skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
For me, 'networking' only really helps me when I've worked with the people. Nobody you just met at a cocktail hour with name cards is going to call you up if they have a job opening.

If you worked with someone for a few years, they will remember you when a job opens up and call you. Or at least help you when you call them.

Ideally you will have a job/internship with these people, but it works pretty well in a partnership or customer/client relationship. It even works within an open source project (though that is fairly CS specific).
> But cutting yourself until you bleed doesn't seem a healthy behavior.

(To take the analogy probably too far) Due to any number of legal/psychological/morale/etc issues, sometimes you need to draw a little blood just to make sure that you got it all. If you hit an artery, well, you're screwed, but if you have a couple of good people stuck in a terrible department, you can nuke the whole department and re-hire the good ones back (often as contractors, then as FTE). This seems silly but compared to the costs of selectively choosing 30k people and it's probably far cheaper.
The idea reminds me of http://reading.am
NIH study finds that coffee drinkers have lower risk of death
Where's the recording studio? That seems to be a big part of what makes a record label a record label.

Will musicians still have to pay for studio time, production, etc? If so, this seems more like music promotion in the cloud, rather than a label per se.

Still, it's a great idea and I hope it is successful.
Very interesting! I wonder if spammers steer clear of @gmail.com addresses to prevent Google's algorithms from learning about their spam. (If so, they probably want to steer clear of GAFYD addresses, too, but maybe they don't know how to identify them).
> Salary generally improves my life outside of work

It also reduces the amount of time you are dependent on someone else to write you paychecks and reduces the likelihood that you will be stuck in an undesirable situation due to financials.

I would rather have a higher salary at a place that let me buy and use my own $900 chair, second monitor, or what have you, because the salary increase will likely be much greater than the cost of those items and the company's willingness to let me do that tells me quite a bit about the environment and culture I will be working in.
Honesty!

I want a bank that will always give me the best rates on a deposit (allowing perhaps for notice times). The current crooks ALL steadily lower interest rates on accounts after a couple of years as they introduce new account types.

How about a bank that always offered me (the existing customer) at least as good a deal as a new customer on everything.
Calculating the area of an annulus from a tangent
Franklin & Marshall: An Enlightened Approach to Trademark
The "big idea" is dead
Not "faster", immediately. Say absolutely nothing until you've typed out your question.

Would you send an email that says "Hi", then another that says "I have a question", then another with your question?
Ah, yes, now I am recalling the AC Adapter Saga from my last employer. We all got free cell phones (with free data plans), but for some reason mine didn’t have an AC adapter in the box. No big deal; I could just recharge it over USB. But it took weeks if not months before the adapter actually arrived. I pointed out to the HR person that if they would reimburse me, I would be happy to run out to Radio Shack and buy the appropriate adapter, but of course, That Simply Was Not Done.

The kicker, of course, is that my employer WAS THE COMPANY THAT MADE THE CELL PHONES.
Hindsight is an amazingly powerful thing and that's exactly why you should just listen to those with more experience than you, be that life experience, development experience, start-up experience, whatever.

We may not have the gift of hindsight to apply to our current situation but they generally do. The reason people impart advice is because they feel that it's info they wish they had been given at the time. Listen to that advice objectively and learn from it.
I think the point is that when teachers start having well paying secondary jobs, the actual teaching may suffer. If you have an hour after school, do you spend it helping your students, or tweaking your latest for-profit lesson plans?
In Defense of Polymaths
Hmmm...

"Samsung’s new smartphone will launch on nearly 300 carriers in the coming months, and it will be a top seller."

