skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Astronomers Find a New "Minor Planet" near Neptune
An interesting REST read:
http://tomayko.com/writings/rest-to-my-wife

Anyway, the point is not GET, PUT, and DELETE so much as it is making use of the HTTP architecture as it exists, rather than rebuilding features on top of it. As we move forward on the web, it will be more important to have a standard set of verbs, if for no other reason than to make interoperability easier.
no sense in trying to fight for press - just wait another week
Whenever I read t-nation, I'm struck by how self-conscious some of them are about being big. I see little regard for the fact that some sports don't require athletes to have enormous amounts of muscle mass.
Announcing a beta release of the Android SDK
Peter Diamandis talks about it in this Stanford talk (edcorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2002 ) (not loading right now). Basically, he paid $1m (I think) for a $10m insurance policy. He almost lost it because he couldn't make the payments. The Ansari family stepped in and paid the rest of the policy premium so he named it after them.
Why Are The Democrats Waffling On Net Neutrality?
Probably not (though I get the point of the regex, and it's well taken). Here's a very readable reference:

http://cr.yp.to/immhf/addrlist.html

He also has a "mess822" C library (you could cons up bindings pretty quickly to your language du jour); knowing the source, it's likely to be most bulletproof validator on the net.
The "print this page" link: http://weblog.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printT...
U.S. Elections: Obama and McCain Start Sharing in Google Reader
chez17, do you do contract programing?
What Would the Perfect Streaming Music Service Look Like?
The Fabric of Reality
The Fountainhead
The Myth of the Framework
The Skeptical Environmentalist
The Machinery of Freedom

etc

Ideas are what impresses me most.
The site is online and live. They use it daily. The changes have been made over a couple of years, so I have been paid for the work that has been completed, which is everything except this last round of changes.
I got Vista with a laptop and I couldn't use it either, but what I've noticed is that most normal users get Vista with new PC's and they are so used to spyware/malware/adware making their computer work like crap that they never even notice how much slower vista is. They just expect their computer to take 4 minutes to start IE and thrash the HDD the entire time its on.

They don't switch back to XP. It never even occurs to them. Most of them have a fairly dim idea about even the difference between Vista and XP. Its just another computer that doesn't work very well. Like all of the other computers they've had.
Don't rewrite from scratch: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000069.html

Can't you refactor the bits you are working on? Like they ask you to add feature X, you refactor parts of the code to make it easier to add feature X. Don't know if reading the book about Refactoring would help, I think the main point was to cover your refactorings with unit tests.
How I Stole Someone's Identity Using the Internet
He was looking to get laid, apparently.
see, I suppose the difference is I dont watch TV all that much (1-2 hours a week at most?) so maybe I havent become too used to it.
Concur. I think the most impressive thing on here was Fez. Other stuff either looked like it wouldn't be terribly useful to actually use, wasn't real or both.
Thanks for the reddit thread.

Code quality seems to be something I have never really learned. I understand some of the principles of it, but executing them over a long period of time on a project that keeps expanding is certainly something I am not very good at. One thing I should have specified in my explanation above is that this project has been going on for years. They come up with some changes, I finish them, nothing happens for a couple months, and then a phone call with "What if it did this...". The system has gotten so big and bloated over that time.
So you just never expected it to get this complicated and you didn't plan for it? Are you looking for help on how to fix it, or how to approach your client and let them know that its become unworkable?
DIY: USB Switched Power Strip
Is Linking to Yourself the Future of the Web?
Yes. I am a freelancer and this project has come from one of my best sources for work. These changes have come over the course of a year or two so the issue is more about maintainability than initial planning. There was no way to know what the system would become when it was originally created.
Damn data. How dare it not conform to my preconceptions?

That said, what I was trying to express was my feeling that the poll options you chose don't tell the whole story, because you only offered "Startups and CS, no exceptions" and "anything goes".

