skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Completely off-topic, but the Notifo Android client no longer shows HN reply notifications on my phone. They show up if I refresh, and they're sent immediately on my iPhone, but they don't show up on the Android notifications bar. I have HN notifications set to silent, the other (non-silent) notifications I have set come in just fine on my Android phone.

I know you guys aren't so hot on Notifo any more, but is there any chance you could have a look? It's putting a serious damper on my participation here!
I completely agree, I don't see how this service is much different than Craigslist. Both parties should be aware of the risk and take reasonable precautions. If you plan to renting out your home on a regular basis it's only logical that you get some insurance and not leave anything you can't replace or is personally intimate(i.e. passports or SS cards).
Any startups in Utah hiring?
I checked the July job listing post (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2719028) and saw that at least one company in Utah (ClickLock) was hiring. Just checking to see if there are more Utah startups looking for hackers.
I'm wondering whether the usage of (allegedly less offensive) Latin terms makes any difference to people who actually know Latin well, like priests.
Until node gets some type of bind-fork-accept mechanism (built in) to utilize more than one cpu in a native and simple fashion (cluster/multi-node are close), I feel it will not gain the same level of traction that java has.

People also have opinions about java(scala/clojure) vs javascript from a language preference standpoint. I think it is too early to tell what impact this will have.

However, many developers I know seem to have a strong distaste for Java, the JVM, and the ecosystem around both. I think several of those folks would look to node, erlang, or possibly even golang (if it gets faster) simply to avoid using java.
createdebate.com is the closest thing I've seen. But it isn't that good. I think a good political debate site is definitely worth building.
Just from the numbers, it is likely that even if YC wanted to take on a role in addressing this Airbnb issue, they would have no ability to do so at all. Airbnb is run by its board, not by YC.
I saw these guys had a couple posts - http://bigcartel.com/about
Warren Buffett's little hack to solve the U.S. budget deficit
That's nice. But all the Internet message board sentiment in the world doesn't change the fact that YC doesn't represent Airbnb. Even if YC wanted to help with Airbnb's crisis management, they are a tiny minority investor in the company. Unless Paul Graham is secretly on their board, they probably can't do anything at all about this.
Syslog implementations like syslog-ng support both TCP and UDP relaying of all log data on a machine to a centralized Syslog server, and can even bypass storing those logs to the source machine's disk at all. Syslog-ng also supports inserting that data directly into MySQL, and there are various other backends (like Splunk, though I know it's commercial) that can accept the TCP and UDP streams and index them in all sorts of fancy ways.

I think the key point here is that all the above mentioned implementations have significant adoption and are in a sense "battle-tested". For example, what if your background worker has failed and log events are piling up in the Redis list you are using as queue? Do you have monitors in place to detect that situation, and at what value do your alarms go off? Projects like this have a way of taking a lot more time than originally thought, often at the expense of your core development time. I personally don't like spending the time writing and maintaining code for a project that isn't aligned with the problem I'm trying to solve, so I avoid it whenever possible.

On the flip side, if you are setting out to build a really robust logging system on top of Redis, and that's something of value to your organization, then more power to you!
PhoneGap is a Swiss Army knife for mobile app developers
Portrait because "Words with Friends" and "Hanging With Friends" are portrait, so people are used to that, and because I wanted to be able to play with one hand (while hanging onto the subway handrail, eg).

Idea design: one night maybe. Wanted to think of the simplest yet compelling rules for a word game that used scrabble-like tiles. Some interactions were tweaked along the way because of the physical layout on the screen, but most everything was thought up that first night.

Time on implementation: a few days. Getting the whole game engine working was pretty fast, then just integrating the logic with the interface took a while. Learned about (and added) multi-player through Game Center in one sit-down session on a Friday night.

The part that took the longest (it feels like) was just entering all of the Leaderboard and Achievement data into the Game Center console on Apple's site. Then of course writing the logic in the game to trigger each achievement when they should be unlocked.

The graphics: several hours, probably a total of 10. Tweaking the tiles took the longest.

edit: added to answer parent's edit: I don't have go-to books really. This was the first game I've ever written (except for Rock, Paper, Scissors in BASIC when I was 9). So I just was learning as I went. Usually I just use Google/Stack Overflow for technical questions, but for the game part I just mashed together observations I had made while playing other apps (especially word games lately).
We are talking about billions of dollars here .. people have killed for much less. We know that there already are companies who sell upvotes for digg/reddit. selling tweets, etc. There is no evidence so far but no one can deny that there is motive.
I agree. Everyone thinks they're "nice, good, honest" people. Being nice is easy. Being emotionally intelligent is hard. It's not enough to be sincere. The person who works and slaves at their day job until they're 50 and have a heart attack is sincere, but is unintelligent.
The decrease of the arctic sea ice is a positive feedback that is definitely already happening:

