skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
Make your open source project documentation suck less
There are plenty of examples in the article that you are skipping over.
First of all, getting that health certificate you mention takes several months. And you need one for every employee. In a brick and mortar, you only need one, period. And you need to get your cart or truck cleaned at a specially licensed "commissary" every morning.

Then you have the case of this lady:
She had a street-vendor’s license, she said, but didn't understand that she also needed a separate permit for her cart.

This whole situation with licenses costing money and being "leased", plus the commissaries, reminds me of the Boston cab situation right now - when you need to pay a bribe to be able to driver a cab for the day, regulation is definitely getting in the way.
One of my best friends owns a food truck in nyc and by association I've come to know a lot about the subject.

1) The requirement of a food handling license for every employee is not a trivial problem. It completely distorts the market for hiring, really making it almost impossible to do legally. Remember, this is not the kind of job where people stick around for years so a 2 month lead process in hiring is tolerable. And it's not like this food handling license is in any way helpful to maintaining the public health; its not required for regular restaurants (for every worker like in food trucks).

2) In reality there are next to no legal spots to park a food truck in nyc. In manhattan, pretty much every spot is metered, and therefore illegal. However, as long as no one complains, usually the cops leave you alone. Usually, but its unpredictable.

3) Arbitrary and capricious enforcement of health regulations by health inspectors that can lead to large fines and confiscation of your permit. Again, don't underestimate how big a deal this is. At any time, for approximately any reason if the inspector doesn't like you, your entire business can be shut down. Think about how patent lawsuits affect startups and then imagine that a class of patent inspectors can just bust in unannounced several times a month to shut you down. It's like that.

4) You can't actually get a permit legally because the city doesn't issue them any more. All food trucks get their permits on the black market and the costs is up to $20K per year now. It's not just the cost but also the hassle of having to deal with that. It's also completely stupid from the city's perspective as they could be auction off permits as they do for taxi medallions. Instead the benefit goes to people who just happen to have been issued a permit many years ago for $200.

5) You must park in a licensed commissary as mentioned in the article. It means you basically have to pay 3x in rent what you would if you could park legally in a private lot. And plus those places are actually completely filthy. I've been to several.

All that said, the article is actually quite wrong about it not being a profitable business. The people I know are raking in cash hand over fist. There is huge demand as long as your food and concept are decent. If the city actually fixed some of these regulatory issues, there would be a huge explosions of trucks overnight.
> The system is: you have to buy or rent property in order to locate a business there.

This is where you begged the question.
Just remove the < meta name="viewport" ... > line.
maybe i’m just dense, but i’m not following youth logic or your math here..

numbers have been officially reported at two intervals: 60 million sold as of January 2013 [1], and 100 million as of May 2013 [2]. both points indicate its performing fairly well, and just shy of its predecessor. while not ideal, achieving these volumes is most certainly not so catastrophic that ‘investors’ are getting worried. if anything, they appear to be rewarding the company for taking steps to adapt early-on (relatively speaking).

as for sales needing to be higher following a successful release, that’s most certainly not true as a general rule and in this particular case doesn’t make sense either. we're not talking about movie release.. a PC (and, by extension, Windows to most) is a utility, not a discretionary good. most people depend on it in some form or another and if their PC isn't performing adequately to accomplish some task, they upgrade; if it’s fine, they stick it out until need be.. in the case of Vista to 7, many people were plagued with issues and in-need of new PCs (and a more stable OS), hence the rapid rate at which it sold. today, a PC running 7 from a few years back is still fairly capable and the need to upgrade is less pronounced. that it especially true if people are spending less time on a PC as many consumption-related activities can be transferred to other devices like smartphones and tablets.

speaking of which, keep in mind how much has changed since 7 was released.. people are now holding-on to their PCs for longer periods of time and there is increased competition from tablets and smartphones. the market is in decline, i’m not arguing against that, but pointing to 8 as the culprit is inaccurate.

[1] http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2...

