skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Being a scientist (physicist), I think I can answer that question.

I am deeply interested in helping people, and yes, this means if it were up to me, I'd try to replace all sorts of legislation, and I think there are many things that could be dealt with much, much better.

In the end, however, I think I would find a job as a politician extremely frustrating. Sure, I might be able to deal with the bureaucracy, but I like to have a job that I, well, like. Being a politician would mean voluntarily surrendering myself to the plague of bureaucracy, and I would probably go mad. Call me arrogant if you wish, but I simply don't think I could deal with many of those politicians for very long before getting all upset and claiming they're all a bunch of fools who should stop being such ideological illogical idiots.

Thus, I try to help people in a more indirect way, by doing what I enjoy. Namely, science.
When people become less lazy. And when it's not so stinking expensive. Most people locally find a $10 ticket to a movie egregious. Nothing you can 'experience' is so cheap, nor is it close. The nearest metropolis with all these experiences is about 45 minutes away - so time, fuel, ticket price ...

People are lazy and broke. And fixing 'broke' doesn't usually fix 'lazy.'
It looks more like a April Fool
I updated the title to read mini-seedcamp.
spotify does this at music-scale:

"Spotify – Large Scale, Low Latency, P2PMusic-on-Demand Streaming" [1]

TLDR: getting low latency, low stutter playback is a lot more complicated than bittorrent, but clearly possible, and already solved.

as dotBen points out, it doesn't prevent Spotify's business from getting re-negotiated into the ground every 3 years by the ip rights-holders.

i would like to see the technology sponsored by a business or industry who cares about freedom of information - like the press - otherwise it's just a few nerds working on a startup. I mean, app, I mean, toy project.

[1] (googlecache) http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...
Looks good overall.

Nit: On the about page,

http://hackershelf.com/about.html

when not logged in, clicking on the "shelf" button tries to go to

http://hackershelf.com/shelf/

but crashes with TypeError

"int() argument must be a string or a number, not 'AnonymousUser'"
How to find that first big customer
Well yeah, that's how Debian gets around the issue. However Arch doesn't have an RPM converter in it's standard set up (or if there is, I'm unaware of it).

Personally I massively prefer Arch's package manager to anything I've seen on any RPM-based distro and it seems pretty pointless in having an "alien"-like RPM converter for Arch given how exhaustive Pacman + AUR is. However the point remains that Arch would fail LSB due to this.
Nice resource. Quick suggestion: took me a minute to figure out how to add something to my shelf -- you may want to make that pin icon a little more prominent.
Canadian Conservatives: "Stand with us or with the child pornographers"
Waivers still have to hold up in court. Just because they're waterproof doesn't mean they're legal. Any contract can be overthrown if it understates the risk or if there was gross negligence on the part of the coach.
Cloud Computing Goes Far Beyond Virtualization
I'm on a mailing list with some prominent people involved with liquid thorium reactors, and they're not aware of any current government-funded research in the U.S. (There's plenty in China, though.)
That's fine, it's your service so you can do what you like with it. But as a non-iOS/Android user, you have effectively shut me out (and others like me).

> We want to be around when people do things, this means away from the computer. This means mobile.

Mobile website then?
Cool idea - can it notify me if i'm going to be late

If it knows which journeys i regularly make. Let me know any hour before i'd usually leave that the District line is once again suspended from Upminster to Parsons Green? That i'd probably pay a small amount to know
Fantastic, thank you very much for this resource. As a programming book junkie, you have truly made my day by providing this. I signed up, and hope the list continues to grow. Great work.
Silicon Valley once was home to scientists and engineers — people who wanted to build things. Then it became a casino. Now it is being turned into a silicon cesspool, an upside-down world filled with spammers, liars, flippers, privacy invaders, information stealers — and their grubby cadre of paid apologists and pygmy hangers-on.

