skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
sonar is only a part of the problem, navy does much more including ship shock tests, explosives, rockets, missiles, it is basically at war with marine life. http://strandednomore.org/anthropogenic-noise-and-live-stran...
Bedford Level experiment: right answers, wrong reasons
I've been investigating & studying the business of software market in the past 2 years, and I've come to the same conclusion. Software needs to be designed around revenue streams; renting software is essentially the future. This is particularly true for software which reaches maturity. E.g., I don't need new features on my text editors (spreadsheets, browsers, etc); they are debugged and work great for me.

So a SaaS model is where software effectively has to land, modulo unicorns.
War in the womb: The ferocious biological struggle between mother and baby
If they add credit history and Landlord-Tenant court, there is a big market in the real estate rental business.
Ultra-long-term civilizations: planets warmed by neutrinos?
I recall being blown away by IE10 svg performance - is it still the fastest there too?

EDIT: Surprisingly, svg benchmarks are hard to find. All I get is Canvas benchmarks.
Infectious Texts: Modeling Text Reuse in Nineteenth-Century Newspapers [pdf]
How That Startups Can Reward Customers
Live Coding in the Classroom with Sonic Pi
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-rowefinkbeiner/thank-y...
Not sure this deserves the downvotes it's getting. Perhaps the statement is not perfectly accurate, but the fact is the CDC was decimated by the sequester, with more steep cuts on the plate for 2014 -- including emergency and disaster preparedness.
For alternatives see (7 month old) : http://www.reddit.com/r/golang/comments/1z2bc4/a_transpiler_...
I'm primarily a Mac developer. From my outside perspective, the Windows framework churn looks enormous. The "best way" to write a Windows app went from Win32/MFC, to WinForms, to Silverlight and WPF, to WinRT, and still seems to be evolving. The preferred language has gone from C++ to C# to C++/C#/JavaScript(?), and now MS is pushing a UI framework that seems terribly ill-suited to what traditional desktop apps have done.

On the Mac side, the story has been constant since OS X first shipped: the best way to write a Mac app is to use the Cocoa frameworks, with Objective-C. There was some churn around garbage collection, and now Swift, but overall the developer story has been much more stable than with Windows.
We actually see more on the order of a few 10s of MB per day (the data points are fairly small, and we've done some optimization to de-duplicate timestamps). Our entire database is currently less than 10GB.
With fewer dates you are more invested in the individual relationships. This is the opposite of something like OK Cupid where you may message 100 people and only get a few replies.
Which English You Speak Has Nothing to Do with How Smart You Are
They check against terrorist watch lists - which many people are on for secret reasons (that have not resulted in their being charged with crimes) with no process for dispute or appeal.

Hard to believe they aren't scum.
Then they do not receive updates (unless I send everyone on the distribution list a new APK via email).
Massive list of Dropbox credentials leaked
I'm a Mac user and went to check out what Paddle offers users, so I went to http://www.paddle.com/. It wants me to immediately log in or sign up, something that I'm not particularly inclined to do as I have no idea what you're offering. If you want to create a credible alternative to the Mac App Store, you're going to want to make it really, really easy for prospective users to see what Paddle is, what's available to buy, and what the process is like for managing their software library, updates, etc. This should be your #1 priority, as the best way to convince app developers to use your service is to be able to say that you have lots of users.
According to your argument, technologically, we are never ready for anything, so we should do nothing. Jumping into the fire when you're half way there is a hell of a learning experience. So you would start a space base for the same reason, the experience. Imagine what would be learned when you actually have to solve the problems that come with living in space instead of just conceptually complaining about them. I'm sure a lot of things would come up that nobody has predicted before, and we would come up with solutions, some of which might have profound technological impact further down the line.
100M and counting: Cristiano Ronaldo's Facebook fan club
Unity Games in WebGL: Owlchemy Labs’ Conversion of Aaaaa to Asm.js
> stuff I wrote for NT4 in 1996 works today absolutely fine and I reckon it will in another 20 years

What about:

- Plays For Sure?

