skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I was hired as a senior manager into a well known company that used psychometric testing to filter job candidates. To start off with I was happy to go along with it when hiring into my own team - after all the filter had resulted in them recruiting me and I was pretty sure I was a "good hire" - a post testing bias you might think.

You would be right. It took me a while but I began to notice that a high percentage of key hires in other areas of the business were notably failing to make the sort of contributions expected of them. They must all have done "well" on the psychometric test of course but was it possible that this was over influencing the selection process and eliminating better candidates - of course we could just have been attracting the wrong applicants.

My recruiting was able to balance any psychometric testing bias by only short listing people we thought were likely up to the job technically and who would fit in with the team. Other areas probably did not have the luxury of having the capacity to "test" that someone could probably do the job as well as pass the more dubious psychometric test.

After I left that company I was pretty sure that I would avoid businesses that used psychometric testing - in the same way as I would refuse to interview for any business that used something like graphology - more obviously bogus science?
Note: this is not about “FRP”

(if you don't believe me — http://www.reddit.com/r/haskell/comments/1l7ru2/principles_o...)
I've used both phones extensively, the Nexus for 2 weeks and the One for over a month.

The One is the better phone, no doubt, but the Nexus is best for the price.

The One has a much better radio, especially for bluetooth. It's a lot more powerful, a consideration if you're playing games. The screen blows the Nexus' thoroughly mediocre display out of the water, and the stereo speakers are some of the best I've ever heard on a phone. The build quality is closer to Apple than Android. The camera is one of the best on an Android phone ever.

The major downside of the One for me is that it is slower in terms of slickness and smoothness, which I'm blaming on the Sense UI. If you flash it to vanilla, it should be fine. If you are a gamer, it does get very hot. Although build quality is better it doesn't feel any less likely to break if you drop it.

Weirdly, the call quality isn't that good on the One, the Nexus has it beat there.
> I put on 40 pounds of muscle one year alone by eating until I couldn't move, and then lifting as heavy as I could. I got up to doing a 400 pound deadlift, 225 pound squat, 195 pound bench press and I was doing pull-ups with an additional 90 pounds of weight added to a chain around my waist.

There.
Braintree did not do AMEX in USD, last I talked to them a couple of months ago. How did you get this working? I'm very interested!
It was at a (large/medium sized) company I used to work at, not the company I work for at the moment (recruiter). To be honest my interview for this position was just a really good conversation - my interviewer started out with a bunch of technical questions and eventually I said to him "Don't you have anything harder?". And then after that we just chatted about tech, it ended with him saying "I'll give the good news to your recruiter"
More generally, there's nothing worse than a social scientist who has illusions about being a scientist.
Facebook is just playing with us again, DON’T PANIC
Yesterday Facebook announced possibility of running contest on your Facebook page without 3rd party apps. This is what we think about it.
Google has a program in place to refund you the price difference if you bought a Nexus 4 in the past two weeks https://support.google.com/googleplay/contact/nexus_price
You may have lost out, but he won big time - any company that lets it's decisions be made in that way is probably a bad company to work for.

Metric obsession when applied to people is not good, because unlike your conversion rate, people can't be defined by metrics.
Going back to "nothing new under the sun" there are even some earlier precursors to assembly line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetian_Arsenal
What would be awesome would be taking a variety of (cheap, painless, ideally totally passive) tests on a control population, your applicant population, your offer population (specifically those who turn you down), your new hires, and your ongoing employees (especially if you can sort your employees once hired into good/bad).

It would ideally be descriptive vs. prescriptive, so you could uncover things like "we get mainly recent-college-grads applying, but our strongest employees are those who joined mid-career", or "we have very few minorities who apply, but those who apply and are offered positions tend to be strong and stay with the company a long time".

Pretty meaningless unless you are hiring at Google scale, though.
JQuery Fullscreen Editor
Of course you can write a 'for' loop. You can also write a goto in C. I was replying to my parent who said 'you don't need generics, since Go has interfaces'. I wanted to point out that interfaces are not a general substitute for generics.

But you have to be mature enough to jump over the shadow of your functional pride and write clean imperative code.

By that reasoning we can go back to assembly ;): you just have to be mature enough to jump over the shadow of your portability pride and write clean assembly code.

Abstractions exist to help us and in that respect Go feels like a throwback to the past. It's pretty much a Java 1.0 that compiles to machine code.
You're right, smarter people who were hired before the introduction of the psychometric test became frustrated and weren't recognised for their abilities. I knew one very anti-social but exceptionally skilled developer that rage-quitted in a spectacular "hissy-fit"
Improving a company 101:

* Get rid of HR people.

* Profit.
These psychometric tests are often unscientific and bull sh*tty. If I interviewed with someone who gave me one, I would be highly tempted abort the interview early; this is not a company I would want to work for.

