skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
This article doesn't seem to give any examples of specific predictions Stallman made that have turned out to be correct. All the article seems to be saying is that Stallman seemed paranoid, and present events seem to justify paranoia.

(Incidentally, people always feel that.)

Can anyone give some examples of specific predictions Stallman made that seemed surprising at the time, but that have come true? I'm not saying there haven't been any, just that such a list would be more useful than this article.
Facebook Mobile Hack Day $25
Anyone else find it really weird that Facebook is charging $25 for the equivalent of an office hours hackathon on a thursday afternoon?
Would you consider WikiPedia a minimally viable product?
There's also going to be an enormous startup time as it has to parse and compile all that code, even if it's already cached.
It's inspired by the Anonymous style: find someone you dislike, attack their computers somehow (e.g. private information theft, DDoS, web site defacing), and brag about it online. The ideals are very different, but the method is pretty similar.
On the video posted on the top comment, you see "Xerox" on top of a shop, this is the brazilian for "Copy & Print", so this is still allowed somewhat.
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/preprin...

"Elsevier is liberal with respect to authors and electronic preprints. Unlike some publishers, we do not consider that a preprint of an article (including a prior version as a thesis) prior to its submission to Elsevier for consideration amounts to prior publication, which would disqualify the work from consideration for re-publication in a journal. We also do not require authors to remove electronic preprints from publicly accessible servers (including the author's own home page) once an article has been accepted for publication."

manuscript ~= preprint more or less in publishing speak
Poll: How often do you Google yourself?
Curious what the norm here is
Once a month
Once a year
Hard to fold that map.
Interesting concept, I like the challenge aspect of it all but wonder if these sort of dares/bets would ever be entered into an app? It seems a bit like overkill, the same way if an app existed that kept track of promises.
Better than nightschool would be to spend time developing your own product. Look around you, and any time you run into a problem (I wish I could do X easier or cheaper) think if you could build a system that does that. There are plenty of hacker spaces: once you have a project in mind take your latop and go hang out, find a space you like and just get to work. You'll naturally start to interact with others, find out about free weekend classes, conferences etc. Once you start building your own project you'll learn fast (and go ahead - make a lot of mistakes! It's important). Having a working project that does something useful and interesting is a very, very good resume. Use Show HN to your benefit too.

I also read above you are contributing to open source projects: stay subscribed and be proactive if a bug or feature comes up that you think you can tackle.

Good luck!
Apple iPod touch 8GB
Apple iPod touch 8GB
do you want to buy Apple iPod touch 8GB?
Page seems to be missing a "why?" section. Seriously, why? What does it do that eval() doesn't?
It is probably a case of us arriving to the same result by taking a different path. As I go back and reread your post with a broader viewpoint thats what I'm thinking?
This map is small: 4x3 feet. I would like a large map, maybe four times the area (8x6 feet), but with the same density of information. One could represent four times the number of towns, streams, roads, etc. I want to hang it on a wall, and be able to read it for hours, always discovering new places to visit.

Anyone know of such a map?
Most URL shorteners offer a QR code for any short URL:

* https://bitly.com/4nVG8Q.qr (QR shown by default if you use a mobile device)

* http://safe.mn/4rZQ/q (QR shown by default if you use a mobile device)

* http://goo.gl/rJFmD.qr
MMS for Google Voice on AT&T
I'm surprised none of the news sites have mentioned that as of today at least anyone messaging phones to my AT&T iPhone now notify me in Google Voice iPhone app, and instantly send the image to my email account. Before it was only in trial for Sprint.
GUIDs are HUGE and have a significant impact on performance. Go read Kimberly Tripp's blog post referenced in the article. She does the math for you.

In almost all the cases that I see GUIDs, they were totally unnecessary for the design. Even the developer who designed them could not give a reason why they needed to be GUIDs. A row unique across the entire universe? Really?

I'm not saying there are no cases...just that in most cases they negatively impact performance with little business or logic gain for that price. All design decisions come down to cost, benefit and risk.
Talk about filling a gap in the market, good luck with this model!
Given the choice between looking at ads and being assaulted by the hideousness of rusted, empty signs, I think I'd take the ads.
Being from an European country myself I find it ever so amusing that all my life I've been hearing that "If we were only like the USA" in some regards. Ironic isn't it?
The more relevant point is that the users do not perceive the receipt of future email as something to which they willingly agreed.