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/seaice.html
Carter Cast On "The Drama Of Comparative Living"
The guy is responsible. The situation is unfortunate, of course, but what was the guy thinking? He put his neighbors as well as his property at risk. AirBnB should help the police catch the perps, but past that, AirBnB should make at most a few token gestures of sympathy.
Both AirBnB and the guy share responsibility. Sure, the guy had tools he didn't use, but AirBnB works on this all day every day. They have money, so they should pay some of his actual damages, say $15-20k.
AirBnB is really at fault here. They should pay his actual damages and restore his property. $50k.
AirBnB should go over the top for the guy. They should repair the property, pay out the remainder of his lease, and pay to put him up in a nice place somewhere else. $100k.
AirBnB is completely at fault and created such egregiously false expectations that the guy has no responsibility at all and is the victim of not just the tweakers, but AirBnB's misrepresentations. They should pay for all of his damages as well as compensation for his emotional trauma. $5M.
The fact that we're talking about a guy now changes my opinion on this.
The fact that we're talking about a guy doesn't change my opinion.
Whether the AirBnB host was a guy or a gal shouldn't matter, but it does.
Whether the AirBnB host was a guy or a gal shouldn't matter, and it doesn't.
It's OK for us to have different standards here.
She has made two blog posts. The media has picked up the story, and they're contacting her. I don't think that counts as "blabbing ... in every possible media outlet."

As for the made-up PR person, I think it's ridiculous to do what-ifs like that when you have no evidence.

Finally, it's clear to me from her comments that she is suffering from PTSD. She's communicating her experience with that. I see no reason to assume guile.
Wow! Opacity looks great! Somehow, I haven't stumbled upon this before. Thanks!
I'm a Python/Ruby developer in Chicago originally from Michigan. If you want to stay close to Michigan for whatever reason, but need a job, Chicago is a great compromise.

Chicago has an excellent Python user group: http://chipy.org/
Get on the mailing list and let them know your situation. Also consider learning Ruby on Rails. If you Python, Ruby will be easy to learn. If you know any Javascript at all, leverage that.
That's strange. I'll look into it.
odesk can be tougher than it looks. I landed a couple of ruby / rails based gigs for $50/hr there, but then the work dried up, and all I could find were lower per hour jobs, and sketchy pay when project is completed jobs (without a complete spec).
Aside from the "move immediately" advice, I'd suggest getting your code out there in a more public way. This dramatically increases your chances of being hired, because it replaces the technical interview. You just have to prove that you're capable of dealing with other human beings, and most people can do that.

Do something -- anything -- to get your code out there. Even if it's the most obscure and idiosyncratic library, throw it on Github.

I got a ticket to the Valley on the strength of some decently interesting (but by no means amazing) open source code. And I'm not even American and have no CS education, so it was considerably more difficult for me than it will be for you.

Incidentally, my current employer, the Wikimedia Foundation, is very open to remote contractors. (I caution you that we tend to be a bit slow to hire.) If you want to continue to live in Michigan, you won't be unique in your isolation, because these organizations are basically run over the internet. And your salary will go much further if you don't have to deal with rent in SF. http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Jobs

Mozilla has similar advantages. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/about/careers.html
Hearsay Social and Crowdtap bag venture capital funding | News | Research
When should we expect full genome sequencing to become affordable?
Well said. Unless you can do something about it, the daily updates are more likely noise than signal for you. It's better to resist indulging your compulsion to rubberneck the latest startup drama and get back to either being productive or at least going outside and climbing a tree or something.
Do whatever you have to do to get the sale, but realize it's on your dime. Once you have agreed to a contract, get paid and then start.

I usually meet with the client, look over their wireframes, and do a little research before signing a contract. Typically, that takes me an hour or two. Any more than that, I usually want to start getting paid. But do whatever works for you.
Since I'm not sure if this is in response to me or just a general comment, I want to clarify that I don't personally think YC has much room to maneuver and I don't think they should be the ones out in front of the story.

I just think that articles like this one[1] have put them in a bind with respect to this story.

[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/airbnb.html
Had never heard of Prey - wish I had! I just removed Hidden off my Mac. I've always been a bit wary of stolen tracking services (inc. Undercover), but the fact this service is open source shows a transparency level not seen from these other companies. Thanks for the tip.
Respectfully, no. The missteps by Airbnb are almost certainly mostly overblown by the Internet message board pundits who have managed to form strong opinions about the events second-, third-, and none'th- hand about it.

Telling sign: people are forming factions and polarizing the issue. Either "EJ" is legitimately frustrated by a clumsy response by Airbnb, or she's acting out because of emotional distress; one set of fact patterns belongs to the "pro-Airbnb" side, and the other to the "pro-EJ" side.