This is in the UK; a found a lot of weirdness goes on there that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere else. Its the anti-authority types who are most likely to think out of the box, and are actually praised for by many American companies (at least vocally, implicitly they might not like them so much, of course).
I wonder if recruiters recruiting recruits for recruiting are substantially better at it than when the same recruiters recruit for clients -- the way real estate agents tend to be substantially better when selling their own houses vs. for clients, and how doctors tend to make better medical decisions (less painful, better holistic outcomes, less cost) for themselves or family vs. regular patients.

Maybe part of it is that a recruiter should fully understand the role of a recruiter, but very few really understand the developer/devops/etc. roles they recruit for.
Important Questions to Ask Yourself when Creating a Business Plan
I picked myself up a drafting chair (best term for online trawling I've found so far) without armrests (since I can't stand armrests), and a small cheap coffee table for me to rest my feet on. Much easier than trying to constantly readjust my quad monitor setup -- I set up the desk at one ideal position for standing, and leave my chair adjusted in another ideal position for sitting.
What I don't really get is to what end are they doing this? Does this help Google, or hurt them - especially now that they have Motorola? Is the bigger over-arching goal here to go around the carriers, no matter what?
There's no requirement that a lunar colony be self-sustaining in order to qualify as a lunar colony.
Is "me and X" as the subject of a sentence valid British English grammar? It comes across as really uneducated.
Facebook - You Can Now Run Competitions on a Page Timeline
I can only speak for tech companies, but my experience is that once a company becomes large enough to hire HR people and middle management, that's a sign that money is being wasted paying for unproductive types rather than creating and improving sold products and services.

Hiring HR people because "that's what a serious, large company does" and having a certain amount of mid-tier bosses because "we [the top] need better control over what's happening down at the bottom" (read: "we need detailed control of people that have been self-sufficient and productive on their own for several years"), is an excellent time to start looking for other work.
I recently spent a year working for an "elite" Silicon Valley startup company. The VP engineering had read enough Joel Spolsky to get through the door.. but he didn't practice software literacy.

I would love to work for a shop, even in an underling capacity, that really gets software dev right. It would be worth delaying my startup dreams just so I can do it right at scale.
Startup incubators?
Yeah, you too can watch as "Android OS" drains the battery in 6 hours. Honestly, if you get a Nexus 4 be prepared to be a beta tester, or scratch monkey every time there's an OTA update. Perhaps it's just "international" users, but I totally regret buying into the Nexus hype.

And then there's the hardware issues (bluetooth kills WiFi if you try to use both at once), firmware issues (WiFi doesn't roam properly, ARP offload broken), straight-up bugs (wireless charging power management holds permanent wakelock preventing deep sleep)...

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2072930 really shows what Android is capable of.
Did You Know That In 2005 A Man Named Ronald MacDonald Robbed...
What I would like is the possibility to buy/order a low-cost, non-mechanical, customized keyboard. Mass-manufactured keyboards cost less than 10€, could a custom printing job for the keys add that much?
This has not been my experience - this is not intended as a slur against my employer (who are fairly awesome). But when you're in a recruitment company you get to see all the processes and the problems with those processes. I would probably recommend that all companies do their own recruitment.
x EL panels
No, but they're to expensive for usage on every wall. Personally, I think they'll be pushed towards fringe applications by a technology Asmimov didn't predict. High efficiency LEDs.

x Smart glass
Yes, but again a cost question. There's this [http://money.cnn.com/video/technology/2012/01/10/t-ts-samsun...], by Samsung. I don't see why you couldn't replace your windows with such screens if you had the spare dough. Also, there's privacy glass, which is cheaper, but still sets you back 500USD/m².

x Fusion power plants.
Those might be a couple of years off.

x Radioactive batteries.
Exist, but not in the scale and power density Asimov predicts. There are nuclear batteries for pacemakers [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betacel].

x Moving sidewalks
Yep, only at chokepoints and long stretches of unidirectional people movement indoors.

x Moon colonies.
They're on the other side, hiding. Trust me on this one.

A lot of these points are arguable. I'm easily excitable, so I consider technological feasibility/existence as a check, but your view on it may be more somber (It has to be exactly as he predicted). I'm just amazed he got that much of it right.

On a side note, why couldn't the non-asimov prediction with blimp filled skies come true? They're like sky whales...and I really should get some sleep.
How to send a file using WebRTC
I very much dislike the idea that you can't give special treatment to individual candidates. The job of a recruiter is to find the best candidate for the job, not to treat all candidates equally. Now obviously we can't go around discriminating against candidates based on attributes not relevant to their ability to perform (ie gender, race, religion etc), but that doesn't mean we can't make use of any extra information we might be able to garner about a person.

If a particular candidate, who happens to fail part of the interview, still seems like a good choice, by all means look for additional means of evaluation.

