skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Cue up the "how dare they fool me!" comments.

I probably over-think things way too much, but every app or project I've created from scratch has caused me to ask myself questions about ethics and morality. Should I put that bogus badge on the site that says it's virus free? I know that it is, but does the fake badge turn me into somebody who's trying to "get one over" on the reader? Should I ask friends to participate in a discussion they normally wouldn't? Is it okay to pay somebody to write an article on my blog? And so on. Some of these questions I've answered yes, some no. Many answers depend on the circumstances.

There's a reason you'd be an idiot to listen too closely to the HN crowd when forming your startup. If you did, you'd end up writing something everybody thought was the latest hot app and doing it in such a way as that it would never work. You end up chasing peer approval and executing in ways that you remain sure that people can't attack you. You do this instead of actually making something that people want and executing in the way that ends up helping the biggest number of people.

I am not getting into the reddit thing. I've made my peace with it -- if I ever launch a social site I plan on using/hiring accounts to make the place look busy. This is exactly the same as launching a new night-club and paying to have famous people drop by (and then paying for stories about them dropping by appear in the local press). Nobody wants to visit an empty site. So they won't. This is part of the normal operations of running a nightclub, and to me it looks like part of the normal operations of running a social site in the initial stages. (Side note: I can tell you something really weird is going on with Pinterest. I am not sure what -- whether it's just lots of marketers trying to game the system or Pinterest itself that tries to manipulate notifications to elevate engagement, but something's not right there. This kind of thing is par for the course and will continue to be.)

I once listened to a tape series on negotiation techniques. The guy made a very appropriate point: there exist these techniques in the world. It's up to you to choose whether to use them or not, however they continue to exist and be used no matter which decision you make.

It used to be I would ask myself questions about these techniques and then worry over what the community might think. Any more I still ask myself, and I think long and hard about the answer, but once I've answered them I could care less what the community thinks. Whether that's personal progress or not is open to interpretation. :)
Note: Forced Labor, also known as involuntary servitude, may result when unscrupulous employers exploit workers made more vulnerable by high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, or cultural acceptance of the practice.

Wait, so people who live in areas of high unemployment with jobs are slaves? How do they define corruption? What about political conflict?

Further, if I own a laptop, and I buy 1 every 5 years, do I have all those people working for me, or do I have an average of 1 slave per 5 years etc.

While I get that they are trying to do something good, this type of "tool" is more about making people feel bad than actually doing any good.

--I will say the interface is pretty cool though.
Twitter Mischief Plagues Mexico's Election
Seeing projects like this come to the surface makes me love living in Toronto.
How would you use it with Emacs?
Let's Stop European Downturn Together. Well, At Least In IT.
Aerial assault on Facebook and Google
On android, apps aren't explictly closed, the OS garbage-collects them when they been stopped for too long. Those stopped processes use no cpu, just memory. Only the top activity in the stack is running (activies are visible part of the app). To have something running in the background, you have to create a service (most apps don't create services).
Are there any other details available on this young man's actual tech-related talents? The article only really presents him as good at coming up with business ideas and successfully executing them. Why is he a hot property for the tech industry exactly? The only tech skills I see mentioned are HTML and CSS. It would seem to me several different industries might be interested in chatting with him since he appears to be an idea guy worth pursuing.

Is there no tech industry in Australia to court him or that he's interested in? Why does he have to get a visa to move to the US, if the big companies want him why not let him work from Australia? I guess maybe he sees value for him to move there, I get that though.

I'm not discounting his abilities since starting several profitable companies to be sold later is rather impressive, regardless of his age. I'm just interested in what skill sets he has that the tech industry appears to desire so much. Is it because he's a self-starter that gets things done or some other reason the article doesn't state?
When Violence Meets Honor in History and Games
What they're doing here is good strategy.

