skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
He mentions in a comment that he was using their web interface to access individual files while his laptop was out. Also, the free plan was limited to 2GB. Given that he isn't exactly screaming about it, I think that this was either not his most important data, or not his primary backup recourse.

I sympathize, because in the last 10 years I've probably "OKed" over 100,000 pages of TOS, and not read a single one.

The fact that all his files were gone and he didn't know it means one of two things: either they are disorganized, or pretty fucking nonchalant about wiping user data. Either is unacceptable in a backup company.
[I run osdir.com]

Just to be clear we're not scraping content nor SEOing to death. We've been running our mailing list archive for almost 8 years.

To quote Matt_Cutts somewhere else in this thread: 'because USENET/mailing lists don't always have a centralized/canonical location on the web, which makes dupe content more of a potential issue. It's not the usual "Website X copied my website" scenario.'

If you dislike us that's cool, but just know we're not showing in your SERPs because of scraping & SEO trickery. A lot of people, maybe not you, really are finding their answer there. There's a lot of solid answers in inboxes.
"I'm telling y'all, it's sabotage!" Literally.
But "inside the app" means Apple In-App Purchase, right? I'm sure Amazon and Sony are capable of storing a user's credentials in an app, and then making the appropriate network requests when you click Buy or Subscribe. But from my understanding that wouldn't qualify since it doesn't go through Apple.
making this a mandatory option for all services at a fairly steep rate might not be viable for all businesses.

You're quite right. Businesses wishing to offer subscription content via iOS might need to retool their subscription plans to accomodate for the overhead this channel brings with it. I use the $9/mo. Netflix plan now to get unlimited streaming and 1 DVD at a time. Perhaps that plan will one day only support browser-based streaming and then Netflix will release an $11 all-devices, no DVDs plan.

Hulu Plus is trying something like that out - you can't get their content on mobiles at all without a premium subscription but you can get it free (ad-supported anyway) via the browser.
Why Apple's In-App Subscriptions Are Great
Indeed. The issue is not the "best price" guarantee, which is common in business. It is the "holy crap that's a huge commission" issue.
In terms of what it costs to produce, Coke may be the best value for your dollar. But there are definitely superior colas out there if you're willing to spend slightly more. They don't have Coke's distribution or brand and they don't "taste like childhood" though.
A statement from Sonatype on this:

First, I’d like to address some misinformation. The use of Github itself was never an issue. It was how the original movement of the sources to Github was executed, and why, that created tension. Github is just a tool and it is a better choice for source control, at least in the short term, for several reasons:

...

We proposed using Github on the Hudson list, and in short order agreement was reached and the move was initiated. Winston did the infrastructure work last night to push the sources for Hudson over to Github. It was really that Simple. It’s amazing how smoothly things go when you clearly communicate your intentions to all stakeholders. We hope to keep improving the infrastructure for Hudson so if you’re interested please join the Hudson Dev list!

http://www.sonatype.com/people/2011/02/hudson-moves-to-githu...

This guy seems incapable of making a statement about the Oracle Hudson without taking potshots at it's creators and former leaders.
Pretty easy for Apple to kill it in relatively short order by making it partially or entirely incompatible with a new iOS version, though.
This could be an interesting feature to have on GitHub for sure. :)
furthermore, demand media will likely react to any negative implications of this by continuing its partnerships with large existing sites. for example, demand media already creates content for USA today http://www.demandmedia.com/blog/powering-travel-tips-for-usa...

if needed, i am sure demand can cut deals with sites that you probably wouldn't want to blacklist. in the end, search engines are going to have to figure out how to send users to good pages, on a page by page basis.
I don't think XHTML is particularly relevant to web browsers these days. It's still useful as a format for storing documents, but I don't see it going anywhere as a widespread format for sending documents to web browsers.
The marketing/value add Apple brings is putting a highly desirable platform with great capabilities in front of loads of people who are proven to like spending money on apps etc. NetFlix and co. would never have this reach without Apple.
Getting angry is just an emotion, so long as you handle yourself properly it doesn't really matter at all what you feel.

The point I and others are trying to get across here is that the author of the story is voicing an unrealistic expectation; one that involved everyone playing by the same rules. My point is that outward 'aggression' is a normal part of dealing with a crowd, you can't villain-ize it without villain-izing the behaviour that makes it necessary.

"If everyone were perfectly courteous, everyone would be standing perfectly still so as to not accidentally infringe on someone else's perceived personal space."

By this I mean a world where everybody acts to minimize discomfort of others on the streets is a fantasy.
http://people.mozilla.com/~prouget/ie9/ie9_vs_fx4.html
The example of a rager they give reminds me (somewhat ashamedly) of myself last summer at the Expo in China.

I "know" China and Chinese people so the way people in massive crowds walk in China is no surprise to me but at that Expo, with its massive-even-for-China crowds and sardine-like packed spacing I lost it a couple of times.

