skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
I don't think tom is advocating for DD, in this instance. Particularly since direct debit isn't really suitable for POS transactions.

Credit cards are fundamentally a 1970s business model, based on tech that paid off their sunk costs decades ago, but the barriers to entry are so high they're impossible to overcome right now.

Given you can check balances and make payments in (near)real time, at least in Europe, there's no reason to continue to use Visa/MC, other than barriers to entry. You could check balance at POS over the internet and pay from your merchant account, recovering payment within an hour or so via faster payment. Frictionless credit isn't the same as unrestricted or unregulated credit - it's about removing the tether between one bank and one cRd - disintermediation of the bank. Why can't I have a credit card linked to zopa? Or someone else, or even, within an overall limit agreed by an umbrella provider, a number of different providers. That'd be cool, and would drive channel providers to compete on costs of service delivery (the 2-3% per transaction), as well as on cost of credit. Visa and MasterCard are an absolute racket, and one of my biggest grumps is that PayPal became just like them, if not more expensive.
I don't know what you mean by "spiritual experience" but I think the previous comment about "religous experience" was referring to tangible, observable phenomena, like a man rising from the dead. This is empirical evidence (i.e. based on experience) but may not necessarily be measured in SI units. Data like this may lead to defensible logical conclusions that (because they are immaterial) cannot be tested experimentally.
Buffett’s Berkshire Has Unit That Helps Marijuana Growers
Unfortunately, established players often means full of legislation protecting those players. There are plenty of ideas in the travel space - but they require the ambition to challenge governments and lobbying. Uber, Lyft, and AirBnB are a great examples.
While interesting - the thing that surprised me the most was not seeing "security" (take that for what you will) on the list. Given the year of disclosures, the heartbleed incident, and all other sorts of things - I feel like this field is ripe for a disruption.

Between the staid companies that have been providing tools for decades that can be better, the tools that don't really exist that need to - I think we're ready. Similarly, with the security world starting to consolidate (FireEye buying Mandiant, likely goings public of companies like Rapid7 and TripWire), I'd think it's an ample rate/return option.
There is no such thing as an open web API. They are all proprietary alternatives to open data formats or protocols. If those companies used open and standard data formats or protocols (I admit that in many cases this might mean proposing a new standard) there would be no need for a custom API at all. Standard data formats can still exist behind a paywall, so it's not an issue of free-as-in-beer. It's an issue of user lockin.

For a bunch of things it won't matter one way or the other because not many people will ever use it, and there isn't much likelihood of other organisations offering the same data anyway.

Take Google Reader API though, where we ended up with a bunch of clients that only targeted the proprietary Google Reader API. When Reader shut down clients had to be rewritten to work with the APIs of other RSS syncing services, services had to try and recreate the Reader API to ease migration and so on. All to arrive at a situation that isn't much better than before - a bunch of clients hard coded to specific services that will have to be altered if those services go away. If Reader had been based on an open protocol then switching would have been trivial for everybody - you just point your client at the address of your new rss syncing server.

I want a world where switching between providers and clients is trivial(ish), like email, rss or the web itself, not a world like Google Reader where we are all hard coded into proprietary APIs that are one cost-cutting meeting away from being closed, leaving everybody with a lot of work to do to migrate.

I'm sure there is less opportunity to make money that way - you can't lock people in as easily and so on. However it's not like most of the companies we are talking about here are ever going to be profitable. The game is about getting bought out. I'd rather we at least create something a bit more lasting while we play the buyout lottery.
Ironically, I added that just as I was linking it here, despite the date on that post.

In addition to tel's discussion, what I was really trying to get at is that monads aren't "about" IO effects in particular, they're not about "impurity". In this case the whole thing is pure.

Defining effects at a deep programming language research level can bring a different understanding, where all monads are about effects, but "effects" has a different meaning that most people understand.

I'll ponder how to clarify that better.
AC Podcast:  Getting Unstuck
"Stuckness” is just a part of doing hard things. However, just plowing through is not necessarily the answer.

http://www.accidentalcreative.com/podcasts/ac/ac-podcast-getting-unstuck/
Certainly not for all files.

The filesystem keeps a track of the number of nodes links for each file. So tar does not have to memorize the inode for each file, but only for those who have duplicates. So unless a large amount of files have more than one hard link, this is probably not a problem.

We will never know though, considering the author did not try it. Neither did he explain why he did not, despite the fact that it is the recommended Unix procedure.
Managing an open source project involves a bit of work and time on your behalf especially if you want to build a following. You have to keep everything up to date: documentation, wiki, code, issues etc… And if you want contributors then you have to make sure your code is understandable and properly organised. (and I should be following my own advice!)

Once you put your code out there you must also be ready for criticism: some good and some awful. But from my experience it's the best thing you can do as a developer because it will definitely help you grow and force you to code better (hopefully).

