skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Because the math doesn't work. Most "next-gen" captcha fundamentally fail (by orders of magnitude) one of the many pillars that make captchas scale....

1. Is it trivial for a human to answer correctly? This affects growth.

2. Can humans do it quickly? This affects growth.

3. How is the random guess-rate? This better be abysmal.

4. How good is the “opposing” technology?

5. How is the guess rate of a sophisticated attacker, using said technology?

6. How much human input is required to create your captcha? You better be asymptotically better than human-solving the captcha.

7. What are the cultural and accessibility issues?
Of course they don't cut costs over something you don't pay for. Talk about a straw man, sheesh.
Completely OT: I find it interesting that this post and several other HN posts this week are hosted on Google Plus. I definitely would not have predicted that G+ would encroach on the LiveJournal/Tumblr space.
Rands makes some very insightful points. I became very bored at my old job. What struck me as odd about the experience in hindsight is that at the time, I didn't even realize that I was bored. I simply became sarcastic, sullen, and generally somewhat less than the person I knew myself to be.

Perhaps it is an artifact of my youth, or perhaps it is because the situation of boredom can arise very gradually, but I strongly suspect that many people who find themselves unhappy with their employment without being able to articulate the reasons for their unhappiness are, in fact, simply bored with their work.

Directly asking employees about it is situational at best, though. Some folks might misinterpret such a query's intent and say "yes" regardless of how they really feel. I've often given thought to Google's 20% policy, where employees are allowed to work on work-related projects of their choosing. While I doubt that this policy is practical in all situations, it does seem to be a very clever way of preventing boredom and encouraging innovation simultaneously.
I wonder how many people now live close enough to a Redbox location that dropping the Netflix DVD service and going streaming + Redbox ends up being cheaper and affording of more DVDs/month.
Jason Goldman of Twitter and Obvious Corp talks about the future
VMware Unveils vSphere 5 and the Cloud Infrastructure Suite
3.1GHz is also 3GHz to one digit of precision.

There are chips closer to 4Ghz than 3, though. The author should have aimed higher. http://www.intel.com/products/processor/corei7EE/index.htm
(Ab)using the C Preprocessor
Couldn't you write unit tests while you wait?
37 Signals is the perfect example of how you don't have to be a static mass of grey goo in order to work on something else than mobisocialfotogames (as patio11 puts it).

I believe there is a rising confidence in the corporate world about the way companies like Google and Facebook work, and that can be the key to enter markets controlled by bureaucrats.

We need to call bullshit to those spreadsheeters and power pointers and start spreading.
Here's some validation of the "boring" concept:

http://techcrunch.com/enterprise/

It's amazing to see how these M&A transactions pale in comparison to what's going on in the consumer-oriented space.
He probably meant "heat up." Laser printers use heat to make the dust they print with work like ink.
I totally understand your anxiety. I've been getting feedback for my application over the last few months, and it typically falls into three categories:

1) Actionable items (e.g. this was broken, you should add this feature)
2) Binary Criticism or Praise ("hard to use" / "looks really good!")
3) Talking out of their asses ("Forget digital, it's all cassette tapes these days!")

With that in mind, I'm going to try to stick to category 1 as much as possible.

First, why not make it a simple web application? It'd be easier to deploy features and bug fixes, and you'd eliminate the support nightmare surrounding installations. Plus, you'd have predictable recurring revenue.

Second, the graphics/clipart on the homepage - including the screenshot - seem a little amateurish. I'd put a demo video here instead. I'd hire a graphic designer to put some polish on, and lose the cartoon tiger entirely. I also think you'd be much better off having a simple website layout already mocked up in the web demo rather than the array of clipart.

I hope this is helpful, and I hope you take it in the spirit in which it was intended. I know it's difficult to hear criticism when you've invested so much time in something.
The Architecture of Star Wars
raivo:

I don't think you need to explain that you won't spam us. If you decide to give an example email, make sure an "Unsubscribe" link is clearly visible somewhere in the email. That will help build trust.