The Chinese idea of personal space is already a challenge for most from the West but pack the place nuts to butts with way too many people, throw in the utter disregard for lines that many in China have and it's a recipe for tension for most foreigners. My breaking point was when people started to shove and push my 9 year old daughter (as she was the weakest link in our group).

I got yelled at when I squared my shoulders and bulled through a line, kids and wife in tow, that (for lack of someone providing a foot of space) would have otherwise required a quarter-mile detour and I admit I feel a bit bad about that. Heck, just standing still I knocked a guy flat on his back (I got tired of being the only one, seemingly, moving out of the way when I walked so as an experiment I decided to walk from point A to B in a straight line. There was a small group headed my way and when we got close I simply stopped and stood my ground. When they collided with me people went flying as I'm a very big guy and they were not). The folks that ran into me thought it was hilarious. I was a bit steamed.

I guess it takes a bit of a push to get me going but I have some of that rage lurking in me. Makes me feel the need to excise it, lol.
Excerpts from "Inside Wikileaks" book
Further Thoughts on Winning Isn't Normal
Ask HN: What should I do with 4 GBs of form spam?
I've been collecting form spam for around two years, during which I've collected around 6 GB or 3.7 million submissions, on a website called http://spambotlove.com/

At first I wanted to use the data to generate images or to display statistics, but I don't really have the time or will because I'm very busy with other stuff.

What should I do with it? I guess I could just delete it..?

Would it be of any value to anyone if I would make a simple API to query the DB?

Any ideas?
Startups are very stressful
That's never been tried before. Except with Citizendium, Deletionpedia, Knowino, Wikinfo, Includipedia...
I had actually asked about this very same issue a year ago, but the database was much smaller and I didn't really receive any breathtaking ideas.

Also - wtf of the day:: Last submissions was exactly a year ago!
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1147085
On the subject of HTTP status codes, I wrote this a week or so ago because I was always sick of having to look up status code definitions.

https://github.com/jonursenbach/http-status-code-definitions
Show HN: GradeThePresident.com
just made http://gradethepresident.com public. I built it as an exercise in forcing myself to do tdd/bdd with rspec and steak.

doesn't quite have 100% test coverage so would love any bug reports if you come across some.

Thanks!
Interesting, something of a successor to the classic Paul Graham essay, "How to Be Silicon Valley" (May 2006): http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html
56 and 107 now. Seems you are right.
5 Reasons Why a Brand Name Can Make or Break Your Business
There is a similar product, Sony Ericsson LiveView, which can be worn as a wristwatch and paired with an Android phone: http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/products/accessories/overvie...

Retails for EUR 39.50.

I do not own one so cannot say anything about how well it works -- just came across it randomly yesterday when buying something online. If the client is Android-based it is almost certain the protocol can be easily reverse engineered to make it hackable from other paired devices.
At least they could have emailed him a few days beforehand saying "Hey, you haven't used our service for 4 weeks. We're about to delete the data!"
Making 1000 “Right” Decisions Every Day
Nokia was close to launching N9? Where does that information come from? From what we have seen of MeeGo so far is that it is still very far from ready.

In addition, one of Nokia's big problems is its inability to produce good modern software. In order to make Symbian and MeeGo realistic contenders, Nokia would have completely needed to change its software processes' direction. It would not have been as risky as moving to WP7.
It would be neat to generate an image tracking similarities between spam messages. Sounds like a nifty project in R.
Apple does "nothing"? Hardly.

Apple is providing the most compelling user experience with which to enjoy Amazon and Netflix's services. You know what a service is worth without a cool, convenient way to enjoy it? Not much.

You think iOS users will jump to WP7? Once you've tasted quality, it's hard to go back to the lowest common denominator. And Apple isn't going to lose those three services. Apple didn't become the largest non-Exxon corporation in world history by being that stupid. Ain't happ'nin.
You're absolutely right, of course - a webapp in C++ is not something that I'd want to even volunteer to help maintain.

I'd just say that it's not the language that rots, but the libraries, and preexisting code. There are still some areas where C++ is a good choice, but for things like a webapp, there would have to be a really compelling reason to choose it.
Very cool... I assume it tells time, too? :-)
The New Financial Matchmakers
I didn't think of it until now. I assumed that the official IBM site would have a way of tracking Watson's progress.
This is probably far enough away that we can get a little handwavey about little details like contamination.

What if instead of a water heater you had a plastic heater in your house? What if it had some section where the temp was high enough to kill organisms or used other means?

Still it seems like I'd want to give them a quick rinse-off first.

Perhaps everyone's eating utensils will end up some shade of brown. :-P People would likely want some very dark pigments added. Or "junior! we told you not to put Froot Loops in the dishmelter again..."