In my opinion, the OP brought the spam complaints upon himself by failing to use an opt-in communication model. Following up with an unwanted email shortly after the user used the service would tend to trigger an adverse reaction - it's the sort of thing that constantly spamming sites tend to do.
This is why you should support Android (not Google, but Android), even if you prefer the iPhone. [...] There's going to be a point where being Free/open is no longer a fun perk, but a necessity.

Stallman on Android:
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.htm...
His paranoia was based on knowledge that only free software, free access and freedom are ways to live your life. You will find very few people who are ready to go to lengths that he went to do what they preach.
Just because you're paranoid/doesn't mean they're not after you.
I can't like this enough
Or how another cheap "Yo dawg" joke started.
Sao Paulo has also recently (2 years?) banned smoking indoors, you do get through a lot of smoke while walking on the street but you don't have to think before going inside a bar or restaurant, better quality of life I guess.
Steve would have wept if he could have seen that happen.
Drug-Sniffing Dogs Reflect Police Bias
Also when when Havel didn't.
Mongolian Deadbeef--node.js driver for MongoDB
When someone sends me a MMS it sends a message saying, "<Subject: New Message>". In my email I get the subject line "Subject John Smith (SMS)" (where John Smith is the person's name). In the body, "SMS from John Smith [(000) 000-0000]" and of course the picture. The picture appeared to be low resolution, but maybe because it was sent from an Android or maybe google shrinks the file.
I wrote a blog post on the subject, though it's not very polished. http://theimaginaryhackathon.tumblr.com/post/14141908437/sta...
SoundCloud gets $50 million in new funding
Next, see if we can ban people from using ALL CAPS in emails and forum posts. :)
The subtle thing you shouldn't notice is readability (at multiple resolutions), I think it works well. Android can't use Helvetica anyway for licensing reasons, so they need an open source font; Roboto is Apache licensed.
My tech 2012 wishlist for Twitter, Amazon & Instagram
everybody knows there is no R in action :)
I agree the title and wording in the article is not very specific.

However, I think it's mostly just the general point that Stallman makes about free software (the 'prediction' is just that this is important). At the risk of hypothesizing how this point is relevant: freedom to modify software is an inalienable right, which increases the chances of people not taking advantage of other people with technology. Not in any absolute sense (it only increases the chances). But it just makes coming up with solutions to centralized, non-democratic uses of technology (SOPA, etc.) a lot more easy.
He provided an opt-out link, he didn't use an open relay and it wasn't misleading the customer in any way.

He didn't violate any US laws. Interestingly enough, it also exempts "transactional or relationship messages" and only applies to email that is promoting a commercial product/service. At the time of the email, he had nothing for sale on his site.

You can see more about this law here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003

The problem is that most of the time, the people that want something for free have already signed up for a million other free things and are overly-sensitive about spam.
Thanks Louis C.K, now here's my Dad
It's important to remember that the Finns implemented their new system for moral, rather than competitive reasons. Their resulting academic performance was a pleasant side-effect. This is a critical distinction that even this article seems to gloss over.

I went to the best private high school in my state. Before that, I attended an elementary school whose tuition cost more than many people pay for a college education. My parents were by no means rich, but were willing to spend a significant portion of their yearly income on the education of their only child.

I have also worked in schools of the other kind. The ones with metal detectors. The ones where the administration's main preoccupation is not which college their students will get into, but whether their students will graduate high school at all.

Arguments that competition between schools and school systems is necessary in order to maintain academic quality do not impress me. The quality of a child's education should not be determined by how much money a parent is willing to or is capable of paying. I am quite willing to let children to be buffeted by the inequalities of capitalism in every other aspect of their lives (except, perhaps, healthcare), but our current system is not only ineffective and inefficient, it is immoral.
If you'd take the population differences into account, the numbers would be a bit different. Given that Sweden has only 10 million habitants, it seems to push around twice the amount of US scientific output/capita. (Norway and Finland achieve similar efficiency with 5m people) Yeah, what US is doing is pretty impressive, but it's not like Europeans have been much of freeriding either.

And then there was the whole World War thing, snatching top scientists for cold war etc... The polarization of world during the recent history is a bit more complicated issue than the US just kicking ass in everything. And the future is kind of interesting too. (youtu.be/NXIR9ve0JU0)
Meet Ask Ziggy, the broke man’s Siri for Windows Phone
Hover Zoom for Chrome Will Save You Clicks
Splitters [2007]
Show your startup to Quora (launched or beta)
What's the advantage of this over the node-native-mongodb driver?
"What rights do I retain as a journal author*?
[...]
the right to post a pre-print version of the journal article on Internet websites including electronic pre-print servers, and to retain indefinitely such version on such servers or sites for scholarly purposes" [1]

[1] http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/rights
Just because is easy, it doesn't mean you should do it. Stealing from ordinary people even from nation that you feel so much hostility to, still it is wrong.
The Sims designer creating new game for real life
I wonder what the comments here would look like if the ban would have been on a different advertising medium, say, online advertising.

