skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
So... Can I still get the free snail mail for life? I don't have a twitter account, and I'm not going to register one just to get free snail mail for life...

I hope that you can afford the postage, as I intend to embark on a mega mass mail campaign for a few dozen different customers, and the thought of free postage is quite enticing...

/s
Tens of thousands of kilometers sounds good. But millions of kilometers will be a huge challenge. The advantage of the laser is its pinpoint precision. But when you get to the distance where the speed of light is not fast enough, and the receiving end has moved, you have an interesting problem. You will need to point the laser to where the receiver will be. Also, as you start thinking about even further distances and gravity 'refracting' light it gets complicated very quickly.
Many good programmers I know didn't get a degree, they were just highly motivated and learned to program by themselves/through side projects (these days it's not really difficult to find good learning material and advices online).
Given what we know about all this; the NSA has a legal right to retain access to everything - you have no right to complain or to stop it (because of the terrorists/children/anything that'll wash), we can assume Google Glass is a dead product at this point right?
Video Of A Home Invasion By Dekalb County US Sheriffs Due To A Wrong Address
So I for science I tried applying "shudder linear 0.1s 0s infinite" to the <body> tag. It may be because I'm hungover but I came very close to throwing up.
I think that java is perfectly fine for these kind of tasks. What else do you have if you wish to run something a bit complex from browser? Someday javascript will be also capable for these kind of tasks, but I don't see how it will have less exploits than java has now...
Assessing risk is a sensible part of securing your computers.

The US / UK have imprisoned people without charge, trial or conviction, and based on flimsy evidence. Some of those people will have been tortured.

Feel free to suggest 1password on dropbox, or Bluepass, if you think either of them can protect against well funded government agencies. I hope you're also recommending better door locks, no windows on the ground floor, 5 metre fences, hardened computer running hardened OS, etc.
But they still need proper, court issued warrant. At least there would be no invisible laws or secret agencies involved.
Good story, my opinion is that if you hadn't been personally invested in this whole thing, chances are you would just have done a mediocre job like 99.5% of office workers and the company would never taken off.

Basically you are a well experienced growth hacker now while the owner is clueless. So in the end, you got more out of it than him.
The problem with email is that we've arrived at a monoculture. TLS-enabled email is pretty secure if nobody can compromise either of the two ends (or, well, the intermediaries). Since everyone uses Gmail, it's trivial to just get everyone's email, since one of the two ends is pretty much guaranteed to be there.

If we move to a system where everyone has their own mail server, or at least one mail server for a few people, that system will be much harder to snoop on.
Although not entirely necessary or not guaranteeing the skills and expertise, a somewhat scientific (or engineering if you prefer) background is definitely more probable to give solid foundations for a programmer. I am guessing companies would prefer someone with a scientific background too.

Perhaps a degree in Computer Science specifically is not a prerequisite, that's certainly debatable. In particular, once you have some foundations on mid/advanced mathematics and logic I guess you can catch up with software systems and languages pretty quickly, depending of course on your ability to learn and talent, thus becoming self-taught on software engineering.
IMHO KeePass is in need of a reboot. First, it's very confusing which version to use. KeePass 1.x (Classic), KeePass 2.x (Professional), or KeePassX (originally KeePass/L for Linux?). When I first tried them out, I settled on KeePass2 because it supported filling out browser forms in Linux. But it's a mono app with an ugly interface. With no built-in syncing support and no good syncing plugins either.

I hope this project can become a suitable replacement.
and it's broken on mobile. (Android)
My secure email provider is /usr/local/bin/gpg, so ... yes?
As a coder (programmer, software developer) without a degree, my question is:

If you have that degree, do you know how to code?

I've worked with a lot of people with degrees that were not coders. They might have written code in university to get their degree, but I am not sure that they could really code, or maybe they weren't interested. They were managers, architects, engineers, analysts, quality assurance, sales-people, directors, presidents and various other titles and roles but they were definitely not coders.

Do not let that detract from getting a computer science degree. I learned from people with a degree: non-coding stuff, and methodologies that I had been clueless about that definitely improved my coding. You need much more than being self-taught, everything helps: formal education and training, working with other coders, work experience, non-work experience, and mostly you need to make mistakes along the way.

The first and only thing you need to be a coder, is to code. Keep on coding.
I'm on a very quiet marathon to build twelve startups in twelve months, I'm in my third month and everything is on track so far. I will blog about it all when I hit six months in. My day job is a Technical Architect for a PLC in the UK. I also run between 5km and 10km everyday to train for an actual marathon (running). Add to that being a husband and a father... and a blogger now ;)
I really wanted to tell that story, and for it not appear arrogant on my part.
It's a win-win situation. They get to see fewer candidates, and you don't end up working for a rubbish company.
Heh, well thanks for the honesty :)

> How will you do to P2P without some kind of centralized bootstrapping service with the prevalence of NAT and people who do not know how to port-forward? (I just saw the Github repos, so I will examine this myself in a bit.)