Or maybe the stuff just gets hauled off for recycling where it can be re-purified efficiently in large scale processes.
No, not yet. But Ken Jennings is definitely out of a job.
Several new tablets have been announced. Moreover, the lack of a subscription API didn't stop the mentioned services from creating iPad apps to begin with.

Those services are all successful independent of their iOS app. They have no reason to buckle. Instead, they can turn the pressure back onto Apple.

In speaking with several developers this morning, I know some are halting iOS development based on this. For those that can, they'll offer the service via website only.
The Evolution of Digg: A Screenshot History
Walking-etiquette seems to be even less established/clear in places in the UK where there are many tourists, expats and/or overseas students.

I've lived both in London and Oxford now, and in both these cities (but especially Oxford) there seems to be no default side of the road/sidewalk to walk on, or for passing people, leading to all kinds of interesting situations.

There is less bumping into one another here, probably, because most people here seem quite polite, but 'after you, no after you', and 'left-right-left dancing, as two people approach one another from opposite directions and consider on which side to pass', are quite commonly observed :)

I wonder how the left VS right side of the road issue + the idea that pedestrians should walk on the other side than traffic, so they can see cars coming - forked on top of it, works out in other, similar places, and whether it could lead to different local optima ?
Has there actually been any rigorous study of the 10,000 hour figure? I really don't believe it or the Gladwell's book because it discounts actual talent. It seems like the great a way to keep someone from finding their actual talent, much like giving awards for participation and having no "winners".
Here's a little something similar I whipped up using Flask (Python):

import time
from flask import Flask, make_response, request
app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/<int:status_code>')
def return_status(status_code):
response = make_response()
response.status_code = status_code
response.data = response.status

sleep = request.args.get('sleep', None)
if sleep is not None:
time.sleep(int(sleep))
return response

if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run(debug=True)

With a handy little feature, a "sleep" query string param that'll delay the response for the given number of seconds, which I've used to test how a client handles latency etc.

[BTW, looks like you're the Elliot Carlson I used to work with way back when. Hope life is treating you well these days! :)]
This is not a conservative approach. This is incredibly progressive! Two-factor authentication (when implemented correctly) is a necessary security measure in the world we live in and more banks should mandate it. Today banks simply would rather pay out for fraudulent charges than have to implement this even though there are incredible externalities for customers when their cards are stolen.
FedEx/Kinko's would be shortsighted if it were not, in fact, FedEx/Kinko's doing it.
This will give Google great data on how to detect content farm content, so it will be easier to penalize on long tail domains or syndication deals.

I shared my domains simply to save people time. If you disagree with one of the results, by all means don't add it to your block list. Adblock lists have been similarly helpful--I make some customizations but I don't have to start from scratch.
Build custom music playlists using facial recognition
Does your job require imagination?
http://httpstat.us/000 shows Heroku Error

Oops, we seem to have a glitch in our system.

We've been notified; you might try reloading the page in a little while.

v 26026 2077752888
Miniature Moscow 
Miniature Moscow
Well, yes and no. Completely agreed on your basic point that their strength lies in their brand. However, in 1985 when Coke tried to reformulate the original formula and create "New Coke", one thing that it showed was that the taste of the drink was very linked with the brand.

Coke has always built their brand by associating the drink with happiness and good memories, and when that taste changed, people were upset because the Coke they grew up with no longer existed.

But I doubt anyone would be able to steal share away from Coke simply by copying their formula.
Plan B is the dream of what Nokia could have been. Unfortunately it should have been enacted over 5 years ago.

It's too late for such a strategy now - by the time they delivered on their promises, the competition would completely eat their lunch.
Ditch the library and work at Starbucks
So, um, those signs on the freeway saying "slower traffic keep right"... those are the products of self-absorbed narcissists who have done what? Infiltrated the Department of Transportation?
Apple did not do it for free. They had a business motive - and as a consumer, I ain't getting the device for free either.
I went to school at RIT where almost all students were required to have several co-ops (paid internships, basically).

For a Computer Science, you had to have 4, which means an entire year of work. (The CS program was a 5 year program: 4 years of school interspersed with a year of work).

Many people would get coops at Apple, IBM, Google, Microsoft, etc.
That's true. And even visualizing how spam has changed from two years ago. Choice of words, length, amount of links etc
E-Commerce Satisfaction Dips To Lowest Point In 6 Years
That Trebek gave Watsom credit for "Maxwell's silver hammer" when the clue was looking for the person – Maxwell – gave me a moment's pause.

Jeopardy does tend to be a little more forgiving of contestants during the first round – such as giving them a reminder to phrase-as-a-question, and letting them correct an initially wrong or incomplete utterance, if done almost instantly. Still, I'm not sure if such a interpretive error by a person would have been overlooked.
I think we are going to start to see Apple pull more and more moves like this. They are basically where Microsoft was at their peak. Apple's share price is sky high, their growth and margins are phenomenal, and at this point to continue to deliver shareholder value, they need to grab money from more and more sources - that means squeezing their position for every possible dime. What's next after the iPad? What comes after the app store? Well, why not tighten up monetization of the app store by directly tying revenue with publishers.