Silicon Valley has not fundamentally changed over the decades and I can say that from the perspective of someone who has lived here for over 40 years and who has been in the thick of the startup world since the early 1980s. Opportunism has always existed and always will. But great ventures are not fundamentally built upon opportunism. They are built upon incredible skills, daring forms of risk-taking, amazingly hard work, and like traits that are quite admirable. Those traits showed themselves strongly here in the Valley 30 years ago and they continue to do so today. Indeed, the heart of the Valley consists of anything but the "upside-down world filled with spammers, liars, flippers, privacy invaders, information stealers" that the author here attempts to depict. Sleazy elements exist as they do whenever money is at stake but to suggest that they are what most defines the Valley is to slander a lot of good people who are doing great things and who have nothing whatever to do with the world of which the author writes.

The author is an excellent writer but this piece is seriously flawed by an intemperate tone, extreme ad hominem attacks, and gross overstatement. In my view, such flaws seriously weaken it as a piece of advocacy. And the lurid headline does not help either, especially when one writes to criticize "click whores." It is not that the piece is bad on substance. It just could have been so much better had the author chosen to strike a more judicious tone.
So I get that you misunderstood the original intent. But that's not gonna stop me from a small rant on writing a tech book. In a word: don't do it unless you really know what you're getting into. Writing an average/mediocre book is a massive undertaking, and if you want to write a quality book, take that and multiply it by 2 and add 20%.
Modification time can be altered, or incorrect. File size is just another fast check that can be done with the same data return by stat'ing the file.

Rsync can also compare hashes if you don't trust the size and time on the files.
Hadn't noticed that, thanks. Will fix it as soon as I can get to a computer. I'm in a bus right now.
You haven't been to Switzerland, have you? Or you are from Switzerland and all of this is child's play.
You are right, and Gruber is wrong... in this case. Gruber usually does a good job of citing sources and for the rest of the article he makes some good points. Like I said before, one can agree or disagree. To reiterate though, his rushing to Siegler's defence is just silly. Gruber does himself and his readers a disservice by linking to Siegler's blog. Siegler sensationalizes the smallest of things -something Lyons brings up eloquently- and then is hypocritical enough to try and portray that he actually abhors the practice!
The main reason I wanted to not drag Gruber into the discussion was:

a. Lyons' article makes no mention of him.
b. Gruber and Siegler might write about Apple, but Gruber can actually write, and Siegler can't. Ankle biting chihuahua is just right.

Anyway, you make a good point, and I hope I clarified why I thought Gruber shouldn't be in this list.
Laptops and tablets are the most distraction-prone pieces of technology yet invented. That anyone would expect dropping them into the hands of children to increase their consumption of traditional rote-learning curricula is just bizarre.

The article's point about basic infrastructure is right on. What allows me to really concentrate and be productive with my $n-thousands of dollars in computing hw/sw is that I'm in a relatively comfortable, relatively calm environment with easy access to a bathroom and snacks.

[That, and I've hacked my way into responsibilities that are adventure-like. Totally agree with fellow-commenter's reference to The Diamond Age.]

Take those things away, and the primary use for my laptop becomes either a) distracting myself from the fact that I'm uncomfortable, or b) using the laptop to procure some combination of peace, bathrooms, and snacks.

Startup idea: "like Foodler, only for toilets and earplugs!"
Not quite yet, first iron out the bugs. Can you sketch a few use cases?
A Plumber’s Wish List for Linux, updated version 3
Venture Capital Is the Essence of Everything Good in Capitalism
Great idea! I'll work on that once I've ironed out the kinks in the system. Thank you.
> I went on another job interview. This was another startup. Surprisingly, they were less clueless than the others.

> One co-founder had a Harvard MBA, which translates into English as “I’m a retard.”

Stopped reading there. This is not intelligent discussion, and this is not HN-worthy. There may be some insight at the bottom of this wall of text, but I'm not going to find out.
I think this is great point. Transition the game to avatar like mode with skilled players at the controls. Human element still present using players pilots and NASCAR like sponsorship of individual robots and drivers. Think of CS, AI, Engineering programs that would have a boost. Also, video game training of players starting in grade school which Madden already has a "lock" on. Doesn't FOX have that Cleatus Mascot that already is a fan favorite of this type of thinking. Now to the question becomes home come we don't remove the drivers from NASCAR and replace with Avatars.
Number Systems: An Introduction to Binary, Hexadecimal, and More
Mobile website ... now, we're talking! First we'll fix the apps (mostly by removing stuff) then we can think about a mobile website version.
Sounds like you need a slice of cake.
"A meeting should not be a free-form discussion..."