I think I was very lucky because when I posted my first open source project on HN (https://github.com/johnwilson/bytengine) it was a positive experience and when you get that kind of feedback you really don't want to "let the community down" by slacking on your commits and other project upkeep duties (which I have).

So I think you basically have to ask yourself if you just want a public code archive that you can point people to once in a while and say hey I did that or if you want to build a community around your project and turn it into something great!

Best of luck and thanks for posting this, it has given me a little kick in the butt!
> Internet Infrastructure

> We can’t imagine life without the Internet. We need to be sure it keeps working–this includes everything from security to free and open communication to infrastructure.
yes! I have been playing a lot of king arthurs gold as well but the community is very small. There are usually only at most 2 servers with a decent number of players.
Honestly, 512GB in a removable postage stamp is the stuff of Science Fiction. I remember when I was kid in the early 90s and in my school computer club and we sat down to sketch out what kind of computer we'd have in the YEAR 2100 and I put down the ridiculous storage size...something like 24GB or something. I wasn't even close.

1 of these could have easily stored a copy of all of the internet traffic that happened over the course of a day in 1993. [1]

Now we've got spaceships, VR, pocket sized personal computers with always on global network communications, video calls, amazing smart watches, and now half a terabyte in something the size of my big toenail.

It kind of feels like the future we were promised pre-internet is finally starting to happen.

My less than a year old desktop's main drive is the same storage size as this. In a year it will be the size of my fingernail and I can put it in my phone and my tablet.

1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terabyte#Illustrative_usage_ex...
Google has another program for startups without funding or accelerator program access.

https://developers.google.com/startups/

I applied and received $500 in credit for free (also free access to online training and local events). To get 100k in credit would of course be nice, but I would have no way to spend that much in a year.

In the light of this two-tier startup program already existing a lot of comments in this thread become uninformed. Stop looking a gift horse in the mouth (unless it is a Trojan).
@Someone1234 You're kidding? Try adding a new pull request in C and tell them that you want to add a text inside every compiled c program because "it's funny". I'm not sure they'll agree with you.
HP buys Euro company to get into booming market. What could possibly go wrong?
Unsurprising, people have been wanting a larger iPhone for quite a while (and many "die hard" Apple fans actually moved away because they couldn't get one).

However that being said, take all "sell out" news (from anyone) with a huge grain of salt. It isn't unheard of to limit units to almost assure they run out, which increases hype and perceived scarcity. Need actual units sold to get an idea of how well it is doing (e.g. huge difference if AT&T had 3,000 units to sell and "sold out" or 1 million).
I would go so far to say that Windows NT is also a joy to read about. I strongly recommend Show Stopper and of course Raymond Chen's blog posts.
Interesting. It reminds me a lot of Terraria, which is also an excellent indie game. Lots of game play for the money.
Absolutely, and this problem is so profound because it's become part of the platforms we are supposed to deliver stable products on.

Software engineering won't exist as a profession until it really is turtles all the way down, and not a pig on a fish on a tiger etc.
I see what you did there: "We deserve a simpler, more elegant solution for a more civilized age"
iPhone 6 Plus versus the Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Which phablet is best for you?
I see that as internet/communication specific. But with meshnets, darknets, increasingly privatized communication networks and the like, I see these as two separate callouts.

The YC one is 'internet specific' - at least as I read it.
Last day to apply for Startup School
THIS CAT GOT LURED INTO JOGGING PANTS TO BECOME AN ESKIMO
I have to admit I'm a bit more cynical. Sure somethings are just private/charged for etc and access tokens are just part of a paywall. That is fair enough. I think in a lot of cases it's really about control though. Information that isn't behind a paywall, but that requires a token to access through the API. The classic example would be Twitter, when they shut down most of the third party clients.

There is of course a decent argument that it's their service and they can put whatever T&C on it that they like. However YC didn't seem to care about T&C when they funded AirBNB and defended their (ab)use of Craigslist.
Unicorn Systems Opens a New Branch Office in the Netherlands
Show HN: Android App for SpikeTime
How the Egg Board Designs Misleading Studies
> Even though traveling should be popular, on a population basis basically nobody travels. This can change with better software, I'm sure of it.

I see this sort of attitude a lot from SV-types, but the reason most people don't travel is because they lack time (well, time flexibility--ie. they have regular obligations at home) and/or money.
I think Sidecar lets each driver set their own rate. It would take a whole lot more than 1% of the fare to keep the system running though.
I really like the clean design, and the fact that there doesn't seem to be a strong gender orientation. Just neutral, organized data.
I'm sure it's deeply moving to read poetry when your program crashes in development.

But when I'm trying to resolve a production issue and I have to waste brain cycles ignoring garbage text to solve a problem, I will hunt you down.
>Specifically, lightweight, short-distance personal transportation is something we’re interested in.