Option A:

EFF: "Hey, legislators, you should abolish this system that we've had for decades and you don't understand. Let me tell you why the interlocking parts of a software algorithm are totally different from the interlocking parts of a car engine ..."

Patent Trolls: "This is a pie-in-the-sky proposal that would never work in practice and would undercut our economy in the one area where we're seriously dominant! [1]."

Option B:

EFF: "Hey, legislators, our economy depends on software, and patents are screwing it up. Software moves really fast, so we should limit the time a patent lasts to five years. And lots of the things that are getting patented are really obvious, so if something is so obvious that someone else invents it independently, they should be allowed to use it -- that will avoid the need for lawyers to review every single program that gets written. And software projects are often incredibly huge, so we should make it so millions of dollars won't be awarded for a violation that consists of .001% of the project. Can we hold some hearings to talk about this stuff?"

Patent Trolls: "These are pie-in-the-sky proposals that would never work in practice! Hang on while I try to come up with a reason for that."

Option B is 1000 times more likely to get us in the door. And once public hearings start and legislators actually start to have some idea what the issue is, that's our chance to make the case (in the media, through lobbying, and through testimony) that we'd be better off without software patents at all.[2]

[1] "... other than music and pizza delivery, obviously."

[2] If this is true. It's totally possible that, within the boundaries the EFF is proposing -- short-lived, open-source, non-obvious, damage-limited, subject to prior art up to 2007 -- software patents would actually become a force for good, in complex areas like compression, encryption, language processing etc. A game where highly-funded research programs are racing to stay 5 years ahead of open source projects that incorporate all their best ideas could be pretty sweet. It's worth discussing anyway.
Query isn't a String. String interpolation[^1] would de-sugar to something like this:

query conn ("select x from users where name like " ++ username)

++ is a function that expects two Strings. The "select..." stuff isn't a String, quotation marks not withstanding. When we try to hand a Query to ++, the compiler screams bloody murder.

Longer explanation: I suspect the syntax is a bit confusing, since while I keep saying "select ..." is a Query, it looks an awful lot like a String. Here's what's going on. Haskell has a typeclass called IsString. Query is an instance of IsString, as is String.[^2]

Quoted text can represent any instance of IsString. So the compiler sees a function that expects a Query and an IsString of some sort, and through the magic of type inference, it decides that the IsString must be a Query.[^3] And when you try to use a function that concatenates Strings on that Query, it knows that Something's Not Right.

[1]: Haskell doesn't have string interpolation. But if it did, this is how it would work.

[2]: And other instances as well. postgresql-simple actually uses ByteStrings, not Strings, for performance.

[3]: I've fuzzed the evaluation order a bit, for simplicity. In practice the first error reported might be that you've passed 2 arguments to a function that expects 3.
actually -- 'better' results are here -- http://sente.cc/wsgi/number_poll/results_unique

(the other link doesn't restrict each IP to only 1 vote)
I can't find the article but I remember reading at some point about how difficulty of work relates to one's ability to get in the zone. To achieve some level of flow, the work you are doing must be difficult enough to provide some sort of challenge and mental stimulation, while not being too difficult that you find yourself getting stuck and frustrated. So if you're not constantly trying to push your abilities to their limit, you're not going to find that sweet spot.
This is different in that it's nothing to do with hardware. A super simple contrived example would be if someone builds a calculator using c++, you can't install it even though there is no hardware reason that you couldn't
The art of important work, of making a ruckus and of inventing the future
Grammar Matters
As a software developer, Dreamweaver is basically a pointless tool that is not really needed for what I do. That being said, including PhoneGap and other modern HTML5 tools should help Dreamweaver stay relevant and useful to a certain class of web developer.

Too bad they are backing jQuery Mobile because it's terrible, buggy software, especially combined with PhoneGap. To anyone wanting to build a good app with PhoneGap, skip jQuery Mobile and move on to something better like Sencha Touch or Kendo Mobile. They are much better.