Also telling: let's all make sure we get photos of the damage! Because how will we know how to judge what happened unless we can see it for ourselves? Because better forming opinions about other people's misfortunes is our right as Internet message board citizens.
Seriously, start on Twitter. Everybody who's anybody in the Toronto developer scene is pretty active on Twitter these days. Find a few developers with blogs, follow them, then start following a few of their followers or people they RT. From Twitter, start attending some meet-ups. If you're an iPhone, Android, Python, Ruby or JS developer, it's a pretty good job market right now. Most of the places you'll want to work at are right in the downtown core so you can bike, walk, or subway/streetcar it to work. That also makes socializing vastly easier as everyone is clustered in the same area.

http://www.meetup.com/HTML5-Web-App-Developers/events/225564...

http://techtalksto.com/

I know there are a ton of Toronto lurkers on here too.
Investing in ideas, not just startup companies.
Thanks. I'll give them a look.
Thanks! You can contact me at stavros@korokithakis.net if you need any further testing.
It would mean all UK websites would no longer be indexed. Great way to shoot yourself in the foot.
Making Flash Work with Lion
'Fluid cloak' to help submarines leave no wake
PayPal hands over 1,000 IP Addresses to the FBI, look out Anonymous
There are a bunch of big python/django shops in Toronto... more than I can count on two hands... and they are all hiring.
There's a good response to this paper on RealClimate http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2011/07/misdia...
No part of this linked story has anything to do with the current drama. In fact, it's the opposite: that's Paul Graham saying that the thing he likes best about Airbnb is that they are likely to pivot away from Etsy-style small-ball with people's rooms and towards direct competition with hotels.

I'm left with the impression that you think YC is in a bind here because you want them to be in a bind here. It sure is a lot more fun to talk about, isn't it?
Do you absolutely need to stay in Michigan? There are amazing companies (like mine: BrightScope.com) that are hiring right now in places like San Diego, CA for the same skill set you have (check out our careers page -- if you apply, I'll see it -- just make sure to mention your HN posting).
It's a major ongoing story in the newspapers here in Belgium (front page, all of p.3 today in mine). Don't worry, we and other countries in Europe that I am familiar with have our own face-palming political situations, though of course our countries are smaller. If anything it makes me feel we're all in the same boat together.
Alternative submission of the same story from over two weeks ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2757047
I noticed that the people who have a strong distaste for Java are largely application-developers. In most cases, these developers usually just work with the available libraries or APIs to build a website backed by database (some of them are consultants that build similar apps over and over again).

Back-end developers seem to (maybe?) prefer to use Java.
Find someone to look over your resume and cold-call CEO's/hiring managers of companies you're interested in.

It's my first time ever applying to job postings. Started looking a few weeks ago and found out my resume was crap, after getting some advice and rewriting it my response rate is 75%.

If you're interested in a company and think they might need you, just email the CEO a short note. You'd be amazed at how often you'll get a response, a couple even introduced me to other CEOs looking for someone with my skill set.

The two key's points to communicate: why are you interested in the company and what can you do for them.
Wouldn't it be better though if we did not have to rely on either apple or google for mobile programming? How about extending trusty old HTML to provide low level Apis for mobile devices? Phone gap does it and it's already proving valuable. As mobile bandwidth is becoming more stable it makes more sense to quit the app store madness and embrace the wild open web as the only app platform. In principle I do not see why there isn't a set of mobile browser extensions already; i suspect that both google and apple will use their platforms as a tool to lock in developers to their own strategies.
What not to do in Android UI’s (or how to do it better)
Journal Reference:
Roy W. Spencer

'nuff said.
I find it interesting that your hostility came through so easily and without consideration for how your words could effect someone seeking to employ you. (which is the actual reason I had read this post)

You seem to focus all of your attention on what "skills" you have without regard for the personality traits that make a desirable team member. I can guarantee you that you will meet many developers with greater skill than you poses.

When I look to hire a developer or if I were to be considering you as a co-founder I would first judge your ability to be an asset to the team.

I'd be curious to learn why you were let go from your previous job, but It is certainly a combination of your personality flaws, lack of relevant skills, and inability to adapt.

While the advice of moving to a new city may not seem plausible to you, your reaction to the question is quite telling.
1) You are condescending and inaccurately view "reality"
2) You are a linear thinker (consider becoming more lateral)

I'd wager that the reason you are unable to find a job is because of these 2 character traits...

I'd start with those
I'm describing Airbnb averting a PR nightmare (which this has become). This is a pretty valuable lesson for any startup.
> Also, I'd really like to differ with you rather vehemently with your oblique assertion that the Internet should be seen as a "substitute" for a real community. Where do you think you just posted?

It's easy to differ with me vehemently when you're differing with something I didn't say, I guess. Apologies if I was unclear.

I didn't say the internet was a substitute for a real community, I said she is trying to use it a substitute for the help she evidently needs.