[2] http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2...

edit: sales numbers are never that comparable, and its been three years.. for all the reasons listed above, they're not comparable.. introducing surface into the mix also makes them less comparable..

my point has less to do with specific milestones and more so to the point that by no reasonable standard could you call the product a failure so far. and projecting your particular dissatisfaction with the changes made (or maybe just a general grudge against the company, i don't know?) to the 'masses' is inaccurate and doesn't add any real value.
agreed. men get carried away with our bullshit and forget that images are attached to people. women dont forget that and its much shittier for them. as a man i know we suck.
Statements like this are a serious matter, and the truth or falsehood of them is left for the courts to decide: until then, presumption of innocence rules the day. Barring that, the hypothetical case you mention is essentially indistinguishable from the actual case being discussed.
At this point, I will only believe it after it happened.
Intel Brings Silvermont to Mobile Competition vs. ARM
Ask HN: Are business plans really not useful?
As hackers and entrepreneurs, we read a lot about how business plans are useless and all that stuff. Cool thing to do is start building stuff and iterate/pivot. But are there scenarios where they could be useful ? Anyone here has used business plans in any way that helped ? When i say "business plan", i m not necessarily saying the traditional 100 page doc. Just interested in understanding if people write stuff up specifically for potential investors ? Or is it plain "I built this. This is my plan. I don't do documentation"
I've never seen a food truck with the engine on while serving. The waffles (with 1 dinges) are $6 and popular among tourists and locals alike, simply because they are really good (i.e., mop the floor with Bobby Flay good http://midtownlunch.com/2010/01/21/wafels-waffles-dinges-on-...).

As for using parking spots to serve food, what do you believe creates a greater consumer surplus? A single commuter parking their car for the day or a food truck servicing hundreds of consumers?

Also, why do you believe the city will cease to function if consumers have more options for lunch?
I was about to post the copycat link but you beat me to it. :) We've modeled the ClinchPad (my startup) welcome email pretty much on the original Planscope email and it has been very, very successful in getting responses compared to the previous welcome email.
I've pretty much forgotten how to use git on the command line because of magit :-)
To the OP: What negative feedback have you received? What have people told you you need to improve?

If that answer is "none," people aren't being honest with you and you need to find people who are.

Secondarily, are none of those people who have hired you in the past currently hiring? If they are, why aren't that asking you? May be related to point #1.
Every lock has a key. ~Hacker's motto
You're confusing psychopaths for bullies.
It would certainly be useful to have all elite interactions (not the content) available in real-time to link with a revision controlled legal system. I.e. you could follow particular clauses in laws back to particular legislators, even in the early drafting process, and then see who they or their staff were talking to at that time (and potentially demand the content of those communications). But I believe the Bush administration used a private/party email system to stop their communications coming under the current Whitehouse rules. So any such system would have to include everything, a kind of lifelogging for anyone during their period in government.

I am sure they will object to this with the usual arguments about security implications and executive right. Amusingly citizens could reply "if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear".
"what the hell does she gain by this"

Control, ownership, poweer.
Can't you update all the revlevant docs that prove that you did all those things to your new name?
Tech Start-Up All Stars – Roll Up, Roll Up
Tell me about it! The only time I even restart my machine is that Tuesday every month when the updates are forced, and then its forced when I come to the office on Wednesday since I postponed from the day before.
Forget Lunch, Pay It Forward
Your last sentence almost certainly contains the answer to your question. It seems to me that this would be the next step: work on building a case to have her committed. That's not an easy thing to do even in the best of cases, but she seems to be cooperating (knowingly or otherwise).
This article has little to do with the food truck business and everything to do with NYC. Other cities have thriving food truck cultures which the author acknowledges in the final two sentences of the article.
I only have one Windows PC (dual boot Ubuntu / Windows 7 laptop). Still, I like what Microsoft is doing with Windows 8 and hybrid tablets and laptops. When my two Mac laptops are no longer supporting my work because of malfunction or obsolescense I will likely buy whatever the next version of surface pro is.

One thing that I don't understand is why older desktop non-touchscreen PCs don't default to a Windows 7 style interface.

I would like to have one small device (with a huge external monitor when I occasionally need it) for everything. Whether that is a small hybrid tablet/laptop or a powerful cellphone with great docking station support, I would like one universal device. I was very surprised to find a very functional Java/Android IDE for my Galaxy S III - no reason why a future more powerful smartphone with great wireless docking couldn't meet all of my computing requirements.
Quickfix: Install pavucontrol. You can control on a per application basis which output to send audio to and move the stream on the fly.

It doesn't "Just work" in windows. Windows will set a default and send all audio to that device without any controls for moving audio from one output to another. I have to restart my browser if I want to move from watching netflix on my monitor to my TV.
I agree that where possible one should be as personal as possible in email correspondence, but this does not scale well. If you start getting 15 (that's fifteen, not fifteen thousand)or more signups per day, being personal approaches a full time job.

I suppose the crux of the matter is honesty. If you try to automate individualised emails, that comes off as a bit sleazy and 'markety'. In this case I think it would be of net benefit to make an auto response email read like an auto response email, in the same spirit as you do with the personal hand written versions.
I agree, a discussion about UI design in general, informed by the current state of iOS and speculations about its future, could be interesting. But instead we get "they're doing this, and it'll suck/rule!" when people don't even know what they're doing!
iOS 7 Wishes
The debate about immigration and STEM workers does not add up
You are right of course. However, stationary restaurants tend to have an inherent monopoly for a location and have little incentive to innovate and deliver a decent product. In DC, the food trucks in the downtown area are the most delicious and affordable food option available for this reason.

