skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I just won (#7 - foob) and I felt the need to post here to tell people that the person I spoke with from Quixey afterwards was very friendly and that I enjoyed talking to him. I was really just playing for the $100 but after speaking with him I felt like I should inquire about job opportunities. This is pretty much the opposite of what happened after my only other programming challenge experience.

I don't know if people saw this or not but a while back Instagram had a programming challenge inspired by the Darpa Shredder Challenge. They were offering a t-shirt for correct solutions and promised explicitly that every solution would get a personal response. They got more entries than they were expecting and didn't give t-shirts to everyone (which is somewhat understandable). What is much worse is that they didn't even bother to respond to correct solutions. I spent over an hour on it (including the bonus part) and they couldn't even send me a copy and pasted letter of something like "Thanks for playing! We got more attention than we expected and won't be able to give you a t-shirt but we do appreciate you playing." I would never consider working for a company that would respond to an unexpected number of solicited entries by simply ignoring them. I doubt that I'm the only person who was permanently turned off about Instagram by having my email and solution simply deleted without being looked at or responded to.
FBI Charges Seven With Online Piracy
A pure-Node approach is a lot simpler: you can just use Node's HTTPS (if you don't care about load balancing) and attach Socket.io to it. Just don't put your Socket.io server behind Nginx if you want WebSockets support.

With load balancing, I would recommend going with Stud/Stunnel and HAProxy. Terminating SSL with a specialized piece of software is nicer (separate SSL overhead to another box), and using a separate load balancer allows for more flexible options, e.g. serving static assets from Nginx. There is nothing wrong with node-http-proxy, it's just that these two projects have been around for longer and are better understood from an ops perspective.

You cannot use round robin load balancing, you need to have at least IP-based stickiness with Socket.io for now. Well, you can round robin if you use the Redis store but you'll run into inefficiencies with https://github.com/LearnBoost/socket.io/issues/686 . I'll do a bit more coverage on other SIO deployment-related issues once I get the chapter on Socket.io finished for my (free) book in a few weeks.

If I were starting now, I'd just ignore the Flash sockets transport since it makes the whole stack more complex due to not looking like HTTP to load balancers, and start with Engine.io / WebSocket.io to take advantage of their simplicity.
I Have Seen the Future of UI, and It Is Gaze
Multiple Cross Site Scripting ( #XSS ) Vulnerabilities in Forbes
You've hit on one of my biggest secret fears. Heck, right now I have information on 5.25" floppies that can only be read by an Apple ][, old SyQuest and Zip disks that need to be transferred before they can be read, and probably somewhere, a data cassette or two.

Information that requires special equipment to read is a dangerous thing.
Megaupload down, FBI Charges Seven With Online Piracy
Kodak must be remembered for being one of the first popularizers of technology. Kodak did not invent photography, but it made it accessible to the public, putting it in the hands of the middle class and amateurs instead of just professionals. They were the Apple of the 1890s. If you want to look for a photograph of their legacy, don't look for any famous photos, but for the snapshots members of your family were taking of you while you were growing up.
Perhaps because the product is primarily used by teenagers, brand recognition and long-term loyalty historically hasn't mattered much in the video console industry. For example, the several billion dollars MS sunk into XBox 1 means nothing to the next crop of 14 year olds, who weren't even alive at the time.

Plus, MS has been unable to leverage XBox users into buying Zunes or Windows Phones. I suspect MS's XBox investment will ultimately amount to very little in the long term.
You didn't "take" a copy. You made one. Without permission, that's copyright violation, not theft.