Doesn't this already exist, in the form of the bicycle?
I'd like to see a diff between this and the previous RFS(s). How often has this list been revised, anyway?
Sure - and I've used many of those facilities (still am, in fact), and I appreciate them.

My intended point was really their miscommunication here - they exclude well over 99% of the organisations that consider themselves start-ups, and so the headline sets many up for disappointment. A better choice of wording would have sent a very different message.
This is a form of the "Bootleggers and Baptists" phenomenon described by Bruce Yandle.[1]

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootleggers_and_Baptists
At the Uber for home cleaning, workers pay a price for convenience
I've solved several problems, written several symphonies, and even had a blinding epiphany or two about how to solve all the world's problems that I've managed to drag up into the waking world. All were either complete nonsense or useless. (e.g., the solution to my graph theory problem is not to force feed my homework to a goat and then look for the answer in the pattern of the resulting droppings). I think it's news when someone finds a good solution in their dream precisely because it doesn't happen often.

Sleeping on the problem and having fresh insights of course is such a common experience as to be pedestrian.
Yeah, the section of road this happened on is marked with sharrows.... which are quite possibly the most useless thing in existence to a cyclist.
Goddamnit, you're cherry-picking the worst case, and that's still "only" 77 GB. Nowhere near 512.
They mentioned Lost Vikings in the description. Now I have to buy it.
Don't Get Overlooked
With the number of websites on the Internet, it can be easy for your website to get overlooked. It has been estimated that over 100,000 websites are launched every day, which can mean bad news for your business. In order to stand out from the crowd, visitors have to be able to find you. Not only that, once they find you, they have to like what they see.
http://imaginethatcreative.net/
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps makes websites easy to find. That means they are more likely to appear towards the top of search results, attracting curious visitors. Good website design is another crucial part of attracting visitors. If your website makes your business seem exciting and full of expertise, you are on your way to becoming more visible online.
>Moreover, it promises to produce equal results for equivalent programs, which would allow a solution of the halting problem, wouldn't it?

I believe this is the case. So the article's promise (as I read it) can not hold true in the general case.

On a similar note, just write a program that runs the collatz conjecture and prints the result and a program that prints 1. Run them through Morte. If they compile to the same code, then boom, you've solved the Collatz conjecture :)
Let's see:

- When should I buy a ticket, what is the punishment for not buying right now?

Kayak has a "when to buy" feature, but I can't think of anyone else. Microsoft Travel stopped doing it and even then there's was only for US.

- How often is the flight I'm booking delayed? For how long? Airport or Airline fault?

Some Airlines show you the delay/arrival percentage but its not aggregated anywhere AFAICT. Also I believe airplanes have a lot of leeway before a flight is considered "delayed" Also people suggest never to land/fly out of O'Hare in Chicago if possible but is there evidence for this? Would someone outside the US who is not a frequent flyer even know about this?

- How much space does this airline's seat provide?

I'm willing to spend a little more for more space on longer flights...

- Does this plane have power outlets?
And not the ones that EmPower plugs, those don't count. I'm looking at you United!

The problem is there's actually very little accurate information except the cost of the flight, and thats what most people choose to pick their flight. Sometimes even willing to take weird layovers/extra stops to do it. If it can be shown that your comfort and stress would be better cared for by purchasing a ticket that cost $50 by next Wednesday.... well no one has done that.
To have a website running online with one click is really good.

As a designer, this is perfect for me.

Thank you!
I was in the same boat. I love the process of taking photos, going outdoors, travel, composing, etc. But hate managing photos, fixing photos on computer etc.

A while back, I sold most of my camera gear. Decided to just use my cell phone for photos. It was fine for a while. But it didn't last. I am addicted to bokeh. And I missed some of the control I had with DSLR.

So I bought a cheapest mirrorless camera (Nex-3N) and got a 50mm f/1.8 lens. Since it is smaller, I carry this camera with me more than I did my DSLR (Canon T2i). I probably shoot more often too. But I refuse to fix photos on computer now. I try to get perfect photo right on camera.

I let Google Picassa manage my photos. I simply tag faces every once in a while. I try to keep only print worthy photos. (Although deleting any decent photo is really hard.)

And I am printing a lot of photos. It seems satisfying when I can hold beautiful photos in my hand.

I am also thinking of starting to order photo books from online services. And I need to figure out a cheap way to hang many photos. For now, I just use push pins to put up photos on the wall. Frames can get very expensive.
I think having to fit inside a game limits the storytelling, because you always need to find a reason why you have to go and battle several hundred enemies.
To be clear - I'm arguing for frictionless payments, without the Visa or Mastercard tax.

I'm separately arguing for a competitive credit market, freed from the banks.