My contention is that if there were an option for "I like seeing other interesting articles, but keep a pretty strong CS/startup focus", it would be the clear winner. I could be wrong, but the poll as stands doesn't tell us one way or the other.
Kindle Questions
I'm trying learn more about the Kindle's notation functionality, and I'm hoping to avoid shelling out the dough to figure this out first hand.

My recollection based on limited usage is that there is simply an ability to add a note to a particular passage, with no distinction between a tag like "politics" or "campaigning" and a note like "bob will love this explanation of why kerry lost." Is that correct?

Wishful thinking: If you're a Kindle owner in NYC, would you be willing to let me use it in your presence for a few minutes at your preferred location? I'd be more than grateful.
No, it doesn't work. Real answers appear in "collapsed" form, so they are not visible.
If you don't have a wide international audience, don't worry about using a CDN.
More about the philosophy of quality code. I am going to do the work, that's not the issue, but I was asking for advice on how to proceed with the coding.

I'm sure this has happened to people before and will happen again. I was also thinking that a thread on something like this would be very useful to many people besides myself.
> The WWW: "It's so disorganized. I prefer gopher."

"Me too" - I remember that every time I think about trying to predict the future.
Along with tens of millions of lines of C code with 4-bytes-per-IP hardcoded into them, many on devices that can't be upgraded without walking up to them in person.
I have several additional questions beyond the few in the original post. My contact info is in my profile, in case anybody would like to discuss this more directly.
Sure and HN revolves around username swombat. I do like your energy but you are wasting it for the wrong purpose. HN will go where the majority drives it.

And nobody said anything about PG owning it or his authority over it. And even He said that sometimes he is surprised to see some post make it to the top, but overall he was satisfied with the content.
Chris Sacca on freeing the airwaves
Interestingly it seems to be based on a referrer. It worked when I clicked the link from Google, not when I clicked it from here. Why are these clowns still in Google's index anyways, cloaking isn't allowed.
It's contingent on a Google referrer. They should be removed from the index.

Compare these:

curl -e http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_21692879.html?qid=21692879 > without_google.html

curl -e http://www.google.com http://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/Q_21692879.html?qid=21692879 > with_google.html
What's the current state of the MinGW port? I saw that the release notes for 1.6.0 mention that it was being integrated, but it doesn't sound like an all-out supported release.

On Windows, I've been using the Cygwin port. Everything I need, such as git-svn, has worked, but it's very slow compared to git on Linux or Mac OS. Faster than Subversion, but that doesn't say much. I'll be happy to see a faster, more native Git port available on Windows. (Actually, I'll be happier to not have to use Windows for work anymore, but that might take a little while longer.)
Sanjit Biswas (Meraki founder) is also interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wikV9IAyzSA&feature=user
I'm through with Alan Greenspan. It may indeed be a good idea to increase skilled immigration; for all I know, it might even be a good idea to increase it specifically to support home prices.

But I just can't stomach hearing this from the guy who probably did more than anyone else to inflate the housing bubble. This housing crisis wasn't some obscure, unexpected blow from an economic blind spot that surprised economists and policy makers alike. Greenspan didn't just ignore the concerns of a bunch of fringe doomsayers - he ignored obvious and well documented warning signs.

Housing prices jumped, so Greenspan lowered interest rates. They jumped more, so Greenspan lowered the rates even more. They jumped again, and Greenspan lowered them to 40 year lows and started touting the benefits of exotic mortgages that could get them even lower.

Now he suggests that we pursue a high population immigration strategy so that we can fill up those houses at their peak valuations? Good one.

The funny thing is, I'm not really opposed to skilled immigration (provided it is done with freedom and is broad based, not through corporate indentured servitude targeting a small sector of the labor pool). But we need to hear it from someone other than Greenspan. He needs to hang out by the pool and play golf now, I'm not interested in hearing from him. Like Marcellus Wallace said to Butch: "you get gone, and when you gone, you stay gone, or you be gone. You lost all your LA privileges."
"This [free press coverage] is the main value of YCombinator: It provides guidance and media exposure that would otherwise take years to achieve, if at all".

