skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Profiling, Researching, Interviewing and Selecting a POD Publisher
Moore's law is one of the most misinterpreted laws :)

It states that the number of transistors per INGOT SLICE will double each 18 months.

Ingot (in semiconductor manufacturing) is a slice of silicon monocrystalline suitable for photolithographic and chemical processing. The main point is that while transistors are getting smaller, ingot slices are getting bigger.

Edit: I mean misquoted (misinterpretation is a result).
Regular Payments in 20 minutes with GoCardless
Understanding MVC And MVP (For JavaScript And Backbone Developers)
DiabloMiner author and Bitcoin forum mod here.

makomk, enough with the FUD, eh? gmaxwell is not protecting LukeJr, nor has LukeJr done anything worth throwing a fit over.

This is offtopic for HN, take it elsewhere.
Open knowledge saves lives. Oppose H.R. 3699
But whose conventions to adopt?

With the three platforms mentioned, adopting any 1 of them over the other two will lead to the other 2 having confused users.

Adopting elements of all of them will create confusion everywhere.

I've used all three platforms and developed for 2, the UI is different enough that you really shouldn't mimic one on the other. The best I found was the Windows Phone 7 guidelines which were extremely well thought out and consistent. Would you have me use those on iOS?
Yeah, but I haven't bought any.
Yeah, that's more or less what the Windows UI guidelines say too.
Author of Controversial Piracy Bill Now Says ‘More Study’ Needed
I think the tech-sector has significantly skewed what it means to be a "startup". But that has mostly to do with that fact that we only hear of the "startups" that are funded by some well-known VC for some large amount of money. Money that is used to build a product and advertise yet have no signs of being profitable in the near future (http://www.color.com/ comes to mind as an example of this). The media paints a pretty rosy picture of what it means to be a startup making it a glamourous venture to be associated with.

There are however plenty of companies that are just starting up, being bootstrapped from the beginning, and are happily putting food on the founders' table, but these are the startups you never hear about.
Would be interesting to see comparable numbers for other operating systems.
2011 US Patent Assignees – Samsung at No.2, Apple at No.39
Easy: HN users' Google apologism.

I participated in a few Google critical discussion in the past few weeks and a surprising number of them were killed for no apparent reason. They were lively, non abusive discussion, they just happened to be slightly critical to Google.

Since I have never witnessed the same for any other topic, I concluded that the HN crowd doesn't like Google being criticized too much.
Anyone who thinks this is an actual plot by Google, seriously, you need to notice your own confusion. It doesn't fit the modus operandi of any other way they make money.
"SMS your payment to this number..."?
I would file a bug for that...
The RIAA and other major music industry players may have no future, but there is definitely a profitable future for a "music industry" populated by entities that are willing to adjust to the modification in distribution channels and consumption habits.

As it stands, the old-fashioned fogies are simply in denial and doing their best to prevent the marketplace from changing because they don't know how to use the new technology and they don't know how to succeed in the new marketplace. That doesn't mean that there's no future for the industry as a whole, it's simply the way entrenched players eventually die.
> Don't carry over platform-specific icons

Not in the least because they may mean different things!

As far as I can tell, all icons shown side-by-side for the different platforms perform the same actions, except for the back-arrow.