Secondly, I posted to a discussion board, to... discuss.
Of course it doesn't have anything to do with it directly, I'm talking about the perception created by that sort of story and the coverage it spawned.

If you're on record talking about someone's positive qualities, and they make a mistake, or even are accused of making a mistake, that puts others in a position of expecting you to have a position on it. But they can't really take a public position on it beyond what pg's already said on the matter, and we see what good that did. This is the bind I am talking about.

I don't want them to be in a bind. I have no feelings one way or the other about the matter, really, I am just attempting to offer my point of view on why people are clamoring for YC to be more vocal about this topic.
Have you thought about what the companies' problems are and how you can use Python to solve their problems? Yes, companies are looking for specific skills but there are companies that are looking for someone to fix their issues. They don't care how you implement it as much as it gets that issue off their backs.

So if you want to land a job or a client do some thinking on what their issues might be, their dreams, their goals, and maybe their fears. If you know these and can translate these into how you can implement solutions, then you will show them how much value you bring to the table. And when you can think of ways to create value, you can immediately charge almost anything.
When you take money from family, you have to feircly manage expectations. Your family may not quite grok what "investing in Junior's company" means. The most common mismanaged expectation is that it's a kind of loan and they expect to be paid back in relatively short order.

Even with family, put it in writing. And always be willing to sacrifice nearly everything to just "pay it back" if you want to prevent a potential permanent family schism.
>We know that there already are companies who sell upvotes for digg/reddit. selling tweets, etc.

and to think that i'm laboring here for free :)
excellent article!
I may be able to help you directly with work rather than give advice. Whether you are married, have kids, or other obligations is of major importance, however. I could even possibly set you up with your own br/ba once my remodel is finished.

I prefer not to use email without GPG, so rather than email I will put my phone number in my profile if I see you are actively following the replies.
I've never used apple encryption on a disk until Lion - the few times I've tried to use filevault, it has ended in tears, pain and frustration (have you ever run VMware images on filevault? Yeah.)

The implementation in Lion is amazingly good; I do hope they close the DMA port issue though.
Ask HN: What exactly will happen on debtpocalypse?
Added a note to the OP; thanks.
Holy balls, talk about going out of your way to avoid syslog.
While Google Plus Waits, Facebook Launches "Facebook for Business" Portal
Internet Class Warfare
Being on record saying positive things about someone or something does not put you in a bind when years later something bad happens with them. I liked John Edwards in 2007.

The logic that involves YC in the Airbnb drama is juvenile. Sorry to be so blunt about it; I know nobody likes being called names.
I was on a vacation :)
Anonymous no more - Amateur facial recognition in the social networking age
You write as though you're responding to OP, but this was someone else's remark. Wasn't it?
Cool. I hadn't noticed that but I can imagine it happening for simplicity's sake, especially among people who "know"!

BTW, I definitely wasn't trying to imply you didn't understand the background since you seemed to know what you were talking about but it bristles me to think other people with no linguistic background could be reading "German" and thinking.. ooh, German! Maybe that's just the personality disorder talking though ;-)
would be more careful with citing Roy Spencer / Heartland Institute ...
http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/07/29/282584/climate-scie...
> If she's the person she's the private person she's painting herself as being, I really don't understand why she used AirBnB in the first place.

I wonder if the vandal had any feedback on airbnb.

I've used airbnb once as a guest and, being a private person myself, I went out of my way to find a host with some reputation and good feedback. I even forewent some better deals because they were by new hosts that had no feedback to show.

Now, I'm not saying that this is right or wrong--after all we all have to start somewhere and, as a first-time airbnb guest, I didn't have any reputation points myself--but I reckon people who have so much at stake should screen their guests very carefully.
I don't understand in what kind of world you live in, where it's better not to try because you might be disappointed.
I'm not so sure about that, if I was interviewing someone and they said "I can totally write FizzBuzz in 15 languages", I would take it as a general sign of awareness of the programming community. Pretty much every good programmer I know has been a regular reader of Coding Horror, Joel on Software, and other famous programming blogs at some point, if not currently.
mtogo is a random commenter, not the same person who is looking for help in Michigan. I'd love to know what company you work for, though, so I can stay far away.
JSON Grep
A coworker wrote a JSON grep tool for use on the Linux CLI
As someone who donated to John Edwards's campaign in 2007, I can sympathize with that scenario.

I don't think it's right, and maybe I have just been in DC too long, but this is how this sort of thing works in the media. I never said they owe an explanation to anyone or anything like that, but people are _clearly_ expecting one. Something set that expectation.

Maybe this makes me juvenile, that's fine.
And Loopt recently, although they handled it pretty well.
What he said; use homebrew - judicious use of homebrew and virtualenv will save you lots of pain. I never install framework builds from python.org - I don't like installing things into /Library or ~/Library