No no no. It truly is not-- it blows me away how often people say this. Look at the traffic graphs of most YC companies and they have a healthy spike around Demo Day and then nearly flatline (and start the rough/long trudge up the hill).

If I were going to put things at the top of the list of values YC provides, I'd say it's:

- the (very) public declaration of intent-- it becomes DAMN awkward to quit once you're a YC company.

- the investor relationships, introductions, and acceleration. It's nearly impossible to pitch 150+ investors at once without YC. That setting results in faster investment oftentimes (but not fast enough).

- YC guidance. They've shepherded 100+ startups thru this now-- they have more data and better instincts about the "right" thing to do than most advisors... And invest way more time.

- The peer relationships. Very few early stage questions can't be (very effectively) answered by the collective wisdom of YC founders (who have all gone thru the same issues).
Greta article. I was thinking many of the things he mentions in this, I was thinking of doing the whole rewrite thing but this really convinced me not to. Thanks.
Hilarious web 2.0 spoof pitch. User-Generated Sandwiches: Breadless.com
Amazon's site had an official meetup page where satisfied Kindle owners would volunteer to give demos to local folks. You might want to check that out.
Someone is Going to Get Burned, Why The Boot Camp Model is Dangerous
I see what you mean. I'd guess the problem is that it accounts for very few votes for #1, but the same people casting the same vote over and over again. I know every time I dig through the comments of someone who says that something is off-topic, I find multiple instances of it.

Either way, I'd have less problem if they said "I wish this were off-topic" because then they'd at least be factually accurate.
Google releasing public Android SDK today? [Confirmed]
I agree, but there can be some danger in this as the start-up grows. I worked for a "we'll figure it out as we go along" start-up, but as clients grew (and the original dev left) the rest of us were left with nothing more than generally uncommented code as documentation.
its nice.
Try Amazon's "See a Kindle" program: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_5915932_1...
I believe the title is completely opposite of what the author believes. Then again, it has been a long day, so maybe I'm just going crazy.
In addition to adding a note to a particular passage, you can highlight it.

The notes and highlights then show up as "My Clippings" in the content list. I find this rather annoying since it starts to clutter things up.

Another annoying feature is that the Kindle doesn't use page #'s so it's hard to cross reference it to the dead tree version of the book.

The content manager would also be better if it would allow you to create directories.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the Kindle since it allows me to read more material on the go. The free EVDO access is also pretty cool, although they really need to improve the web browser. It's good enough for google maps though which has been very handy.
Having an alternate point of view like Sacca is needed in this ecosystem. The company that I work for is in the process of developing a global mobile capability/division and surprisingly (or unsurprisingly if you understand the marketing communications industry), none of the mobile/wireless vendors I met with discussed the spectrum debate here in the states.

There's a disconnect between policy and actuality within the US mobile space today. It's unfortunate our infrastructure and thinking isn't along the lines of Japan's or at least in the immediate hope of getting there.
I think the real solution here is microformats, to be plugged into bug trackers and knowledge bases. Then something like this would be possible (just mocked it up myself):

http://derefr.googlepages.com/google_errors.png
I was wondering that a little, since the article (by the time I got to it) didn't seem particularly hateful. But it didn't seem very insightful either. It's pleasing (and a healthy sign) that it hasn't gotten any traction on News YC.
What They Teach you at Harvard Business School
"We regret to inform developers that Android 1.0 will not support 3.5" floppy disks."

Classic.
It's been talked about before, but the "password reset" concept really needs to be looked at. Compromising somebody's e-mail means you have access to everything they've ever signed up for, because every site has a password reset and lots of them just send an e-mail without any further questions
There are all kinds of things we could discuss about this. It might be fun if you mentioned some specific examples and people could offer suggestions. In general, though, I'd suggest you begin paying a lot more attention to what, and when, you're duplicating in your code. There are lots of ways for duplicate code or data to creep into a system. Developing awareness of what they are, and discipline to do something about it, is probably your best bet to start with. You'd be surprised at how far that alone will get you.