The Android and Windows icons are for "going back", while the iOS icon shown there is used for "reply".
Is Your Search Engine Optimisation All It Could Be?
Search engine optimisation is a funny animal. Just when you think you’ve got the hang of it, Google goes and changes the algorithms. Just when you think you’ve got every possible search term covered, a new one appears. If you’re doing your own SEO in-house you could be devoting a disproportionate amount of time trying to stay on top of things. Keeping your liswhat arerting on page one of Google means you’ll be grabbing a share of 90% of the searches that click on links listed on the first page. Let things slip, even down to page two and you’re lost. That’s where professional search engine optimisation services could ride to the rescue.
Saints vs 49ers live stream online NFL Postseason
Enjoy now Saints vs 49ers live stream online NFL Postseason Divisional Playoffs
Match schedule:
NFL Postseason
Date: SAT, JAN 14 2012
TIME : 4:30 PM (ET)
LOCATION: Candlestick Park
You will catch the latest in sports entertainment with full access to
the New Orleans Saints vs San Francisco 49ers NFL Games
Test double terminology - The misuse of the term "mock"
Good ideas don't have inventors so much as they have stewards. Keep trying and one day such a thing will find you. :)
Stanley Tucci on the Best Wine for Under $15
Nick, thanks for reply, I'm definitely seeing the difference, I will do more tests to figure our the bottleneck, have to think a bit about how to measure the delay exactly too (currently I'm using SecureCRT as SSH client, should probably try something else)
I've tried to reason my belief. It's hard. The only really earthly reason why I don't like scrolling is that (don't laugh) touch interfaces hurt my fingers. I actually feel pain whenever I touch the iPad or Xoom's screen, or my macbook pro's touchpad. I gave my magicmouse to my sister no more than a couple hours after I had purchased it, because I knew I couldn't sustain the mix of friction & electrical pain for more than a minute at a time.

I honestly don't know what came first, the pain or the repulsion for scrolling in general, but the association is fierce.

Then I started reasoning on why people would prefer a world without scrolling. The first thing that came to mind is that scrolling does not exist a lot in real life, apart from a few instances: using binoculars, using a magnifier, going forward/backward on some sort of static security camera looking at traffic or something like that. For everything else, we naturally use paging. Paging is strange: using two or three fingers, you can page by any amount you see fit, and every time, the entry you're looking for is on display at the exact same place on your eye. Items can be specified with their page number (324), then a 2D position (fifth line, seventh word). At some point you can even use muscle memory to reach the correct page while you position your eye for receiving the info.

Scrolling also has an interesting attribute: it's entirely a computer concept. You have a buffer of information and you increment the offset. But as an end user, using only scrolling, you can't easily perform things such as dichotomy - everyone knows dichotomy even if they don't know the name of it. Go forward a bunch, go backwards half a bunch, go forward half of a half of a bunch, find the entry.

Another thing that I don't like with scrolling is how it messes up with the "5-7 modulo 2" rule of thumb for decision making (1). It's not that there are more elements than needed, it's that they get pushed up & down when you scroll, so they never appear to be a fixed point in space where you can go in a subset of 3-9 destinations. As a result, you can't select a subset from 3-9 subsets, and you can't select an item from 3-9 items, you actually have to scroll all the way and parse all elements in order to make an informed decision from, say, 15 or 150 possible ones.

All these questions (and more (2)) itched me since the day I realized that there could be a computer world without scrolling and maybe we could start dreaming/having nightmares about it... Anyway this is a belief and I'm generally a man of reason - it's tough to put it into words what you know you definitely can't prove :)

(1) : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magical_Number_Seven,_Plus_...

(2) : mouse wheel fatigue when browsing websites or expanding trees, why isn't a newsfeed or a time related search result on a logarithmic scale so I can see it all, always, since the start of the century, why did we mix UI and content on webpages when we could simply remove the navigation panes...
This is encouraging news and a sign that the pressure from all camps opposed to PIPA and SOPA is having the desired effect. Keep up the fight!
I think you're reading to much into it. It's okay to enjoy an inspirational story and just leave it at that.
Fun is always a good reason... I need to dust off my (horribly incomplete) Ruby compiler project.
Sponsor: Protect IP Act may be amended in response to concerns
There are some numbers available on Wikipedia[0]. Comparing with Windows is especially difficult though, because there is no differentiation between the kernel and graphical systems or system tools.

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Source_lines_of_code#Example
reminds me of;
* cambridge z88 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Z88

* amstrad nc100 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_NC100

* dana - http://www.neo-direct.com/Dana/

i've always thought these would be good for kids in school teaching them with a proper keyboard and fairly indestructible. got an nc100 for a friend years ago cheap and she loved that on a summer day she could sit in a park and work for hours with no problems.
Getting started with Hadoop, Hive, and Elastic MapReduce [slideshare]
That's probably true, but it doesn't logically follow that we should abandon the term.
Google Responds: No, That's Not How the Facebook Deal Went Down
they wouldn't be defended half as much as Google is being.