Agreed, though if people in your office have grown accustomed to that style of meeting, then you'll need to do a lot of conditioning -- and keep a pretty short leash on things -- until they're used to a more structured agenda. Eventually, though, they'll realize just how much time and energy they save with short, focused meetings.

Let's say that you're chairing a meeting, and it's going off-track in a non-productive direction. I've found that a pretty effective cure for meeting chatter and tangential discussion is raising the specter of wasted time. This could be as simple as: "Guys, we have a lot to cover, and I want us to get out of here on time."

A statement like that does two things. First, it places the burden on the side-trackers to get back on topic by making them look like the bad guys (and not you, who might otherwise be seen as too rigid). Second, it reminds everybody that the meeting isn't happening in a magical bubble of parallel spacetime. It's ticking away very real minutes from the workday -- minutes that nobody's getting back at the end of the meeting. (For some reason, people seem to lose conscious track of time in meetings, and later wonder where the day went).

Finally, we should note that time-wasting meetings usually stem from the behavior of the meeting chair. If you demonstrate that you're willing to cave on the agenda -- or that your agenda is improperly long, vague, scattershot, improperly socialized beforehand, etc. -- then you're going to lose the room. Likewise, if you kick off your meeting with idle chatter, you're going to get idle chatter in return. (Don't open with "So, did you guys do anything fun this weekend?" and then expect anything but a 20-minute digression). It may seem unnatural to start the meeting right on topic, absent the social lubrication of small talk. But a meeting isn't the time or place for small talk, as you've pointed out.
Really good work!! Congrats!!
As an indie music lover, I totally agree.

As a GOOG holder, I fear that isn't a big enough addressable market to make it worth while.

My personal view on this is that if Google can't get first citizen rights with the music industry like Apple and Amazon have, then they should focus entirely on having a strong music locker service which supports user's "grey" music (ie who knows, who cares where the mp3 came from).

This would then add massive value to owning Android (which I do, and the cloud-based Google Music is a killer app). Google Music is not available on Apple, I don't believe.
What's After Lean Startups & Customer Dev? Try Metrics + Creative
Any time some psychologist or economist does a test for Base Rate Neglect or other bias on doctors, they perform horribly.
To allow vendors to implement them and developers to use the appropriate implementation. For example:

-moz-border-radius-bottomright:1em;

-webkit-border-bottom-right-radius:1em;

What would be the alternative? You couldn't only do border-radius-bottomright: 1em, because that wouldn't work in webkit. Nor would you want to force the vendors to check with each other first before implementing features, because that would slow down progress and make it slightly more difficult for new open source browsers to get started.
Maybe. They are certainly aware of spaced repetition.

I am not sure what form any adaptive response the exercises take. Any fellow HN'ers with insight?
Chernobyl was a reactor that (1) caused the reaction rate to increase as the temperature increased, a property viewed as madness today, and (2) had no containment building whatsoever.

Fukushima was better, but was still a reactor from the 70s. There were reactors right next door, built in the 80s with better safety features, that withstood the same events just fine.

Modern designs are much better than those 1980s reactors.
Also noticed it doesn't show on my phone, since it's triggered by hovering. Will fix that tonight. Thank you :)
Yeah, but you should still have meaningful variable names.

Let's be honest here, very few people practice a good literate style.
I could understand a project to give every child a (good quality) e-ink reader. These devices could be semi-locked down, and have minimal specs. That'd reduce the opportunities for use other than reading text books.

People can highlight passages they're finding difficult. There could be basic exercise questions (and these could even be web enabled).

It'd fit in well with open source text books; allowing updating of content when needed, with corrections and improvements over time.