If jQuery Mobile wasn't backed by the jQuery project, people would not use it because it is slow, buggy, pre 1.0 quality software.
My choice to go with Phonegap really comes down to the capabilities I want the app to have. If I only really need a wrapper that gives access to a camera (hell, GPS even works out of a browser), then an app like Phonegap is more than enough. And I have no doubt that in the near future, phones will be able to handily run HTML5 and CSS3.

Really, I think the argument comes down to what do you want your end product to be, rather than what do you want to have to deal with as you're making it.
Offset Umbrellas
Bullied school bus monitor finds online support
That's a fantastic idea, I think it should be a more common idea.

The first 'proper' computer we had in the house when I was about 8 was a 3.1 box, which was great, but the guy who helped set it up as I watched spent most of the time diving through a Windows DOS prompt Getting It Done. I immediately spent more time in there than in a GUI, eventually discovering how limited it was and moving onto Linux. It taught me a lot, and I always feel a little sad that kids won't get that experience without awesome parents like this.
I spent a lot of time working on Sculptures and drawing before really dedicating myself to coding. I gotta say I get the same 'in the zone' level and for me it's all about just jumping in as mentioned above. I Live for that feeling!
That's Ok for you to say - you aren't looking at a future under Charles Windsor!
Just think how happy they would be with an iPad or something like that. I think it's all relative, but it reminds me of that film "about a boy" where the kid was really happy to be receiving something at all.

Also computers in the 80s - simple compared to even a raspberry pi
Also, it's important that the Judge instructed the jury to assume APIs were copyrightable. So even if the API copyright judgement is reversed the jury's decisions still stand.
You may also want to "c" into insert mode ("cib", "ct:", etc...). I seldom have a problem with this since I usually don't hang around in insert mode anyway (if I'm using gVim the cursor also lets me know).

The one I do have a massive problem with is capslock. So many times I'll go back to normal mode and there's a few moments of disorientation before I realise all my commands are being capitalised. Ugh.
A Beekeeper's Perspective on Risk
content aside, loved the presentation and interactivity. the intro page's use of scroll-based animation was great. Gave me some ideas, thanks for posting.
Diablo 3: world first Hardcore Inferno completion
"Most of the world"? Lets not overstate things: the past few decades have been relatively great for labor in China, India, Africa, Indonesia, and Latin America.

In the highly developed economies (particularly the USA), yeah, wages have frozen, but really good things have been happening elsewhere.
I wonder if it would be legal for him to erect a 20' high electric fence (with barbed wire on top) around the lands of the town, so they can't get out on his property.
Great post. the part that stuck out the most personally:

"Homeruns by definition aren’t sustainable. They’re not predictable. Sometimes you hit one, but most of the time you don’t. That part of things is mostly out of your control."

This is very true and I think lots of folks in the startup scene have adopted herd mentality - but I believe there are advantages to both methods (dropping out+raising or building in a sustainable fashion). It all depends what fits with your ideals.

Either way, I think it will all work out. I've worked on my own businesses since I was 11 starting by mowing lawns and shoveling driveways in the winter - and I wouldn't trade those experiences for any kind of "homerun".

In the end, it is the synthesis of your experiences that make you, and that's the point of the advice to pursue all opportunies presented to you. A friend once told me the best thing you can have in life are options.

Just keep your chips ready.
Users can’t read anything, and if they could, they wouldn’t want to
Facebook Details Social Landmarks In 25 Cities Around The World
I use Ctrl-P/Ctrl-N for autocomplete all the time.
Apple Maps makes Google Maps look like child’s play
https://twitter.com/#!/carveit
To be fair, Nvidia's "response" is pathetic. Come on Nvidia! Proper response!
"When I sat down to think about it, the typical GUI design does not present a very good “it always works the same” interface that would be good for a child."

See RISC OS, the old Acorn Computers UI. It was designed exactly this way.