I think you need to re-adjust your filter :)

In this thread, for example, the only defence is people questioning whether it is actually Google doing this.

That's reasonable; Google is a major target for scammers. I reckon we (a UK ISV) get about 2-3 calls a month from "Google" offering us various services. If you dig a bit they might admit to being "partnered with Google"; but it's all bullshit.

It doesn't seem an unreasonable assumption that the same might have happened here.

I don't, however, seeing anyone defending what has happened...
How Likely Is a Runaway Greenhouse Effect on Earth?
I've actually found torrents to be a great way to share large files with a friend. There's no invasive upload dialog or locking, no practical filesize limitations other than the free space on my friend's computer, you don't have to upload to a public-facing server before your associate can start downloading, port forwarding is handled transparently by UPnP, client software is user-friendly, easily available, and often already running anyway, and it's easy to scale if another friend wants a copy at some point in the future.

Of course, TPB switching to magnets doesn't really affect this. Torrent files are still used to provide information on the download, they're just distributed from within the P2P network instead of TPB itself. If you have a torrent file to share with an individual or small group instead of the whole world, there's no reason to stop using torrent files directly.
Efficient paging queries in SQL
Of course, it is proven in the link above.
Milky Way Galaxy Teeming With Planets
That line felt dismissive. The news tidbit is interesting, and that kind of loaded message tacked at the end takes away from it. She is succeeding despite stacked odds, and her situation isn't something that can be brushed off.
5 Links for Developers and IT Pros 1-13-12
I'm in total agreement and think we should ditch the term entirely, as I wrote here:

http://themodernprogrammer.com/post/ditch-the-term-startups/
Couple questions back:

1. Can you program at all right now? If so, what languages and how much experience in each?

2. How stubborn are you? How do you react to stressful and frustrating situations? Do you get excited by fixing difficult problems or do you get frustrated and give up?

3. How are your design skills? Any graphic design or illustration background?

4. Have you self-taught any other skills in the past? If so, what? How was that experience for you?

5. Why web programming? Is it only the extra side money?
To me it reads a lot like a scam. Gmail addresses to send data to, vague comments about cost and features. A lot of bullshit about Google.

We get SEO and "host your website" scam calls now and again (maybe 2 or 3 times a month) - since my boss went to an "SEO & Hosting workshop" sigh - and it sounds a lot like some of them.
Generate Barcodes on Windows Phone 7, Barcode Image to EMF Stream
The latest version of Aspose.BarCode for .NET4.5.0 has been released. This new major release includes support for generating barcodes on Windows Phone 7. It currently supports most of 1D and postal barcode symbologies. 2D barcode generation will be added in future. Moreover it also includes support for Saving BarCode Image to EMF Stream and EMF file extra space in the image is fixed.
This is the kind of atitude I like - a clear and articulated opinion about why T. O'Reilly is against SOPA.

Funny that O'Reilly mention the Romanian readers that pirate his books and he thinks there is no problem with that.
F5 Friday: Why SSL VPN Still Matters
Spread Cleanliness Utilizing Queens Carpet Cleaning
Purchasing a Brooklyn carpet cleaning package aids in preventing a person via trading a lot of money. Just about all you have to purchase from affordable prices and also you must see the best that the provider and request your carpet cleaning.
Then they should read Four Steps to the Epiphany, Lean Startup, Innovator's Dilemma, or any of the other, you know, actual books on the stuff, and learn what the term Startup means.

Some innovative Fortune 500 companies are more of a startup or engage in more startup-like behavior than some self-proclaimed "startups" that have no idea about customers, market, and the discovery thereof.
Is Reuters speechless on Fr. 13th?
Hi!

