skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Microsoft Silent as Xbox Indies Marketplace Exploited
Ask a VC: Bijan Sabet Returns to the Hot Seat
12 Behavior Anti Patterns You Will Face As a Software Team Leader
I for one welcome our new [Javascript] micro-framework overlords
I've never been "inside" the loop on one of these decisions and I find them fascinating. If you've bought a company and you can't make it work, and it has to go, it would seem you have three options:

1) Sell off the assets, let the people go, and sub lease the space.

2) Sell the team and its products to another company.

3) Divest yourself of the company and assets by selling it back to the original founders.

You're going to write off your purchase regardless and for a company like Cisco it will comfortably keep them from paying tax in the US for a year or two perhaps.

But lets say you sell it back to the original (if they are around) management team. How would you structure such a deal? If you were one of those managers what would you need to ask for? Clearly you need some working capital because you'll have material in inventory and in the pipeline. You need to retain the manufacturer contracts (or a modified contract if they are more generic) and you need some space to hold the team.

Seems like option #1 is quick, painful (you lay off 550 people in this example) and you have a lot off excess material to dump / dispose at a loss.

I tried to buy one of my patents back from Sun (they were never going to use it) and that was a complete waste of time. So I wonder how one evaluates the impact to the business of these choices. Anyone here been in that situation and chosen option 2 or 3 ? Did it work out? Not? Did you wish you had chosen option 1 ?
Hacking Education: DonorsChoose Wants to See if Teachers Know Best
Twitter moves from Rails to Java
SEEKING WORK

Based in Austin, TX. Willing to work remote or in Austin.

Industrial strength C# and ASP.NET development.

View the links on my profile (inluding LinkedIn) for recommendations, examples, etc.
Fun with Erlang by Joe Armstrong [video]
Ah, that makes sense! Sorry.
Snipers use slide rules. The Mildot Master is popular for computing bullet drop from estimated target size and crosshair grid marks.

Sure, some are going to computers for the math, but laminated paper holds up better under extreme conditions for almost free.
Using C# keywords as variables
VMware Launches Open Source Cloud
Though the 'underwear bomber' didn't board a plane in the US.
This sets a really bad precident for hiring people. I guess this guy couldn't get in on his porfolio/expirence chops alone. He probably doesn't deserve this job and is looking to buy his way into an easy fortune.
Microsoft Releases First IE10 Preview
Cloud Foundry OpenPaaS from VMWare
My first post on HN =]

Let me weight in on what I think are the pros and cons to higher education. (I go to a Canadian University so this is related to my experience in Canada)

Pros:

Life goals/direction - Growing up, going to university has definitely given me a direction and goal to peruse. How dangerous would it be if the younger generation had no direction, but simply just aspired to be an "entrepreneur"

Networks - University has given me access to a huge network of professors, established industry professionals (through events/networking sessions etc), role models and up-and-coming talents

Exposure - Exposure in terms of being exposed to different types fields, career options, co-op program is a +

Career Opportunity - Whether we like it or not, going to higher education and advertising that you go to a reputable school is a criteria for HR to weed out good candidates from the bad. Just showing that you can get into a better university says something about you.

Fundamental thinking/critical thinking skills - While uni has not taught me what I needed to know for my career it definitely has built the foundation.

Fun + social experiences

Cons:

Cost - ridiculous, in a recent convo with my friend he describe it to be a $40,000 party

Career learning - not there, I learned more from on-job training, reading blogs and interviewing industry professionals

Like-mindedness - esp with the management program, I find that the teaching is based on measuring units, quantifying experiences and not giving people the room to grow as artists. In the marketing field, you can't quantify everything, we are training too many scientist and not enough artists

Overall, I can't generalize that without higher education the younger generation will be lost for directions. There is definitely a lot of young talents who are already well developed into the senior years of their high school or even prior. But remember this is a confusing time and chaotic time for us. teens now days have so much more to worry about. Not everyone is made to be an entrepreneur, you have to give the opportunity to the right people. For the rest, it is just like giving wings to Icarus, he will fly too close to the sun and be burned.

