skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I at one point worked on the OLPC project fixing the laptops.

Lets hope that their tablets do better.

However, I doubt they will. The justification being that in my view the tablet is what the PDA tried to be fully realized. Well suited for work that one cannot sit down to do, but certainly not something I would choose in favor of sitting down to a desktop machine.

As the form factor of a device gets smaller, the quality of the sit-down user experience diminishes. This, if nothing else, is why I don't expect to see the desktop ever truly "Die" as a form factor, because it still makes the most economic (In all senses of the word.) sense for sit-down setups.

It's just that the number of people who want to sit down to a computer has dropped sharply.
"taught me to sled"

Does "sled" mean something unusual here? My experience is that it is similar to falling down a hill, but with something slippery under you-- not really a skill that needs teaching, I thought.
Coincidentally, it's the other way around with USB dead drops.[1] Either trust that the USB won't fry your motherboard or carry a multimeter with you all the time.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_dead_drop
I think everyone should agree that marathon meetings suck. Perhaps 45m max, with people free to leave if it's no longer relevant to them, is what I'd advocate.

I thought my word choice might bring up the intro/extro-vert thing, but I think someone needs to be a pretty extreme case to be flustered by a (reasonable length) meeting with people they already know and hopefully like. I don't really buy it.
You can (I'm sure I've seen products on the market), you just need to make sure things are properly shielded such.

I believe the concern some people have with such an arrangement is wires carrying the higher power AC inducing unwanted currents in those carrying the lower power DC. How likely this actually is to be an issue I'm not sure.
You're an ass. Check out some of the latest research into functional reactive programming. They're pretty far along that track.

Edit: if you want a hint at an actual solution, one need only send logical local timestamps along with each request, and introduce a timestamp handshake. The server very simply then need not swap in the backing store until it and the client have acknowledged that the logical timestamp should increment. Your convo then looks like this:

U - user / S - server / C - client

U->S: resize to 800x600

S->C: resize to 800x600, timestamp 12345

C->S: GL commands, timestamp 12345

C->S: more GL commands, timestamp 12345

C->S: more GL commands, timestamp 12345

C->S: OK, I'm done with timestamp 12345

S: render window decorations on C's backing buffer

S: push C's backing buffer from 12345 to the front

S->C: OK, it's now timestamp 12346
Best way to read it is selecting all the text. The white text on red "background" is not bad.
That sounds like a good idea. The signup is meant to keep away people who might submit books that don't fit the guidelines. I was also thinking of implementing a points system for users down the line, based on submission quality. But I'll definitely look into captchas as an alternative. Thank you :)
"This site was hand-crafted by The Ambassador of JavaScript Love: @zachleat"

Love it.
>But come on, you can't say that most .NET software is not closed source.

Which is probably why I said nothing even close to that.

I can only really talk about the web related tech. Huge parts of ASP.NET are open source.

Then you have projects like F# which are open source.

Nuget package manager is open source (formed out of two community open source projects).

The Dynamic Language Runtime is open source.

IronRuby and IronPython are both open source.

MEF is open source.

The Orchard CMS is open source and control has actually been given completely over to the community.

Silverlight controls was open source.

I could go on and on. Open source is bigger in microsoft than you give it credit for. When you imply that most .net software is closed source, it's true, but you can say that about any language. Most software written in ruby is closed source. The one exception might be javascript, because you can't really close the source to that.

However, you can take a look at the big .NET open source projects, or just the AltDotNet community for the counterpoint.

>Especially when you compare the ratios to other platforms.

That is a meaningless metric

>So, honestly one of the main reasons I got out of .NET was because it seemed like it wasn't as cool as I thought it was anymore.

How in the world can C# not be considered cool? It's statically typed and reflective. It's got generics (reified) and delegates. Those things led directly to anonymous types, anonymous functions (lambdas, if you wish), co & contra variance, and type inference. Those things led to expressions which enabled Linq. Then you throw in dynamics. The next version will have the compiler as a service and the 'await' keyword which vastly improves multi-core and event drive programming.

