skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
his slightly nervous, ever-so-geeky, sensibility...

I would love for that sentence to be explained. The speaker took the stage and spoke with confidence. I saw no signs of nervousness. As for geeky, I guess you mean he was skinny, wearing a rumpled shirt and glasses? Sensibility? You mean he looked sensitive, or reasonable?

I dunno, it just seems like a whole lot of snap judgment of a guy and some words that seem to have just been assembled at random because it sounded cool.
It's quite apparent to me that Mr. Clemens' political leanings and the exigencies of blogging culture have worked together to transform a worthwhile small point into a pretty overbaked big point. Mr. Clemens demonstrates ably, I think, that Mr. Khan is a lousy history teacher. I haven't taken any of his science courses, so I can't speak about them, but it's clear that when it comes to history Mr. Khan lacks the depth of knowledge and fluency with the facts to teach effectively. So he ends up missing things, leaving things unexplained, falling back on pop culture depictions, oversimplifying motivations.

On the other hand—what does this have to do with pretty much anything else? I think it's not a stretch to see how every deficiency displayed there can be directly derived from a lack of familiarity with the material. Do you really need to try to make the overheated claim that being waffly with facts and simplistic with the human narrative is the result of an academia-enforced political and epistemological philosophy? Mr. Khan isn't exactly saying, you know, 'As we learn from a cursory reading of Baudrillard, the concept that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in any meaningful, substantial way is clearly a fiction of the necessities of realpolitik.' He's just fudging it. Mr Clemens continues to spiral outward, proposing a grim reality where all our education is mediated through Facebook and thus (because of the nature of Facebook's algorithms at the moment) through political conformity, confirmation bias, and groupthink—which results in Mr. Khan's own pernicious beliefs being beamed, unopposed, into the minds of our modern youth. All this from “from FDR’s point of view, Hitler definitely was in the wrong here” and a reference to _Saving Private Ryan_.

Mr Clemens should have restricted his aim to a more manageable and germane topic: the unfortunate fiction that we can teach history, or anything else, by reading out loud from the textbook, or by stringing together a sequence of pictures of famous people. Teaching is hard, and many people in lecture halls and seminars all across this great nation do it poorly every day. Unfortunately, when it comes to World War II, Mr. Khan is a member of their ranks. I'm not sure that Bill Gates' neoliberal plans for a New World Order history course necessarily enter into it.
Kino.to was short showing the following after the raid.

http://smblogger.de/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/kino.to_.png

So the police (or someone else) defaced the site, before taking it offline. I wonder, if they recorded IP addresses at that time or record IP addresses of visitors currently.
My question, then, is: is his lecture better, worse, or about the same as we'd expect in, say, a typical undergraduate history lecture?

I wouldn't dismiss Khan just because he doesn't go into detail with aspects

I wouldn't dream of doing that-- there's only so much detail one can fit into a brief lecture. The problem (if there is one) is one of selection and interpretation.
"professional copyright infringement"

Excuse me, but 'professional' could mean anything. Some people use it to mean that they're following standard industry practices; others use it because they're always dressed in suits. Another definition separates 'professionals' from 'amateurs' in a way that 'professionals' earn their money with their trade, and amateurs are just messing about; there is much jealousie-de-metier here.

This vagueness of the term 'professional' causes me to immediately ask what it really entails if somebody pitches to me that their services are 'professional'.
+1 for libraries. It's funny that on HN, where people constantly insist that text is a faster way to convey information, opening a history book is not even considered.

To me, it goes back to the goal of the Khan academy: is this meant for pop culture consumption, or more in-depth knowledge?

How does reading the diary of Ann Frank compare to Khan's video?
What have you got to lose by taking on the role? List out the pros and cons for yourself to help.

30% is very good for a business that has been running for 4 years with existing customers.
That is a much better question. Although I can't tell you why in this specific scenario, I can tell you that middle markets can be tough because they're not the cheapest or the most expensive, which are two common selling points.
Failed entrepreneur, broke, unemployed, now taking care of aging parents. Help.
TL;DR - My startup failed, I'm now broke and unemployed, I have no idea who I am anymore professionally, and had to move back to the middle of nowhere to take care of my aging parents. I don't want to get stuck living this life. How do I fix all this?

===========

Hello HN,

As a long-time reader of HN I would greatly appreciate some advice and/or suggestions of how some of you would deal with this situation. I'd like to believe that as an entrepreneur that I can find solutions to problems but at this point I have to admit I'm a bit shaken. What would you do if this were your situation?

1) I'm a failed startup entrepreneur fighting my way back out of depression, spiritless-ness, and massive debt. I've also been unemployed for over 1.5 years now due to a loss of identity and overall purpose. I have no life savings left to try and squeeze my out of this situation.