I once had an interview, where I spoke with a few people very positively for about 3 hours, it was going great. There was no sign of a technical test, so I had assumed by this point that they either didn't do them, or they'd be in a second round of interviews. Then they realised they'd forgotten to give me the technical test, which they then gave me and I screwed up for whatever reasons. Upon learning that I'd aced every part of the interview except the programming test, I mentioned they had an employee who'd worked with me on previous projects and could vouch for my coding ability. But they said they couldn't use that information because it would be unfair to other candidates.

This was a long time ago, and I didn't really lose much by not getting the job, but it always felt like the approach they took was wrong.
Creating a user from the web problem
1. Writing a blog post about this - good

2. Naming and shaming the company - better

3. Quitting your job and letting them know about it - even better
I can confirm/attest that in France, they lowered the price by 100€.
That's bigger news than the headline since 100€ = $133.51 (at this moment).

Google Play shows:
8GB: 199€ (+9.99€ shipping) = 208.99€
16GB: 249€ (+9.99€ shipping) = 258.98€

Personally, I'm going to hold off to see if they release something new, though. I wish the battery life on the Nexus 4 was better.
HR - particularly recruiting - at most (big) companies is a colossal joke. They´re typically lazy - limited in their understanding of the business and very quick to make decisions that they refuse to change due to the insecurity of knowing that they might actually be superfluous if it wasn´t for all that paperwork that someone had to take care of. They set some random parameters and don´t actually have an understanding of who would really fit the job. At the end of the day - they dont have to work with those people, nor do they understand the current team dynamic - so how can one expect otherwise!?
Or even in medium sized ones
Thanks. Looking to hear some comments
Apparently Richard Stallman in the comments saying that Canonical refused to make it a completetly free software platform...
Heh, I agreed with this, clicked on the karma icon, then read the author's name... ofc.... ciao salvo!
Reminds me of something I read from Arnold Swazenegger:

"While on maneuvers, Schwarzenegger and his fellow soldiers would use the hot spots (areas of metal over the tank’s engine) as a makeshift cooking stove, grilling up steaks and frying eggs. The eventual Mr. Universe continued his bodybuilding training even while off base, having stowed his workout equipment (plate weights, barbells, and a collapsible bench) in the tank’s tool storage areas."

In his book he talks about getting up an hour earlier than everyone else so he could get a training session in during his military service. Talk about "making time" for something.
What is the world coming to when a company can trademark an everyday word. Next thing you know someone will trademark blackberry, palm, yahoo, android, oracle or amazon. Quick, to the outragemobile!
Thought experiment: For those running companies and hiring people. Would you take the time to occasionally run your interview processes over your existing employees? I'm not talking about involving them, I mean actually putting them through it.

It would be one way to sanity-check that the process is selecting for the things you want from those coming from outside. As a company grows, the non-technical systems and policies also need to adapt but without feedback things might get weird (like the OP's example). If an existing high-performer does badly with your interviews/tests at some point then you really, really need to fix something.
It's fairly common. If one says "X and I" one risks coming across as being a bit Brian Sewell.
Free online resume creator based on LaTeX
In the UK a lot of otherwise sensible organisations seem to include these daft wee tests into their hiring process (including at least one large US tech giant and one fairly successful VC funded startup that I know of).
Make that n of 2: I began exercising everyday about 1 1/2 years ago, after over 15 years of zero exercise. Didn't change my diet, nothing besides the exercise which was basically an hour of basketball nearly everyday. Arms, legs, back, stomach, shoulders, neck, hands, fingers and toes are all getting toned, with the occasional muscle bulging a bit, and better yet - dropped 20 points of cholestrol and 10 points of sugar, among other gains. Feeling great too, with a lot of stamina. I'm once again enjoying the pleasure of being able to continue running and playing even while getting winded, instead of feeling like dying after the first 30 yards.

A wonderful post, Dean. Thank you.
I was interested in applying for a job here in Norway, but it turned out the company had 2-3+ interviews (which would mean spending the day at their offices) over several months, as well as some sort of IQ test and other things.

That was in the spring and they expected to have picked out some people by the end of summer.

I didn't apply, mostly because I am happy where I am, but also because a 3-5 month interview process is completely ridiculous.

The entire process just put me off from applying. If they can't talk to me once or twice and look at my resume/past projects then I do not know if I want to work there. I understand the need to find the right people, but there are limits to how many hoops I care to jump through to get the honour of working in their company.

Is this a common practice?

I can understand if you have another job and end up interviewing somewhere else while working, but if I was without a job I probably wouldn't be able to wait 5 months for someone to decide I've passed their tests.

My friend ended up applying and he was also one of the few that got hired, which is why I've heard a bit more about their process than I think I normally would.

I think using a recruiting company is more common around here. Where I work now, quite a few of us have started out working part time (as I am now) through a recruiting process, and occasionally those who work full time get picked up by our company to work directly.

