skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
You are just a small step away from the concepts in Subtext:

http://www.subtext-lang.org

I highly recommend watching the screencasts, especially the demo:

http://www.subtext-lang.org/demo1.html

I have wanted a graphical interface for functional programming in environments like Excel for a long time. In my experience, most of the pseudo-programming that has dominated software engineering (object-oriented/MVC/message-based, patterns, best practices) goes away when you can model something directly.

Nobody has been able to successfully apply proven engineering concepts from, say, electrical engineering or VLSI to software engineering. I think it's because the leap from imperative code is too long.

But nobody has successfully made functional code approachable either, because too often it's contaminated by syntactic sugar that's too symbolic, various handcuffs that make even the simplest tasks arduous (poor handling of global state), or learning curves that can't be scaled when it comes to interacting with real-world time-based data (monads etc).

For the most part Excel has none of these issues. You can stick an imperative macro in the middle of your functional code and it works just fine, as it should in any other functional language (as long as you follow certain rules like, no globals). Then you can write another macro to load CSV data into your spreadsheet, or even spit it out to a folder that has a shell script watching it to transform the data again. I think it's more productive to work in that unix-like manner (of a bunch of small tools that do one thing well, pipelined together), than it would be to try to integrate notions like dynamic data into Excel. But the achilles heal of Excel was always obfuscation.

We need to get away from language when we're thinking about functional programming, and focus more on data and transformations. Slate looks like a great start, kudos!
Lockitron for your bike
I turn off nearly all notifications on my system. Only really important things are sent to the forefront.
The real point of going to school is not to earn a paper with ink on it. The purpose is to empower young individuals to do something that immensely benefits them, people around them and society in general. If Stanford students are able to do that before actually completing the degree course it is even better.
PythonJS 0.8 is out, with native JS function calls
There were caricatures, but asking whether they were racist is rather begging the question.
> syntax for choosing between 64-bit intermediate vs. 32-bit intermediate

That's exactly what Kahan proposed to be added to Java in the title work ("How Java’s Floating-Point Hurts Everyone Everywhere," which most of the people arguing here didn't digest fully, but I have understanding for that, people who didn't have to do computations don't have enough familiarity with the whole subject), see the page 78:

"To fit in with Java’s linguistic proclivities, Borneo allows a programmer to declare
a minimum width to which everything narrower is to be widened before Java’s rules are invoked:
anonymous float follow Java’s rules ( Borneo’s default; it must match Java’s )
anonymous double widen every narrower operand to double as does K-R C
anonymous long double widen every narrower operand to long double ( use on Intel )
anonymous indigenous widen every narrower operand to indigenous.
Of course, Java should be repaired promptly to adopt anonymous double as its default, which
would then become Borneo’s default too. The scope of an anonymous declaration is a block."
I use Elevatr. Right now it's only available as an iOS app. It's specifically tailored to entrepreneurs as you have to input a few key aspects every idea should have, namely market fit, product features, pain, value proposition, etc. They recently introduced an interesting feature where you can "Make Moves" on your startup - I clicked the button, and a few days later they reached out to me to discuss my startup and how they could help connect me to app developers in New York City.
OK, once again that article seems to just be making stuff up. Its references don't say anything aside from the fact that MS wants OEMs to put Windows on Android phones, which probably just means offering all Android-exclusive devices with an optional Windows version instead.
Http://aaamath.com/k7a_adx1.htm
Yes you are correct, i forgot to mention that Soylent is a basically a drink and has uniform taste, compared to a normal meal in which you chew many ingredients and get the individual taste of them.
I agree with the principle of wanting to see code but keep in mind that expecting Github (or similar) is a bit ageist. I definitely went through a phase of my life where I coded like crazy and produced lots of interesting side projects, but that was long before Github or even Sourceforge existed. So I could point you towards some interesting stuff I passed around the BBS world in 1985, except that even I didn't bother to keep a copy after its usefulness faded.

I still have a bit to show on Github and mean to put up more when I have a chance but still, most developers find that when you've got a decade or more of experience, you start to want to take on new challenges and experiences (whether family or woodworking) in your free time rather than more programming.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/what-is-pae-nx-...

Microsoft didn't bother either. SSE2 and PAE requirements mean a Netburst or later Intel Chip. (or K8 or later from AMD). So Windows8 requires a relatively modern chip, and ignores the earlier ones.

IIRC, Windows 8 and 8.1 take advantage of the new P-States in Haswell / Clover Trail. (And connected standby on Clover Trail definitely shows that Microsoft is working hard on the power problem).

I definitely think its an issue with Apple Marketing. Apple is basically selling Y-class processors in their MBA. 1.3 GHz max speed is some 25% slower than the 1.6 GHz that Surface Pros ship with. The Surface Pro also has a superior screen and active digitizer, so it isn't too curious why it would use more power.