2) Concurrently, I had to move back home to a relatively inactive area - no tech scene, no innovators, no night life, no forward-thinking, no excitement. People here are content with 9-5 jobs and staying home at night (edit, removed: want their safe, comfortable, 9-5 jobs, and their must-see-TV at night). There is no ecosystem to help drive and create new things. Local city and business "leaders" I talk to about doing something politely nod their head in agreement but it never leads to anything.

3) I had to move back home to manage my aging parents. They're in their mid-70's, and are starting to need assistance. They are in violent denial that anything needs to be changed, planned, or managed. They will never move, won't help plan for the future, and are constantly and consistently negative about every situation. It's becoming harder and harder to stay levelheaded and sane in such an environment.

4) My entire family suffers from social anxiety disorder and have no friends/extended-family/neighbors whatsoever - zero, zip, nada. This makes life planning almost next to impossible as all new ideas are immediately shot down due to stubbornness, ignorance, or fear. This leaves me with no support at any level in trying to plan for their future quality-of-life in terms of finances, insurance, health care, moving, and attempts at basic human interactions.

5) Net effect, I'm trapped, unfocused, and drowning in guilt. If I relocate in an attempt to find work I leave my troubled family behind and will become the "one who abandoned them." No one is fair enough to comprehend the planning I've done so far (estate, health, day-to-day care, etc). If I stay, I'll lose more and more of my professional momentum and personally run the risk of falling deeper into depression.

I know my objective perspectives are probably a bit skewed at this point, so my goal is to get a clear head as soon as possible, and get back into the ring. Have any of you had similar stories or experiences? How did you go about fixing it?
Great story; definitely an example of why many investors focus on teams rather than ideas.

I'd be curious to learn more about the company's current plans and product; if any of the company's founders are here and willing to share.
Much of the practical value in history is found when you examine events in some depth. For example, taking a deeper look at the German encryption system or the code breaking infrastructure at Bletchley. Or examining how an entire nation managed to keep the D-Day invasion secret until the very last minute.

So, while this article might itself be a little breathless, I think it's valid criticism that glossing over History is unforgivable.
On College and the IT Field
> (perhaps in a move of trade protectionism)

I find it far more likely that the extra strength was required for the impact collisions. The other cars on the road in the US are just far larger and massive than those elsewhere, so a stronger heavier car is needed to stay safe.

It creates a bit of a Catch 22 when trying to bring down the average size / weight of a vehicle.
Sal,

The real issue I come out with from that article is not the content of your courses but the danger of potentially having one uniform history curriculum for the whole world. You can still be the most unbiased and thorough teacher and this will still remain a real issue. The more subjective a subject, the more different ways it must be taught.

Unfortunately, time and attention are scarce. The best you can do is to impart the understanding that all historical accounts are biased, and balance that bias by encouraging your students to research opposite points of view on their own time.

I was taught both Haitian History from Haiti and from France almost at the same time when I was in school (I was in a French distance learning program in Haiti). The Haitian account was glorifying its heroes and the French account was attenuating the magnitude of the first successful Black revolution. I really appreciated your account of the Haitian revolution since your personal bias was much less impregnated in your video.

Don't stop doing what you are passionate about.
Google style is SGI's old campus - and the rest of that whole office park, essentially. You can walk around the streets, and some of the manhole covers have GOOGLE molded into them.
Dating with data
>>I prefer to select few lines of text and want to add some of my comments

Is this common? Genuinely asking.
But would anyone really notice if Node used WebKit's JavaScriptCore (a.k.a. "Nitro") instead?

There isn't a huge performance gap between the two engines these days... But V8 is easier to embed in C++, I think.
Kinect Star Wars
To the author of the article, Mr. Clemens, and other academics annoyed by Mr. Khan's compressed description of important topics, I ask the following question:

Other than criticize this new source of education, what are YOU doing to address the needs of people hungry for learning other than continuing on the same well worn path that you've been on for decades?

Professional academics whining about Khan Academy ignore the fact that their customers are telling them something by flocking to Khan's videos. They're saying that higher education today doesn't always meet their needs, and they need these services packaged, priced, and delivered in new ways.

If Mr. Clemens doesn't like Khan's treatment of a particular topic, how about recording your own video that does it right.

It does seem easier to criticize and keep to your own cloistered little world rather than put yourself out there and try to innovate. But that's just my perspective.
Well if you want to pay great teachers to produce science videos, I would start by offering this guy a lot of money.

Or at the very least, please watch the whole video because it explains one massive problem with video science lessons and how to partially fix the problem.

http://youtu.be/eVtCO84MDj8
1. In 1997, technology held him back, not market share. The iPhone changed the world with no market share. The iPad changed the world with no market share. Etc.