Your thoughts?

Lichi
Sometimes I wonder if the existence of a "geek-culture" is not a bit problematic. I have read (and liked) so many of the books in this list that I worry whether a subculture / industry where everyone consumes the same books / movies / memes is not in danger of becoming an echo-chamber containing a very limited set of ideas and excluding smart people that haven't read the same books.

On the other hand I can see that there is an argument to be made for a set of shared ideas and terminology to communicate more effectively and help people find common ground in social situations. Anyway, I would be interested to read other people's thoughts about this.

On a different note, I am surprised not to see any of Dawkins' books on that list (I would at least add The Selfish Gene).
This is bogus, the kernel bits are GPL so they were already released by Google...

Edit: additionally, why link to slashdot instead of a source? Is it submitted by a bot?
Hacker News MVP Post-op
After concluding plane geometry we took trigonometry. The teacher had chosen an ugly pink-and-black text from New York State. No less than 3 inches thick, it was chock full of trigonometric formulae for us to memorize. But on day 1 she put the following on the blackboard:

Indian Chief SOHCATOA:

S=O/H
C=A/H
T=O/A

where S, C, T, O, A, H are respectively, sin, cos, tangent, opposite, adjacent, and hypotenuse. The mnemonic stuck immediately.

Surprised, I asked if all the formulae in the 3-inch text were in terms of those formulae, to which she replied affirmatively. I immediately realized there was little need to study trig whatsoever, since any of the complex formulas could be reduced to ratios using the SOCAHTOA principle. I barely cracked the text that semester. She disapproved somewhat of my methods but accepted them. My classmates wasted hours memorizing formulas.
Let's Hack Education, with the Data and a Contest from DonorsChoose
*Peter Thiel's definition of freedom.

It's important to note that a lot of libertarians' ideas about freedom and pretty much everything else is comically out of step with how most people think. They think it is because they have stumbled on the magical answer to everything (the response to any problem facing society is a trivial "no government") and that everyone else is a blind idiot, when in fact they are an odd fringe that is unlike most other people.
It is not that simple in real life, unfortunately. Even ignoring the fact that inlineCallbacks's overhead is significant, inlineCallback forces you to serialize things which may be run in parallel. If you do

yield f1()
yield f2()

You force f1 to finish before being able to start f2, which goes against the whole point of using something like twisted in the first place ! I have also noticed that inlineCallback screw up the traceback (e.g. http://twistedmatrix.com/trac/ticket/3622 - I still see this with twisted 10.0.0).

While I am no genius, I am a decent programmer, with quite a few years of experience in python, and I still can't read most non trivial async code in twisted with confidence. It is almost impossible IMO to get a clear idea of the codeflows and especially error flows to ensure error handling is done right. Error handling is already difficult as is, adding exception made it that much harder, but adding async makes it basically impossible except for Vulcans.
> its (it's? anyone)

"way out" belongs to "it", so you're looking for the possessive form. English pronoun possessives do not use apostrophes (whose, mine, his, her, their, its), while everything else DOES (the dog's, Steve's, Portugal's, the crowd's).

tl;dr: it's "its".
Awesome, can't wait to read it!
This is why the closure compiler is so essential.

The ability to remove unused code at compile time means you have access to a very large, full-featured library, but only have to include the parts you need. You can do something similar with a custom JQuery or YUI build, but not nearly to the same level, and with the same granularity that the closure compiler does automatically.

Unfortunately, to take full advantage of the compiler you must run with advanced optimizations turned on, which in turn means that your code has to be structured for use with the compiler. You're not going to take an existing codebase and just throw it into the compiler with advanced optimizations and have it work out for you.

But if you start a project with the closure library and the closure compiler, you can get some pretty amazing optimizations. We were seeing relatively full-featured apps at compiled, uncompressed sizes of under 10k. Full sites well under 100k with a lot of javascript is completely doable.