I would also be curious as to where the exercises are coming from- you may have included this info in the text, but I didn't read it because it was too long...
Verbling (YC S11) Links Up Language Learners With Native Speakers Through Video
A 15" Mac Book Pro
Thanks. We have our creative and photography departments mashed into one, so they tend to approach product photography as a part of design.
Congrats MemSQL team! We've been in the same YC batch, when it comes to databases, they know their craft.
The degeneration of the agile movement
I love, love, love this idea. Enough that I'm going to inflict it on my kids.
The Luna Programming Language
Even if that's their goal, most of my points still apply: this didn't cause very much chaos, but they put themselves in a very dangerous situation. If their goal is to create as much chaos as possible, their strategy should incorporate considerations about their ability to continue sowing chaos in the long-term. Instead, they have exposed themselves to a dramatically increased chance of being caught and stopped. If their goal is to amuse themselves to the greatest degree possible, the above applies just as much, plus they should factor in the "non-amusing" nature of residence in a federal penitentiary.
Well maybe Zediva the video on demand service that puts DVDs in physical drives and streams them will actually stand a chance of being profitable. There was some discussion on HN about it here:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2334332

Although I still find it hard to believe this is economically viable.
The Novel Network lets members download Unlimited eBooks
Millions of ADCs running constantly, doing math locally to determine if the signal is over a certain threshold, then higher level triggers, etc... it filters the data a lot.
Pretty sure this is a dupe.

Hm, yup: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2751782

Then I shall dupe my comment from that article as well, or at least the content of it.

Inspired by these recent break-ins, I have set up a service to monitor your email account for break-ins by hackers: http://www.emailambush.com. I figure that with hackers like Anonymous running wild, that extra level of security and assurance has to be worthwhile to some.
I'm excited about this project and even more excited that we were able to utilize it with our startup. I know these guys personally and this is only the beginning... I promise you.
Stock Android is also not modified with any handset-specific features that genuinely add value.
Sony 'Truly Went Above and Beyond' to Address PSN Problem, says Analyst
I think Rands is railing against reactive HR departments who wait for problems (e.g. bored employees) to come to a head before trying to deal with them. It's too late to salvage a bad situation once an employee is fed up enough with a job to give notice. Even if you manage to keep her on in the short term, she's always going to have the stigma of "quitter" and you're just prolonging the inevitable. The HR directors, etc. who get brought in to circumvent policy and get these people the raises or transfers they were really after are missing the point - set things up so that things don't get so bad people need to quit to make themselves heard.

It's the same problem that gets brought up with software. The hero isn't the engineer who looks ahead and avoids problems, the hero is the guy who stays late to fix a problem after putting everyone in a bad position. Reaction is an anti-pattern no matter where it occurs.
I appreciate the overall disturbance in the rental and cable industry that netflix pulled off, but as a canadian ex-customer, this will not get me back. In fact, it still feels like a liability when you couple a really bad selection with our shitty bandwidth caps.
> So Netflix is better on price. Amazon is better on getting absorbed in the movie and not being thrown back into your living room because the movie stopped.

For you.

I've watched hundreds of Netflix streams from 4 different states and a dozen internet connections over the last year and I can count the number of freezes on one hand.
> And to call their streaming unlimited ignores the lack of depth in their streaming catalog.

Exactly. They spin this as a surprising thing they just noticed:

---

we have realized that there is still a very large continuing demand for DVDs both from our existing members as well as non-members.

---

In other words they are sort of "baffled", how come people still want to watch DVDs by mail ... hmm. Of course, it is because they streaming selection is so poor. I, for example, have reached the limit of dvds I wanted to see in the streaming section. I am just waiting for some new ones to appear or just re-watch the old ones.