I'd be willing to bet the great majority here would oppose it, and I'd be willing to bet that people would be exploring all of the negative and potential unintended consequences.

Have you considered the immediate losses advertisers will incur from removing/destroying their advertising assets? Will those costs be passed on to customers? What about the "public" cost of implementing and enforcing the ban itself? What effect does this have on companies that sell outdoor ads? Does this concentrate power to companies that sell other types of advertising and reduce competition? Does this lower the value of real estate properties that previously sold ad space? What happens to people who previously discovered or visited businesses via outdoor ads? What about the people who actually enjoy the ads?

On a deeper level, why stop at banning outdoor ads? Should we ban other things we find aesthetically unpleasing or is there something about these outdoor ads that was materially damaging people? Also, how exactly do you determine if this ban was a "success"?
There is actually a very strong structural argument for why public goods such as education and health, should be distributed equally:

If those in power have to use the same system as those they hold power over, then they have a strong incentive and self interest to ensure that those public goods are of a high standard.

This is not to say that public goods must be delivered by the state, but rather there should no difference in opportunity of access (such as the Finnish private schools that don't charge tuition).
Odd. I'd think polishing the PoS idea you thought was an MVP was a more likely problem.

I know that would be my tendency. I'd need someone crazy helping me jump into trouble:
http://www.sebastianmarshall.com/inventors-who-want-to-do-bu...
Landing Page Optimization: 6 ways to boost your landing page conversion rates
I do agree with this. Especially in this case if you outsource some of your marketing "expenses" to social platforms ("Like buttons", "tweet this", etc)
Not everywhere has convenient street address systems!
knowing file hashes assists substantially in cryptanalysis via PoE
Where can I download these fonts?
The Navy Unveils "Cicada": Now Even the Drones Have Drones
> That's just it, he spoke about free software, not these larger issues...

What's larger than freedom?
Are you seriously expecting Stallman or any one person to "fight" the government and prevent it from passing some draconian law. You seem to thoroughly misunderstand how a modern democracy operates. It's up to the people to prevent a government like that by not electing politicians that have draconian views on the subject. And the only way people can ever do that is if they are aware of all the issues. And Richard is doing a lot to make us all aware of the issues. In my mind he is doing all he can do, and at the right level of involvement, where he has the most know how to influence the minds of "regular" people.
From what I can see, the real Anonymous at least has the balls to go after their own government. Sure it's easy to hate on Israel, and these douchebags will no doubt get some props from fellow haters for their little hack, but if they had a pair of testicles between the lot of 'em, they'd start leaking info on the dictatorship they live in, rather than stealing credit cards from the democracy next door.
While I don't agree with the parent, as the BSD license and BSD-licensed software would have happened anyway, the GPL is the perfect example of what hackers can do against awful legislation.

You see, the GPL takes the copyright system and turns it on its head. That's why it is named a copyleft license, an obvious pun.

How does it do that? Well, copyright prevents distribution. The GPL rides this restriction and says that you may not distribute GPL-licensed software unless (1) you distribute it with no extra restrictions + (2) the distributed binary is either accompanied by source-code or the source-code is available on request. The GPL COULD NOT demand this if it weren't for the copyright law and in regards to freedom / protecting users rights, it works out great because nobody can abuse the GPL without legal repercussions.

It's actually beautiful if you think about it and innovative - it enabled open-source / free software to really disrupt the software industry, creating the equivalent of the public commons. And this movement went viral and moved to books, music and movies. And this would have happened without the GPL, but on a much lower scale. The GPL is the spark that started the fire.

BTW - to change the world you don't need to change the laws. The alternative is to make them obsolete and technology has a habit of doing that ;-)
While I see your argument, I myself would enjoy a trip back in time where you would simply ask a local if they knew somewhere you could make a copy.

There's no getting around the fact that socializing with the locals is inconvenient, but sometimes it can be a nice inconvenience.

It has the added benefit that if your business pisses off the locals (crappy service perhaps) they'll probably recommend a competitor if there is one.
If you're having trouble getting enough traffic to run statistically significant experiments, then offering some kind of free tier can help. Of course, these free users will behave differently, but you can at least tell if users will like it even when there's no payment decision necessary.
Servicable, sometimes only given that I have 20/20 vision (PDFs with particularly small text), but plenty of room for improvement.