I just read that article and it says nothing of the sort. It says the Galaxy S III will sell well, but it doesn't really innovate, thus opening the door for HTC to step up its marketing and sales strategy, and turn its struggling smartphone business around if it is up to the task.
Android phone responsiveness varies by a huge amount. Some are lightning fast while others just have lots of lag throughout the ui. I have found lg phones to be in the latter category.
Berkshire has been doing quite a bit of the first category too lately. They have such a gigantic cash pile that they can operate as kind of a private-sector bailout fund, bailing out companies that, with Berkshire financing, could survive past a rough spot, and extracting excellent terms as a result (because the companies are often in a short-term position that gives them little room to refuse the offer). For example, their 2008 investment-with-some-loan-characteristics to Goldman Sachs in the middle of the financial crisis had a similar interest/equity structure, where they were granted special 10%-dividend-paying shares.
Samsung sell more smartphones than Apple. http://www.macworld.co.uk/ipad-iphone/news/?newsid=3358104
That's pretty odd since I have a HTC Desire (single core 1GHz) which works really well. (Never been an iPhone owner though)
There may really be something wrong culturally (I try hard to prevent that, but some things are out of my control), but, especially when there isn't, people feel the need to have a reason to leave, a reason to bail on a project, potentially causing extra stress to people they like.

To assuage these feelings of guilt, people start identifying and magnifying things that would never have bothered them otherwise (such as "why does management only value me when I threaten to quit?"). Once those seeds are planted, it is a steady progression towards exit from the company. I'd rather the engineer take the new job and find somebody who is excited about my opportunity.

There are no absolutes in management, though. Like I said, I have chased somebody back into the company who was in his last days with an accepted offer elsewhere.

The real key is to make it so your toxic employees want to leave and your fertile employees have no desire to answer te headhunter call.
Couldn't be more true, esp about fundraising.
Online project management software | Tumblr
The Most Comprehensive Interop 2012 Video Interviews
I used to blame and complain. Every one of my failures was due to something different. My name, my lack of capital, my poor confidence, where I lived, my nationality, my parents, my car, even my big ears.

Then one of my brothers died.

As painful as it is to write this, his death and only his death was the only thing that would open my eyes.

Life is way short to even complain. To pay attention to petty details. To yell at the waiter because the soup is cold, or my steak is not cooked. To give up when my code won't compile, even though I may not have the slightest clue why.

Its only been three years. My adventures as a re-born man have only just begun. The future, though a bit fuzzy, looks promising. I'm not sure if any of my ideas will take off, but I'm sure I'll enjoy each hustling for each and every one of them.

I've already made a good bunch of friends through this community. People so incredible that it blows my mind. People I actually look up to.

And even though browsing HN reminds me how limited my talents may be, it also pushes me to realize that limits are just rules. And rules are meant to be challenged.

I'm still not an optimist. Because we are all still going to die and be forgotten. What I am is a bit more practical. I call it an active life enjoyer (made up word).

My main goal is not to be rich (though it would be nice to have a new car, and live in a better place), nor to be famous (but having friends is cool). I don't even want to become the next big tech superstar. I just want my adventure to go as long as possible. And to enjoy every second of it. So far, so good.

To be totally honest, I founded my startup due to such attitude. What's the worse that could happen? I'm already not rich, not famous. Money comes and goes. But life. Life just goes. I'd rather live it in a way that when the time comes for me to depart, I can take my last breath and say: "Would do it again."
If someone for "senior company management" is going to show up with baseball bat telling me what car I can or cannot drive should be prepared for a response they may not appreciate.
Amazing article, emphasizes the importance mathematics still has in society.
Everything you need to know about the Facebook IPO (Live Updates)
>Finally, most don't have a way to learn it without a mentor to guide them.

When people would work one or two different jobs their entire life, it was a wise business investment to hire good kids with huge gaps in their skills just like the young man you're describing and do their job training.

With people changing jobs every 5 years, it's very difficult to square up the reasoning behind that job training investment.
This does not work in the current market for the kind of role we're discussing. The hiring manager is looking for criteria to turn the big pile of CVs into a small pile of interviews.

Being overqualified, or unexplained gaps fit the bill perfectly. It really does not matter how well tailored the experience, or how impressive the covering letter.
That'll be because the UK government aren't compliant yet as a whole.