Yeah, there are other languages out there that are doing some cool things. I don't see how anyone could think C# isn't cool, though. BTW, while microsoft is still working on their C# 5 compiler, Mono (the open source .net implementation) has already completed theirs and it is available today. They had compiler as a service before microsoft even announced it.
When I built my office last year, I tried to find USB sockets and couldn't. It was like they didn't exist. I didn't even want ones that could supply a tonne of power, just a bare minimum would be sufficient.

In the end I retro fitting a hub to the wall that connected to my system which is hidden in the wall ,with the cables running under the wooden flooring.
Ask HN - Ever feel useless? How to get over it?
If the topic is irrelevant, then feel free to downvote, I'll delete it.

I've been feeling pretty useless, for a few months now. I have a job that I like and good in, I help my company make money, I don't leach from society etc etc. But deep down, I know I am probably not adding much value to the society (except helping some corp make money, which I'm not sure is anything to be proud of). There is absolutely no meaning in the work I do, and office gossip just depresses me a bit too much. I can't leave that easily (visa status, family situation etc etc). I'm ashamed to say that thoughts of suicide have crossed my head a few times. I do some volunteering work, give money to charity etc, but all of those seem to be very small, insignificant, just 'feel good' stuff.

Anyone in similar situations got over it? Any advice?
The Startup Clock Starts When You Incorporate
That may be true. But I also think that our system for selecting scientists may filter out those who would like to go into politics.

A lot of people go to law school who don't really want to be lawyers. They claim they're going to law school to "learn to think". Elite law schools are easy enough that people who aren't completely devoted to the law can still graduate in fine standing in three years with a few hours a day of study - so the system can still work for people with a more diverse set of interests and goals.

PhD programs in STEM fields programs are very different. They are all consuming, and you need to be capable of focusing deeply on narrow research interest for years. Another thing to keep in mind is that a very high percentage of STEM PhDs in the US are international students, which may lower the interest in entering politics somewhat.

There are other approaches that could work - maybe MS degrees, or a more professional degree approach to science doctorates.

Lastly, there just seems to be a cultural notion - humanities and law are considered "broad, well rounded" educations, whereas science and math is considered narrow and technical. This is completely wrong, but it's a sticky notion.
What Is The Best Toner Cartridge?
A large number of toner cartridges are available in the market, however the question comes into my mind what is the best toner cartridge? The answer of this question is q2612a which is considered to be one of the most excellent quality toner cartridges.
Personal Identity and Ethics
Ask HN: Can I make android applications in python?
I want to know whether I can code android applications in Python and not just "Run python script on android".
Can applications be developed in python on Eclipse in the same way as they are done in Java?
Also, is there any other way to develop android applications?
"Rugby doesn't have these problems because the fast non-stop fluid nature of the game means you can't tackle someone hard enough to cause the same level of damage because you have to be able to get up and run again right away."

Rugby doesn't have these problems because there are very specific rules about what constitutes a legal tackle and what doesn't.

You can't:

- Tackle a player without the ball

- Tackle a player in the air (e.g. a full-back going up to catch a high ball)

- "Lifting a player from the ground and dropping or driving that player into the ground whilst
that player’s feet are still off the ground such that the player’s head and/or upper body come
into contact with the ground is dangerous play."[1]

- Many more

[1] Full list here - http://www.irblaws.com/downloads/EN/Law_10_EN.pdf
Agree, reposts help me when searching in google site:http://news.ycombinator.com/

Also, it gives a chance to add to the discussion of what's been happening in the domain in the past 181 days!
"1. My self-indulgent dream: an IDE built around text editor integration. Think Eclipse, but constructed as an exoskeleton that Emacs and Vim could slip into and become real IDEs."