I guess a strategy in my case would be to switch to mail only for 6 months, then switch to streaming only later, and just alternate like that.
Sounds a lot like, "The beatings will stop when morale improves."
Can you download the stream from Grooveshark? DRMed flash.
Thank you, that's a lot of great information on paper. I wonder how a resume printed on real money would be received? Then again there's probably at least one artist already exploring this but a quick search reveals nothing.

One minor nit on point 4 though. The laser changes charge on a small area of the drum so the toner adheres there. The flatness of the paper probably ensures good adhesion to the ink and heat transfer during fusing.
there are greater opportunities available to Graphic and Web Designers
He's being very honest about his path developing Twitter. Very cool and refreshing to see someone like this converse candidly.
"GNU/Linux" - it's sort-of kind-of maybe a little better than "Lignux". :)

http://oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/ch10.html
the author presents an algorithm for being creative. really? isn't following an algorithm uncreative by definition?
Cost-Per-Action Mobile Ad Network Moolah Media Debuts $3M Developer Fund
Android is the name of a distribution like Ubuntu or Fedora.
How Do You Know a Great Person When You See One?
By looks of the comments I guess people don't understand if Netflix streamed everything they offered on DVD then A) Cable TV business model would crumble bringing down billions of dollars or B) It would have to be as costly as cable TV.

Netflix streaming is great and it's turned this once illegal downloader into a consumer.

Im sure in the future they will offer high priced streaming plans that offer more, but of course not too much more. Understandably Hollywood does not want to cut off a huge revenue stream and all of us entrepreneur are smart enough to know this ... the general public not so much.
I wonder if they will eventually turn into a dating site.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2752711
I think the throttling thing was a long time ago. I've been a Netflix subscriber for 4 years and have never been throttled. And yes, there have been many occasions where I've sent discs back on the same day I received them (putting them in a blue mail box that hasn't been picked up yet). The only delays I've ever had were due to postal holidays or once when a couple of discs over a span of a few days were mangled in some processing equipment (the USPS dutifully delivered the torn-off front flap to me, sans DVD).
With all due respect, how should individual consumers express pleasure or displeasure with a customer service experience without resorting to personal anecdotes?
So... why did you distribute the source on floppies?

I could understand it if you had a digital archiving point to make, but memcached? I really don't see it.
Ideal 'hacker news spam' post.
This was a botched attempt at spinning bad news into something else. If the message was more forthcoming I suspect there'd be a lot less ire. I'm unlikely to opt for a streaming+dvd plan. Hey, maybe I'll get some stuff done around the house!
Parallel programming: OpenMP 3.1 API specification released
"The last I heard of the company was that as a result of my departure, they would no longer hire graduates with A grades."

This reminds me of a Feynman story. After he had found and demonstrated a security hole in a particular type of lock used by the military they "fixed" the issue by ordering everyone not to let Feynman anywhere near the locks :-)
The Fold Exists - But Does It Matter?
Jobs HN: Intermediate Web/Mobile Programmer- First Employee
It is very nice looking, well done guys. Though it is strikingly similar to Lighthouse, at least at first glance: http://lighthouseapp.com. Perhaps a source of inspiration, or just coincidence?
> Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have...

Yes, shipping pieces of plastic around is the way of the future.
Ask YC: What would you like to know well? (Excluding the stuff you already know)
The lower level networking protocols do rely on some levels of peer trust, but carefully controlling that trust has come a long way in the last decade. If I'm correct in assuming by "actual security" you mean "physical security" you're making some pretty broad and faulty statements (even about layer 1).

There are many networking devices and techniques for hardening hostile networks at layer 2. Layer 3 is IP; to say level 3 (or 4) measures are not "real" is throwing HUGE swaths of security out the window.
Another site, mylanguageexchange.com, has a similar service for connecting native speakers and learners, and it has a large user base. It has crude web-based text chat built in, but many people just use the site to make connections and then talk to each other via an IM service of their choice.
Note: I got a google malware warning when clicking on this link.
But by your own admission, some levels of management shouldn't have that power - so what should we call them if not managers?