The P2P is done over local networks only. It uses multicast DNS for service discovery. Bluepass syncs between your own devices only. As long as the devices occasionally share a (W)LAN, it will work.

> Why should I trust you? What have you done other than this project? Not to be increasingly blunt, but you are not the Mozilla Foundation and your Github repos do not show much other than work on co-routines and AD service wrappers. That is useful to me, but I would like to see more security work and knowledge of crypto libraries if I trust you with password manager code.

Well, everybody has to start somewhere. I do believe that I have enough experience with crypto to be qualified here. I've got a physics degree and did a lot of maths. And I read Schneier and Wenbo Mao's book cover to cover. Also note that I'm not using any proprietary algorithms. This is all OpenSSL wrapped algo's that I'm using from Python.

But in the end, what should give this the right credibility is that the source code is up on Github, together with my intention to grow a community that can review the crypto. If there is something not right, which can always happen of course, then it will get out sooner or later.

> What else do you work on? Your blog does not show me too much, and I cannot find much mention of you to warrant 60,000 USD for such a project. I am correct in seeing you a Marketing/Product Manager? Sorry to be harsh, but honestly I think most of HN would be worried about these points.

This is not related to my day job. I would say have a look at the code, and decide for yourself if you like the code. I don't think being a product marketing manager in the day is mutually exclusive with being able to write good code.

The calculation of the funds is rather straightforward: $10k for each of the platforms that need work: iOS, Android, Chrome, FF, Mac and Windows.
Hah, good point. I bet most of Americans (no offence here) imagine that "3rd world" means "people still live in caves and hunts wild animals for food". However, a very good counter example is Skype which went worldwide even though started in a small, 3rd world country known as Estonia.
Hi there, COO here. I wrote a good response on this when we were branded as Kickfolio: http://www.quora.com/How-Does-X-Work/How-does-Kickfolio-work.... You're quite right - we stream diff'd GIFs and JPEGs at different times. We did originally try encoding with FFMPEG and other technologies, but surprisingly this works best! We're constantly improving the algorithm. I'm just about to push up another change this weekend :)
>But that just speaks of a bigger problem, that of people who have children and buy houses they can't afford. Most people, minority or otherwise, can find a job if they had none of these ties they can't afford.

Sure, they can sacrifice all their lives -- including the American dream of their own family, home and car -- just to be better positioned with employers. No biggie.
Regarding the question around Firefox sync: even if you use your own server, you are sending senstive data that is encrypted with a password or passphrase over the Internet. This opens you up to dictionary attacks now, and if the communications are intercepted, far into the future.
Not this shit again. Anecdote != data. Yes Bill Gates is a drop out. Does that mean it's a good idea to drop out? No.
Show HN: Style Adjuster - adjust CSS in a web page
That's what I'd like to tell myself, but he now has quite a high profile in the UK startup industry. It's one thing to know how to grow a company from the very beginning, but to run and sustain a company that has tens of millions in revenue may be a more valuable lesson.
> Churning out something working now is often more important than be able to get a better solution tomorrow

Absolutely valid point, but my (somewhat confirmed by recent interviews) worries are that people who start programming this way, do not have the ability to come up with their own solutions (for almost trivial tasks) at all.

They are unable to derive a working solution from their theoretical knowledge and even that is frequently lacking nowdays. Lead developer candidates (> 10 years experience, mainly PHP) unable to convert a decimal number into a hex string without builtins/formatting functions, WTF?

If most programmers cannot put existing knowledge together to produce a solution to a new problem, how can they possibly analyze, critique, fix existing code? By comparing with a solution on SO?
If you're judging frameworks by Struts then no wonder you think they're a bad idea. Try writing a webapp in Wicket some time. Pure bliss.
They're already working on quantum communications between Earth and satellites, too, but it's obviously still very early days. But it will probably be what we'll use for very large distances in the future.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/152906-european-scientist...

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/satellites/chin...
Yes they did. All the big carriers had to build out their networks right across the continent of Europe comprising of lots of different countries each (back in early days) with their own regulatory frameworks.

How the US - just a single country (its size doesn't matter) - managed to end up with multiple competing standards continues to make my mind boggle, whilst Europe we managed to lock things down to a common set of standards right across the continent.
Hardly, first off Sweden (I'm a swedish native) has already done covert extraditions of atleast two swedish citizens to USA authorities.