Back to the present, would Sugar be any good for these two? Seems 'monotonous' in the Raskin sense and child freindly.
The changing tides of security
Important Information About Fosamax - Fosamax Fracture Lawsuit
I am in Czech Republic, so it will probably be no use to you

I pay the equivalent of 7.39 USD/month

http://www.bezobav.cz/vps-virtualni-server.html
The results are useless. It tells you that xxx slaves work for you, with xxx beeing something between 20 and 100.

This great exageration makes no sense.

What would have been usefull is the amount of slaves working for me... full time (versus "involved" as described in their methodology).
I think the easiest way to get in "the zone" (at least for me), is to have side projects that you can only devote time to in 30-60 minute chunks. You have to get down to business and focus to get anything done in that amount of time. Make sure you get at least one session done a day and over time you get good at jumping in and solving a problem quickly.
I love reading about the adventures of Jacob and his computer (and Oliver too!). These stories pop up on planet.haskell.org and they always make my day!
Lingerie Football League game tie-in threatened
Nice. I often miss error on long deploy, because I hide terminal window.
This page crashes Internet Explorer, even version 9 and 10.
Aye, more in my GA class, Making Something People Love: http://generalassemb.ly/start/fundamentals-of-entrepreneursh...
I came here just to post this. Quite an incredible book. Highly suggest it to anyone!
A Car, Beta dog food and coding in the block house.
I love it. You acknowledge what others do and are fully aware of the culture. Yet, you decide to go your own path. I really admire this way of thinking. Don't just follow the crowd. I think its crucial, especially in these times, to not just give in to herd mentality. Challenge everything, especially when 'everyone' is doing it.

A commenter here brings up a great point though. As long as you are doing this because you think it will be better for you and not because of any fears you might have, I personally think you're on the right track and will find success and happiness.
I disagree with your claim that "[the set of integers] is bigger than [the set of even numbers]." They have the same cardinality, and I'm not sure how else you can reasonably define "bigger" or "size" for infinite sets. If you prefer to treat it like real money, you can buy just as much with {1, 2, 3,...} dollars, and {21, 22, 23, ...} dollars (after you lost $20). Or, from another direction, you could go to a currency exchange and do a real life bijection, trading 20 -> 1, 21 -> 2, 23 -> 3, and so on. Either way, it makes sense to say you have the same amount of money. "Makes sense," since we're talking about an abstraction that doesn't exist.

If mathematically, the sets are the same size, and practically, in terms of buying power, the bankrolls are the same size, I'm not sure how we can reach an abstraction in either perspective where one is "less" than the other.

(The question of walking away is sort of ill-formed for the original Martingale discussion -- since the point there was that you'd stay at the table until you won a spin.)

Interestingly this brings up another simple flaw in the "infinite resources" caveat. When you do finally win a spin, you'll still have aleph-null dollars -- you won't have actually won anything. So the only condition under which the martingale works -- when you can't lose -- is one under which you can't win either. Unless your goal is not to increase your purchasing/gaming power but to break the casino, as in an "Ocean's N" film.
Announcing Opa 1.0
Apple Patents Data-Poisoning (Techniques to pollute electronic profiling)
This one is not quite useful as it works like on/off trigger, but the one, which can be used as a direct replacement of Ctrl-X or Meta-X will be quite useful.
(I am actually Vim user, so I had to ask my Emacs guys on what will be useful with the pedal)
Great and inspiring piece (I have a 3 year old) but I disagree with this:

And then it occurred to me: the perfect GUI for a child would be simply xmonad (a tiling window manager that can be controlled almost entirely by keyboard and has no need for mouse movements in most cases.

The perfect UI for a child and for all other people unfamiliar with a computer all in all is the touch screen.

The reason why the children have problems with the icons being too small and accidental dragging is because the mouse represents an extra layer of abstraction.