- Silverlight?

- ActiveX?

- 16-bit apps?

- DOS apps?

- etc...

I'm sure any of the stuff that you wrote for Windows For Workgroups doesn't still work. I think that your 20 years prediction is entirely too optimistic.
irc.online.net /join #onlinelabs
The web site hosted by a web server running on the Homebrew CPU seems to be offline. Here is a cached version: https://web.archive.org/web/20051103083029/http://magic-1.or...
I love stuff like this. One thing I've wanted for awhile, but not been able to find is off the shelf ASIC making. For instance, you could take a design like this, or something built for FPGAs, and then turn that into a contract manufacturer who would produce screens and then custom ASICs in low volume.

You can do this with PCBs and just about every other part of the hardware stack, but not ASICs.

Part of the reason, of course, is that laying out an ASIC is a time consuming and expensive proposition-- but I wonder if there isn't a huge opportunity to write software to take a FPGA configuration and algorithmically turn it into the screens to do lithography, which could then be sent to a fab. Of course you'd have to require specific processes and pre-defined submodules that represent the various gates.

Back when there was no ASICs for the scrypt hash I wanted to make one.

Anyway, I think there might be a huge opportunity there for someone with the skills.
History of Wikis
App Making – a guide to launching successful apps by Apple Design Award winner
Awesome! (I've long had a secret wish to get stranded on a deserted alien planet and have to build my own computer.)
"For Ronaldo, his attraction is not limited to a single country or region, with research suggesting he's known by over 84% of the world's population -- giving plenty of scope still for him to increase his Facebook and Twitter fan base yet more."
Such awesome. Much Cool. Very Wow.

Try it out, pretty impressive stuff !
Kudos! We (Zenefits) just finished integrating with their API; the development process was really smooth, and Jonathan and Daniel have been great to work with.
I think at this point Go is more of a replacement for Java than C++.
the #' in CL and Elisp are not the same. Elisp is a lisp-1 vs CL 'lisp-2'. The only similarity is that #'foo expands too (function foo). In CL (function foo) looks up foo in the function namespace (and iiuc can be omitted where functions are expected) in elisp the function form is like quote except for when byte-compiling. It allows the function to be byte-compiled.
There is a large linear usage of ram by adblock if you have the extension. Exponential memory usage per tab, I've never heard of it.
A Fantasy Sports Wizard's Winning Formula
I 100% agree with everything you and jessep have said here.

I don't think Apple really cares if developers are happy, nor do I believe this is by accident that prices are being driven down in the Apple App Store or the Play Store.

I believe both Apple and Google are happy to see the number of apps go up and prices go down since this results in a large number of cheap complimentary products to the phones and tablets in the case of Play Store and App Store, as well as to Macs in the App Store.

It seems like they are taking this straight out of micro economics 101.

Price of complementary product A (apps in this case) go down leads to increased demand for product B (iPhone, Mac, Android Phone, etc... here).

This is totally unsustainable for developers and leads to the majority of developers in the App Store failing, and hence the opt-outs we see from developers on the Mac app store returning to the old way of selling from their website directly and other channels.

From the Mac perspective this seems to mean low quality apps and sell once no upgrade apps (games for example) stay in the App store and enterprise or high quality applications continue using the old model of sales.

I don't think that is ideal, but at least there is a way for developers to continue to sell their products and so high quality products will continue to be produced.

I'm much more concerned with the long term viability of the App & Play stores in regards to phones & tablets. As developers we have no real alternatives to sell our apps outside of the Google/Apple designated marketplace. So I have serious concerns about high quality applications continuing to be realized unless something changes as over time the up front cost and risk to create new software just continues to get worse.
Introducing React Elements
Ask HN: Responsive design for TVs?
I have a regular desktop computer attached to the flat screen TV in my living room. I have made some adjustments (mostly larger font sizes) to make the experience better but I have concluded that until some larger "revolution" takes place, it is going to be a sub-optimum experience.

