skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Let's be honest, these days the damn receptionist needs a degree in certain people's minds.

I think the major difference is that in each of the fields you quoted, they only place to actually learn the skill is in the university classroom. The knowledge being passed on is hidden and selective. The same is not true with computer science. (Interesting though, that with things such as MIT Open Course Ware we may see this change in the future)

More and more, a college degree has gone from being a symbol of educational merit to being a caveat against absolute stupidity. It's lost all its original meaning.

I often see university being quoted as "showing that you can finish something/work hard to achieve a goal". Often, this line is spouted by those whose only achievement in life is that degree. It's simply not an accurate measure of anything, but it's the only thing in that a person in that position can relate to.

As somebody that spent my early 20's slogging through mud and being responsible for the lives of 8 men while surrounded by explosives and live ordinance, I personally find the argument that I didn't drink like a fish and attend a few classes hungover and therefore don't have a commitment to finishing what I started insulting.
Digg.com Digs up Some More Cash
Good. I like trees. We need all the trees we can get. Drink more coffee!
Expanding & Growing Digg
+100 points if I could.

This is the most constructive comment in this entire thread.
They're certainly harder working than I'd be, given the amount of effort for the return.
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> C-v (Paste, on Windows) is page-down in Emacs

I've tried to start using Emacs a few times now, and I just can't get this. My keyboard already has page up/down and arrow keys that are accessible without using a modifier. Why would I want to use a two key combo when a single key will suffice? Page jumping especially is something that you're not going to be in a rush to insert text afterwards.

The other thing I don't get is the ridiculous hand-mangling you've got to do for the M-combos. (I'd already remapped caps lock to control)

I understand that many of its standard key combinations precede the keycaps and de-facto standards of today, but I'd hardly consider it a loss for the bindings to fit in better with the rest of a modern system.

I'm about to try Emacs for the third time. Are there any common sets of alternative bindings?
Agreed- remember the release of AOL search data two years ago? That may not be a representative sample, but a large number of those users seemed to have no idea what a search engine's basic function even was.
The Ivy League is an athletic league consisting of private schools in the Northeast. It was created for the purpose of playing sports! I wish people would stop using the term for other purposes.
"Afraid" is not even close to the right word for this context.

When I consider something like this, I don't think: "Oh, that's scary and/or challenging!" Instead, I think: "given all other possible uses of my time, is this one the best use possible?" Usually, the answer is no.

For me, if there's any "meaning" in this project, it's in divining why someone would choose to begin (or participate in) this in the first place.
When Bigger Isn't Better: Businesses That Succeeded Despite Their Smallish Payrolls
Thanks, that's pretty helpful. There are people who are prone to arguing just for the sake of arguing, which is really detrimental to the group and they don't even know it.
A family member wants to invest $25k into our startup, what do we do now?
We are a small 3 person startup, and have been working on a product designed for education. We presented a demo and the future concept to our family member who was interested in investing in our product and has agreed to invest $25,000 (USD).

Exciting! but, we aren't really sure where to go from here. I know that we need to speak to a lawyer at this point, but what kind? If anyone has a good recommendation for a lawyer in the bay area, forward me their info please.

Also, what about terms of the agreement? ie: equity agreements, shares, etc. Should these questions be answered by a lawyer?

The funding aspect of running a business is new to me and I want to make sure we aren't screwing anyone and that we are doing the right thing.

any pointers?

Thanks!
Dual licensing business models: (European View) Not true open source. Proprietary business models using Open Source for PR and marketing.

It should be noted here that the two really notable champions of the dual license model, Trolltech and MySQL, are both European.
Boarding school in London, economics in Denmark afterwards - complete with ugly uniforms and all.

Not really something you should strive for though...
I want native gimp, and I see a screenshot on the developer page, but I don't see how I would get it (short of downloading and compiling myself). Anybody know more than I?

(edit: trying out http://gimp-app.sourceforge.net/ )
It's still too buggy. I'll use it more when it becomes more stable.
That's exactly the point.

What's the purpose of caps lock? If you're SHOUTING you should be HOLDING DOWN THE SHIFT KEY AS HARD AS YOU CAN SO THAT YOUR FEELING IS GENUINE!
Android's Locking Pattern
Entire Digg revenue model == advertising?
That's an interesting question, worthy of its own thread.

I think the reason is this: programming is much easier to teach yourself than any of the others. And the reason is this: in programming you know when you're wrong.

You can spend three years reading textbooks on physics, or watching physics lectures on youtube, but you're likely to misunderstand some of it, and partially understand other bits of it. (Part of the difficulty for me in learning, say, quantum mechanics or relativity was the problem of unlearning misconceptions I'd picked up by reading popular science type books in my teens.) Without a bunch of professors sitting around to correct you when you're wrong, and point out the gaps in your knowledge, you'll never really understand it (and even if you do, you won't be sure if you do or not). That's the main value you get at university: some smart guys who sit around telling you you're wrong.

