skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
No it is not, and it is "extremely right-wing" to believe that. It's more moderate to believe that things are what they are, not what some scaremonger tells you they are going to turn into some day.

It may be true that the path to communism first goes to socialism. But ... so does the path to socialism. Democratic countries can and do become more and less socialistic over time, in effect debating how socialistic they want to be at the polling booth. They don't turn into communist dictatorships.

Do you for instance, believe that equality of marriage, allowing gay people to marry each other, will lead inevitably to marriages involving three people and a horse? Would you argue against equality of marriage on that basis? It's the same kind of illogic.
Even if India doesn't have a it, the question really is, shouldn't India have it. "Freedom of Expression" is not an American/French/Western concept. Shouldn't it be a natural human right?

In any case, its a fundamental right, enshrined in the Indian Constitution. Its not really a part of the culture, even in highly educated circles. Part of that has to do with the Indian apathy towards Humanities and pursuit of pragmatism over ideology.
I am British! I haven't used imperial for at least 15 years apart from for speed limits, which I ignore anyway.
I expect windows 9 will streamline it even more.

I do not want to have to wait for Windows 9 for Microsoft to get their act together.
Mmm, the animated tutorial is going to be aimed at the common denominator of users. I think MS is trying to hide things like "whether an app is running" from the average user. For example, I'm told apps will eventually close themselves if they aren't used.
This blog goes back to the complicated issue of people who don't understand software needing to buy software. The part that this analogy misses is that a $400k app is not necessarily going to be better than the $4k one, or even very different.

The interplay between costs, quality, tradeoffs, choices, project management, etc is way too complicated for someone without some experience in the process to "get."

"Websites" were the first piece of bespoke "software" that every company needed. The "how much does a website cost" was a question that "websites-for-companies" people still don't really know how to answer. Clients are still bewildered by quotes orders of magnitude appart.

I wonder if the intelligence level here is growing though. An experienced business owner (say, a 15 year veteran) by this stage will probably have paid for (or at least been involved in) a handful of such projects.
> The touchscreen solves my long standing problem with using laptops - I find touchpads nearly unusable.

Have you used a macbook running OS X before? I find the touchpad handling much better in OS X than I do in Windows so would be interesting to know what sort of touchpad you're comparing to.
Us Americans do use "Month DD, YYYY" quite frequently, so I don't think that his usage of it is done purposefully.
News emerging that the girls have been granted bail, an enquiry has been initiated. The local cops may also be in trouble for their action [0]. Good going!

[0] https://twitter.com/sreenivasanjain

SreenivasanJain: Both girls initially sent to judicial custody, then granted bail.

SreenivasanJain: Maharashtra police HQ has ordered enquiry into girls' arrest. Says will look into merits of charges.

SreenivasanJain: IG Konkan will head inquiry. Prima facie police HQ says no basis for arresting the girls. Say local cops jumped the gun.
Launching apps by typing their name still works on Windows 8. Just get to the start screen (winkey or bottom left corner, or via charms bar), then start typing.
Yes and look where that got you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter
When I was in India, I found it interesting that the Indian concept of Freedom of Religion (which they've had off and on for much much longer than the US) is actually equality of religion in the eyes of the state rather than separation of church and state. So, different religions have different laws that apply to them. That's a very alien concept to Americans.

Even Britain doesn't have a guarantee of freedom of speech like the US, particularly when it comes to hate speech.

The American lens is a foggy one, even excluding the fact that the rights we guarantee our citizens aren't necessarily the rights we grant citizens of other nations. It's a good thing to keep in mind.

But yes, India DOES promote the idea of freedom of expression and it's been a fundamental part of its culture for much longer than the United States has existed. Nobel prize winning economist Amartya Sen has a great book on the history of dissent in Indian history and how it's a cornerstone of India's culture and democracy: http://www.amazon.com/Argumentative-Indian-Writings-History-...
A bunch of these (optical disc, hard drives, fax and so on) are shooting fish in a barrel, technologies that are already in their death throws.

Others I'm sceptical about though - movie theaters as the main one. My dad worked in the film industry and predicted it's demise time and time again over 40 years (though has stopped now) but I think there's something about the shared experience of sitting in a room with a bunch of people, away from (your own) kids and (hopefully) phones and other distractions.

It's not about widescreen TVs, it's about a dedicated environment for doing something and a sense of occasion. I've got a large flat screen, surround sound, blue ray and all which is great, but I still loved going to the cinema this Saturday night.

A bunch of the other things can be summarised in a single point - the death of the single use device whether it be a remote control, a camera, a phone (because landline phone will exist, it'll be over the cable to your house but won't terminate in a dedicated handset, it will route to a smartphone or computer).
Indeed:
http://unicornfree.com/2010/all-schnitzelconf-speakers-are-m...
> "Freedom of Expression" is not an American/French/Western concept. Shouldn't it be a natural human right?