Imo, if you are managing a team of people, you're a manager whether or not you have total hiring / firing power.
precisely. and ultimately we all answer to the market / your customers / the giant space ants.

however, how i should answer to my boss is in the form of "why was this late". if my management wants to question decisions i make, they can have my job.

you could argue "well, micromanagement is just being proactive". you know what? if you don't trust me, fire me and replace me with someone you trust to get the job done.
I find the (dis)honesty of this post baffling. I understand that they want to increase prices, whether because of greed, licensing, or other costs - I don't care. What seems extremely dishonest to me is to say that this somehow benefits the customer when it just doesn't. People want streaming w/ physical DVD as a backup for things that aren't there on streaming. This, therefore, is just a price increase.
Not a friend, but more importantly, not a very good boss either.
Nginx kills apache / lighttpd in SSL performance
Android has definitely taught us the long-overdue lesson that it's the UX and userspace that matters, so in that spirit I think the desktop OS should be called GNOME/Linux, or just GNOME for short. http://blogs.gnome.org/mccann/2010/08/01/shell-yes/ Or perhaps Ubuntu.

(Substitute KDE if you go that way.)
Hey, guys. Congrats on the funding.

Why would I use MemSQL as opposed to relational database on SSD? RDMS on SSD gets me a similar speed boost as opposed to running on a completely new database.
On a similar tangent to your OT post: we're getting to the point where seeing (plus.google.com) would be useful, since it conveys quite a different meaning to me from (google.com).
Three reasons.

1. Pirates have more time than money. This means they have the time to evaluate 50 games, playing each for an hour or two.

2. Pirates tend toward hoarding. They're collectors.

3. The combination of the above two makes a perverse incentive in their heads. There's this idea that somethings should be "great" to pay for it. As they don't have any idea of the effort that goes into making a game, they don't value the time.

The perception of someone making less than 5,000 a year, regardless of whether the money is given to them or they earn it themselves, it's much different than someone making professional wages.

Honestly, I think the solution is to target those who have money, and those who know how hard it is to make a product.
Very well said.I think it's very important to control the fear and inspire certainty to other people.
Google's after people who click on ads.
I hope they don't riddle their site with crappy ads and upsells like all their competitors. A lot of people spend money on language learning, so if you make a good premium product, they will buy.
Not a lot of info on their website. But it strikes me as similar to VoltDB (http://voltdb.com/). Especially the emphasis on OLTP queries.

Is it based on the same paradigm of single-threaded serial access? What differentiates it from VoltDB? Is it the MySQL compatibility and ability to use ad-hoc queries instead of stored procedures? (If so, how do you make that bit fast?)
As someone who grew up in print shops (my uncle owned one, then my parents started one a few years later), it amazes me how little attention people pay to this sort of thing. The weight of the paper, the colour, the hue, the lettering (raised? embossed?), typeface, font size and weight, balance, white space, everything.

There's a huge psychological impact to be had, and most people don't pay enough attention to realize that they're missing out; pay 20% more and get a business card or resume that triggers just the right response, and people pay more attention to what you've put on the paper.
That was my first thought as well. I'll almost certainly drop my Netflix streaming entirely come September 1st, and just use Prime for streaming (also convenient because Amazon has a pretty good selection of newer/better content you can pay for, and this way I don't have to make sure I can play Netflix AND Prime on my home theater device).

On the other hand, my guess is that the number of Prime subscribers is tiny compared to the number of Netflix subscribers. So while this could be a great opportunity for Amazon to do something about that, I don't think Netflix has to worry about losing huge numbers of subscribers to Amazon as things stand.
if you are managing a team of people and you do not have at least firing power, in my experience, you are not actually managing a team of people.
OS X is a bit difficult in that it requires a patched libusb, but we provide the patch along with instructions to build in the software. Worse comes to worse, visit #openkinect on Freenode and there's lots of people that can help out in real time.
Netflix's subscribers have one valid complaint between cost or quality of content, but they can't complain about both.