BTW: Xeon has been shipping for like 15 years. When talking about architectures, it tends to be more precise to use the core architcture names. IE: Netburst (P4), Nehelem, etc. etc. "Xeon", "Core", and "Pentium" are marketing names that barely mean anything technically.
Interesting idea. I looked up Amazon's storage fees [1]: $0.45 per cubic foot per month from January to September; $0.60 per cubic foot per month from October to December.

If you are using this as a long-term storage solution you have to be careful because Amazon charges, "A semi-annual Long-Term Storage Fee of $22.50 per cubic foot will be applied to any Units that have been stored in an Amazon fulfillment center for one year or longer...Each seller may maintain a single Unit of each ASIN in its inventory, which will be exempted from the semi-annual Long-Term Storage Fee."

[1]: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2...
A Busload of Silicon Valley Programmers?
Dear poster, don't imply all startups are equal.

If a startup asks you to solve math puzzles, it's possible that the work you will be doing heavily involves the creative use of math or information analysis. (This is more broadly valuable than many people recognize.)

Also, it's also possible that that particular startup doesn't know how to effectively interview.

It doesn't sensationalisticly mean all Startups (capitalization yours) don't know how to effectively interview.

Also, rather than focus on your ability to learn, I would humbly recommend you reconsider the basic nature of employment. An interview should be considered a two-way conversation. You're not selling yourself as a slave, you're entering into a mutually-beneficial, private, voluntary arrangement. Thus, even someone who goes into an interview willing to accept anything and everything they offer could be expected to ask simply, "And what exactly will I be doing?" But better yet, grill them about every nitty-gritty detail you can think of. Although some insecure interviewers may be taken aback (I'm guilty of asserting the interviewer was wrong on more than one occasion, both times still receiving an offer), I for one am impressed when a candidate demonstrates a sharp, critical and skeptical mind in this way.
Possibly worth pointing out to non-gophers: in `Go` it is illegal to declare an unused variable.

So if you write `f, err := os.Create("/bad/path");`, and that is the first time `err` has been declared & used in that scope, you can't just let `err` go unused or your program won't compile.
Don't forget The Bahamas, Ryan! :-)

If you need advice from experts at setting up a legal foreign business, LMK, and I'll send you a few referrals.
Would love to! username at gmail
>This is a bit like one of those archaic laws like how in Staten Island, can only water your lawn if you hold the hose in your hand. No one actually gives a shit, and no one even knows that this was illegal in the first place.

Probably water conservation, as it prevents sprinkler use. My city had a similar bylaw as recently as 10 years ago, until a new reservoir was built.
"If whistleblowers don't dare reveal crimes and lies, we lose the last shred of effective control over our government and institutions."

Isn't there something very wrong with this line of thinking? Are whistleblowers really the last bastions of democracy? Voters, protestors and guns be damned, when all is lost we can depend on the whistleblowers? Are you kidding me?
I don't think the idea here is to transcribe everything that got said during the conference. Ideas which translated well into doodles have been captured here. Not to mention what qualifies as "completely useless" is highly subjective.
Ask HN: Is there a good remote alternative to inviting someone for a coffee?
As many of you probably know a tried and true standby for networking is to offer to buy a coffee or lunch for the party you wish to meet so that you can pick their brain, break the ice, and get to know them a little better before you blithely proposition them for career help or advice while offering nothing in return. In my opinion, a little appreciation for peoples' time can go a long way.<p>However, this is just not feasible if you're not in the same city as them. I was curious if anyone had ideas or strategies for remote alternatives. I'd like to get some recruiters for companies I'm interested on the horn, for instance, and see what they are looking for as well as warm up the lead a little bit. Just wondering if there's anything I can do while cold e-mailing to make it a bit more friendly. Thanks!
This is a great idea (for persistent url).
I had a feeling someone would bring this up. My main counter here is that there is a power dynamic at play here that makes it extremely unlikely that a child will be able to decline. Imagine a teacher saying to an 8 year old "Stand up, face the flag, put your hand over your heart, and say these words." To a child, this is not a suggestion, but a command, and few kids are going to stay seated and respond "Sorry teacher, but due to the 1943 Supreme Court decision, I have the right to decline participation and will now exercise that right."
Very nice.

Suggestions:
Allow more than one moderator and possibly a chat box?
First of all, I'm so sorry for your losses. I can't imagine how devastating that must be (coming from someone who just lost two parents to cancer and went through treatment himself earlier this year).

Open standards would be awesome. I thankfully went through treatment at an integrated system so everything was just "in the system" for all of my doctors, but if I were hopping around between systems that would be extremely useful.