In programming, on the other hand, you don't need this. You get more-or-less immediate feedback when you're wrong because the code either won't compile or produces the wrong results. This is what makes programming one of the easiest things to teach yourself.
>Can anyone make such a case for university-based discrimination?

That's not too much of a difficult case to make. You'd do it the same way you highlighted gender and racial issues: measure levels of income, access to schools for their children etc etc.

I think that those that don't have university degrees are "discriminated" against is an accepted given. This is why you see such an uproar over tuition fees and the like.
His info page says he's living in Toronto, Canada, and calls Athelone, Ireland his hometown. So technically, Canarish.
Is Sun Solaris on its deathbed?
As for the crappy "purchasing power" argument for the SoC : let me point out that the Zune of all things has a better processor. If you look at hacker friendly devices, a game console called called "Wiz" from a small firm will be selling at $180 and has roughly a similar processor. Also "OpenPandora" console from a small firm has a OMAP3 and will sell for $330. Now you want me to believe that a $400 phone cannot spend $10 more on the SoC? When running generic apps is what it was built for??

An OMAP3 sells for somewhere around $50 in quantity (I think).
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There are a number of editors who can edit URLs after posting.
First technical look at the Android T-Mobile G1
This happened to me too when I discovered a relative watching Major League Soccer and then noticed justin.tv in the address bar.

I asked him what "PSN" (the logo plastered all over the channel) was all about, and when he didn't know I had to conclude that either: 1) it was illegal or 2) PSN was somehow paying ESPN to re-broadcast MLS games.

I guess I was wrong in believing it was #2?
I find Emacs much easier to use with the Dvorak keyboard layout, but that's its own big argument waiting to happen.

Under Qwerty, most of the common prefix keys (e.g. C-x, C-c, M-x) are scrunched together on the left hand. If you're also using your left hand to press Ctrl (whether on CapsLock or at the bottom left of the keyboard), you're mangling your hand. That's why there's also a right Ctrl key.

FWIW, I sometimes use Page Up/Down and the arrow keys while just reading, but tend to use the Emacs-style navigation shortcuts while actively editing. C-v never made sense to me, either; I'm guessing it's just historical.
Totally agreed, since I red it I've been thinking about ideas of my own to submit.

If someone is going to spend 10 Million anyway, why not use the chance and think about all the things that you wish were fixed or improved.

Unless you are Superman I doubt it you can fix everything in the world yourself.
This, and the app-store debacle, is the kind of stuff that makes me think that Apple isn't in it for the long haul.

Why doesn't MacOSX ship with native GTK? And Qt? Why hasn't OpenOffice worked seamlessly from day 1? Or at least day 5? Why don't Apple embrace the huge community that worships their products, instead of becoming the next Microsoft? What have they got to loose?

If getting my favourite Linux apps to run on my MacBook had bees as easy as apt-get, heck, even as easy as under Windows, I'd still use Mac OS X.. now it's running Kubuntu, and I'm regretting not getting a ThinkPad.

I'm disappointed, I REALLY wanted to like MacOSX.
Think long and hard about doing this. There is a reason they tell you not to mix business with family.
Five warning signs a tech start-up is in trouble
Just in case you hadn't seen them before YC offers some boilerplate legal documents for angel funding that might help get you started. You can find them at: http://www.ycombinator.com/seriesaa.html
Well, but if you got a PhD from Stanford with aspirations of being a Javascript developer, it would seem a bit like killing a mosquito with a thermo-nuclear warhead.
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/fd0n/articles.htm has a lot of nice articles on different ways folks can invest in private companies. Give them a read to understand the basics and then talk to a lawyer to write up the paperwork for the course you choose.
With a single print ($100) they recovered the costs of the entire labor ($100, or 10,000 cents). This is a great metaphor of our modern production chain, isn't it? (i. e.: How production exploits cheap labor)
I would second the "this has a lot of features for a first cut" sentiment. On the other hand, if you've already written them, the cost isn't too high as long as your most impressive feature is in front.

As for deployment...you can get a perfectly serviceable dedicated host for $100 a month. Buy it, and start slow launching your service. You don't need to wait for help.

If you want to turn this into a startup, you should think about looking for a cofounder (and giving them 50% equity).
Understandable, this is not a direct blood family transaction. They are actually a close friend of the family, and honestly the same fear should apply, of course.