The biggest problem is that Kindle can't reflow PDF text the way it does with mobi formats (which I believe is true anywhere you read PDF, not just kindle), so you can't seamlessly resize the text. You can zoom the PDF document to enlarge the text, but page turning functionality doesn't work until you zoom back out since a zoomed document will reinterpret page turn actions as horizontal scrolling actions (on Kindle Touch at least, not sure about the others with specific hardware buttons for page turning).

There is a literal ton of info on converting PDF to mobi at the Kindle subreddit, but no perfect conversion techniques yet:

http://www.reddit.com/r/kindle/search?q=pdf&restrict_sr=...

Some suggestions:

1. Use Briss (http://sourceforge.net/projects/briss/) to trim the margins of the pdf, then read it in Landscape mode. This naturally enlarges the text without breaking page turning.

2. Use any of the converters listed in the Reddit/r/kindle sidebar, whether downloadable software or web-based (Readability, Instapaper, SendToReader, etc).

3. Use Calibre to convert PDF to mobi (results are mixed, and graphs and images aren't handled so well).

4. Email your PDF to your_kindle_id@free.kindle.com with "convert" in the subject to have the PDF converted to mobi by Amazon and then delivered to your kindle. Similar results as 4.

All of them except #1 result in mangled formatting to some degree or other, especially PDFs (or PDFs created from websites) with special math or code formatting. Like I said, servicable, you can read it and get the info, but not the brilliant reading experience it is with native .mobi files.
Ask HN: How do I pitch to companies with blatant security problems?
Hello. There are several fairly major local companies which I know to have vulnerable systems in several regards. If I actually dug into these I am sure I would have serious, compromising vulnerabilities in no time flat. My only interest in such digging is to leverage that knowledge to get the company to hire me to fix it.

I have tried this before with some other companies. They have either not cared or reacted adversely with threats. I don't really want to dump a bunch of confidential info or publicly expose a vulnerability that would allow others to do so, but I understand that the whole theory behind security disclosure is that sometimes this is necessary to encourage companies to treat their data security with care.

So, my question is: Armed with specific knowledge of specific vulnerabilities, how do I present these in such a way that I get more than "our (obviously incompetent, two-person) IT team will look into it" or "if you keep poking around you'll be in hot water" or some other adverse/brush off response, and if I get such a response, how should I go about disclosure in a way that will a) protect the data of individuals to the extent possible and b) make the arrogant local company likely to hire me to fix the problem, as they should have done originally.

Before someone objects, I want to be clear that I have no objection to working with competent IT teams to resolve bugs or problems, though I would be much more cooperative and easy to work with if I at least got a bounty of some kind. I suppose I can just bill for the time I would be working with the people. Uh, anyway, I do not intend to supplant all currently employed programmers/IT people. It's just that in many cases we know ahead of time that the IT department is either virtually non-existent, grossly incompetent, or both.

How do I put myself in a position where their pre-established relationships with these people do not come ahead of the confidentiality of user data and the supposed intrusion I am making by confronting the IT/exec team with serious problems and suggesting that they hire me to fix them?
Are you still within the edit time limit for your poll? (It looks like you are.) Why are you formatting an entry like

O(day)

rather than writing "Once a day" or something like that?
Example Of Rupert Murdoch’s Online Incompetence?
I love the images of the Hong Kong streets that are just seas of neon and flashing lights. And walking through does give a sense of excitement for no real reason that fireworks also makes us happy.

I think there is scope for banning of large scale ads in certain locations. When you walk through a tourist town that is, for want of a better word 'quaint' because of old buildings or similar, it's nice when they restrict the erection of modern advertising.

I think it's a case of horses for courses. In some places it works well, in others, not necessary. As long as the residents of the location can decide which way they want to go, I don't see an issue.
Attacking the general (innocent) populace for the faults of their government/military? That's the definition of terrorism... and not activism.
been running with FDE on an SSD for >3 years now, still works fine.

sure it's slower but how often do most people really push their disk past 20 MB/s?
I made a `ed` cheat sheet years ago:

http://www.catonmat.net/download/ed.text.editor.cheat.sheet....

Remember that vim's ex or command mode (mode when you type ":") accepts `ed` commands. Level up!
I've set up a site to check if your card was on the list. Just go to my site and type in your card number...
The worst things about cables is that they prevent the growth of large trees. Adding trees back into areas does far more for improving street beauty than removing advertising.
Bigfoot - scalable web framework (made of vapour)