Stop spreading confusion.
most new distros are. debian-sid uses 1.11

heh, OT rant, ...and i get a email from pg scolding me for using factually correct superlatives in my submissions.
Okay, why then enforce those laws? You can pass them but never enforce. It's your country, who can tell you what to judge for.
Put Down the Pitchforks on SOPA
Tell your friend to take a chill pill. Then calculate how much work you did and what you think you should be paid for it. Give back anything over that amount and give him all the files you worked on. Then move on. If you're honest with yourself, it will seem reasonable to a judge.
Above all, stay classy.
It's taken out of context. You can read the passage by G.K. Chesterton here: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton#The_Thing_.28...
Did you lose your house? If not, then I don't see the issue - I saw your house, copied it, now we both have one.
Quantum computing could head to 'the cloud'
Avoiding Git Disasters: A Gory Story
Why Choose StackOverflow Instead of Mailing Lists for Open Source support
@Bleys, would that it were so.

I think mainstream culture is a bigger impediment to the changes you describe than voting system reform. But I certainly would like to see the kind of changes you describe.
He also runs xrumer from his desktop without any proxies. I don't think he is the sharpest knife in the drawer...
Another indicator of this is verbal ping-pong. How granular you have to answer questions/give direction. If you get a lot of "What do I do next?" or "you never told me to do that!" A non-resourceful person would say "How am I supposed to know that an introduction means X, Y, Z?!"
Anyone knows if it's done with WPF a la Surface as the other product from Samsung - the SUR40 ?
Up to two times over two years.[1] Still pretty good though.

[1]: http://store.apple.com/us/product/S4575LL/A
'Assertiveness' is decidedly the wrong word (though it might apply to the specific example that he mentioned).

Resourcefulness means that you can do a lot with a little. In the context of this piece, it means you can turn a little advice into a lot of (useful) action.
Mailchimp diversifying?  Two-factor security for web apps
gzipped base64-encoded data is about the same size as the original data, though. It only requires more processing to be done.
The video lectures were there, and the UI was the same as watching a podcast. Abstracting iTunes U into its own app allowed Apple to add course materials without it cluttering up the "Videos" app.
> What happens if nobody pays for a copy of Windows 8? There won't be a Windows 9.

LOL. Is that a threat?
Pogue is making a point that HN's grellas has made repeatedly - the mixture of opposition to SOPA and opposition to copyright became a pretty big mess.

If informed, I'm confident that a strong majority of Americans would oppose SOPA. I'm equally confident that a majority would not oppose the fundamentals of copyright.
"bad groups is that coming into office hours, they've already decided what they're going to do"

If someone has this kind of set in mind and not listening to the context what the other end has to say meritocracy is at best the outcome.
But do you not see the flaw in that logic? "We are not the problem so we are not going to try something else". What advice would give if one of your groups said that? Paul everything I have studied about you and YC over the last 5 years tells me your an incredible person but you are stubborn and you know it. You love experiments, the next office hours simply try this approach with one of the groups. Ask them questions and then just sit back and listen. I know it is hard because you are an excitable guy but try it. They look at you as an authority figure, this larger than life person who just made there dreams come true. That holds so much power, I wonder if you realize it? Ease that stress by leveling the playing field. One or two meetings like this, where they feel you are actually listening, and they will be right back to your level and its business as usual. I bet you dinner at your favorite spot that if you truly give this a chance, it will work.

I understand the difference and don't pretend to know the daily goings on at YC, am just putting an alternate perspective on the table for consideration. Tonight when you reflect on this conversation, I think an idea will come to you. I am sure this is something that bothers you very much, because you are obsessed with solving tough problems. I think people also forget that you are human and have feelings and your not always on the top of your game. When people are overcome with a tough process they shut off. As you stated, that doesn't mean they don't know how or that they are not capable. They just don't know how to get back on the right track. These situations don't need force they need delicate leadership. If they don't respond from there, then you have done all you can and that is all anyone could ask for.

I even up voted you because I know you have taken time to have this conversation. I most likely will never get into YC because I am a single founder, therefore I fear no recourse. When the terms are level, inspiring conversation and progress can be made. I appreciate that you have listened to me and considered my thoughts, as someone trying to reach a goal, that means very much!