Couple that with the dynamically-loading module system and you've got a crazy fast front end.

To top it all off, the compiler respects and can warn about type mismatching if you annotate your code. It's a great way to both document and check your codebase.

The closure library and closure compiler are warty enough that I don't think they'll see widespread adoption the way that JQuery has, but the closure tools, or something like them, is definitely the way forward.
Hey, I missed this. If you check this again shoot me an email: matthew [at] ramenshoppe [.] com.
The coolest hidden feature of OS X is probably the text input system.

http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/cocoa-text.html
Show HN: Feed Topic explained in illustrated introduction video.
Airplay-enabled Squrl: Internet video curation tool for iPad
I'm also a participant and have gone the self-funded startup route in the past. The experience has been genuine and the account described in this article is an excellent summary of that first 30 days. Startup accelerators are not for the faint of heart--but if you thrive on the pressure, excitement, and can take (sometimes harsh but always well-meant) criticism constructively, it's a rush and an experience you will never forget--and will never stop drawing from. You can't buy this kind of education.
Your second sentence answered your first sentence
Always time for a refresher :) http://augustcouncil.com/~tgibson/tutorial/arr.html
IE10 platform preview available - with native HTML 5
Bebo launches car review site.
> That may be so, but since Javascript is inherently single threaded

Is that in the language standard, or are you confusing details of implementations for the language's design?
Sariah Gallego Joins the Sith (Star Wars)
Ever have a new product that you have to release slowly, yet you are constantly asked to describe it? What if the current design and UI is changing so rapidly that screenshots and screen casts really won't be representative of the product? Illustrate your concept like you would on a whiteboard or piece of paper, and see if you can get your point across! Hope you like the video.
Now if only GoPro would produce a lens that could focus properly underwater I think all of my scuba diving friends would buy one.
Any hackers looking for Technical challenges and also be a co-founder?
Hi, I am looking for two strong (not physically though ;) cofounders, who are available and interested in taking up challenges. I’m not expecting anyone to be a Guru, just with some varied web app development experience, motivated, committed and excited at the prospects of implementing my webapp idea.

Problem statement:
At present, web is ruled by Social Networking which is on Rage everywhere. I am developing a personal web-app (as personal as email) which is complete opposite of this and I feel this will also soon catchup as people have to live with both - Personal and social. App is more related with personal tracking and improvement. "This webapp is an Event Recording mechanism which stores events that are happening in Ones life. user has to log those events. Events can be good or bad that happen to every one." More about the app once you evince interest and mail me. Obviously I am holding the many punch-lines till the formation of team.

Though my webapp is intended as visually rich personal logger, it also targets social networking by sharing ones personal event logs. So, it is going to be a disruptive app. I am completely confident about this app. This web-app has a WOW factor in it and is definitely going to be successful, if it has right mix of founding hackers with right attitude. Everyone partnering in this project, will have a win-win situation(EQUITY) as I see good monetizing power for this webapp. I don't want someone with just experience, I want someone who has as much of a passion for the idea as I have.I would like to hear any feedback about this idea.

I am also aspiring for winter YC2011 or atleast Summer YC2012.If you are interested, please mail me with your phone number and other details. I will personally call you and we will work out a deal. I know you hackers are already busy with your own ideas. I need some one who wants to take up more challenges and be committed till we taste success. I feel with 2 or 3 sound hackers, this webapp can be realized in 4 to 5 months. If you have friends looking to do a startup please pass this along.

Thanks alot for your time.
My Email: techeye101 [at] gmail [dot] com
The first ad-funded mobile phone is on its way. What's your price?
Objectively, past fraud history doesn't prove anything except that he did cross the border once (assuming he was not falsely convicted of fraud). MZ has also a nice long track of screwing partners without scruples. But this doesn't prove anything except that he did cross the border, and more than once. One should focus on the actual facts to determine the truth and not on past errors or misbehaviors.
First, welcome to HN! As a quick aside, it's generally taboo to sign comments with things like your Twitter handle or personal URL -- feel free to throw them in your profile :).