I'm reading reuters from time to time and have received (almost) all of their rss feeds so far. And I've not seen a commentless post yet. What does that mean, is it a mistake done on Fr. 13th?

Here's the URL:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/13/idUSL6E8CD1GE20120113?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews

Screenshot: http://i.minus.com/ibvdO6U83z7qei.png
Ask HN: Can I help you be more awesome today? (No strings.)
Hello HN!

Every once in a while, I like to offer my time to help other passionate people be a little more successful with their goals. If there's anything I can help you with, just ask here. No strings whatsoever. I've done this before a few times now, and it's worked out well for everyone. Check out some of the previous "No strings" sessions I've done to get an idea of how I can help. (http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=mikegreenberg)

A few requests: Be specific about what you're trying to fix/solve/accomplish. The more details you provide, the better I can help you out. I will try to help all requests made before the end of today and will attempt to complete by the end of Sunday. Be patient and check back. Please keep requests to tasks I can do in ~15 minutes. I'll spend more time willingly, but smaller requests lets me help more people! Thanks. :)

Cheers!!
Mike

PS: Quick thanks to fameoflight who I thought did a really great job last time. He opted out of the book, so I donated $25 to the EFF in his name. Thanks again!

PPS: Last month, things got hectic with the holidays and I didn't get to answer everyone's inquiry before the thread locked down. As always, I attempt to help those with the most need on a first-come-first-served basis. Apologies in advance if I can't help you within the thread. If for some reason I missed you, please don't hesitate to email me directly. I'll do my best to give you SOME sort of helpful response. (my initials) (at) nobulb.com.

PPPS: Pass this on if you know someone who needs help.
'Piracy' student condemns treaty - TVShack
GOOGLE SEARCH IS CHANGING IN A BIG WAY
This looks like the first UK alternative to Stripe however it appears you can't accept cards from outside of the UK:

Can I charge non-UK customers?
You can charge anyone with a UK bank account. Very soon you will be able to charge anyone with an EU bank account.

Source: https://gocardless.com/faq
<Yawn> Here's a nickel kid, go buy yourself a book on entrepreneurship.
On the other end of the scale, the Debian lenny archive (released in 2009, superseded by squeeze) totals about 324M lines of non-comment code: http://gsyc.es/~frivas/paper.pdf
"Something must be done! This is something!"
Exvo App of the Week: Contacts
The World is Full of Real People
Yes, there are _some_ models that have larger screens. Just because there are models with larger screens doesn't mean "Android has larger screens." (From article: "Remember that your app will run on a wide variety of different screen sizes.")

To the GP's point, the author is taking advantage of hardware variance and picking larger images.
Another relevant command originating (if I guess correctly) in AT&T UNIX and present in GNU coreutils: paste. There are also ways to put the whole SQL abstraction over text files, one of which is Perl DBD::CSV.
Especially the driver breakdown, since many other kernels don't ship with the same number of drivers that Linux does.
Let's not jump the gun here. Let's keep the pitchforks at bay till we find out what's going on first.
I think today, startups and businesses are two different things.

A business makes money. You see them all around you. Restaurants, companies that sell products (online and offline), web design firms, etc.

These businesses impact the rest of society. Real, everyday people buy from these businesses and often rely on them. Your family interacts with them, understands them, knows them.

A startup is a game. You play by the rules of the game. You (traditionally) spend a lot of time seeking VC money, get enough VC money to spend the next few years working on whatever you want, regardless of the results, and then either sell the startup, get acquired, or shutdown (exit).

The players of the game are often the only ones involved. They're the founders, the customers, the VCs. The game has very little impact on the rest of society.
I'm eagerly awaiting a response from google on this. Frankly I suspect that these guys are not actually associated with Google. Google isn't the kind of company that would hire an army of employees to manually click through a website to cold call people.
I've witnessed plenty of Google apologism on HN, but to be fair I've also witnessed a significant amount of anti-Google bias as well. Either way, saying that HN is deliberately blocking anti-Google sites strikes me as paranoid and needlessly cynical.
Reading the complete transcript here: … It makes me believe that it is Google

How so? I read it and it looked like one of those crappy scams? How does this strike you as a legitimate Google employee?
I particularly like the points:

"the vast majority of customers are willing to pay if the product is widely available and the price is fair."