Think about this conversation and then what I just said, the answer is right there staring at you my friend.
This is also interesting for sites which can't acquire their own certificates (i.e., anything at .cu, .ir, .kp, .sd, and .sy).
So now that we've got Alice and Bob covered, what happens when Alice wants to share a file with a group of people. And what if that group is dynamic? Is there something that addresses this scenario?
Step-By-Step: How To Use a DNSSEC a Registar and a DNS Hosting Provider
I think we actually agree here. I said: "net gain, after you count all the costs." I meant "all the costs" to include opportunity costs.
Rack::GitSha
Textbooks lasting three years, from my experience, is incorrect. I attend one of the "better" public schools in California, and textbooks here are currently from two "waves": around 1979 for many books, and 2003-2004 for others (a few, of course, are newer or even older). These books are just as beat up as you'd expect, but the funds simply don't exist to replace them.

If you calculate ~25 years for a physical textbook, it doesn't look anywhere near as appealing to use an iPad. Which leads me to find it unlikely that the iBooks textbooks will be adopted in public school. However, private schools (which could require deposits on the iPads, and could also simply charge for them if needed) may well find this announcement useful.
DoJ press release with a little more info: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/January/12-crm-074.html
Evertale changes the way people remember
We have been working to revolutionize how technology helps people capture and relieve their memories. Please, give us feedback!
Cool hack. Have you considered linking to the startup's Github page or the pages of the developers?
I think you meant to say is that a promise? :-)
What's the difference between Agile Development & Lean UX?
Applies to employees as well. One of the better things about Google is that with most engineers, you can raise some concern or some alternative way of doing things, and they'll just get it, understand all the implications, and be able to implement it with no further direction. (The ones that can't are pretty infuriating to work with, because it takes you longer to hand-hold than it would to just do it yourself.) I had an intern last fall where I could just give him the name of a product or technology to look into, or a contact e-mail for the team in charge, and he'd go look into it and come up with a working implementation. He's just been given an offer, so with any luck he'll be a coworker next year.

The thing is - I'm not certain this is entirely a property of the person involved. Yes, there are certain skills that make it easier to find information on your own. But this is also a function of the problem domain and how well you know it. If you give me a credit card and a problem statement, chances are that I can come up with a working webapp that solves the problem. But if you give me the name of a VC and tell me to go raise money - where do I start? How do I approach him? What will burn bridges and what won't?

So my question to PG and any other resourceful folks out there is: how do you approach a problem domain in which you know nothing, and manage to gain enough of a map of the territory so that you listen to someone's one-word suggestions and instantly grasp the implications?
You are never going to convince anyone of something that they can't allow themselves to think. If you're stealing you will use all kinds of convoluted logic to pretend that you aren't.

The real value of the post is that it lets some of know that not everyone was raised by wolves.
Google Code Search still (unofficially?) available at alternative URL
The objective was to prevent collapse. The return was just a bonus. It would have been the height of irresponsibility to lose time while negotiating a bigger vig for the tax payers as the financial system burns to the ground. A 25% return in two years is nothing to complain about and if the return had been say 50% it would still be almost completely unnoticeable to the tax payers.

That doesn't mean it was right to not change the source of the problem after the crisis, but that's a whole other debate.
World IPv6 Launch: this time it's for real
They wanted to hop on trains at the last minute, but tickets sell out quickly. They ended up spending a lot more for air travel. They didn't get a guide book; therefore, they wasted a lot of time on logistics and wandering aimlessly around a city. They tried to get into hostels but these are sometimes booked up. They had no backup plan and went looking for a cheap motel. They are vegetarians and didn't know how to ask for "no meat". They ended up eating whatever they could scrounge from grocery stores. I'm a vegetarian and had some terrific meals. They will survive though.
To further explore this topic, I would recommend reading the book Iconoclast[1]. It identifies "a lack of fear and mental laziness" as some of the key qualities rare extraordinary individuals possess. Having a child's mind and looking at things fresh was another way of putting it for me at the time I read it.