Re: your comment, you're absolutely right that entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and that many people will benefit more from college than without. However, Thiel doesn't argue that everyone should dropout of college. Rather, he claims that the best and brightest don't necessarily need it, and would be better served with "freedom" from education.

Should we burn down Harvard? Definitely not. But you don't need it to be successful!
Military wants full disk encryption for iPhone, Android smartphones
CMD-down will open the selected file in the Finder (same as double-clicking).
Article link: http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/155149/google-holds-b... Alleged download link: http://www.asus.com/Eee/Eee_Pad/Eee_Pad_Transformer_TF101/#d...
How to Find Great Tech Mentors
Mark Zuckerberg no longer owns 50% of the outstanding Facebook stock. He personally couldn't lose half of Facebook even if he wanted to?
Flips are a pretty great tool in an informal educational setting where you wanna just hand some one a dumb simple device with a record button. I understand that this was never a big enough market to sustain the product, but the ed. world will mourn the loss of these devices.
Any "major law firm" will go after someone as long as your checks keep clearing. The weight of a law firm is not related to the likely validity of the claims. I mean, if you think you can get a 50% stake in Facebook, of course you're going to pursue that heavily, even if your evidence is weak -- because you might be able to beat FB around until they give you money to make you go away.
Agree. Even though I haven't tried to publish anything in print media format, but I suspect that, at worst case scenario, this is no different from a writer submitting his work and getting turned down with some comments.
Maybe, but I'd guess it was more meant to be a way to get their attention.

If you read the article, they hired him and didn't actually take his money:
"I have never lived outside California or visited Kansas City, but I took the job. And Zaarly didn’t even accept my money –– they offered to pay me instead!"

There's already unpaid internships and the like, but they're specifically for the unexperienced, get-your-foot-in-the-door type of person that really needs the opportunity. Unpaid "trial periods" aren't common for most folks, so I have to imagine a "pay-us-and-we'll-consider-you" model is even less likely.
I don't think you understand what an NDA is.
Ask HN: Best place to be located in SF
We are 20-30 person development and design shop looking to open a bay area office. Our clients will primarily be self and vc funded startups. Where is the best place in town to be? Our office will probably be a nontraditional setup (we want to be accessible).
When we first started, I used this approach to contact execs at about 7 of the largest loyalty programs in the world. Of those 7, 4 are now Topguest clients. The lead times from initial contact to live integration have ranged from 3-8 months (patience and structural ability for the company to deal with long lead times is really key with enterprise sales)
Also, check out the DHS TRIP program: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/customer/redress/index.shtm. It's intended for this sort of thing. If nothing else, it may force someone to commit something to paper.
Space Shuttle to Land in Manhattan
A tutorial describing how to use the CSS3 column properties.
There was lots and lots of zigging... still is :-)
Thanks. working on it!
Artists Don’t Think Piracy Hurts Them Financially, Study Shows
Live screencast VMware PaaS announcement
Supports Java, Ruby, Node.JS, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis
SEEKING FREELANCER

Seeking design and or design/front-end dev freelancers that work remotely. We need help with front-end design for a professional web 2.0/"3.0" feeling look (think Turbotax.com in look and feel). Ideally designers that have some (or a lot) of front-end development in them and can also convert their designs into XHTML and CSS and do some UX work with JavaScript and jQuery.

greatworkplay@gmail.com
Things You Didn't Know About The Restaurant Industry
I definitely thought this was some sort of late April Fools joke. Why can SCO not just disappear?
Show HN: Project management and collaboration app for agencies
This is an app to easily manage a workload of multiple projects and to ease collaboration between teams.

We built it on weekends whilst running our agency and it’s still very much in development.

I’m posting it because I’m interested on what HNers think we should focus on next:

* A ‘client view’ of each project?

* Project level permissions to allow freelancers to access particular projects?