They are in a position to provide us with a decent sum of angel funding, and they also are fully aware of the risk involved. Actually, they are quite excited about the risk.
The best hackers I know didn't necessarily graduate top in the class. A few did and a few didn't. The ones who didn't were usually contributing in other ways - open source or small businesses (sometimes startups but not necessarily). As you stated, most hackers who didn't would ignore any requirements and apply because they wanted to work on posterous.

Here are some of my own personal opinions on hiring / schools / etc.

Which school you graduated from and rank is rarely even discussed when hiring coders with a few years experience. After 2 years no one will ask you where you graduated in your class. After 8 years no one will care where you went to school, other than possibly as a plus. It's not a decision maker at that point. What the applicant did between graduation and applying to the job is really what matters. This seems to be different for other areas of study (and graduate degrees of course). But this is my experience with coders (bachelor degree holding computer scientist and the like). Both hiring and being one.

An individual's family situation, both financial and otherwise, can effect their decisions on schools. Some oft overlooked hackers went to state or local colleges for reasons outside of their control. An example - I knew someone in high school that got into MIT and Northwestern (Chicago area). They ended up cranking through the local college (Northern Illinois University) in 3 years instead. His family had a business and he had to be there to run it. After he finally found someone to manage the family business he ended up being successful and promoted up the chain in a huge company. There are plenty of opportunities outside of the norm. But the burden is on the person applying to show that they are worth investigating further.

[EDIT: Syntax]
Consider this: Say thanks, but no thanks.

1. You didn't ask for the money, it is falling into your lap. Therefore you don't need this money. Why not wait until you need it?

2. If what you build is great and is a success, that $25K will still be there, and you'll have a better idea of what to use it for.

3. If you fail miserably (You don't even have a product to sell yet), the loss of $25K will strain the family. Without it, this problem doesn't exist, and you move on, possibly with $25K to use for something else.

Promise them that they will be the first investor when you decide that you need capital, and get back to actually building your product.
Whiner whining about Apple again?

Did he get ass-raped by Jobs when he was a kid?

Oh wait, nobody reads his lame blog so he is trying to get attention bashing Apple, how clever!
Sounds like you REALLY wanted MacOSX to be Linux.
Is there a good option for microsoft project on open source?
Does anyone knows of a free software for managing projects?

Thanks in advance
Agree 100% -- these are all significant considerations.
I guess it depends on what you're doing with the Javascript.
So far as I know it is.
Actually, they are quite excited about the risk.

Everyone always is, because they're only focusing on the upside and not on the fact that once they give you $25K, it's already lost.
we did actually ask to meet and present it with him. We are interested in the funding and will need it shortly or we will become under capitalized in the next few months.

We have been doing consulting work primarily to stay in business at this point, but we need to cut it off or else we can't dedicated enough time to our project.

in regard to #3, this relative is an investor by trade. He has invested 150K this year in oil and natural gas, he is completely aware of the risk and is embracing it.

I definitely understand the strain that could still put, but I am not his first family investment, either.
Maybe. My guess is that the market for those companies that can be started with little or no money will become saturated (this has probably already started to happen), and the returns will fall. This will dampen some of the current frenzy for young founders.
Your assumption is right
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Science beyond individual understanding
Bah, I disagree. Not giving the average user enough credit. Bit pretentious imho. Now... whether he average user cares? If it looks representative of your search, who cares if it's paid or not?
Make sure they qualify as accredited investors.

http://www.google.com/search?q=accredited+investor+sec+famil...

If you later-on seek funding from VC's, and they find out that you have had any early investors who were not accredited, deals can fall through.
The United States of Mind: Researchers Identify Regional Personality Traits Across America
Okay, that clarifies things a little.

I'm a big believer that if you need someone else's money just to get something off the ground, it doesn't mean enough to you. I think people are too quick to give away all their work.

You've got a consulting income, which you admit you could increase if you take focus off your project. Is it a bad thing to do this if it means you remain self funded?

How long does $25K buy you? 3-4 months? What could you do in 1 month? Could you release? Why/Why not?

The lack a money is a wonderfully powerful constraint in proving your idea. It's better to force you product to confront the realties of the market it is in (i.e., is it going to float or will it sink) as fast as possible. Taking capital can sometimes delude you into believing answers to this question that aren't necessarily the correct ones. It gives you an inflated sense of positivity.

