want. You're spot on, and we appreciate that feedback.
Ask HN: Review my startup, sponzu.com
I'm afraid you just don't understand the QM experiments in question. For there to be a secret difference between the two particles requires observed reality to be a lie.
Ask HN: How would you document a web application like GMail?
UML isn't really helpful for documenting web applications. Which alternative documentation languages exist? From a 'software engineering' standpoint, which are the best practices in documenting morden web applications?

Does anyone uses UML for their web apps?
Yeah, he can't even get the name of Windows Phone right.
What Nokia gains is a solid partner in the top end segment of the smartphone market - enterprise. The first casualty of the merger will likely be RIM. Android and iOS will suffer in the enterprise as well because of Microsoft's ability to offer better integration with its enterprise software.

Nokia has already gained several billion dollars in next generation mobile OS R&D, and need no longer worry about the uncertainty of the Java's future. In addition they are able to remove the high barrier to entry presented by C++ in order to attract new third party developers.
I realize you are being funny, but please don't lump lean processes in with annoying titles.
It's exactly this sort of tech expertise revolt that happened at the largest Smalltalk company at the time -- when out of touch management announced the company was going to go the direction of Java/JVM.

This is not an indication of mismanagement. This is mismanagement (of employee expectations, culture, and perception) plainly visible in public.

Nokia needs to figure this out right now, or they are going to bleed intellectual and technical assets.
My setup:
Device = TV with Computer, Software = Plex and sometimes VLC, Source = Torrents

I bet that this will be the case (unofficial streaming or downloaded content viewed on a computer) for most people outside the US.
Sure, I think Android is in some ways closer and more interoperable, but still... people were likely to go in any case.
PhD Required
FAQs = Already changed :)
Ask James Phillips and Damien Katz About Couchbase
That was a good post and I had forgotten about it over the years.

It prompted me to write up some of my own thoughts on the current day Mozilla Community: http://daniele.livejournal.com/80677.html
Giant Black Hole Ring Captured on Film
Modeling Transformers - T Equivalent
have a look at gerrit[1] if you are a git user. it's a complete rewrite of rietveld (in java) and tied closely to git which is because the main contributor is Shawn Pearce (who is also main contributor to git[2]).

[1]: http://code.google.com/p/gerrit/
[2]: http://git-scm.com/about
World's total CPU power: one human brain
What could possibly go wrong?

It's like he took the playbook from ObjectShare (Smalltalk vendor) when the CEO announced, "Hey gang, let's go Java!" then was surprised when the personnel situation started to go pear shaped.

Someone is out of touch with his employees here.
If you accept the article's theses that older developers are a big asset AND that they're at a disadvantage in the marketplace due to discrimination, there's an opportunity here. Rather than try to woo and retain 30 hotshot developers in their 20s, it'd be easier to hire 18 or 20 developers in their 40s. The turnover would certainly be lower, the output should be equal (or greater?), and there'd be less need for extensive management oversight.

Anybody know of a company that's tried that approach? If none exist, that leads me to think that either we're onto something interesting or that this approach simply doesn't work.
Sure, but who's going to enhance it and promote it and keep it growing and alive?

KDE? Oracle? :-)
More likely "confident junior willing to work for less remuneration but greater publicity".
Link to these videos:

http://paulirish.com/2010/10-things-i-learned-from-the-jquer...

http://paulirish.com/2011/11-more-things-i-learned-from-the-...
Yelp.ca: SpamCity for Locksmiths
Since Maemo is OSS, there's nothing stopping them from resuming work at another company as an entire team.

Who wants to buy Maemo?
Enjoy spending time with your grandchildren, Hosni. I hear London is nice this time of year.
Egypt crisis: President Hosni Mubarak resigns as leader
To Run a Startup, You Must Stay in High Learn Mode
Eric totally forgot about S40. It's a platform which sells very well.
Hosni Mubarak finally steps down
For those too lazy to read the comment thread, here's a sample:

> It could be some other trojan... No reason to think that it is Zeus really...

>> "Ma'am, we've reason to believe you've a wooden horse in your home"

>>> We've traced the call and IT'S COMING FROM INSIDE THE HORSE.
Their exchange client is awesome (at least, I think it's owned by HTC). I could do without the extra widgety stuff.
Mubarak out
Multilingual Interaction
Show HN: Rental search utility for Twitter users in SF
The best developers in most places in the world charge rates in the ballpark to a dev in Silicon Valley (at best, 40% of that). The demand is gigantic and there's too much to do already.
"My MVP is lean and disruptive"
'Going after' people following the laws as they are is one of the ways to get the laws changed.
Great idea! Then I can do it in my pjs :P
Aren't these just PR firms then?
things have to be patented, because even if you invented it, someone else can patent it if you don't

This is an incorrect statement.
In addition to django, you might consider taking a look at the pylons framework.
PayPal's Micropayment Solution Opens to the Public
If you're going to scare monger at least get your facts straight.

1. They're done with a warrant from a judge. It's no different then freezing ones banking assets.

2. They do not pull anything for the root DNS servers. Instead, they're pulled at the TLD servers (.com, .net, and .org) which are all located within the US.
As a platform, WP7 is great (mostly). The problem is that there is a dearth of quality apps. I installed the Youtube app, and it's just a wrapper for their mobile page! Really?
Dear HN Submitters: No more scobleizer blog posts!
It's interesting to see that Scoble puts ESR's post in the same sack as the rest of the "nuts", yet doesn't do much to refute it. It's almost as if he read only the title.
In between folks can choose either challenge. tgrep is probably going to be more suited.
Hyphenating "grammatically incorrect" is grammatically incorrect.
Mumbarak steps down, ceding power to military
This kind of behavior makes me wish at-will employment was the norm throughout the world. If you aren't happy, quit. Change was clearly needed and change was made. Work hard for your company or find a different place to work that'll make you happier. Everyone thinks they could make better decisions.
Another "I have witnessed X" so "Y must be true" post.

I've been programming commercially for 32 years and in all that time, I have found very little correlation between age and ability to deliver quality software.

I have worked with younger, inexperienced, and uneducated programmers who were willing to learn, with minds like sponges and who were a pleasure to work with. They often found or thought of things the rest of us overlooked.

I have worked with younger, inexperienced, and well educated programmers who thought they knew better and were obstacles to progress.

I have worked with older programmers with the same one year's experience 22 times. Oy.

I have worked with older programmers with excellent domain knowledge and limited technical range. Their personality and willingness to succeed were often the key to progress.

I have worked with older programmers with excellent technical range and limited domain knowledge. Sometimes it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but when you can, results can be golden.

I have worked with brilliant older programmers with extensive experience and open minds. The best of all worlds.

(By the way, I have also worked with programmers of many ethnicities, female, handicapped, gay, Republican, religious, even left-handed, and have found little or no correlation between their "description" and their "performance". One of the beauties of programming is that the easiest way to evaluate your performance is through your work itself and not much else.)
I am at 35. Just last year i managed to find balance and value in life. I don't care anymore about "quick success" or coolness.
I care about value. Age discrimination is a niche for some businesses to minimize expenses in a short run, but small, dedicated and experienced teams can bring so much profit and value.
When you are young you operate on blind fate, you don't have proven methodology to attack "The problem", you don't know when to stop and make turn, simply put you are giant ball of energy without direction.

You need supervising on regular basis :)))

And if you didn't hear - life begins at 40.

If you are healthy and smart you can push your energy more effectively and find satisfaction in so many things.
> Where "Windows" is amalgamated thousands of separate projects with their own bits.

I think this is the cool part. Pulling everything together so that it all works must be a monumental engineering task.