* Estimates vs Actuals – see how they compare and use this data to predict future delivery times.

You can sign up for a free lifetime account at the moment. Please comment if you have any feedback or ideas.

Much appreciated!

http://runwaypm.com/
But it might suffer from illumination failure!
One thing that graphing calculators are really useful for is simple number crunching. In academic settings you frequently need to take down numbers and then compute statistics about them. Tables and matrices are probably the 2 most useful things you can do with a graphing calculator (they're also among the least well known, at least among students).

Granted, spreadsheets do all of that and more, but it can sometimes be quicker to punch it all into a calculator, especially if you're already using one.
I also confess to trusting these whiz wheels ("kakkara", we call them in Finnish), a clock, and my thumb on a map way more than I do trust GPSs and glass cockpits.
It's weird to me that every other commenter on this thread mentions some point about Paul Ceglia's fraud record, as if Zuckerberg is some angel with a clean background. IMHO, Ceglia's fraud record is a completely separate incident and shouldn't be mentioned at all, but if you are going to use it to defend your stance, you should also mention Zuckerberg and his world-famous history of lying, stealing, and screwing people out of what they were contractually promised.
Of course Peter Thiel's opinion of politics will be informed of Peter Thiel's definition of freedom. The fact that it is out of step with how most people think (in particular, women and welfare beneficiaries) is precisely why Peter Thiel is pessimistic about democracy. This is explained in the short essay of his that I linked to.

Apart from attempts to lower Thiel's status, what value do you believe your comment adds?
Aussies grow world's hottest chilli
Business Lessons from Hip-Hop & Rap’s Moguls
Step 1 - Get a hosting company that can handle HN traffic.
Clickable link: http://runwaypm.com/
I agree with everything you said (hence the winky hanging off of "theory"), except for this:

> I find it unlikely that much insight can be gained from this for in-memory data structures.

Reasons for my skepticism:

First, better big O results usually come with some valuable insights that can be reapplied.

Second, the tradeoffs in constant factors are really hard to predict. E.g. the extra CPU cycles may pay for themselves by increased cache coherency or better behaviour under multi-core contention. Hard things to even measure, let alone predict. ;)

Third, besides caring about absolute speed, degradation is important in some cases -- an in-memory-only implementation that the OS decides to swap out to disk won't hit (as much of) a brick wall if/when that happens.

Fourth -- although the extra complexity is prohibitive, MVCC tuned specifically for a specific data structure will almost certainly do way better on all kinds of metrics than a language/runtime-wide implementation. Appropriate for clojure? Not my call. Useful in general? Probably so.
FlexBox, transitions, gradients, and 3D transforms... glad to see progress continuing to be made -- and they were demoing it on an ARM processor. Cool.
> But we aren't talking about Javascript. It's about a theoretical replacement language.

Apparently the plan is to implement this "theoretical replacement language" in javascript using node.js

https://github.com/fogus/funode/blob/master/src/funode.js
for those of us prefering single page articles:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2006/06/the-manage...
The only native experience of the Web and HTML5 today is on Windows 7 with IE9.

I'm leery of the word "native" in this context. It strikes me as a marketing phrase with little or no actual meaning. They're trying to sell me on the idea that my HTML5 experience will somehow be better because it uses code provided by Windows itself rather than by some intermediary library. But what is that windows code, if not a library of code?
In Soviet Russia, regex starts you.
Thanks for your thoughts on the matter, but it has happend to me. The offer was retracted based on lack of interest on my part as seen by the company - this is back in '07 when I was in talks with a few companies and most had given me offer letters.

You need to be careful with your advice to others, I know you mean well but it could really mess somebody up in a very real way.
Supplemental life insurance wouldn't be a bad business to sell to space tourists.
Interval sequences (from Factor to Common Lisp)
Sorry for being dense: is he being detained going into/out of the country (that is, international flight) ; or is this a domestic flight?

EDIT: per another comment, seems he is flying from Serbia to USA.
Google cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:yOPgy3F...