There are some design standard type documents out there like https://developers.google.com/tv/web/docs/design_for_tv. Following these standards, I could certainly optimize my site for TV viewing but the question is how to "turn it on?" Responsive design "responds" to browser or OS type (in addition to screen size) but in my specific case, I am using a desktop browser on a 1080p TV. I don't see anything obvious to respond to.

How might you see this "problem" being solved? Could browsers start to support "TV mode" as a setting? That would be a nice option, I could just set once on this computer and never consider it again. Other devices like Apple TV could also have this setting in place and developers could just look for this and respond accordingly. But even if that happened, I'm sure it wouldn't be for a long time.

What could we do now? Any UX/UI people have ideas? Some sort of button on my site that says "TV Mode"?

This is something I think about quite often and I thought I'd ask you fine folks what you thought.

Thanks.
The generated podcast is also presumably a violation of copyright (i.e. it creates a derivative work).
Of course! The same way ants do it! Perhaps ants leave a small trail while exploring, and then upon finding food, follow their own trail home while leaving a stronger trail.

This would cause lots of smaller weaker trails, and the occasional strong trail.

Ants out looking for food would follow trails with chances of deviating from the trail based inversely on the strength of the trail. Meaning food sources would get more attention than the random dead-end trails.
And have to have every update sent to them by email as well.
Given that there is already a completely free API for background checks provided by the federal government... wait, is it because that API is convoluted and patently insane? So is sanity their real product?

Also, the way the federal background check system works, requests have to come from originating agencies that are set up to interface with the federal system. Is Checkr going to interface directly, or are they going to do what most companies do and go through a state agency? If going through a state agency - which one? The fee that states charges varies RADICALLY... in some states, you pay basically what the federal govt charges ($14.25). In others, they charge upwards of $300 per transaction to just submit your data and relay the answer.

Also, there is a new service called 'Rap Back' which enables someone who runs a background check to sort of subscribe to a persons background... so if new items arise, like new arrests or the like, they can be notified. Will Checkr support that?

I don't really understand the link to 'on-demand economy'... at least at the federal level, a background check will tell you nothing except whether the person has been convicted of a 'serious crime' (the definition of serious crime varies widely from state to state... in Oregon almost all traffic violations are 'serious', while in other states nothing short of murder qualifies). You don't get to know when or what crime or anything like that, just "yes" or "no". Do you really want to avoid anyone who might have had a domestic violence issue in 1972 or a speeding ticket in Oregon 20 years ago?
Hi, I'm the author of this tutorial - hope you like it, and if anyone has any questions or would like to have something explained in more detail, I can provide live help.
on my 2012 rMBP running 10.10:

Firefox 33: 33.255

Safari 8.0: 16.454

Chrome 38: 22.048

I should install Windows 10 tech preview underbootcamp and see how that goes.
iOS app using Google+ SDK rejected by Apple
This is especially interesting for me because I am on the cusp of a technological coup in my own home. I've been a "PC" my whole life, and have somehow gotten away with never buying an Apple product, and never felt the lack.

However, many of the reasons I avoided Apple in the past are now irrelevant, as all but Linux now attempt the same fascist business model (The rings/rules of Apple QA for software, and One store with which to rule them all). My go-to argument against Apple in the past was:

"In order to get an application or piece of software into the Apple ecosystem, you have to go through Apple. Apple has a strict QA process, every app that gets into the store has to vetted by one of Apples legions of QA staff. This sounds good; we want quality apps. However, a great deal of Apple’s QA rules for acceptance aren’t just about app quality, but also nebulous ideas of morality and ethics. The problem with that is, when only one agency is in control of what is proper and what isn’t, we are left with a situation where one agency gets to control what you see, use, and by environmental influence—think. Now, imagine everyone exclusively owns an Apple product…”

Ironically, this notion is very 1984, and my stance on it was a bit extremish to be sure, but hey, I’m a PC. Anyway, ever since Windows 8 and Windows Phone, it seems Microsoft has seen how completely Apple controls its own ecosystem, and wants a piece (complete with its own app ecosystem). Suddenly Babylon had arrived on my desktop. My initial thought was, “are we going to reach a situation where there are no more open platforms to develop for? Are we going to get to a point where software can only be deployed through stores run by the same folks who run my OS? Do I have to learn Linux?!”