"Any company that is providing great content online in a way that’s easy to use with a fair price has a booming business right now."

Well done.
Hide themselves? It's essentially a form of proxy.
The whole point of the design guidelines is to help solve these problems.

Should Google do nothing and let the fragmentation fester?
To verify that, rehost the story under a completely different TLD (adding links back to the original source and an explanation, of course, otherwise you might just look like any other blog-spam content farmer), and see if it gets accepted that way.
Ask HN: Has anyone sold a "fork" version of their web app?
So my app made it onto Lifehacker over the weekend. (http://lifehacker.com/5874115/ikeepm-is-a-simple-free-inventory-for-all-your-stuff). Since then, I've gotten over 1700+ signups, granted a lot of it are just folks who are curious but nonetheless, I do have a lot of folks who are using it.

A couple of days later I received an email from a marketing manager of a company. She expressed interest in buying a "fork" version of my app. Needless to say, I'm speechless and things are happening so fast. What turned out as a side project that I had hope to monetize one day, is now in consideration to be bought by a real company.

Has anyone experience this? She's asking for a price and I'm stumped. It's definitely a good problem to have, but I need to be careful.
Not HN, NH's crowd: by flagging those links. Of course the HN code itself is not biased.

(amended original post)

Of course people will be biased both ways, but I never personally witnessed dead links on Apple, Facebook or Microsoft criticizing discussions, so that's my conclusion from personal experience.
How to Recognize a Site Not Worth the Link
Are You Letting Your Analytics Drive You Crazy?
Chaos at Beijing iPhone 4S launch causes sales halt [video]
For legitimacy. Don't make the mistake of thinking the only people who know about App Engine are San Franciscan hipsters with Macbook Pros. Blackhat hackers stay just as updated on technology trends as everyone else.
Something like that. Or send it to this PayPal address or post the cash to here, or ring this premium number, or put your credit card details into http://random.something.sdfsdfsd.com, etc.

There are many people who are flumoxed and confused by computers that we've trained them to let most of their guard down, and scammers can get away with "Oh our system is broken, just use this paypal address" will probably work.
So how do you explain the ip addresses?
make the argument,

seems to me like school is the great melting pot of our society,

now that I'm out of school it seems like I live a very Bowling Alone (http://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Commun...) existence, I interact with people at work, and family, it seems like that is the exent of my non superficial interactions

maybe I'm paticularly introverted, but I wouldn't home/unschool my daughter simply because I don't want her social universe to be that small

also schooling is one of the few shared experiences in our society
To me, as a customer, startup has a negative connotation. I am always reluctant to depend on any nontrivial service provided by someone calling itself startup, because I know they are not here to stay and continue to provide the same or improved service in the future. Instead, their goal is to exit by selling itself to whoever wants to acquire them, and that usually means the end of their service.

If I have to depend on the service, let it better be provided by a business that is struggling to make money on it for as long as possible.
Why Apple Will Not Be Part Of The Real Tablet Revolution
Because it's a phrasal verb with multiple meanings: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/turn-...
India threatens to ‘do a China’ and block Google, Facebook over content
"Your argument is rather stupid."

"Did you not do so well in your interview there?"

Pot, meet kettle.
15 MLOC?

That seems like allot , this must include allot of things that can optionally be compiled into the kernel?

Last time I browsed the kernel source tree it looked like a few 100KLOC to me.
They proved such bits may exist, but have definitely not brought anything to market, nor even demonstrated a process to do so. They used a scanning electron microscope to fiddle atoms around, creating one bit. A science experiment, nothing more.
Google is precisely the brand that a non-Google third-party would use to launch a scam like this, so I'm going to wait a few hours before getting the flamethrower out. This really doesn't seem like Google's style from a technical quotient, even if you ignore the ethical angle.