I'm eager and a little weary of seeing Apple's next moves over the next couple years.
Venture Capitalists Actually (Slightly) More Active Than Angels on AngelList
I guess "discipline" is something we're lucky to have a lot of. 99% of usage questions are answered by looking at existing code -- just stay consistent unless there's a really good reason to depart. There are a bunch of things that would get you lynched in our group, but we rarely have to lynch anybody. There's a lot of mutual respect and a lot of respect for the existing coding style, especially among programmers who have done C++ programming elsewhere and suffered through unsafe and unscalable practices.

I think most good C++ programmers spend years coming up to speed. I know I spent many hours coding for fun in college and read through TC++PL a couple of times (also for fun) before I started programming in C++ professionally. It was a wise investment, no doubt about it. It's an open question whether it would be a wise investment today, though.
Don't forget engine licenses.
I agree. I'm not a big fan of OO, preferring functional approaches in most cases, but I usually use some kind of OOP either to tie things together or to provide easy to use interfaces to the system, as I find constructing and passing objects to modules is often a natural way of interfacing with them, especially if the system is complex and the objects are used to "insert" code into the system (eg, algorithmic skeleton style). So even though I dislike OO as a whole, I think it has a very useful and important role in programming and it certainly helps us bring ever-more complex problems to a level we can reasonably deal with.

Having said that, there are some things OO is bad at, eg concurrency.
Welcome to AOL!
I live just down the road from Globen. My kid is gonna like this.
Because this press release also updates and clarifies enforcement of in-app purchases as well. The current approach taken by the Kindle app, that is, linking to the Amazon web Kindle store for purchases, will no longer be allowed by Apple. Apple will force Amazon to allow users to purchase ebooks in the app, taking a 30% cut.
I think what @anujkk meant was not to get distracted with side projects, learning projects etc. I think you can spend a little time on learning projects and that justifies the ROI in terms of time but I think he is primarily talking about the other distracting smaller projects.
How could this statement be anything other than a tautology?
Install Weka (requires Java), do a string to wordvector conversion of your data, and compare SPAM and HAM of your blog. Play around with machine learning.
/join #machinelearning @ freenode <- some of us are using Weka
Reference-counting in Objective-C is probably an improvement compared to the very basic memory management of C++. (C++ fans, yes, RAII is better than nothing, but no, it's not enough.) But ref-counting is also a far cry from the tracing garbage collectors most of us expect in a modern language.

There are plenty of gotchas in non-GC'ed Obj-C memory management, see my previous comment in a different thread: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1986799 . Also, the interaction of ref-counting with multi-threading is just awful: objects that some code uses but doesn't own must be obsessively retained-and-autoreleased in case another thread preempts and releases them. Behind the scenes, this takes and releases a lock on the object, which doesn't exactly help efficiency.

I'd rather hear about more of the things that Objective-C really gets right, instead of another "omg, I'd never heard of ref-counting before!" post. Here's a couple to start people off:

* Using named messages (instead of vtables a la C++) provides quite good introspection and run-time modification of the class hierarchy. This allows cool features like "delegates" that implement a subset of extension behaviours, and method forwarding.

* Objective-C's "informal protocols" are what we'd now call duck-typing.
Ask HN: Am I expecting too much from modern day web browsers?
Allow me to explain myself.

I have the habit of opening things in tabs and then leaving them sort of hang around if I know I am going to need them in the next hour, day or week or so. I usually have around 50 tabs open at any given time. The problem is that this makes working with Chrome very painful. My definition of painful is: very slow to load pages, very slow to click to existing tabs, insane memory usage, unresponsive at some points.

In my limited knowledge of modern browser internals, I would assume that in the current age and technology, this would not be an issue. I know that Chrome for example compartmentalizes tabs as individual processes and thus the crashing of one tab does not affect the other.

I would also like to point out that when I state 50 tabs, I do not mean 50 tabs of animated flash smileys but just your normal average day to day working material. Flash is usually the culprit and requires killing from time to time on the Chrome task manager. That being said, they have a healthy mix of Flash, js etc. I have 8GB of ram and run Mac OS X 10.6.4
Using Apple products is not mandatory, of course...but the real question is whether a 30% cut is a fair number or the methodology itself is fair to being with?
Video Games: An hour a day is key to success in life
I'm not surprised - Valve's business model with Steam is really smart and it's a great way to PC game publishers to sell older inventory (like my beloved Lucas Arts classics) without having to take any real risks. They're going to become the Amazon of PC games if they aren't already.