Reading PG's post, it immediately reminded me of the detailed analysis of this quality in the book.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Iconoclast-Neuroscientist-Reveals-Thin...
Designing Icons Around Privacy
MegaUpload has been taken down by the feds
> What happens if nobody pays for a copy of Linux 3.2? There won't be a Linux 3.4.

I think the business model needs to change a bit. That's all.
Mac OS X: Using Console to Troubleshoot Problems
A selection of Google Webfonts that don't suck
With the disruption of the publishing industry and death of bookstores, Amazon and Apple are emerging as the only two companies to set book prices. Other small players will be involved, but they can't compete with the big guys any more than a self-published indie band competes with Lady Gaga.
Creative works are not fungible.
They've already shown that they will price ebooks at the same price as hardcovers, and pocket all the savings themselves. From a price perspective, their "competition" with each other will be as meaningful as Coke vs. Pepsi, and you'll have about the same amount of choice.
Ask HN: Hate SOPA? What technological solutions do you propose?
Techies have been extremely vocal about how bad SOPA is for the Internet. How about proposing an alternative with technology in mind?
Someone told me once: "You're good at putting the puzzle together, but only when you have all the pieces."

I can't really give specific examples, but it really is a daily thing, where I remind myself to follow things to their logical conclusions, in order to know how to proceed with a task/project/question/etc..
Annotated ECMAScript (Javascript) 5.1 specification in HTML
Great idea, I'll add that in as soon as I can. Keep an eye out for the update.
Apple Unveils iBooks 2 with Interactive Textbook Support
of course ... otherwise they would not close the service :(
Apple Launches iBooks Author Ebook Creation Tool
impossible to know
Well, you can check for 3 AND 5 first (or check for 15 altogether). This is if you have two subsequent checks for 3 and for 5.
... Why not? They'll be cached in the stylesheet or whatever source you're providing them from.
Why QR codes will disappear as a marketing tool unless they stop sucking
Agreed. This is where I quit.
Apple Offers Online Courses through iTunes U App
Context, from the Dutch press release: the Dutch copyright organization (not quite as evil as MAFIAA) won a court case. Soon Dutch ISPs (including XS4ALL, started by hackers to bring internet to the masses) will be forced to block the Pirate Bay. A Dutch web host (https://greenhost.nl/) made this plugin to make it easier to set up proxies.
Foxconn Chairman Calls Employees “Animals”
SOPA Scorecard: Internet 1, Lobbyists 0
This just crystalized something for me. I like to create stuff with people. Once I find that someone is thoughtful, reflective, or whatever you want to call it, I like to talk with them in a manner that prods the abstract. It now makes sense to me that my most successful collaborations have happened with people with whom I can easily speak in the abstract. Details and competence are real things, but they are not the most important things by a long shot. Details can't be accounted for except for the fact that they will arise and they will have to be dealt with in one manner or another. Also, besides a reticence to talk in the abstract, one thing that puts serious doubt in my mind about people is self-help books.
Please don't link to things that require passwords to access them.
A big couse in pour drivers support is that companies dont publish specs to their devices. If there was only one dominant free OS like linux, companies that make hardwire would want their devices to work with it and so will write drivers or at least publish full spec.
I don't think testing would be of much help. These challenges are so designed that there is precisely one error in the function and precisely one way to fix it and either you notice it or you don't. If you were able to test your changes on the fly you could just as well try all the different modifications you can think of (of which there aren't many) without thinking too much.
"A Word to the Resourceful" or "Do or Do not, there is no try"
This is a critical observation. By default, for most people who have been through the modern school system, and/or worked for companies -- they're used to covering their ass and sounding smart.