ICO are useless. They bend over and take it every time.
Gee, thanks MS

But I think I'll just run Linux

Or just go to the Apple Store

"With great power comes great responsibility" and it's a pity MS doesn't OWN the user experience. Lock up the ability of OEM to preinstall stuff (like, only drivers and specific software)

(yes, several parts of Windows have worsened over time, like the Control Panel. Still, MS products UX is usually better than most UX out there)
I've found that by achieving some of my life goals, I haven't reached a point where I find myself content and without any more goals, but I do notice a huge improve in my average happiness compared to years ago. I find myself content instead with the fact that I'll always have awesome new goals.
Google I/O Sessions Posted
I'll second the recommendation, but remember if you are using it in a corporate environment you should buy a license. I think it is only $25. Support the developer!
In Chrome 19 on Linux the linked demo does not exhibit any changes in aliasing when clicking the boxes. Does anyone experience different results in Chrome on Windows or OS X, or perhaps Safari?
Presumably the "crapware" is subsidising the price. Using the term "crapware" is a bit loaded and borderline swearing, it just doesn't seem like a good technical term to use - even though I don't like the stuff myself.
I think this guys hits it on the mark a bit:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3991574

Still, I pursued my degree with a future career in mind. I don't get the English majors. "I like books" doesn't ring of career prospects.
I'm formerly of the US but I was going to say most of what you did.

There is absolutely a sense of entitlement in North America that seems pretty odd if you've lived in other countries.

My place is lot bigger than 500 sq feet but I've also been working since I was 14, left the US for Asia at 23 and have worked my ass off every day since college.

Beyond getting laid being a foreigner isn't usually a net gain in my experience. For every door is might open it closes one or more. My first company had heavy staff requirements (which meant lots of salaries, lots of HR time and lots of rent) but no bank would even talk to me (and my partners) because we were foreigners. We had to bootstrap the company with will alone.

Where the advantage lies is the perspective emigrating gives you. It allows you to better see how things truly are and focus on what's important. As screwed up as the US economy might be I have many Asian friends who have emigrated there in the last decade and have done very well for themselves. Why? Because they were willing to work their assess off.
Microsoft is offering a service to their customers which improves the performance of Windows machines. Although the article insinuates that Microsoft is somehow responsible for crapware, they're not, and never have been. That money goes into the hardware manufacturer's pocket.

Instead, Microsoft has invested in creating a variety of useful, free services via Live as an alternative - particularly Microsoft Security Essentials as consumer anti-malware packages have become primarily a means for tracking consumer behavior. Skydrive also comes to mind.

Blaming Microsoft for crapware is nonsense. Anti-trust regulators across the globe would be foaming at the mouth were Microsoft's licensing agreements with hardware manufacturer's to preclude the installation of third party software in lieu of their own offerings - they've been there and got the tee shirt.

Is $99 too much? Well, it's the same price as Apple's "One to One" and serves much of the same purpose - preserving your data during an OS install (though Microsoft offers the service any time and doesn't bundle it with a hardware purchase).
To get the most work out of them for the least amount of money.
In 1949 he demonstrated that universes in which time travel into the past is possible were compatible with Einstein's equations.

Wait, what?! Anyone have a ref?

Edit: Thanks to andyjohnson and vbtemp. TIA for others too.
Ask HN: What PR book should I read?
I am working on a startup and realized the importance of PR - and that I have no clue about it. Can you suggest me a book? (Or point me in any direction?)

I am very much interested in
-what makes people tick
-what to do - with reasoning
-what not to do - with reasoning

Thank you in advance!
Transfers between banks are a pain in the a$$ in Canada. They should just work.

Also, being able to bucket-ize an account. I'd like to know that in my savings account I have 20k saved for that ferrary, 13k for my flight to outer space and 2k for the giant rubber duck I've always wanted.