As much as everyone thinks that Netflix is going to compete with cable, the only way to truly do so is to start getting first run, quality content and that costs money - boatloads of it. Netflix has gotten a pass for now since it was the only game in town but if they want to compete for your entertainment dollars they're going to have to spend some cash on quality first run content.

I give it less then 2 years before they start offering tiered plans - and maybe something subsidized via advertising. Its the only natural evolution of their model.
Why we chose HTML5 over Native apps
Dan's article is very old (2003). At that time is was not easy to mount a big cooler on a motherboard. The heatpipes were not widely used.

These days you can find huge coolers with (or at least claimed[1]) less than 0.2°C/W. Most of the lower power CPUs (40-50W) can run fanless at decent temperatures with half a kilo of metal fins + some heatpipes, and you can mount that kind of heat spreader easily with bolt-through screws.

Also, that metal fan is dangerous! If you ever touched even a slow-spinning plastic fan's blades, you know how painful (or bloody) it can be. And that was only a very light plastic blade, probably less than 30 grams. Now think about the momentum of a 200 gram metal thingie spinning with more than 1000rpm (as I understand, they tested it to 7-8000 rpm). You really want to be sure you will not touch it while spinning. But if you enclose it, even in a wire cage, the performance will decrease.

1: http://www.scythe-usa.com/support/cpu/006/scmn1000_scnj1000p...
I don't see too much resemblance myself and there was no conscious effort of mimicking their design but a lot of project management apps do look fairly similar, UX wise.
Warning Social Networks Are Made Out of People
Once again, this is almost always a router misconfiguration problem. If you don't want this to happen configure your router correctly. Apple isn't to blame for other people's incompetence.

Plus, this seems to produce tangibly better results in the majority of cases. It perfectly fits Apple's style of optimizing for the common use case, even if the rarer gets worse.
Is this case the Mac user may get a better UX, but the user who's IP was just stolen has a worse one.
The Day Comcast's Data Cap Policy Killed My Internet For 1 Year
Hi. I'm Kyle Machulis, one of the leads on the OpenKinect project mentioned in the article. If anyone's got any questions on where things are going with the project, I'm happy to answer. I also did a talk on the project at Maker Faire that was recorded:

http://fora.tv/2011/05/21/Kyle_Machulis_OpenKinect
Fooducate: How mobile is the first step to better eating - with Hemi Weingarten
Hey, I'm one of the cofounders. There are definitely a number of preexisting options in the space. We think that having to search profiles and schedule times is unnecessary work that takes up time you could be practicing your language. It's really fun to just jump in and chat, and feedback has been positive from users who have used both us and other language exchange sites.
On a site I administer that used to be deluged in spam, I managed to eliminate it with a three-pass filter:

1. Simple mathematical question, e.g. "What do you get if you add five and three?" Answer is processed on the server.

2. Hidden form field that is supposed to remain blank.

3. Blacklist of common spam words.
Wow, that is very surprising. Is it that the web development industry hurting that much for good programmers, or are just the wrong people being hired?
I would argue that they did not clearly inform their customers. I found out about this through a post on Engadget, which led me to the Netflix blog. For a change as significant as this they should have emailed every customer. Unless they send out an email between now and then, I'll bet a large percentage of Netflix subscribers won't "discover" this change until they are suddenly billed 20% to 50% more in September.
That is true, but you know that if a McDonalds employee used his fryer at work to do that, the headline and litigation would be about them, too. :P

Regarding Anonymous, most of these cases will probably never be solved: there is probably far less evidence than the fragments the FBI had on Ivins or Hatfill.

All I'm saying is that Anonymous could really be _anyone_.
How do they suppose someone could "step up"?
I wish I had an explanation for weird internets us/them/genocidal behavior.

Thanks anyways.