As far as the video thing, the only reason I can imagine is because MRIs are basically huge magnets so they have to build the whole thing out of non-ferrous materials. Plus the customary medical equipment mark up, but still that can't actually be $40k.
Server monitoring startup doing some validation
Have been working on this for a while now and recently did a video explaining our key features on the site.

Our differentiators are that we're easy to install and setup but as powerful as something like Nagios, we're designed for automation and continuously changing environments. We also have some cool technology around interactive alerting so you can fix stuff when you're out and about from your mobile phone. Any feedback would be awesome - be as critical as you can please as we're hoping to release a freemium service in the new year.

The url is http://www.dataloop.io
A more functional split function
Healthcare.gov Floppy Disk Install
If you are on OS X and use Homebrew, install with 'brew install jq'
>> Darius' clients got libeled online. Darius recognized the importance of presenting his clients fairly, accurately, and professionally on Wikipedia.

Yes, because when I have a client who gets libeled online, the first thing I need to do is create an honest Wikipedia page.

Seriously, WTF?

It's too bad they've suckered so many people into thinking they could control their online brand through Wikipedia.
I just couldn't let that quote slip by without responding.
I agree, I got a CT for something they could have stuck a camera or mirror in my mouth to see. They also billed me directly instead of my insurance. I can't help but think it had more to do with them making money than treating me.
Yes, we are social animals, but for much of our evolution we were social in much, much smaller groups... even smaller than these 'sub' cultures the article is talking about. Hunter-gatherer societies only had around 10-50 people in each group; we have evolved to be social in groups of this size.

The 'hyper-specialization' that you speak of might be a way to get our group size back to this original size that we have evolved to be comfortable in; the huge, un-natural, size of popular culture might be what we are reacting against.
I never actually tried their warehouse fulfillment service but I swear by Amazon for selling used gadgets. Amazon gets a lot of traffic from consumers making it a great way to sell something quickly. I remember listing an used Android phone that was maybe two year old technology at that point. I went to list it and within a few hours someone snagged it at like $90. The only other route I've ever tried is Craigslist, which has worked out pretty well too. Asking for the same price you can usually have someone pick up the item locally and get every cent you are asking for if you're reasonable. I always price things about 20% more than I think I will sell through CL.
If you claim that Java was right to implement that so and the next language who ignores his complaints is also, then just accept that both Java and the next language have weaknesses expressing the computational tasks, from the point of view of the people who do have to write that kind of code.

Note that for a very long time Windows didn't use FPU at all. They also "didn't need it." And I think they started to think differently once they looked enough what Apple does. A lot can be programmed without FPU, but the edge in the industry is gained by using the hardware fully. Not doing what's easiest.

And the FPU hardware doesn't introduce penalties when reading 32-bit values and doing 64-bit computations.
DuckDuckGo ... this is why we have nice things
Confront him bluntly with discussion about burial details and his will. Ask if he would record a message to his grandchildren he'll never see. Ask about his living will, does he want to be on life support? How about if he is brain dead?

Sorry to be so blunt, I went through something like this with my father. He refused to change his ways until he had a massive MI resulting in a heart bypass which he never fully recovered from, dying at 57 (I was 30 at the time of the MI and CTO of ibm.com).

To fully change he needs the support of the family, but he needs to accept the need to change. Without that you will just frustrate yourself and your family.
Abbott and Nestle and other companies only offer replacements meant for 90%+ diet use for people under medical supervision. I don't think we totally know how to create a reliable replacement without missing something - and everyone's needs are different - so until someone figures out how to solve that problem it's not going to exist in a form you can buy off supermarket shelves.

The idea of drinking Ensure for 90% of my meals scares me for the same reason Soylent does. The unknowns are too much - small startup or major pharmaceutical company alike.
Thanks, same to you! Your site is beautifully simple, seems like a great service. Nice name also :) Good luck!
> if Microsoft does it right, Surface is going to be the best Windows experience

If they do that, their OEM's will have to turn their backs on Microsoft in order to differentiate themselves. Dell can, if they want, provide a better Android experience than anyone else, but if Microsoft builds the hardware and has privileged access to Windows core developers, Dell can't hope to do better.

This is, perhaps, Microsoft's most delicate moment since negotiating the exclusivity of PC-DOS.
Radar - a Dopplr Remake for Dopplr Refugees
Ask HN: How are you offering int'l phone support?
We're in the US and, for the past 9 years, we've had a US-based 1-800 number. We now want to add in a Great Britain/UK number and an Australian support number. These would be numbers that are local/toll-free to the residents in those areas.

What we need:

* Local/toll free phone number so that people in London/UK can call

* Local/toll free phone number so that people in Australia can call

* Ideally a way to call them back that routes through same service (and incurs no int'l call fees on outbound iPhone)

Any advice is appreciated. Right now, we're looking at Skype but it just seems this is not a primary use case for Skype.