All in all, the mapping between intentions/goals and actual cash flow is an incomplete and broken layer built on top of your actual accounts.
I think making something different wasn't the original intent. It is Svbtle "easiness" and look as a theme, for the most popular weblog engine. It looks great, and it is open to the masses. I love it!
I don't understand the sense of anger in this article. What do they expect Microsoft to do, restrict the freedom of customers to install software on PCs? OEMs are customers just like the people who actually buy PCs; you can't trivially restrict one without restricting the other.

If you ask me, the fact that Microsoft offers this service is a risky move on their part because it risks upsetting the OEMs. Charging $99 for the cost of labor is pretty reasonable since you get phone support with it - I can easily imagine troublesome customers racking up hours of support costs in those 90 days after paying for this service.
"I've got to say, I still don't understand the obsession these days with "happiness". Who sits around reflecting (and measuring) their happiness, as if it's some numerical, achievable end-goal?"

American society has created a thought that if you're successful, wealthy, or influential, that is what brings happiness. Thus, some deprogramming (IE, it isn't your circumstances but rather your attitude your circumstances that makes you happy) is often necessary. And this happens within the church too, as much as it's preached against. (I say this as an Ex-Christian apostate with experiences in multiple churches.)

And according to Shawn Achor's research (I'm listening to his audiobook now) happiness is correlated with higher performance. For that reason alone, it's worth looking for ways to raise our base happiness level.

"It also surprises me that as a "devoted Christian for 25 years" who would at least have some Biblical knowledge, Ryan doesn't at least acknowledge the inherent spiritual incompleteness of placing his hope in worldly and material things. (Ecclesiastes, Ryan? Or Job 1:21? Or Phil 4:12?)"

I read that as he's Ex-Christian, not currently Christian, so such advice would not be considered any more valid than the Tao Te Ching.
>"Lock up the ability of OEM to preinstall stuff"

Doing so would probably be illegal in the US, Europe and several other markets.
Yeah, the monitor isn’t the reason; the monitor is a symptom.

Best Buy is selling 27" monitors for about $300 and 30" monitors for about $1,500. As a percentage of a full-time developer’s salary, depreciated over three years, $600 is pocket change and even $3,000 is defensible. So if a company is nickel-and-diming its developers over this kind of thing, what does that say about the overall attitude of the management?
Why do I have to allow access to my twitter account?
Its always fascinating to read about Gödel. I have not read GEB, yet reading about his findings has really changed the way I think about things.

Thanks for posting this article.
So, why Linux? It's obviously not for the freedom or openness since you're talking about how Microsoft should restrict people's ability to install software on a Windows computer.
Do you remember how much fun they had with the size of the Galaxy Note? BGR,buisinessinsider,gruber,siegler,the verge,... The whole techmeme club.

Then Samsung sold 5 million Notes in the first months.
One of the creator of SPDY's responses to that proposal.

http://www.belshe.com/2012/03/29/comments-on-microsofts-spdy...
Tossing Out IRB for Pry
There is some demand for local news on the part of readers, though, which is what causes these papers to survive (and be able to sell ads). The newspapers aren't really producing the highest-quality output, but they retain some readership, because some number of people want to read about what happened in their 80,000-person town's city council meeting yesterday, what the sirens around 3rd and Main were all about, etc., etc.

I haven't yet seen a startup tackle that aspect, of producing some kind of local information source that people will want to read. It's at least a demand-side problem, in that a lot of people want that information, and current information providers are producing a fairly low-quality version of it. Whether it's monetizable, I suppose, is another story.
Since its Ban, The Pirate Bay has Jumped 100,000 Places in the UK Rankings
If you send out 100-200 resumes a week and it's not working, the obviously thing to do is to send out more right? I can't tell you how much this article rubs me the wrong way as I'm a firm believer of working smarter over working harder (although both would be pretty awesome). Yes, the system is kind of jacked at the moment especially with the way that jobs get posted, but you can't just bang your head against it all day long while complaining...