It is a distinctly "western" thought[1] (as is "Human Rights"[2]). I actually didn't know whether it had been imported into India, given india's rather "mixed" (east/west) history.

The concept of 'natural human rights' is also a western concept, so no, I don't think we should continue to talk like our (western) way of thinking is the 'right' way, and everyone else is 'wrong'.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech#Origins

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights#Philosophy
Code Poems
A quite nice examples here: http://www.mariosangiorgio.com/pages/codePoem
Egosoft Wants To Bring Games To Steam On Linux
The "author" lost credibility when he suggested that wireless can replace wired connections as the norm.
There are several definitions of racism, one is essentially "making references to someone's race and implying everyone in that group is the same (in some attribute)", or more simply "anything based on race". Lots of people like this definition because it's a nice, simple and objective defintion and it means black people in the UK can be racist to white people, or that affirmative action is racist. I think this is the definition you're using.

There's another definition, which is that racist actions are actions that's designed to maintain & reinforce the institutionalised power structure among races. Right now, if modern UK life was a video game, "white male" would be an easier difficulty level than "black male". There are statistically less problems for the "white male" group. Racist actions is talk that re-enforced that imbalance, and attempts to undo the power imbalance is not racist. This definition is harder for some people to accept because it means that you need to look at yourself and think about what power imbalances you might be benefiting from, and it means that affirmative action is not racist, and attempts to stop is could be construed as racist (since stopping affirmative action can re-enforce power imbalances). This is the definition I use.

So no, complaining about the lack of non-white people is not racist.
Society would not work if copyright would extend indefinitely. We would not have access to words, math, or the basic stories produced by culture. Imitation is the key aspect of all creative works.

As a training exercise, try find a work, any work, be that music, film, paintings or writing, and find one that is 100% original and has no inspiration from previous works. It is impossible, but you could always try. The work of William Shakespeare is well know for copying and incorporating its time cultural classics and stories.

So, if someone can make a 100% original, 100% uninfluenced work, I am fine in giving that person indefinite copyright.
Excellent point! I see more and more of this hysterical attitude in tech. If your only concern with a conference is about the panel diversity then perhaps the conference is not for you.
I presume you've tried Windows Azure?
"We even call them founders" .... "really only one founder, and that's me" - I think then you are really confusing the difference between "founding employees" and "company founder".
Apple gets design patent on virtual page turning, but doesn't own the page turn
Yes, the MacBook's touch pad is significantly, significantly better than most other PC laptop touchpads. I don't need a mouse when using a MacBook. I can't use a PC laptop without a mouse.

I suspect its a combination of better hardware and better software (I bet Microsoft doesn't write the touchpad interpretation code, its done by the individual hardware makers and so will be total crap).
Except you subconsciously have. All display sizes are sold in inches. The trip computer on your car will tell you miles per gallon. Even if you ignore speed limits, your speedometer gives you your speed in MPH :). If you've ever flown on a plane, altitude has been given as feet and distance in miles. So you do use both.
That would defeat the whole point of the analogy which is to compare to something familiar. Nobody is familiar with buying "custom cars"

Custom houses is something that people are familiar with. It's an incredibly stressful and unpredictable undertaking for most people. But compared to custom software, its nothing. A custom house might cost 20% more than what was expected. It might take twice as long. Software might cost 2000% more than expected and the end result might be nothing like what the buyer though they were going to get.
Her Facebook page (Cached version): http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.fac...
Yep, India [in theory] has a constitutional right to freedom of expression. They're part of a larger set of fundamental rights.[1]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_Rights_in_India#Rig...
Having growing up in a metric country and lived in Britain I must admit its very nice having 60miles per equalling 60 minutes of driving for long trips.

Being able to say "I'm 45 miles away from X I'll be there in 45 minutes" without having to do recalculate each time you pass a road sign makes trips all the more pleasant.
Would complaining about a lack of males entering medical school or presenting at a conference on child care be discriminatory?
Political Correctness is great if you are a minority. It means you have similar rights to the powerful group. As a gay man, I know I can mention the gender of my spouse (male!) in a workplace environment without being worried about being fired (for example). Straight people have always (more or less) been able to mention their spouse in the workplace without fear of repercussion. Now I can too! Political Correctness means I don't have to watch every word I say in the office! It's done wonders for my freedom of speech.

The most ardent opponents are those who hate gay people or black people and want to continue to shout vile things without repuccision.
Hi ... can someone please send me an invite ..