My boss worked the same position I work in now, back when he was in university.
If I had the money to fight the lawsuit, I'd be right there.

Also, I formally let them know I disagreed with the psychometric testing.

Double also... I used to apologise to new hires for the psychometric testing, and tell them "this is not how the real-world works, this is a micro-community"
GNU 30th anniversary celebration and hackathon
Psychoanalyzing diet
Great article.

He makes several strong points on ThemeForest's Avada theme. I recently read about this theme, it reputedly earned $1M for the author.

http://earnistan.com/inspiration/pakistani-freelancer-earns-...
Meh, no QWERTZ :(
5 Mobile Security Risks You May Not Be Aware Of and How to Stay Safe
Here here, I'll second-that. Most management types are disconnected from the processes that their staff are instructed to follow. I've ran through application demos and walkthroughs with senior managers before where at the end they ask "Why do we do that?"
it would explain why Europe lags so far behind the US in tech startups

The primary reason Europe lags behind is the substantial lack of investors & VC's.

The case highlighted by the author is typical of large corporates but if you look at any decent tech company in London for example, this case would sound ridiculous and extreme.
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IBM Posts Impressive SAP Benchmark with IBM i
Same here, humbled
Why should I use Cleverflow instead of Trello? It seems just a different design.
I was going to ask, somewhat facetiously, whether Asimov wrote "social science fiction" rather than science fiction.

Fortunately, I googled the phrase before embarrassing myself. Turns out he all-but-invented the phrase to describe his own work.

I suppose he had no such illusions.
Agree with the first bit.

Doubtful about the second bit - beaurocracy seems to become magnified in London.
I think that this is a strategic error from Canonical: a lot of people would like a truly free alternative to Android phones (with open hardware), and this could have been an opportunity to get them to support Edge. Canonical missed it IMHO.

See Mark Shuttleworth AMA: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1j166z/hi_im_mark_shut...
I wonder if recruiters recruiting recruits for recruiting are substantially better at it than when the same recruiters recruit for clients

Here in the UK that's called 'rec to rec' and I promise you, they are generally shockingly bad. If you think tech recruiters are incompetent and greedy then you would be horrified at the standard of rec to rec.
Transitions for Off-Canvas Navigations
The 20 online talks that could change your life
Count the number of people in senior mgmt and in all positions who can do fizzbuzz. Greater than 50% in all cases - great. Greater than 50 % for all but less than 20% in senior positions - get out. Anything less - run for the hills.

It's not saying its important - everyone in Hollywood says the story is the thing - but only Pixar seems to live by it. See any talk by Ed Catmull
This reminds me of an article I read a while ago. In essence it warned of hiring people that think the same as everyone else on your team, as you will get stuck with the same opinion almost every time.
It advocated hiring different thinking employees to achieve a broader view to any given problem.

These psychometric tests seem to go against that advice by only selecting people with very similar personalities and thought patterns, thus stinting the company.
I don't understand why HR should have a role in decision making to hire candidates. I'd find them useful in: 1) providing guidance; 2) ensure that all hiring is done legally and ethically; and that's about it. It is the hiring manager's responsibility to make sure his team delivers, so it should also be the hiring manager's decision on who is hired.
CODE Mechanical Keyboard Is Designed With Programmers In Mind
AFAIK, it's very common but still incorrect in British English.
What was the test, out of curiosity? What tests are the most commonly given?
>He was wrong, and we do him no honor by believing it a particle in his name.

Do you mean he's wrong because light is a particle and a wave[1]?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality
permalink to the comment: http://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/26404040

Comment quoted here for ease:

Although Ubuntu is a variant of the GNU operating system that I
launched (see http://www.gnu.org/gnu/the-gnu-project.html), it has
major ethical flaws: it contains software that is not free/libre (see
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) and it spies on the user
(see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/ubuntu-spyware.html).

The Free Software Foundation challenged the developers of the Ubuntu
Edge to design it so that it would run without user-restricting
nonfree software, but they rejected that goal.

Dr Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation
www.fsf.org www.gnu.org
It's common with big companies in South Africa as well. It may have to do with how difficult it is to fire someone under our laws, but a few months probation is usually good enough, and fairer.
Not sure if you're serious, but having spent the last winter without central heating due to rather unfortunate renovation works timing, I'm really not sure this is a good thing. There were several consecutive weeks where the temperature inside would never rise above 10degrees celcius as we only head a small petrol burner. At night the condensation froze on the walls (outside temperatures of -10 degrees celcius). Sure enough movement keeps you warm, but basically you're always cold unless you're moving. I don't think I ever felt worse physically. Did gain quite some respect for homeless people in cold places though.
Looks nice but I love my Cherry G80's (and they are less than half the price) too much to upgrade just yet (though the silent keys might be kind in a crowded environment).
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