I think if cities mark certain areas as "food trucks allowed" it really improves the quality of life for downtown office workers.
You may be interested in learning how Hollywood came into existence (http://www.free-culture.cc/freeculture.pdf) or America's roles in industrial revolution (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-01/piracy-and-fraud-pr...).

Most of the industries that vigorously support intellectual property now benefited the most from public domain knowledge and blatant piracy of ideas.
I can't think of a better classification for a terrorist than people who sit around all day working to destroy credibility of corporations and expose personal and financial information for the sake of their own fucked up moral code and amusement.

It would be nice if we had internet role models. IRC is full of low-life degenerates who perpetuate the vitriol that reinforces this way of life as an acceptable pastime. If there were well respected hackers who spoke publicly against this kind of behavior it might make some people think twice. (Unfortunately, most well respected hackers used to be these kids before they got real jobs)

HN is full of individuals who try to take the high road, versus the kind of anonymous internet idiocy that exists in nearly every forum and chatroom. I love this about HN. I wish more of the internet took it as an example.
Taxing Online Purchases
"And sales should be HIGHER following a successful release than a failed one."

Sorry, no. People don't upgrade their OS as often if the previous one "just works", no matter how many bells and whistles are added.
Larry Ellison buys up dozens of Malibu beachfront properties
Dear College Graduates: You're Screwed
Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering creates invisibility cloak using a 3D printer
What do you think about press releases now?
In the Toronto, Ontario area, ALPRs were built into the 407 Electronic Toll Route to accompany the RFID readers. This eliminated the need for toll booths entirely, because the license plate reader could be used to find the car's registration and send a bill.

Of course, there are slightly different semantics here -- the ALPRs in the 407 are stationary (mounted at every on-ramp and off-ramp), and you can choose to avoid them by simply using other roads running in parallel to the toll road.

However, this tech is at least a decade old (the 407 was first opened in 1997). It seems odd to me that people are up in arms about the tech now, especially since you can build a rudimentary ALPR with just a webcam and the right image processing algorithms.
Reverse Engineering Your Startup’s Success
DotCloud Sandbox
The engine is not on while serving. However, most trucks do have gasoline powered generators. The city does have a legitimate interest in regulating the usage of shared space but the way it is done now is like it was designed by the Soviet Union.

Also, the trucks mostly target the office lunch crowd, not tourists.
"The attempt to take revenue for non-commercial purposes on a licensing model failed."

Irrespective of my opinion on trademarking words: How can they say after just a few days that a revenue model failed? It seems a bit fast.
Seconded, only my addiction of choice is egg, a fork of magit. It's blazingly fast, as well. Not sure what people have to put up with in other IDEs, and quite frankly, I don't care; that's why I use Emacs . . .
You still don't understand what I'm saying. You live in some fantasy world where girls get raped in alleyways and you're apparently the self-appointed gun-toting White Knight here to save her. This is the fantasy that you have bought into, and pay hundreds of dollars per year to gun corps to sustain. Anyway, convo done.
Show HN: a keyboard driven note manager. Supports tables, URLs and img.
Every time you misuse the word curate, a librarian cries (or shushes someone).
Or engaging in repetitive "work" to Zen-up as a hobby.
I agree. Interestingly, there is a link in the article to another article that shows several examples.

ETA link: http://copyhackers.com/2013/02/your-most-overlooked-home-pag...
Shape Shifter
> I won't give my email or its password to you, but if you can find it, hack it and decrypt my emails, then it would be only my fault, and you will have my respect.

Ah yes, the "might makes right" philosophy that we all know and admire from primary school.
" this is less likely than being murdered and that I doubt you'd worry much about that."

Stalkers are more likely than most to murder the source of their obsession.
Nice, Atlassian continues to make my job much much easier in regards to Git. I love the work they've done on SourceTree, which was a promising and pretty app but very unstable before they bought it. It was hard to use it for critical work because it was crashing quite frequently. Now it's rock solid and I use it almost every day. I do know most of the command line tools but I like using a GUI because it makes my repo better when I have a visual overview of everything that's going on. It helps me group commits in logical order and I've reduced the amount of basically meaningless fixes and style commits greatly.