The market doesn't care about cover-your-ass -- it only cares if their problems get solved and if your product is any good.
Two reasons: first, the matrix multiply algorithms with exponents less than three do not have the same numerical stability properties, which can introduce subtle bugs into software that was developed with the expectation of a "usual" O(n^3) multiplication being used. This makes it unsuitable for use in a general-purpose library.

Second, although algorithms with smaller exponents exist, there is more to high-performance than asymptotic complexity. In particular, the constant factors associated with these "fast" algorithms are typically large enough that there is no benefit to using them for "reasonable" matrix sizes.
Thrill of the hunt gone at eBay?
This applies to other things, in my experience. In making a drawing, for example, a mental dialog can go one of two ways:

- "this is wrong", "that line can't be right", "the shadow doesn't work"

or

- "how does this line relate to this other line?", "how does the light hit this plane", "what shapes does this decompose into?"

The critical dialog option leads to bad and abandoned drawings. The constructive dialog option leads to restatements and completed work.
Apple Releases Full Video of Today’s Education Special Event Keynote
Have a shootout with a cop that is performing a traffic stop on your brother, get wounded(by cop's gun), have a gun next to you with spent cartridges from the bullets used to kill the cop, wear a holster for the gun in question.

Versus

Contribute to some OSS image uploader library

There are questionable cases in US Abu-Jamal is not one of them and none of them are even remotely comparable to a case of a guy contributing to an open source project and getting death penalty for it.
This title was not very inspiring for the HN crowd. It should have been:

"Magically uncensor any website on the internet from your own WordPress installation"
So in terms of precedent, if dropbox can be used to store copyright files, could they also be shut down on a whim like this?
Hmm, my brief digging into demand analytics didn't yield much. How did they end up at the top of the list? Could be nice to see how the score was created (e.g., list of repos and followers)
Well, for one, compare Love's entire first section to the table at the end of Albini's essay.
Seeing through Schlep Blindness
The iBooks 2.0 textbook format
linkbait for some game. and apparent comment spam from http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=camilosoto
Windows doesn't write driver software either. It's up to the hardware companies to make their hardware compatible if they want to sell it. Windows just happens to have the largest market share. If Linux had even one tenth the share of windows, drivers wouldn't be an issue.
Just sit down and think not just about what a person said, but why they are saying it.

If my dad says, "Son, never date girls who are hippies", that probably means that he himself was burned from an experience like that. While reading it plain would have given me a catch-all theory that is not necessarily true, reading into the reasons told me two extra factoids: my dad doesn't want me to get hurt, and he has dated a hippie girl and that ended badly.
I would love to see more stories of YC companies that didn't work out (no personal details needed of course). It seems like the weeding process is good enough to have a very high success rate so the ones that don't do well should be good examples to keep in mind.
Using Solar Energy Means Savings
Have you ever thought of huge savings? Yes, you can by using solar energy! Most likely you have noticed how much money you should always set aside to pay your monthly utility bills. Well, here’s a good proposal. Why don’t you turn to photovoltaics?
It depends on what you're doing with the image. You can't always tile a sprited image for example, which is a nice advantage for base64 encoding. Size wise they're pretty similar once you count gzipping, though you do have more overhead on base64 since each will have its own set of image headers vs just one for the sprite.
Why did they charge the graphic designer and the developers?
Nor on LMDE.
Copyright, piracy battle rages: Megaupload.com shut down, execs jailed
I've heard good things about this company:

http://sendgrid.com/
Feds Shut Down File-Sharing Website Megaupload
"An excellent engineer decides to leave the company because she gets a better offer. For various reasons, you were undercompensating her, but the offer from the other company pays more than any engineer in your company and the engineer in question is not your best engineer"

Why isn't the root cause addressed? If this engineer was a key player, what made her decide to look elsewhere for a job? The decision to jump ship is always made long LONG before the interviewing starts.

One could reason that she opened her eyes and realized that she's a key player, but unappreciated. Shouldn't that have been uncovered in a 1:1?