There are a few drawbacks - there's very little interactivity and no chance for video. People with dyslexia aren't going to get best use of these devices, nor are people with learning disabilities or visual impairments etc.

But the cost would be very much cheaper than the current dead-tree text book system.
Same reason people use different programming languages in general, they just prefer/like/forced/are used to it.

If you like clojure and must program in python, have an idea of how to implement something in clojure but not in python then just use clojure now.
I like the visual design (although I have some reservations about the time selection controls). Not so sure if the service is useful. I guess it all depends on when the notifications are sent out.

There are some different use cases here depending on who gets notified. If I enter some external interested party, the most important thing is telling them that I am delayed and what time I will probably be there.

On the other hand, if I enter my own email address or phone number, I want to hear alternatives. Perhaps there is a delay on one line, but not the other. Perhaps there is alternative transportation available (bus, taxi, bicycle rental etc.). Missed opportunities!
IOS-86
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

My argument is not that nuclear energy is much less safe than other energy technologies. I am merely observing that (a) our understanding of the safety of nuclear power generation has been shown to be severely lacking and that (b) nuclear power generation has a very different distribution of adverse outcomes than do technologies without the potential for catastrophic failure. Together, those facts suggest that comparisons of the safety of nuclear power to that of other technologies are not very meaningful.

But since it seems most readers are actively disinterested in the details, I'll give up the argument.
Utopia can be simulated by carrying a little USB-to-Wall adapter in your pocket...
Perhaps we're both overthinking it. Lots of people are good debaters.

Lawyers are good debaters and more of them want the job.
The Future of Customer Interaction Tools
There are a number of popular private DropBox shares of computer science and startup ebooks that do the rounds in these tech circles.

Yes, we're talking about books that are not legally free

When I go to a startup's offices or a friend's house I often flick through their library of tech books and then find myself picking one or two to buy on my Kindle. I'm sure you do this too.

I find myself doing this with the dropbox share I'm on - I skim through the pdf of an interesting book and then just buy it on my Kindle.

Ask your work colleagues if they are on any such Dropbox shares, there are a few of them.

EDIT: I assumed I'd get downvoted for the above, despite being careful with my wording. Just to be clear: I'm just saying that there are DropBox shares of this content - that is a fact. And that when I go to startups and read their books, I often buy them - this is also a fact. And that your colleagues might already be on these shares - this too is also a fact. That's it.
3 Reasons Marketers Love Valentine's Day
Why I use Windows and not Linux
Javascript template engine performance vs language usability
Looking for template engines for client-side rendering I found this performance comparative:

http://jsperf.com/dom-vs-innerhtml-based-templating/73

On my machine

doT.js throws 2,741,665 ops/sec

haml.js throws 87,281 ops/sec

jade.js throws 13,298 ops/sec

I like the syntax of haml.js and I love the syntax of jade.js, but I loathe the syntax of doT.js and the others compared there

Why is that the performance of doT.js is ORDERS of magnitude faster than that of haml and jade?

Could it be possible to make haml and jade at least as performant as doT.js ?

I guess it is a matter of optimizing the parser...
It is self limiting to look at it in terms of earning money. Clearly happiness is life's goal --- not money (nor prestige, nor power). If you are smarter, as Lyons says he is, then it should be possible to transcend the environment. I'm not talking Christian-like self abasement. If you try hard enough, you can figure out ascension points to higher planes of understanding and flourishing and self growth. In the process, you might get rich as a by-product, but by then the money should be irrelevant.
Show HN: We're the fastest-growing barometer network in the world [probably]
It's 15 hours now. They have some very irate customers.

Rackspace bought them a year ago and have been migrating accounts to their own servers, but this huge outage doesn't reflect well on Rackspace management either.
Bitcoin Exchange TradeHill Suspends Trading
Somewhere, Gruber, Lyons, Arrington, and Siegler are sitting back, smoking cigars around a poker table, and laughing at all the income from ads that their little "dispute" and junior-high name calling is earning them.
The Parislemon Party: Kill Hollywood? We need to Save Journalism
would love the ability to subscribe via RSS!
Fortunately for the cynics, China is making a big investment in liquid thorium reactors as well.