For the idea of Vim within an exoskeleton, you might be interested in these ideas:

http://blog.sanctum.geek.nz/series/unix-as-ide/
Visualisation and comparison app for women's clothes sizes
mike-cardwell,

I had the internal fan on a Thinkpad suddenly fail at a critical time during a business trip, rendering the laptop unusable. Very unpleasant. The machine was less than two years old. It soured me on the Thinkpad brand.

Based on your comment, and given your high HN karma, I'll reconsider Thinkpads. I just bought a System76, but next time I'm on the market for a new laptop, I'll look at Lenovo's offerings.

Thanks!
And by that definition, creating a great product (which I believe is what he's tried to do) isn't the goal. Sad but true?

And by business model I guess Steve means selling something at a profit. And scalable means having enough stuff to sell or enough people to sell to? I saw Steve's presentation in person, and I can't see I fully agree, because it seems to me that awesome products can't be made like that (eg the iphone). And there's the danger of falling into "consulting" with that approach cause after all it kinda fits the definition: you can scale your salesforce to find clients, there are loads of potential customers, and you can scale your workforce (through outsourcing) as much as you want to. Probably a great business though, but to me startups are about building great products first, taking a leap of faith to do that, and finding ways to monetize them later (google, facebook, apple have all done that) even if they can't be sold for money directly to consumers.
Yeah, as opposed to perl.

I have to add "my" to a variable to get reasonably-sane scoping, the default is that everything's global.

Perl's defaults tend more to the insane side of the spectrum, especially in comparison with Python (who's entire design philosophy is a reaction to Perl). Not that there's anything wrong with that, and if you've done mostly perl I'm sure it seems natural, but compared to conventions across every other mainstream language it seems crazy.
Well, cool! I'm glad someone picked it up. Maybe if I ever use Linux desktop again I'll see it being used. :)
The Epic Battle for the Soul of the Internet
If the language is "much simpler than Scala", why do I get stuff like this? :-)

http://imgur.com/EaxXZ
Do you know of any other implementations of the rsync algorithm other than the actual rsync program? And where are they used?

Do you know how and where dropbox uses rsync?

There have been some tries to port the rsync program to other languages/platforms [1], but they are usually not in sync with the current rsync program. I am talking about ports of the program, not new implementations of the algorithm.

[1] https://github.com/MatthewSteeples/rsync.net
One of the main points from the author is that high school and college players will sue the school for injuries sustained in football, causing insurance agencies to not insure the school, causing the death of football.

This is not possible because if this started to happen schools would require you to sign a contract before being allowed to play. The contract will forbid you from suing the school for any injuries. This will then become standard practice.

Football is not going anywhere any time soon.
I have a very simple rule for meetings.

I ask:"Am I needed" and if the answer is yes I ask: "For what?"

After that it's pretty easy to figure out whether I should go or not. The important part is to realize that YOU are the judge of whether your presence is needed, not your PM or any other.

I think I have dodged probably 80% of meetings that way and I know I have not missed out on a single thing ever.

I also make the habit of showing up when I need and leave again when I am not needed.
I literally had no meetings yesterday and felt that the lack of constraints on the day led me to be even less productivy. Think there is a fine balance of meetings to break up the day and give direction (maybe just talking with co-workers) and utter freedom. The latter feels too much like a study hall.
Is WebKit slowly turning into IE6?
$10,000 Up for Grabs for Naming the 'World’s Best City' (with data)
Twitter goes to HTTPS for all users
Private Cloud Success: Media Outlets
Visualizing YouTube with my home-made JavaScript graph drawing library
Software Patents are Self-Defeating
The thing frightening me about Ceylon and Kotlin is that they both seem to have that the "language design is hard, let's go shopping" approach which burdens developers with stuff only the language designer should care about.
I will certainly have a look at the approach they take towards type constructor polymorphism.
Tablets are for consumption not creation. The key is the low bandwith input of "finger" vs. high bandwidth input of "keyboard".