If you think about it your brain goes horisontal to vertical and not even in a one to one relationship.
No but there was a user called nickb that was responsible for a disproportionate amount of content (excellent content) back in the day. There was a lot of speculation that nickb and pg were one in the same. Here are some posts for context:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=99923

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=292858
I have worked with Titanium extensively and I'd say if you do it right, you have a LOT more than only 50% re-useable code -- probably closer to 80-90% that works perfectly cross-platform. Of course it depends a lot on what UI elements the project requires, so I imagine the range is quite large, but 50% still seems really low.
I'd prefer a slightly different slogan. I like "We're not endorsing the obvious," but I feel like "We're really not complaining" is a bit insulting to those who really are highlighting the problems with sexism in technology fields. That's valuable work too, and I don't think it's a positive step to position yourself as, "We're not complainers, like those other women, gosh, am I right?"

I love the idea, and I'll be keeping an eye on the site. I just wish the slogan was more like, "We're not endorsing the obvious. We're celebrating the hidden." Or something like that. You can resolve not to focus on (often well deserved and important) "complaining", and I think that's a valuable focus for someone to take, but please don't cast aspersions by implication on those that do speak up about active issues.
My experience buying enterprise software (an ecommerce platform):

1. Support? Don't make me laugh. Maybe once you've delivered to them a paper trail 2 miles long proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that your installation is compliant with their recommendations, you might get through to a low level guy who will give you advice like: "That's a lot of products, can you reduce the number of products you sell on your site"?

2. Ease of use? Installation of this software was a total nightmare. It basically only operated in 2 modes. 1) The wizard/demo mode which could not be used for production. 2) Find a consultant with the magic set of ancient ant build scripts to pass around.

3. Scaling? Theoretically built in, in practice just as difficult as scaling any other framework. It only requires you get the above consultant to talk to another consultant to get the super secret scripts which jump past the orm and hit the database (which by the way isn't supported by the product anyways).

4. Most features were either implemented just far enough to convince CTO's there was a check in that feature box or were so "generic", that all you had to do was "write a class which implements the feature" and plug it in. For this (the privilege of being able to inject code using their home-grown dependency injection system), we payed through the nose.

5. Backup/Restore? Literally a f!@#! unsolved problem. Required a pretty much simultaneous snapshot of the filesystem of every app server as well as all the databases.

After several months I became convinced that the only reason this super expensive platform existed was to provide jobs for consultants.
Then I (briefly) became one before joining a startup.
VIM is a silly, silly editor for real world purposes

Why do you think that? Vim is perfectly fine for real world purposes - I use it for real world purposes all the time, as do a lot of other people.

Not only do the basic vi commands make my life easier (My mantra is if I have to press the same key more than three times, then I'm doing it wrong - you quickly learn to navigate by words, brackets, lines, search and judge how many of these away you want to move - eg instead of wwwww to move forward five words you can do 5w, to turn "abcde_" into "_abcdeabcdeabcde" you can do 5x3p - silly examples I know, but this makes it very fast an efficient to navigate and edit text), but with vims additional features and with a small handful of plugins there is nothing that a GUI IDE can do that vim can't.
I'm in the US, and I only see the redesign on the homepage, not after log in. Maybe they haven't rolled the rest out yet.
Peopleandtech.com? If they are celebrating awesomeness?
Yeah MS fucked up enormously when they created XMLHttpRequest - that is what is so special about it.
Forget patent infringement. No company is ready to deal with the storm of bad press for sueing a project like this.
That's because companies don't give them raises commensurate with their new experience. Each year for the first 2-3 years or so a new employee that's any good should be receiving large raises on top of their presumably modest starting salary.

The problem is that companies think they can get away with keeping people anchored to those starting salaries. It doesn't work; morale suffers and they leave.

Finding a young employee and turning him into one of your superstars is a really gratifying feeling. Watching him leave because obstinate business owners refuse to pay him what he is now worth is infuriating.

I've experienced this several times in leadership roles and it is one of the many things that convinced me to start my own business.