IMO, the easiest thing to do is actually volunteering some time (crazy right?) for a non-profit organization to:

1) Build up skill sets with real experience
2) Network with people of influence
3) Give back to the community

Paying it forward has always worked well for me and it makes a positive impact. Who doesn't love a win-win situation?
I do love these insights into the old days. If this works then maybe other old skool developers might fancy a pension top-up. Hopefully Ian Bird or Julian Gollop are listening!
Look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closed_timelike_curve

I.e., "Closed timelike curves". I'm not expert in this matter, but it's a conceptual possibility that fits into general relativity.
NaCL != ActiveX.
ActiveX code had unrestricted access to OS services.
NaCL does not.
This is the sort of thing that represents an opportunity to do it better, differently, more intuitively, much simpler or some such. I like moments like this because it means my idea has merit and it means I need to think of a way to do it better. My start-up idea is in the customer loyalty platform space. I don't need to tell you how many players are in that arena.
Same here, I love the idea of bucketizing.
Ask HN: Best Way to implement Responsive Design
Hey Hacker extraodinaires,

I'm looking for advice/input/critique from anyone on my following implentation for a fairly high trafficed site (50k + monthly), that's going responsive (ie. mobile design (images/videos/css) for Phones and Tablets )

Here's my current Responsive Design Implementation:

1. On a the HTTP request I get the device ( Tablet, Phone, or Desktop ).
2. Based on the device type I make general assumptions about a relative screen size. ( for instance, 320x480 for Phone) and send the HTTP response with a basic template for videos,images,css,js, etc.
3. Now inside my css using media queries I handle for divergences on screen size.
4. Also currently I have no really good way to optimize images - I'm especially interested in any ideas/links/articles related to this for responsive design.

Thanks!
"Microsoft should restrict people's ability to install software on a Windows computer."

OEMs, not the user

Simple, I want to know what's been installed. With Linux or "Windows from MS" I know. With "Windows from OEM" I don't know.
Apple’s next iPhone may feature one of Steve Jobs’s last designs
Researchers caution, however, that they can't be sure whether these associations mean that drinking coffee actually makes people live longer.

Also, information was not available on how the coffee was prepared (espresso, boiled, filtered, etc.); the researchers consider it possible that preparation methods may affect the levels of any protective components in coffee.

I wonder who pays for these studies... It seems like this article was written to be misquoted by tabloids all over the world.
Is going to take a long while to sink that ship, no matter how much the governments try to make an example of it.
It can piss people off and so work negatively (so, evaluate your individual circumstances), but you can begin insisting upon written requests. Amongst other things, this documents the requests. (And you can tell people the written request is e.g. for your email-based "todo" list.)

If/when people start getting into your face (perhaps even formally) about performance, you have documentation to back up your argument. (Although, ultimately, most arguments are kind of moot, unless they end up in court or perhaps before an unemployment insurance evaluation -- not something you really want, anyway).

As for the overall experience. While negative, emotionally, you can still view it as a learning experience. Keep in mind that when you are in a better position, with more control, 90 % of the world with which you are competing is / will be what you are now experiencing. So... if you can cut out that bullsh-t, you will have a very significant competitive advantage.

It can be useful, to get a good, hard, close-up look at what you don't want. Just don't let it go on too long.

P.S. A trick I'll occasionally use, in problematic verbal situations, is to summarize the conversation/request in an email to the other party(s). 'We met. Here's what you asked me to do / how I understand it, what I'm going to do, and my anticipated schedule and potential conflicts / other overriding priorities. Let me know if I've misunderstood or you disagree.'

If no one responds, I proceed accordingly. If they bitch, hey, I laid out my approach and circumstances up front and asked for feedback.

It can put people on the defensive and create a negative vibe. But hey, when people tell you / manipulate you with statements of "We're losing confidence", things are not too positive, to start with. (P.S. That's already the sign/signal to bail. "Bail, bail, bail!")