So, long ramble short, I’m thinking of joining the cult. A few years back I was given an iPad as a present. I initially resented it, labeling it a glorified TV-ala-Netflix device. I have since spent hundreds on app purchases.
Is now a good time to put on my robes and worship at the altar of Jobs?
We don't operate like a marketplace, so there's no way to 'browse' whats on sale at Paddle. We act as a platform under the apps, powering payments, trials etc...

Once integrated with our SDK, developers are free to distribute their apps wherever, be it their own website/ to their own audience, or via download portals like MacUpdate.

A couple of examples of apps using Paddle:
* http://www.tunabellysoftware.com/tgpro/
* http://marked2app.com/
I was purely talking about "pre-compiling" the queries themselves, so it would only effect parsing, not planning. I have no trouble at all believing that this would be a totally negligible improvement.
Incidentally, what gets me the most about reading the experimental procedure is how they went about testing and how easily it would be to defraud such a system.

There are techniques for exactly measuring heat output of significantly more powerful generators without relying on simulations of designs of radiators and air flow. Consider that thermal solar plants produce megawatts of power during the day, several orders of magnitude beyond the E-Cat, and yet all of the technology around thermal solar generation measures to within 1-2% of reality, reliably. If they can be so precise on energy measurement at the scale of a utility, it is laughable that they would even try anything other than industry-standard techniques.

And color me an asshole, but I don't buy that the "high" temperatures of 1500 degrees is a legitimate challenge to measurement, considering that other nuclear technology currently under development operates at millions of degrees and can be measure with much better guarantees of precision, despite also having to deal with deadly radiation and neutron emissions.

But no, instead of using fully trusted energy measurement procedures, which would work perfectly fine with a 2300 watt nominal heat generator at 1500 degrees (1.5MWh seems like a lot, but it's only 2300 watts over 32 days, roughly the amount of energy it would take to run two decent microwaves for that period of time), they simulate and estimate based on temperature sensors and IR cameras.

And even ignoring their questionable measurement procedures, 2300 watts of fraud would be trivial to inject into a system like that with a handful of magnetrons and a waveguide... like how a microwave works.

If I, a computer scientist with a reasonably modest level of physics and chemistry education (from 14+ years ago) can think of several methods by which to trivially defraud observers (via measurement methodology, or by injecting external power remotely), and that their testing methodology seems purpose-designed to defraud, it makes me ask two simple questions:

1. If this is a fraud, in what world did they believe that this turd sandwich would actually be believed?
2. If this is not a fraud, why wouldn't they have used an industry standard measuring methodology instead of throwing all of this other measuring bullshit into their paper, citing the proprietary nature of the measurement devices, while simultaneously claiming precision.

Don't get me wrong; I think it would be awesome if this were real. But if I wanted to make claims and defraud observers, I'm not sure I could design a better setup for fraud.
I'm going to guess you're a Rubyist. I had to look up what "vendor everything" referred to. There's a reasonably well referenced blog post by a Rubyist -- but only referenced by other Rubyists. I see that the Bundler tool looks for a 'vendor' subdirectory, so I'm going to guess that's how it became a part of the Ruby lexicon.

Anyway, just wanted to point out that it's possible you're using Ruby lingo and not general-purpose tech terms. I could be wrong, maybe I just missed the boat.

I think "bundle everything" might make sense to everybody, including Rubyists.
I read the thread and it is not a perceived criticism. It is a real criticism and is a valid point. Some people may disagree with the criticism but that doesn't automatically make it invalid.