Edit: I'll add something about my own practice. When making changes to a system, I nearly always bundle the visible changes together with invisible changes to clean up problems with that portion of the code (if I see any). I don't ask for permission to do this and I don't do big cleanup projects as standalone endeavors. Rather, I amortize the cost of design improvement as evenly as possible over the lifetime of the project. Think of it as paying off your credit card bill each month, rather than waiting for the collection agency to come after you.

In other words, there's basically never a day when I'm not correcting or improving code in addition to adding it. If I were you, I'd start doing this now, and I'd start out with low-hanging fruit (obvious, easy improvements) rather than attempting anything too grand.

You may experience a slowdown in your progress if you switch to working this way - but your throughput will be greater in the long run. Besides, it sounds like you've hit the point, with this codebase, where your changes are taking longer no matter what you do.
Call me skeptical, but I doubt a 71 year old is capable of driving a golf ball 340 yards without some serious help from the wind.
Are you able to discuss this further? My email address is in my profile.
If you haven't yet, then please have someone else take a look at your code. I'm thinking they'll be able to give you some pointers.

I can only guess in what a mess your codebase must be; spaghetti code with sparse, little "helper" functions, perhaps?

Is there duplicate code?

1) Opening and querying databases.
2) Presentation/UI.
3) Dynamic menuing systems; it's all static behind the scenes.

Can you give us more of an idea of how it's so difficult to work within your project?
This is why you absolutely need to safeguard user passwords. 60-70% of your users will use a variant of their email password for your app as well. Normal people don't memorize or write down 10 passwords, or even 2. Lose a user's password, you've cost them their bank accounts.
What's the solution to this? Phone support? You can add "secret questions", but users will lose those too.
well I'm 5'11 and weigh 170, so I would have to say yes?
But he knew when to quit ideas that didn't have hope. It freed his time up enough to move onto other, more promising ideas.
That's how I am, and I feel lucky too. I can watch things that are so low quality other people can't even tell what's going on, and I see no difference
Colorist: Color Manipulation For WebHeads
Develop Flash Application in Ruby
TechStars's Socialthing acquired by AOL
What happened to the Techcrunch Web Tablet?
After the big "announcement" I sent in my email address to be contacted when something happened, I haven't heard a word. Has anyone else heard anything about this? Was it all a joke or did they just get tired of the project already?
For some reason, my electric utility has introduced Javascript that disables copy/paste into the password field of their website. This kills my use of KeePass as an encrypted password vault. If some of the users are going to use KeePass or a similar program, I think this should be encouraged. At least those users won't be subject to these sorts of attacks.
IT workers pushed to the limit
I love that phrase "Pulling a Cuil". Lol.
Gruppler's Javascript Effect Demos
Ask HN: Co-founding
I was recently asked by a friend of mine to join him in his startup that he had been developing for some time. In the midst of our increasingly serious conversations a few things have emerged that worry me:

The site scrapes statistical sports data from another site to provide part of the core functionality. The founder assured me that he consulted a lawyer regarding this issue and informed me that it is a gray area, but it should be okay. I am told the fee to get this data directly would be $25,000/yr which is currently unaffordable. He says once he can afford it he will pay -- is this illegal? Unethical?

Given that the startup does not yet have any formal limited liability structure, the aforementioned gray area seems all the more worrying if I could be held personally accountable. I am told that at most the initial risk would be a cease-and-desist.

Lastly, the founder informed me that since he has been working on the site for years he would take the "lion's share" of the equity in the startup, and have the final say on all matters. This did not sit very well with me, and I asked him if he saw me as a consultant/contractor or as a partner/co-founder to which he replied that he saw me as a co-founder and would reasonably consider whatever I had to say and try to come to a compromise in any dispute -- but he would ultimately have final say.