Thanks in advance!
Yeah, so much for 'power' users and tweakers.

Tomshardware is in fact double wrong: Win+Q and charms search lead to the application specific search (eg when in Music, you'll search music, when in Mail, mail).

Only when you are on the startscreen or desktop will you get the 'application' search as default via Win+Q.
You don't intuitively measure your weight in stone?
His complaints about widescreen tablets not being very natural in portrait mode speaks volumes about his lack of experience with Android tablets, which all comes in this form.

It may feel a bit weird at first, but really, it's sorta like reading webpages of a normal A4 sheet of paper. And we should be pretty used to that. The iPad haven't been around for so long.
So could you download an extension python module and run it? If so, it should be disallowed from the app store (going by Apple's rules).
OK - let me reformulate my question: why should I read it? Is there any new insight, any ideas that transcend the then and there? I understand that an in-depth exposition would be interested to the guys that are interested specifically in the Obama campaign, or perhaps people that are friends with the guys described there - but what is there for the bigger geek audience?
> Judging by history, we are.

Not at all. The best inventions evolve -- they don't result from a committee deciding on the best design without what is euphemistically called "field testing". "Field testing" is slang for evolution.

Committee-designed products, as attractive as they may appear in a superficial sense, are famously out of touch with people's real needs. The Edsel. Microsoft Windows. Communism. Revealed religion.

> We created better computing machines, better chess players, better factory workers, better communication channels, better senors ...

Better than what? You offer no basis for comparison, required for a scientific appraisal. As to chess, it's not possible to support this claim because the best chess players get to where they are by undergoing evolution -- systematic elimination of all that fail to meet the very high standard set by the environment in which they live. Chess tournaments imitate nature and represent evolution at work.

> ... than any of us is or is equipped with without such augmentation.

What augmentation is that? Are you aware that corporations wouldn't dream of launching a new product without field tests and consumer feedback? And are you aware that field testing is deliberately imitative of nature, of evolution?

I'll say it again -- not only are we unable to create an Einstein, we can't even recognize one until his ideas have been hammered against the anvil of direct experience and survived. Just like nature. Just like evolution.
can anyone please invite me raghav305@gmail.com

thanks in advance!
Agree!

Admittedly if you don't understand the physical limitations of wireless, it's the obvious conclusion one makes (everything seems to be going wireless, and LTE is FAST!). There is a chance we innovate in this area and work out how to make infinitely scalable wireless... But maybe I'm just being overly optimistic.
What you fail to acknowledge is that by going against someone over any disagrement you're hurting not only civility, but you transform yourself into the very thing you're fighting against.
You perfectly summed up what I have been feeling about quite a few people ever since I first met them.

Very typically they are the "oh no I do not own a television set" type because allegedly 100% ALL of TV is just pure nonsense and not a single good program has EVER been shown on TV, according to them. And they always make it a very grave point in ever conversation that they read books and a certain book said this-and-that. As if the fact they read a printed book alone really sets them apart from the rest of the population and this kind of information could have never been shared on TV or a good website. Yet they fail to apply anything they read in an actual conversation where they are actually responding to the other person and adapting things to the given context of the conversation and not just dropping names and empty, allegedly-sophisticated phrases.

And then they always make it another grave point to tell everyone how much they value and require intelligent conversation and how they see themselves as educated and well-read and they make sure to drop the right names and point to that fact as often as possible.

I think that is why those self-proclaimed "intelligence salons" are so horrible, specifically because they attract this kind of people.
You are going to have very painful projects at that price range. The customers will be entirely out of touch with reality, if they think below $1000 is "fair" for an app (or really any kind of custom software). Expect such projects to drag on and on, and be very sure to get at least some payment upfront, as these kinds of customers also tend to forget or be "too busy" to pay their bills.

Also, stay far, far away from the pay-if-we-like-it, pay-if-we-make-money schemes.
WHen the article complains all the time about how it's oh so hard to deal with all those screen sizes I was expecting a terrible app and I was not surprised!

* Has <b> tags instead of actually bolding text

* Shows the price in my locale's format, not what they're actually charging!

* Intro movie is very annoying, and after it's done it moves around a few pixels every 10 seconds or so

* Sign in screen has a massive logo but the email and password fields don't fit on my Galaxy Nexus

That's after about 10 minutes using the app!
The people who are using W3Schools are, almost by definition, the kinds of people who don't know that the site has glaring errors, and can't spot when the page they're looking at is wrong.

Imagine if you were using a calculator to help calculate dimensions for a house. But unknown to you, 1 in 20 calculations you make came out with an answer that was 10% out. Is that calculator useful because 95% of the time you get the correct answer, much faster than you could have found it yourself?
So my computer was overheating and I accidentally spilled water onto it. Will I end up in a scary situation where I have to pick each component separately ..