People are confusing the issue of multiple "virtualised credit cards" leading to more competition in the consumer credit product markets. It seems like a backwards way of thinking.
>Speaking of which, is there still any doubt in anyone's mind that Apple Pay is the reason Apple started banning Bitcoin apps?

Yeah, I totally have a doubt.

For one, Apple Pay will transport more money in its first 1-2 weeks than the whole international BitCoin system will all year.

Just consider that BitCoin's total estimated market cap is 6 billion usd -- something Apple (a single company) makes in revenues in about 8 days.

BitCoin, at the moment at least, is insignificant and fringe, size wise. The 99.9% of the 800 million users Apple has credit cards of don't use BitCoin. And all those companies Apple wants to work with, and users want to buy stuff from, don't accept it anyway.

Second, Apple rejects all kinds of apps from time to time, and given the immaturity and lack of regulation and quality control of most BitCoin exchanges (think MtGox and co), it's something they would consider kicking out of the store, or at least watching very carefully which apps they allow.

And here's the kicker. Apple has allowed those BitCoin apps back in the App Store, a few months ago:

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/06/16/apple-begins-allow...
Uber for Rickshaws!
NLULUTE – AN NLP DATABASE
New Anti-Obesity Drug Enters Market
'Alvin': The sub that found a lost H-bomb
Awesome news! Congrats to a great team.
"merchants are paying around 2-3% of every transaction as a tax levied by those incumbents, who add little value in return."

How about fraud protection (on both ends)? I'm old enough to remember people being afraid to use credit cards online. It would be great if things like Dwolla were more ubiquitous, but until then...
How far off is singularity?

It seems like the question can be rephrased as, "At any point in history, have humans been able to advance technology in a substantial way simply because they wanted to, rather than by stumbling upon a way to do it?"

Most technology is incremental. Take flight, for example. The glider had already been around for a substantial amount of time before the Wright brothers solved the "control problem" and the engine problem. Those two problems were the only two left before powered flight was a reality, and the Wright brothers knew it.

For the singularity, on the other hand, there's no clear laundry list of problems to solve in order to achieve it. In fact, there's no clear way to even define AI, or at least define it in a way that can be meaningfully translated into current technology.

Maybe the advent of quantum computing will change this. I've suspected that AI is fundamentally impossible to implement on a Von Neumann architecture. But this is very easy to say from the point of view of a society which hasn't remotely discovered how to make AI work yet. It's similar in spirit to someone from the 1500s saying "I think electricity is fundamentally impossible to harness, because there's no proper medium to channel it" even though metal was quite widespread at the time. Humans just hadn't figured out how to fashion wires yet.

The only thing we can say for certain is that we don't know what we need to know in order to make the singularity a reality, let alone how long it will take.
That one seems like the right length for a runtime error. The others seem far too large and distracting as prefaces for a runtime error.
There is a minor typo in the "Government" section: s/INternet/Internet (or just "internet"...)
I live here. The city of Bellingham is very much not religious, they are mostly left leaning hippies, maybe “spiritual” in the hippy sense, but not religious in the Christian sense. The surrounding county on the other hand is much more religious.

Oddly enough, our only real tech company in town, is one of the world’s largest creator of Bible software: https://www.logos.com/
A Custom, All-GIF Keyboard Is Coming to iOS Because of Course It Is
It was so bad that even users of Windows [123].x would only fire it up to use specific applications...spending quite a bit of time in DOS (you could try to run your DOS program from within Windows, but you usually couldn't get enough base memory free to do so). I don't think anybody really considered Windows the "OS" back in those days, just a GUI environment with MS-DOS being the OS.

But if you consider Windows as an OS, then Microsoft basically got everybody to buy two OSs for each computer. Lots of people also had two copies of Word, one for DOS and one for Windows.

I remember also running GEM 2.0 for a couple things as well. In those days you had multiple Windowing systems as well.

It was all kind of funny though with OS/2 you could just put all that mess in a DOS window and even run Windows in them. I think you could run multiple instances and thus have true multitasking for Windows apps (instead of task switching), but it ate up very expensive RAM very quickly.
Isn't one incentive for using a credit card that it has better protections from fraud, etc? If my credit card # is stolen, I have a 30 day window to report fraud instead of paying, whereas with a debit card, the money is gone straight from my account.
Very good - the KAG trailer[1] reminds me a lot of the graphics and gameplay of the video game episode of Community[2].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Eom7IGLRw

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEr8sO6auIA
I've been working on http://www.smscmd.net/
It's a service that allows you to SMS enable anything. Do you have an app/service/website/device you wish to add SMS capabilities to? Use SMSCMD. It's based on MQTT and focused for devs wanting to use it in their IoT projects. I'm working on a site redesign right now.
Technology's complicated role in our sex lives