2. Who gives their service away for free? Apple still
charges for it. It's included in the devices you buy, etc.
Where do you Blog so I can add to my RSS?
Categorization: yes, we do think to give user the opportunity to tag its post/thank you message. We're also planning to create an 'auto-tagging' mechanism based on the type of page that our 'thank-you' button is placed.

Ranking: Yes, we will provide "top" lists for the categories. But the ranking algorithm may include other variables than the "# of thanks" to make it more accurate.
Cost: $12.50/W

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/01/bloom-box-cost/
That's a very naive view of advertising. Many ad campaigns are successful despite hard data, not because of it.
In 2010, Apple launched the iPad. There was nothing like it in the market. It was an instant success. A monopoly in the true sense of the word.

Translation: not at all a monopoly in any legally meaningful way.

Horrible article.
This isn't about drugs. This about the coercive force of government wanting a cut of the profits. Think of it as a protection racket.
Ask HN: Different methods of user data manipulation in C? (gui)
Howdy all

I'm working on a very old legacy project that uses C and the Windows API (Petzold, if that rings a bell). I've found an interesting bug that I cannot work around with my (somewhat limited) level of C knowledge.

The goal is to have users edit certain parameters of a data matrix in a dialog box of some form. How would you go about it?
The same thing that has held everyone else back until now.

1. Bandwidth started to become conveniently fast and widespread around year 2000, people are just starting to be familiar with that. He's talking about gigabit ethernet in the video, even today most people don't even have 1/1000 of that.

2. Computers in general have just started to become widespread among the general population until now.

3. Trust, 10 years ago privacy had a much higher price than now. Especially considering the people who used computers then were the tinfoil hacker kind as opposed to every random person today.

4. User interfaces was horrible 10 years ago. Just imagine setting up a network connection with settings like baudrate and hundreds of other funny things that nobody except the programmer of the application cares about.

5. Money and effort. Hard drives are cheap, big enough, and last long enough to not scare people away from them. People don't want to complicate things more than necessary.

And to be fair, most big companies has had the kind of thin-client setup he's talking about for quite long. You just need a VPN-tunnel and you can access it from everywhere in the world. (again, back to user friendlyness).
Announcing the XFX PSU Contest
Bank customers that hear about this have an incentive to change banks though.
Heck, the Omaha Fire Department's books can't be audited either.

http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/arti...

and I applaud your use of bracketed numbers, even if they are not blue. http://xkcd.com/906/
Atheists only have one worldview?
Stanford's CS department hires lecturers (not professors) to teach many undergraduate classes, especially the introductory ones. Lecturers aren't expected to do research, and are hired based on their teaching ability. The ones I had were all incredible teachers.
the original text (see the png of my posting below) says, "gewerbsmaessige Begehung von Urheberrechtsverletzung", so the professional in the torrentfreaks translation refers to earning money.
The Room and the Elephant
I dont have a blog, sorry. I will open one soon...

Feel free to follow me http://twitter.com/calufa.
Comparing declarative prose in past tense and instructions doesn't work. "Rush to the exit doors, then leap down the stairs, then finally run to get the train." Humans need first/then/finally or else we might execute instructions concurrently ("Boil water. Dice an onion.") Although, these words are unnecessary if a the beginning a human is told, "follow these instructions in order," as a compiler is told to read files. "Finally" is the signal to stop executing after the last statement, compilers use EOF, close tags etc to achieve the same thing. So, the analogy is quite precise if imperative sentences and code are compared and the whole prose text is compared to the code plus the compiler.
Copying is innovation?

Innovation = new idea, new method, new product.

Sorry, your argument is bullshit.
This "Effectiveness of Science Videos" video that you refer to doesn't even use Khan Academy videos. Also, don't you think it is ironic to use video to explain that videos can't explain things?

You're entitled to your opinions. Our #1 priority is the millions of students who use our content and testify that it is measurably helping them. And to be clear, they aren't deluding themselves--read our comments and you'll see student after student using our content to rock any assessment thrown at them. The data we're seeing in pilot classrooms is showing students performing several grade levels ahead. We're seeing remedial students using Khan Academy software leap frogging non-remedial students. Very savvy school districts (with super demanding parents) that understand results are rolling us out on a district-wide basis.

As for conceptual understanding, this is what the Khan Academy is all about. We have multiple videos on proofs and conceptual understanding that are never touched on in most classrooms. I won't make a lesson unless I can explain the why and/or why it is intuitive.

As for your "research", what is it tangibly doing for students? Rather than talk, we think we should build, learn and iterate.
Funny. I've read YouTube comments more thoughtful than yours.
What about all the other companies that built new campuses and their stock didn't fall?
It's not about my motivations - I'm commenting about the question the article asks. This guy should not be held up as abnormal in some way - people like Larry Ellison should. While quite common, obsession with material wealth and the drive to acquire it beyond reason is a perverse state, not healthy or natural.
On (2), you're right, but Apple always wanted above that, charging $100 a year.
The internet's a third level of "human organism," not a deity. The first two levels being individuals, and traditionally organized bodies with leaders.