I'd never even heard of Tig but I am already in love after about 5 minutes of usage. I'm comfortable with the Git CL and if you toss Git log enough flags, it gives you a very nice printout, but you can't actually DO anything there. This is a nice solution when you're working on a remote server but I'd also bet that if SourceTree is not open, I'm going to find myself more and more dropping into Tig rather than using SourceTree.
Watch People in San Francisco Aimlessly Beat a Google Bus Piñata
The problem is a bad metric of evaluation (if not doing interviews actually looks bad at promotion time). I'd suggest that the fact that some people can look at themselves in the mirror in the morning with statisfaction while screwing over both their employer and prospective employees is also a problem.
Cloud-to-butt
Joking is not trolling.
Black people in the south (and north) speak many different dialects, some that would be completely omitted if black people were completely omitted. They, of course, exist on a continuum with historical (and current) white dialects. All American dialects exist on a continuum of historical and current British dialects, so could we just leave Americans out as a special field of study, even when studying Americans? As a black person (along with 12% of the population), with roots in this country from before there was a country here, I resent the implication that I am a special field of study that can be ignored when studying "Americans." Talking about recent immigrant dialects is a cop-out.

>it must be truly invigorating to get the rush of moral superiority you feel by pointing out perceived racism

Bashing people who point out possible moral failings in an enterprise as doing it in order to bask in a sense of moral superiority is about as intellectually vacuous as bashing people who point out logical or factual inconsistencies as elitist snobs or ivory tower eggheads. Shameful.
"does the teacher know for sure she's really responsible for the continuing campaign of harassment and cyberstalking. Perhaps someone else is taking advantage of the opportunity for anonymity by supplementing her efforts."

The courts believe otherwise and she cops to the efforts.
Is that definitely right? Most metro apps should snap to 1/3 or 2/3 width allowing two apps side-by-side.

Edit: OK, so apparently you can[1] snap the default pdf viewer, but I can see it's not going to be a very nice experience having either a video or the pdf viewer occupying 1/3rd of the screen.

[1] http://www.eightforums.com/general-support/17670-how-snap-pd...
I hit the jackpot there, I just happened to have such a name when I was born.
> I made it through the interview gauntlets and finally got to the compensation round

Unless they have a rigid compensation banding structure or are on Glassdoor, recruiters/HR usually ask ballpark salary requirements at first contact to avoid this kind of thing, which I think is a legitimate inquiry. Though, if they insist on current salary they're probably looking to low-ball you.
"Why do people keep naked pictures of themselves? That is a bad idea, and doubt that there is anything good that can come from it. Just sayin."

People have been doing this since recorded history. Just sayin'. Victim-blaming is victim blaming and not helpful.
But one only has time to use so many devices, so many you have a PC in the office and only a tablet at home, to go along with your phone, glasses, watch, TV, ... You might have a laptop that you haven't upgraded in 5 years, so no need to upgrade that.

The PC is not going away, but it's not going to be the ubiquitous consumer device it once was. But if you have a feeling otherwise, you should buy PC stocks; they are incredibly cheap for what you think will exist in a vibrant market.
If a physical presence is not required, there are plenty of online communities of varying quality. I personally think that you should be able to find some interesting people by poking around some open source projects, but your luck will vary there.
> It seems odd to me that people are up in arms about the tech now, especially since you can build a rudimentary ALPR with just a webcam and the right image processing algorithms.

That is precisely why people are up in arms. What was once rare is now ubiquitous. When every police car has an ANPR capable of reading 60+ plates per minute and is feeding plate numbers plus timestamps and gps coordinates into a backend database with poorly defined access controls the potential for abuse skyrockets.
So spotify forgot some encription
First I love spotify... use it all the time and love to give them some of my money.

But they did not realy protect thier html webplayer, and Sean Parker is involved... which makes it even nicer to get free music from him again.
What is Your Entrepreneurial Leadership Potential?
> - Linode got railroaded here and the general reaction by folks is a little overdone. You know that's true when even the hackers' overview of the hack specifically calls out people bitching about Linode security on Twitter. All it takes is one zero-day, and you will all be hit by one in your career, so cut Linode a little slack.

Unfortunately, there's not much slack left to cut. Linode pulled that line taught with the last major breach of their system (and their subsequent opaque response).

It's clear Linode's security practices leave a _lot_ to be desired, and their response to this incident, while better than the last, didn't go anywhere near far enough in terms of transparency (as well as demonstrating some fundamental gaps in their understanding of the current state of infosec).
Snakebite: a pure Python HDFS client
The two are not mutually exclusive. "A troll is someone who posts inflammatory, or off-topic messages [...], with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response." [1]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)
How many times should he have to change his name? Psychopaths are tenacious and it wouldn't stop the problem.