Good luck to you, either way!
Dell to Transition All Laptop Displays to Mercury-Free LED Backlights
Return to IE??
"I'm writing code that takes pictures from email attachments and displays them as web pages. I did the theoretical research for this at Stanford under Prof. Lewis."
Can I shamelessly promote my Wall Street news aggregator (non-social but much more useful) -> http://www.streetread.com

Personally, I don't think there is much room for social news with regard to Wall Street. With general market news, what is important to some might be irrelevant to others, and so on. Stock-specific news can be extremely important, but only to shareholders.
Names are always difficult, but I have found unusual names spread by sneaker net/word of mouth always stick in the back of my head (news.ycombinator) or really really obvious names that are easy to guess stand out as well (news.bbc). Oh you also mentioned hosting aswell..one of the chaps at work swears by these guys : http://www.slicehost.com/ . Worth taking a look at (I think they mentioned Django on there, somewhere) I kwnow they support LAMP.
If the question is "given all other possible uses of my time, is this one the best use possible?", then the answer will be "no" for almost any given value of "this". A likely result is doing nothing while one waits for the "perfect" thing to do - it might not apply as much to people on news.yc, but this does describe many people I know.

If the question is "given all the ideas I have right now, and considering the effort to implement each, should I work on this?", the answer might be different.
Finally a Decision: Digg Isn't Selling (for Now)
I wonder how accurate that page view count is. Seems extremely low given the number of visitors they have. Just 150 million page views cannot generate that much ad revenue. Maybe $100k-$200k/mo max even with a sweet heart deal from MS?

Seems kind of sad that they're digging (sigh) such a big hole. If they had kept things light originally they could have sold for $80 million and walked away with more themselves with much less risk of total failure.

Hiring a bunch of people, fancy office, tons of servers. Totally unnecessary. The site could be run with very few resources if they had made that a goal.
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If he knows what he's doing and could help in more ways than just money, go for it. Else, pass on.
Though, you should know that run4yourlives is right on this one. I've done it and couldn't regret more.
Why do people discount the importance of a formal education in computer science?
A wearable bomb can only kill (say) few dozen people, even in a crowded area, but the same bomb detonated on a 747 could kill 400.

It could also allow them to gain control of the aircraft (maybe, depending on whether they can persuade the people on board that they aren't planning to crash it into anything).

Suicide bombers generally aren't rational folks who multiply "number of infidels I can kill" versus "chance of being caught" though. And we should be thankful that they aren't so rational.
or if you're on a mac you can just use your .emacs file:

(custom-set-variables
'(mac-command-modifier (quote control))
'(mac-option-modifier (quote meta))
)

And now your command key is a control and your option key is a meta.
we didn't start this business to be consultants, I hate consulting...I did it for 6 years before we started our company, we want to build our product first and foremost. we've spent the last year writing software for other people (again), and I am tired of it.
Do people actually think that qualification in the CS field comes from reading a few books?
Did you know you can run a shell inside Emacs?

I get frustrated when running a shell in a regular terminal. They all implement some subset of emacs editing keystrokes, but never all of them, and the subsets are different. It's wonderful having all editing, searching, etc. functionality of emacs available when typing in your shell.

I wrote some Emacs Lisp to jump to the line of a javac syntax error, or stack trace line with a single keystroke. Combining that with the ability to run a shell and browse log files comes in very handy. I also have a macro that searches for the Java symbol under the cursor. It misses a bunch of edge cases, but still very useful. All of this in just 55 lines of elisp. How many lines does it take to write "Hello, World!" as an Eclipse plug in?
run4yourlives raises some good points. But if you're sure you want to do the deal, the main thing you have to figure out is how much of the company your new investor will own, and how much of it will be owned by you and your partners. If you're not already incorporated you'll need to do that, and you can probably just include your investor as one of the founding shareholders (perhaps the only one who doesn't need stock vesting). If you are already incorporated, you can start with an angel financing doc from YC, and run it by a lawyer to make sure your case isn't special for some reason. If you're not sure where to find a lawyer, you should ask some startup founders you know personally -- this probably isn't a complicated scenario, but there's nothing like incompetent legal help to make a simple scenario into a gridlock.
I assume the worst consequence, from their point of view, would be humiliation.

Either a humiliating failure to detonate, or a humiliating detonation that kills only them, and slowly, like that guy who tried to drive a truck bomb into Glasgow airport.
OpenGL 3 & DirectX 11: The War Is Over
Because Mac OS X has Cocoa/Aqua for its UI instead of GTK/Gnome or QT/KDE. If you want GTK/Gnome or QT/KDE, use Linux. If you want Cocoa/Aqua, use Mac OS X.

If you looked at something like MacPorts or Fink, you would see that installing $randomPackage is as simple as "sudo (fink/port) install packagename"

Oh, and last i checked, NeoOffice worked fine (And OpenOffice is finally getting around to finishing a native Mac port). So, um, it has been supported since day one. If you bothered searching and finding it. But it's not Apple's fault OO.o doesn't advertise their product in a way to get on your radar.
It's a simple fact that most companies fail. Tell them to go to a roulette table and bet on black if they want better odds.