I say they should be working on a touchscreen + mouse or trackpad + keyboard combo. Maximum input possibilities and ideal for creation and consumption.
This is something that the BBC did with iPlayer: http://po-ru.com/diary/device-discrimination-on-the-internet...

I've not quite worked out how to implement it though
but what is the economic incentive?

Getting users. Tech isn't the meritocracy everyone likes to pretend it is.
LEDs that Burn 10 Times Brighter
They already make you sign those contracts, yet schools carry insurance anyways. Those contracts make it harder to successfully sue, but they do not make it impossible.
That's quite an error for such a small piece of code...
None of the following functions can be called with the arguments supplied: final fun <T:Any?,R:Any?> Array<T>.map(var result:Collection<R>,var transform:Function1<T,R>):Collection<R> defined<java_root>std final fun <T:Any?,R:Any?>Interable<T>.map(var result:Collection<R>,var transform:Function1<T,R>):Collection<R>defined in <java_root>.std
The only point I was making is, the 'think of the children' will be used to censor the internet by the gov't. Reddit is not censoring the internet. It's their own site.

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120213/13212017749/canadi...
FWIW, they do exist: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/travelpower/e81a/
This might be a good idea if you get stickers from more popular startups (Tumblr and Foursquare comes to mind).
Having stickers on your laptop has turned into a fashion thing. I went to the TechStars Demo presentation yesterday and many people had stickers on their laptops.
However much current you can draw over your USB socket, it's still only 5V. Many devices want a (far) higher voltage than that for charging or powering themselves. A quick glance at my laptop PSU shows 20V, presumably related to the voltage of several Lithium Ion cells in series.

Yes, a given psu could transform the voltage back up with switchmode, but then you've got the horrible transformation inefficiency twice!
I wonder how many devices there are out there that actually want that much current at 5V.
Or you can use BrowserID
Not really. The answer to the narrowly defined title is "yes".

Now percentages, that could be depressing.
Yeah, you got a point there :) Nevertheless, there's lots of blue-collar programming done in Java in the enterprise world. Much, much more than Ruby/python/PHP.
There was also an interesting article in National Geographic that described collision analysis using accelerometers in football at the college level. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/02/big-idea/concussio...
That's rational advice. In a perfect world there would be no problems with it.

How do you deal with irrational humans who attach a bunch of unintended meaning to your actions? For example, some people will think you are arrogant, or rude, or uncooperative. I know you're not, you know you're not, but how do you persuade them that you're just being efficient?
In my case the processes needing gc are streaming TCP sockets. Their module is just a loop function which receives a binary and sends it to the client then does a tail call. So there should be no reason for the process to die. They have been running indefinitely except when the system ran into swap.
Seems a lot like Google Schemer should have been!
The world IS Not equal, use it for everyone’s benefit.
Going out to the field and collecting data (or producing a complex piece of software) is very expensive -- but it is a one shot cost relative to distributing the dataset (or downloading software), which is the thing that a person buys/ downloads.

And nobody just "unlocks a stadium".
That has the voltage converter (power supply) in the box. What's not legal is having a centralized power supply, and running low voltage wires from it to an existing box that also has high voltage wires in it.
Nice work!

How about download links to PDFs (and other formats if avail)? In my experience quite often links to external sites are down/changed/weird/unclear etc; straight downloads would be better imho.
The Best Merger Memo I’ve Nabbed All Year
I don't think it's as dismal as you make it look. My brother just accepted a football scholarship at a highly academically rated BCS school. I think there are 66 BCS schools and each one gives out about 20-24 scholarships each year. It's a huge opportunity to get a free education, play a sport he loves and make lifelong relationships with his teammates. A football locker room at the highest levels is about as exclusive a club as there is. I don't know how much tuition is or the other things the scholarship includes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it approaches $200k.