I've actually had a lot of success advocating liquid thorium to people who are otherwise strongly anti-nuclear. Having a completely different fuel, with small amounts of short-lived waste and easily-understood safety features, goes a long way.
Douglas Crockford's book, "JavaScript: the good parts", warns about this trap (and many other). It's a great book that I highly recommend to all JavaScript developers.
BBC major server outage hits production
Standard USB connectors are rated for about 1,500 connect/disconnect cycles. You'll want something more robust built into your wall.

I've worn out the connectors on several game consoles. :-)
I'm flattered. Below is an (anonymised) example of the last set of minutes I took. Hope you find it useful.

PDF: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/486678/ExampleMinutes_2012-02-14.pdf

DOC: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/486678/ExampleMinutes_2012-02-14.doc

Edit: I once toyed with the idea of trying to write an iPad app that can automagically structure a set of minutes for you. It would have been a way for me to learn iOS and do something useful for myself at the time.
People don't go to the movies to experience adventure, they go to the movies to be told a story.
Employment for security professionals at all-time high
Not hating on the project but seems like a problem over-engineered.

Most startups will happily send you a pile of stickers for free if you email them, or at the very least send a stamped addressed envelope.
I agree - I implemented it using Ruby, Sinatra & TwiML [1], but it should be a couple of clicks on Twilio.

Come to think of it, they should really have some simple "If-this-then-that" style rules that non-developers could choose to implement a really simple IVR system.

"If it's between 9am and 5pm GMT, then call 077xxxxxx"

"If no-one picks up, then call 077xxx"

"Else leave a voicemail".

Why do I have to support a sinatra app to host some static TwiML?

1 - http://tomblomfield.com/post/17571449233/home-brew-customer-...
You might want to try readability: http://www.readability.com/
Emergent gameplay stories: Dwarf fortress 2012 launched
After about a year of working at it Tarn Adams has released the latest patch of Dwarf Fortress. 'Patch' is probably misleading though, I'd call it a sequel.

A recent story from the forums had someone enter a tomb, which apparently was cursed. The curse reanimated a wolf skin in the adventurers backpack which ended up killing the skinner.
The process of diagnosing a disease works quite like scientific method. You form a hypothesis based on symptoms, and then you test your hypothesis by ordering various kinds of lab etc. tests. You inspect the results and modify your theory on what could be wrong.
Some examples so far:

http://www.scrollkit.com/s/297/
http://www.scrollkit.com/s/324/

And templates:

http://www.scrollkit.com/s/301
http://www.scrollkit.com/s/313
A Laptop Made From Paper
Going to the movies is an experience. It is the experience of the process itself (friends, meals, conversation, fun) and the meta experience of living someone else's experience on the screen. Is that really so bad?
Congrats! Nice work.

I really liked the visualization of the relations with the other videos, and the arrows&thumbnails come to their original places when you drag'em to somewhere else.
Online Education Revolution - the Death Of The Diploma?
London Entrepreneurship Conference: 25% HN discount with "hn25"
"What am I missing?"

Scale.
Ownership versus Leadership
Open Advice (http://open-advice.org/) should fit nicely there: what we would've wanted to know when we started contributing to Open Source
TV News is Ridiculous Compared with Internet News
I think it's a zero sum game, however. Shilling isn't
going to help a crappy product out in the long term, only
the short term.

I don't know, they only have to make it as far as a big VC round.
Nice idea. Two things:

1) How are points assigned? I don't see any place to upvote/downvote, but I see that certain books have points while others do not.

2) There should be a way to sort by points.

Edit: Also, maybe a tagline at the top? (e.g. "Community curated collection of legally free books.") The 'about' page discusses the purpose of the site, but if I happened to just stumble upon the site, it wouldn't be clear how this is different from other sites that do not concern themselves with legality... especially since you have 'hacker' in the title ;)
Play 2.0 release candidate is out
Long Expected Party: Lego builds Lord of the Rings collection