Backstory: We have only two phone support techs so there will be times when someone calls that they will have to leave a message. To mitigate this, we'll have a login system that makes the phone number prominently displayed on all pages when the tech is online/in office. We figure that someone calling a local number is better than someone opting not to call at all (which is what typically happens to a customer in Australia/etc who is faced with paying for an int'l phone call).
Not really. I believe there is still a big divide between the content providers and the content distributors. Most dinosaur publications are not innovating enough to keep up with new media. One reason why Bezos bought Wash Post.
hmmm. maybe it's not easy, but you need to switch your perspective. mri machines (at least) are awesome things that are there to help. i'm not saying this as some kind of outsider with no understanding - i spend a lot of time in them myself. and to me they have always been the magical robot monster that can help me. they see inside. they let the doctors understand. they're one of the good guys. really.

you're in a fight. you want to win. you don't hate the guy that's giving you the good data.

sorry if that doesn't help. i'm not trying to bash you. i'm just trying to show there's an alternative. i'm as scared as anyone when i open the envelope. but those machines have helped me a lot....

[also, as physics machines, they're pretty awesome. if you're an engineer or scientist and don't know how they work, read up on them. they have huge supercooled magnets that flip the nuclei of atoms. it's amazing stuff. despite the noise there's nothing moving - that's just the coils shifting as the fields / current change (and maybe the chug chug chug of a cooler / vacuum pump). you're basically lying inside a human sized speaker coil!]
I'm sorry if I was a bit unspecific. I haven't really formed a clear opinion yet so it's hard to articulate what I don't understand. Also that was written while I shoveled down my lunch.

About the obvious small group thing, it thought the following quotes:

> "if people were more involved in their society"
> "the aim is to build a society that people want to defend by themselves"

meant that you'd prefer that people get involved directly rather than elect people to "defend" or rule their society for them. It seems I misunderstood that part though.

However now I'm now confused by you clarification. If there's any kind of voting and representation, no matter how revocable, isn't that a form of government? If these persons are elected by the majority (I don't see any other option) they will sooner or later make choices for you? I was under the impression that anarchism is about getting rid of any kind of government?

in most governments today representatives' statuses can be revoked. It might be more or less difficult and opaque - I'm the first one to admit that most current governments are broken - but that does not necessary mean that governments are inherently bad.

---

My thoughts about efficiency and organization was based on the assumption that large scale organization can't happen without a governing body. I realize now that might be were my major misassumption and possible our disagreement lies. You say that

> A highly organised society - from the bottom up - is not a government

I would argue that in any highly organized society the top unit is the government. Assuming of course that the top unit has some actual increase responsibility and/or accountability compared to the rest of the organization (otherwise they're not really on the top).

I'd also argue that all governments was at one point formed from the bottom up. I'm not sure if it's very productive to reason this way though, but governments are not a separate unit from the rest of human society. They are created by humans and are upheld because most people agree enough to not try to abolish them.

A counter-argument here might be that people are sheep and irrational and that the governments have evolved into something so complicated and convoluted that they're not able to change to the people's will anymore, but I don't see how that changes anything. If the current governments occurred as a result of earlier (eventually) anarchisticish societies, what will prevent them from regressing?
Late 2014 - Urgent headline: Project Shield will be discontinued, it's services will be merged into Google Apps.
One way to get to that number is to count all the code that interfaces with Healthcare.gov. For example, we know that Healthcare.gov interfaces with Social Security, IRS, and Homeland Security databases. I suspect, but have not seen it documented, that it could also be interfacing with one or many databases in each of the 36 states it covers as the federal exchange. Add up the complexity of all these systems and SWAG the number of lines of code.

Another way to get there could be metaprogramming. If you have a Java code writing C code writing web pages [1], you'll get progressively larger number of lines of code depending on where you take the count.

Another way could be needless, but legally mandated, duplication. For example since insurance is state-regulated, what if the law mandates data isolation per state--so there are 36 separate data stores: one for each state. That would give you 36 times as many "lines of code" if you were extremely literal in adding it all up.

These are all silly of course. But everything surrounding PPACA seems like it has to be silly, so why not this?

[1] I don't actually believe this is the stack.
Ember.js - Taming Computed Properties
Well sure I see that point: one should hire good attorneys. If one cannot afford good attorneys, one is boned. That doesn't seem profound. (Not particularly just either, but whatever.)

My previous comment was thinking more generally. Society has in the past successfully weathered innovations in technology and commerce without the legal profession running amok. Often innovators were not "connected" enough to hire the best legal representation, if they did so at all. What's different this time?