He can be a fool, get beat up and leave without a degree or he can take advantage of an opportunity many people only dream of. The coaches aren't telling him what classes to take. He can take whatever he wants. He can choose a useless program, a great program or anything in between. He can choose to meet the minimum requirements to stay on the team and keep his scholarship or he can choose to excel academically.

On the field, he can choose to hide a concussion or take some time off. He won't lose his scholarship over it. Most players feel pressure to play through injuries, and although it can come from peers and coaches, they often place most of it upon themselves. They are incredibly competitive and don't want to be sidelined for anything.

My point is all the choices are his to make. The same applies to other players. There are few victims in this who aren't victims of their own decisions. If a kid washes out of some dumbass cake walk program for kids who don't give a shit about school, sustains injuries in a sport he would play with or without a scholarship and has zero career prospects is that the fault of the system? I don't think so.

There are ways to twist it around to make it look like a scam, and it's true there are plenty of things wrong with college football, specifically the BCS. It's a feeder system for the NFL, a bunch of people make piles of money and the kids don't make anything. It may be all of those things, but it is also an opportunity for the lucky recipient of a football scholarship to change his life, either for good or bad.
The source code for the library is here: https://github.com/anvaka/VivaGraphJS

The site itself - you can paste URLs from YouTube to visualize particular video :)
The State of Customer Success Management 2012
I added a book for you. I like the idea and design. I think there should be another column that stores the location to the book. I think that the homepage should just be the link to the book's website. Maybe an upload option to add the pdf or a link to the direct download.
But players know the risks.

I use to feel retrospective fear whenever I think about the things I did when I was that age... even knowing the risks.

American football is totally unknown to me, but in my country there's that bullfighting thing. People that likes it doesn't seem to realise that it will disappear anyway in less than fifty years, probably much less. So I've found the article very interesting because the similarity.
Forget the hardware.

What we really need is a way to get Anki (spaced repetition learning software) hooked up with enough logic (AI like?) to allow individualized learning with different instruction methods that tailor themselves to each student based on subject.

Of course, what I am really saying is that Neal Stephenson showed us the way with "The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer" in The Diamond Age.

Now all we have to do is make it.
The Best Time to Start a Company
>To address this, the standard does not dictate what package format the software system must use for its own packages, merely that RPM must be supported to allow packages from third-party distributors to be installed on a conforming system.

I don't see a problem.
To have the Internet Archive come in and save it all might
be... unfortunate for some.

Say you write something at the age of 14 that's regrettable at the age of 24, acutely embarrassing at 34, and career-ending at 44.

That sucks. I feel you.

How about fifty years later? A hundred? Two hundred? A thousand?

Archive.org archives for the ages. There's a brief band of time when you're alive to be embarrassed by a statement, then the vast gulf of eternity where that archived stupidity may be the only evidence that you were ever alive at all.
It is '8-bit style'
Ignore the power issues and think about the security issues. Would you give some random plug in the wall hardware access to your smartphone along the same cable that data goes?

(See http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/technology/electronic-secu...)
Label Machines – Label Applicators
Is experimenting a wasted effort? Is an experimenter really working against other experimenters? Is there a better way to choose a solution to (virtually any) problem than to test multiple solutions? I don't think there is, at least not without some kind of omniscience.
Once the GIS data has been collected, there are no additional costs beyond some simple file copying which the requestors were willing to pay. Letting someone use a stadium involves many additional costs beyond someone turning a key in a lock, including insurance, utilities, and security.
Depends on how much power the TV took. Theoretically you could do it, but it would be a huge waste.

Suppose you have a 300 watt plasma TV - that's 60 amps at 5 volts. That's the kind of wire electric dryers and ovens use. You could take that wire and divide it into many small ones, but you would still have that much wire which would not be practical.
Sprint Omits iPhone Cost From Bonus Calculus
Nice work. I've been looking for something Exactly like this, I'll give it a test run and feedback as much as I can.

Thank you.