Secondly Assange has offered to come to Sweden if given the promise that the Swedish government won't be extradite him to the USA, something the Swedish government refuses to do.

So yes, as a swedish native I have no doubt that 'my government' would indeed extradite him should he set his foot on swedish soil again. And he is not even called upon to stand trial, he is to be 'questioned' regarding the case of 'refusing to use a condom during consentual sex'. Something which could be done perfectly well over video link.

That such accusations would render an 'international arrest warrant' is ample proof that this is nothing but political. Here is a good article regarding the 'case' from Naomi Wolf, a known feminist who has followed and reported on rape law for over 20 years.

http://markcrispinmiller.com/2011/02/eight-big-problems-with...
Can you confirm this since Norway is not in the EU
I think it's a play of word on the famous "Sex, Lies and Videotape" movie:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098724/
You either need a degree or enough financial comfortability to take the time to write and sell your own software or service. Accumulation of advantage, and all that. I have neither and I can't get a job.

Before you say you didn't need a degree, consider if people helped you, if people would only help with unreasonable strings attached, or if you have many friends.
I´m currently loading up my app and it takes forever to finish. Would be good if I could see one sample app and how exactly the whole thing works.
If my, or some one else's, life or liberty depended on it, no. Not email, not the internet.

From a simpleton POV... there is a wire from my computer to an ISP. Then from that ISP to another ISP. Then from that ISP to a recipient. At any point some one can intercept and decode. So, AFAIAC, that's an end to it. Even if the data can be secured from being read, there is proof that one computer talked to another computer about something. That's often enough "evidence". Its an opening.

Frankly I don't see how the internet can be secure. AFAIK, it never was.
Dead malls are surprisingly common in China, just that they were never live and just overbuilt enough to never have tenants.
What are you protecting, and who are you protecting it against?

I knew that well funded government agencies could probably get access to anything, so with that caveat yes, I trusted a few providers.

In general if it's important you shouldn't trust anyone. Use GPG, but do so carefully after reading all the documentation.
Acer Pulls Back From Windows, Will Focus on Android and Chromebook
+1 to this. I would happily move to an open source password manager, but only if it implements this feature as well as 1p does
They might if they design mechanical engines, irrespective of if they have a degree.
I'm not hearing anything, I guess audio isn't emulated yet? This would be great with web audio. Having a podcast app, I can't unfortunately get much use from it in the absence.

Anyway, congrats. I hope Apple's okay with it because the concept is crazy-awesome for users and developers.
Malaria vaccine is first to provide 100% protection in early trial
Wasn't that in part due to PPC or custom silicon? The 360 and PS4 are now on x86-64, it should be possible for them to use a more sensible toolchain.

also, even before that there were people using "non-standard" toochains e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_Oriented_Assembly_Lisp
In that vein, software engineer in my mind implies that you have completed a professional practice exam of some sort, depending on your jurisdiction's requirements, which may include the requirement of completing a software engineering degree, and are willing to take on the legal consequences of any faulty software that you sign off on.

Just having a software engineering degree alone should not really make you an engineer, in this respect, any more than someone who has studied software development practices through other means.
Hi there. It shouldn't take too long to process. I suggest clicking 'Support' from the dashboard and we'll investigate further. It may be an .IPA instead of an .APP (we require the simulator build), or we may need to reprocess your app manually. Sorry for any inconvenience.
so apparently there's no reason for lavabit, silent mail, hushmail ...?
And I'm sure they'll figure out ways to make it more addictive.
What Makes an Effective Executive (Drucker 2004)
Ahaha that's brilliant. I always thought he stunk of a subset of the HN crowd (the make a lot of noise 'ideas man' caricature).

It's not completely ad-hom as he has no ability in coding-- either through degree or self learning (he teamed up with a coding founder for his idea, was clearly not technical).. which is somewhat relevant for this advert. Was this his idea on the Apprentice (12 week coding course) or did that fail? All the references I can find just mention the mess around it, not the actual business idea.
Sorry to be blunt, but I am always amazed by what this kind of stories have in common: trusting people without a contract (or at least a signed agreement). Even if it's your best friend who's going to hire you, don't accept promises such as "you'll get rich once we hit it big". Sign a contract stating how much of the company you own, what the vesting schedule is, acceleration upon change of control etc.

There are some assholes out there, so stop being naïve. This is a very good cautionary tale about what happens if you do.
A lot of the time (for me) things that first seem like missing knowledge are just missing terminology.
Not necessarily true, even in more formal engineering disciplines it is often possible to become an engineer (as recognised by professional bodies) without a degree.