The technology may not be useful for every situation, but still its something what we need right now.
Medical School? Like for doctors? I thought that was roughly 1:1, rather than 15:1 in tech? If the figures are well off and men are being systemetically disadvantaged due to their gender in medical school, then yes we should have affirmative active for it. I'm skeptical though because traditionally medicine has been heavily male dominated.

Yes we should probably do something to get more men into child care & nursing & primary school teaching. that wouldn't be sexist.

And yes, more men should do traditionally feminine activities. I'm male and took up crochet recently. I can empathise with women who work in tech. Tech is all male. Crochet is all female.
Entrepreneurshit? Please.
cc2.8xlarge is the best in terms of price/ECU-hours. You get a whopping 60GB of RAM, 10Gbps network interface. Downsides are: EBS only, us-east-1 only.

cc2.8xlarge: 0.15 cents/ecu-hr

cc2.8xlarge 1yr: 0.058 cents/ecu-hr
I disagree: it could have happened in many Western countries.

The problem with a 'it's political correctness gone mad!' argument is it ignores the context in which those laws were enacted. Racism and sexism were systematic and endemic in the UK during much of the 20th century.

You say that "political correctness had taken hold in local government by the early 1980s", but you don't mention that the reason for this was that during the early 1980s there were numerous serious race riots throughout the UK.

Hate speech and anti-discrimination laws have drastically improved the lives of millions of people in the UK. I don't pretend that discrimination has been eliminated, but you simply can't deny the fact that British society today is considerably less racist and sexist than it was thirty years ago.

Now, there is a side effect to this. Because the UK doesn't have explicit free speech protection mistakes have been made enforcing those laws. Sometimes people mis-interpret them, in the same way people mis-understand health and safety laws. But I would argue these costs are far out-weighed by the benefit that a ethnically diverse and accepting society has brought. I see that since I started typing this someone has already replied to you saying how much their life has improved due to these laws.

Getting back to your original point: I don't think this is a UK specific problem. I could probably cherry-pick similar examples from the US and other EU countries and come up with equally compelling arguments that "this shambles could only happen in [X]".

This is obviously a very emotional topic for many people. I don't expect this reply to change your mind, and I fully expect people to disagree with me. All I really want to get at is that as someone who also lives in the UK I disagree with your viewpoint.
Irrational for sure. Everyone's an athiest when they're born. The natural position is non-belief. Religion is a faith based belief system for something that cannot be proven. Hence, belief in religion is by definition irrational.

Now, if you are saying 'religion' to mean 'societal construct' or something like that, well, that is a different ballgame. Though I don't think you mean that, so the above applies.

Bottom line, the major religions of the world demand someone to suspend rationality to believe. Otherwise the followers would not be followers.

And as for educated. Perhaps there isn't a conclusive study on the subject, but it is safe to say that the more educated you are, the less likely you are to be religious, particularly fundamental. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence
> And Intel's long neglected Atom line, thanks to years of institutional crippling to avoid cannibalizing Pentium sales, is poorly positioned to compete with ARM today.

Apple was ready to have new products that cannibalized the old ones. If Intel had the same courage, they'd be in a far better position today.
It's all in the drivers, interestingly. And Synaptics supplies both the Macbook trackpad and other touchpads. There's nothing to prevent them in putting the same features in their Windows drivers, but maybe Apple insists that they don't.
How to convert JSON into a Java object
I meant that sentence to make good atheists distinct from bad ones (such as various brands of communists). In general, I agree with you. It's incredibly hard to separate out religion from history - almost everything that happened in the world up until about 100 years ago was driven by religious people, and that's the core of my objection that it's a meaningless question. If there never was any religion, you'd have to rewrite literally the entire history of the world and you can't flippantly claim that the outcome would be overall better.
I can only imagine borderline use cases where touch screen interfaces might be faster than a lenovo track point. those use cases might be more common for an average user, but when I'm spending most of my time inside office products, R studio and ssh terminals (and of course the browser) it seems unlikely that it would be more convenient - and I'm wondering, what is jeff atwood actually using this touch laptop for?
The `ruby` benchmark on my iMac i3 3GHZ took `14.5` seconds. Inside of a CentOS 5.3 x64 virtual machine on Softlayer with 2 cpus and 1GB of memory got `15.6` seconds. Not sure how Joyent and especially AWS performed so poorly on that benchmark.
Facebook rolls out Bango-powered operator billing payments in France
The solution to that problem is simple -- drive at 60 KPH (37 MPH) instead of 60 MPH. :)

This would save gas too.
Meteor told us that the version 1.0 will in more than 3 months and less than a year...