Actually in many ways a murder can be considered theft, due to the lost resources that person may have generated within a normal life span that is then deprived from a family member and/or dependent. Usually such matters are handled in civil court. They are called wrongful death suits. Keep in mind, one does not need to be convicted of murder to be held monetarily liable for a person's death. But this type of law varies from area to area so it could be quite different to you than it could be for me.

An easy example of this that has plenty of things to read about are the OJ Simpson cases. Other examples are lawsuits brought against law enforcement agencies for unjustified shootings.
Rifflicks
I use a bookmark keyword for this, so I prefix all my searches with "g ". Speed guaranteed!
They can hold those truths self evident, but it isn't self evident.
I tried this once with a very large pen plotter (6' wide). The sole bidder on eBay had not read the description and was unable/willing to work out shipment for themselves.

Note that this was before there was Craigslist in the area.
I hope that is a way to track all the changes the apps are going through. Would love to see its evolution, from beta to stable.
I could be wrong here, but I think quieter propellers may be more energy efficient. Since noise is just energy, it's wasted on noise rather than propulsion. Case in point: Formula 1 engines this year are turbo, and are much quieter. Many fans complain because they are too quiet! But they are more efficient.
1. How will the matchmaking site with real live matchmakers scale?

2. Why do you think the matchmaker will know who I'm seeking for, better than myself?
The reason App Store doesn't support that is because they make too much money off devs currently to care.
That's actually the thing I want to make sure I can entirely disable before even thinking of updating to FF33. I'm sick of browsers and other software trying their best to send as much data as they can to search engines (hi google). If I want to perform a search, I do it, period.
I know it's absolutely not the case for most users, though..
The Lives of Ours: Snowden and Laura Poitras's Citizenfour
If you go to about:memory, you can get a better breakdown of how memory is being used. If you see something that looks out of the ordinary, please file a bug in Bugzilla and add [MemShrink] to the whiteboard!
I read the changelog and saw that proprietary window.crypto functions are removed. I actually make use of window.crypto.getRandomValues(), and good thing that's not going away:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/SecurityEngineering/Removing_Propri...
This should not have been downvoted.

"The company, which in 2010 blamed China for an attack on its computer networks, said it recently discovered the Gmail campaign, which "appears to originate from Jinan, China," and targeted specific individuals." - http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/china-hacks-go...

"Chinese hackers who breached Google’s servers several years ago gained access to a sensitive database with years’ worth of information about U.S. surveillance targets, according to current and former government officials." - http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chines...
Of course you're right. I forgot the "..." at the end.
Is Checkr just front-ending the API of other background check services and reselling them?

Intelus offers on-line background checks if you sign up as an "affiliate": http://www.intelius.com/affiliates.php

So does "backgroundchecks.com": http://www.backgroundchecks.com/resellers/apiproducts

There are lots of services in the background check area. Checkr, at $25 per name, is kind of expensive. "backgroundchecks.com" is only $15 if you buy 10 checks.

(I have an API which does background checks on web-based businesses. See

http://www.sitetruth.com/doc/sitetruthapi.html

Currently free.)
Google Glass user treated for Internet addiction caused by the device
Spam. Spam spam spam spam spam spam. More spam.

Could you please elaborate? Do women get spammed a lot? Do men have to spam to be spoken to?
Can anyone explain the reason of "Down-vote/Negative" points?
Exhaustion – The Side Effect of Working in IT
PPK wrote about this awhile back in the context of Smart TVs as well:

http://www.quirksmode.org/blog/archives/tv/index.html

The big thing missing is a way to query expected viewing distance so you could distinguish between a 1080 laptop screen 14 inches from the user and a TV 10 feet away.
We're still working just as hard on improving the memory usage of Firefox. We have MemShrink meetings every other week. Our focus on FirefoxOS has made improving memory usage more important than ever.
For what it's worth, WKWebView is still astonishingly buggy and hangs quite a bit when loading some pages with XHRs. There are some other bugs that trigger these 10+ second hangs, but we couldn't delay shipping anymore so we reverted back to UIWebView.