Both he and I would like to start working together ASAP. But I feel that despite the time and effort he has already invested, the terms seem harsh. Should I wait for an officially drafted contract? For a corporation to be setup? Even though this is someone that I know and trust it seems a little bit dubious to get involved without a legally binding (and satisfactory) agreement.
It's the same with music, right? 128 AAC sounds fine to me. The CD carriage and solid gold speaker cable set looks at me with pity. I just laugh. Suckers.

I knew someone during the bubble who lived in Manhattan, right when Kozmo and Urbanfetch arrived. He found gift certificate hacks in both --- you could order things on Mastercard web certificates (0-balance valid Mastercard numbers) and get issued a $5 transferable gift certificate before the original purchase cleared. He had scripts that would literally generate money for their sites. The Kozmo and Urbanfetch delivery guys would meet every day in the hallway in his apartment, and apparently became friends.

Anyhow, one of the things he did with them was have a limitless supply of Godiva chocolates delivered for him and his girlfriend.

Eventually, the hack stopped working.

Shortly afterwards, his girlfriend bought a package of Hershey's Kisses.

"Bleh! Inedible!" He'd always liked them before, but had trained himself to hate them by eating nothing but high-end stuff.

Chocolate, sound quality, picture quality --- and absolutely, positively, cars --- all suffer from the Godiva "Paradox". It's better to satisfice than optimize.

This is also one of the key observations in The Innovator's Dilemma. Hulu is a bigger disruptor than HDTV is. I'll happily accept crappy picture quality if I can watch anything I want, whenever I want.
Second that. Didn't find anything supporting the title - just the other way around.

Still a good read.
Totally agree. My point was opposing the "Slow down on what you love" advice, which I think is crazy.
Do people think that a decent OpenID provider would sort this out?

I quite like the idea of using an OpenID provider for everything which had very strong authentication (e.g RSA fob). You'd only need to log in a couple of times a day with a login timeout of an a few hours.
I don't think it's quite fair that you're being modded down. Actually, yes, that's the main thing.

However, as you age, your calorie expense goes down dramatically at one point... for some it's around 25. Others it's around 35. Others, it never happens! But most people find that at some point they have to seriously decrease their intake of food (without changing their lifestyle otherwise) or else they get a spare tire pretty quickly!
I think the price of obtaining limited liability is so low these days it doesn't make sense not to do it. It also seems obtaining limited liability would go hand in hand with putting your agreement in writing, so I'm failing to see your potential co-founder's reasons for not doing this. Unless you're going on a handshake (which I doubt), you'll decide on how much equity is "the lion's share" and then divide it using some form of agreement or equity division. You can't have equity division without a company to divide, and the company you start will hopefully limit your liability.
Job != start-up
The notable thing is that "REST" seems to be nothing more than buzzword-compatible name for HTTP.
There can be a Retry (that is after finishing; but not put it in the shelf), but "Finish or cancel" gives a sense of urgency to finish it.
Bail.

If I can summarize your words:
worry, illegal, unethical?, gray area, personally accountable, lions share, 'did not site well with me', final say, dubious.

At no point did you say 'exciting' or 'amazing' or anything remotely exciting about it.
Apparently this list will date me. It's in approximate chronological order.

- Atari - At a friends house! Stunning.

- Commodore 64 - LOAD "*",8,1

- 600 baud modem - CONNECT 2400 - BBSes and text based games!

- email / fidonet - A huge change to the BBS scene.

- telnet - Users could connect anywhere without long distance.

- Mosaic

- Doom ][ - IPX online play or modem-modem 2 person play.

- Hubble Space Telescope - After it was fixed!

- Lisp & Scheme - Atleast my understanding of it was huge.

- Godel's incompleteness theorems - Understand and you'll never look at math the same way.

- Wii - Finally a successful iteration of this user interface great idea.
Why did you need to waste all that time writing out that reply? Couldn't you have just said "Article sucks."?
Cuz my higher brain says it isn't bad.