That said, it is a great source of "godly" works.
I was working as a tech entrepreneur in tech in Africa for most of 2010. In VC in CA right now but I'm interested. @michaelwfrank
Wow, I just downloaded that whole archive in a minute.
When I first started university, I didn't realise how important pen and paper is. In my course, we use pen and paper more than we do computers.
Your last paragraph outlines everything perfectly. It's nice to see a comment along the lines of "the world is big enough for all of us".

Regarding Bento, Visual Studio Lightswitch might just cut it when it goes RTM: http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us/lightswitch
I used to have a desk next to a window. Me, and many others taped up newspapers to block the infernal glaring light.
That might make it work. I think that's the big differential between MBA and mini. I'd be curious to see that build some various app types.

I don't know of anyone putting that forth as the low cost solution (nor is that sort of change out easy for someone who's really terrified to break their $700 computer and not used to fiddling with that stuff).
Federal courts to begin first ever digital video pilot of criminal cases
I don't see the analogy here at all. The whole point of Linode is to allow you to take responsibility for your own random software. The point of bank security --- in fact, a good part of the point of banks, period --- is to limit access to your funds.

Imagine if instead of passwords, the typical bank required a four-digit PIN. Imagine the bank did everything reasonable to meet best practices standards for validating PINs (for instance, requiring reset of PIN after N incorrect entries). Would anyone think it was reasonable for a bank to stake an entire business cash flow on a four digit PIN?

In 2011, the password is only marginally more secure than the PIN. That this is for reasons outside the bank's control is no more relevant than it would be with four-digit PINs.

The bank should in all cases be responsible for deploying electronic security measures generally recognized by those skilled in the art as reasonably effective. The bank is in all cases responsible for taking "due care" with the security of its accounts. Leaving them exposed to wild high-value money transfers should, and probably does, contravene the due care standard.
Also distance doesn't accurately represent the inconvenience it takes to get from new york city to a place not connected by subway. To go from Manhattan to jersey city you will most likely be taking a subway and then connecting to a path train or ferry, that mere mile distance could easily make your commute over an hour each way.
There is a difference in the fact that the bank is fully aware that the robbery is not a normal transaction.

The bank cannot be expected to be aware of normal transactions conducted with a fraudulent intent. Assuming they take some precautions (like they do if the suddenly see 15 quick purchases from Russia when you live in Oregon), there's only so much liability they can be expected to shoulder.
bz2 compression ;) --- 1147480:1 compression ratio
> the fact that there is over 400k apps in the appstore tells me that the barrier is either non existent or a lot lower than people are making it out to be.

Barriers leading to higher numbers of hobby users trying android app dev than iOS, which is the title of the HN post.

There are more pros on iOS and Win7Phone from the survey (both numerically and percentage wise).
If it was a free market, you'd be SOL and are defending it on that basis.
I would agree with that.

I personally take "transcendental" to be describing a purely emotional experience. But I agree, for most other people it means super natural.
From reading over the court filings, it looks like Ocean Bank's defense was built around the ACH/eBanking agreements that Patco signed before they commenced the service.

In these agreements, Patco "agreed to, among other things,
assume all liability and responsibility to monitor its commercial checking account (“Account”) on a daily basis. See Modified eBanking Agreement § XIII.B; ACH Agreement §§ 11 and 12(a). Patco further agreed that it would indemnify Ocean Bank from any suits arising from its failure to abide by the terms of the Modified eBanking Agreement and the ACH Agreement"

(Source - Defendant's Answer to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint and Counterclaims - pg 10 - retrieved from http://www.buckleysandler.com/Patco_v_Peoples(1).pdf)

This is one of those situations where the many pages of fine print came back to bite an innocent victim. The bank did not have adequate security, but they came armed with abundant proof that Patco violated its terms of service. I am Canadian, so I don't know a huge amount about US civil law, but I'm pretty sure that the US has a mitigation requirement on any torts. Patco would have violated this.

I've got to tell you, reading that .pdf makes me want to keep my money under my mattress.
Lots of people aren't writing apps for third parties. As a third party dev myself, it's significantly easier to justify costs (even to people like my wife) than if I did self-published apps that were hobbling along
7 Amazing jQuery Accordions with Examples
Set up a tunnel and get some yourself. ISP don't have to -- y et. Maybe soon the situation will change. It's important to get the word out.
Very clever use of the smart cover, but in the end I don't feel many people will use it.

Its cleverness relies on having an iPad 2 and a smart-cover, which segments it. Then, from a usability standpoint, I feel it would be more annoying to continue to lift up a cover than to tap the screen to reveal the answer.