In software engineering this is even more blurry, for example my school offered both computer science as software engineering degrees. However in practise the only difference was that the software engineering track had a mandatory module on UML.
Well.. I agree with you here. We can never really tell.
Can't they already do this based on your email address they have on profile?
Machine "reading" the email != humans reading the same thing

A machine can't laugh at your embarrassing confession. Nor can a machine talk about your letter to its friends.

For either of these things to happen with gmail would require serious risk and effort on part of an employee.
And statically linked binaries, if necessary.
'Herd effect' skews online rating systems, study finds
How Long Would The Zombie Apocalypse Really Last?
Art Installation needed for Ticketmaster UK
No. Why is anyone still asking this question in 2013?
Question:
You say "he'd stolen a few clients, some data, rented an office and hadn't really thought about the rest. It was my job to reshape the stolen data beyond recognition" - did you not consider that such a person might be somewhat untrustworthy?

Follow-up, it bothers me that you took a job knowing that you were disguising stolen data, what was your rationale for this?
Tweeting For Public Health: Tracking Food Poisoning Via Social Media
Live stream from ISS; HTV docking right now
> I started working my contracted 7.5 hours a day,

I am constantly surprised by bosses that do not realise the consequences of their words.

When someone is clearly making an effort you need to recognise that. Maybe it's just a "hey, thanks, I appreciate it" when you have no money.

Saying "I pay you a wage and you do the work" is a sure way to force people to do just enough.
Well what you know benefits established firms as well, and is actually more valuable to them on average than it is to blank paper startups that noone knows for certain if there's a demand for.
While growth hacking helps launching startups off the ground, it also helps prevent established firms from sinking.
Yes, however, all of the mobile internet providers are censored with the infamous Wikipedia-blocking UK internet filter, and it can't be turned off.
Honestly, I think if public nudity was common, no-one would care about it. When you go to the beach and see people in swimming costumes, there isn't really much left to the imagination. You can already pretty much figure out what they look like naked, but no-one cares, we're all used to it. Society just places a weird importance on nipples and genitals. But just women's nipples. Even though men's nipples kind of look the same anyway. You could take a swimsuit catalogue and cut the nipples off the men and glue them onto the women and turn it into porn.

If you think about it, we're just animals. It's really crazy that we can't just walk around in our natural state freely because we tend to feel really weird about looking at other members of our own species.

What if I've got it backwards and other animals are just as prudish? When a dog is barking at another dog, maybe he's really saying, "hey, check out this weirdo - he's naked! Get the hell out of here, you pervert!"
coding no, electronics, math and physics, yeah, but most of it is taught in middle and high school.

Although I strongly advise any programmer to learn a little about electronics.
Backbone.js Tips And Patterns
If you got the celery warning when running a `gmg [...]` it's my fault and should not affect the result of the command. It is a result of python's import statement importing a module which imports celery when the `gmg` command load the mediagoblin.app module.

If it isn't clear already, the warning/error message re: celery when you run `gmg *` is just a bug in current git master.
absolutely not. i've worked alongside plenty of oxbridge grads even who weren't worth a penny... i dropped out - best decision ever. :)
The NSA is primarily concerned with communication outside of the US. You would have less protection with a foreign provider.
I confirm that [2] is my legitimate Linkedin profile :)
Google is singled out due to the humans behind the corporate facade complying, no one forced them to.

I would hate to reduce it to binary but things like installation of proxy hardware (Blue Coat[1]) to monitor with or court orders for conscription of local hardware are. Without people collaborating along with the US government, then people... wouldn't be collaborating. Those within the USG would be forced towards alternative routes such as those detailed in the PRISM slides.

Bonus: Security creates insecurity, all this logging and data collection creates more data. This data, which Snowden's Booz Allen Hamilton has shown[2], can be leaked. As an example a look into the Blue Coat logs leaked[3] from Assad's Syria by extraordinary esoteric activists Telecomix[4] reveals followers of Christianity along with homosexuals intently monitored.

Bonus Caution: I wouldn't touch the Booz or HBGary leaks unless you like federal prosecution for assisting in dissemination of data on the profiteering collaborators[5].

[1] http://www.bluecoat.com/

[2] https://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/6533009/Military_Meltdown_Mo...

[3] http://bluesmote.com/

[4] http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/jul/07/telecomix-...

[5] http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-doj-is-suing-barrett-br...
It's getting more so. Last time I was looking for a job (UK) a recruiter not only mentioned my github, but asked me to pass on another job offer to someone he'd noticed I was collaborating with.