skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
It's not entirely consumer apathy.

There is a perception among Windows users that you don't "upgrade" Windows. You get a new machine with a new version of Windows, and then you spend a lot of time trying to get all of your files moved over and your programs working again. And then, after all that -- the user interface looks different. Things have moved around. You'll have to spend some time learning how to use your computer again.

Meanwhile, the perception among Apple users is that they can put in a disk, run an installer, and they get to upgrade their old hardware to run the new thing. There might be a few user interface differences, but most of them are subtle. They don't have to learn how to use their computer all over again, and somehow it's better now.

In both cases, the perception isn't quite reality, but that doesn't matter. Those perceptions are both Apple's strength and Microsoft's weakness in the vast majority of their markets.
Dupe: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=881802
Google was foolish to release Wave to non-developers this early. Now you have bozos like this guy complaining about the need for features that haven't been implemented just yet, like draft mode (suppresses live keystrokes.)

On top of that, for some reason guys like these seem to want to say something about Wave, but few have anything meaningful to say, especially the empty-husk tech pundits. So they'll just spout something empty that sounds nice.

I've been using Wave for months. It's great. It's early in development. It's called a preview for a reason.

Stop comparing it to Twitter. In fact, stop comparing x against Twitter, or y against Facebook, or z as the iPhone killer, etc. Gahhhh.

Also, dupe.
It also probably has a lot to do with what kind of software you're developing. In my case, we were writing firmware for prototypes that cost over $2000 and were easily destroyed by bad code. That's bad, but not nearly as bad as code that could endanger human life or perhaps code that handles large financial transactions.

If you're just developing a web application or twitter client, it's probably not worth being so anal-retentive about it.
With regard to the real-time transmission of what you type in chat, the only benefit I see in something like this is that you potentially avoid those IM conversations where one person changes the subject, and the other person is still typing something about what you had just been talking about. It can help avoid the sometimes disjointed topic changes because you can each see what the other is actively typing. Aside from that, it seems much more like a "we did it because we could" feature, and one that detracts from the experience more than it adds.
I think when your model consistently gives results indiscernable from random noise in its strongest application (cf. blog.okcupid.com), you can safely conclude that it's of no more value than a model selected at random from all possible models of similar complexity.
That makes sense, although I was already aware of it. I suppose I was wondering if there was anything else to it, really, though I haven't a clue what "anything else" would look like, or (for that matter) if the question (when phrased as such) even makes sense.

Thanks for clarifying, though.
Then you start looking at foundational mathematics. So you learn ZFC set theory, but wait axioms in ZFC are in FOL. Right so FOL is a foundation that comes before ZFC, but wait sets are used in FOL... Back and forth like this for a while and then you're tired of looking for where the beginning is.
For almost any given scenario to protect a system (even the one you mentioned), there's still likely to be a way to circumvent it if you can surreptitiously tinker with the machine for 30 minutes. This is a minuscule subset of the general rule: There is no such thing as perfect security.
Troublesome. If you can avoid that sort of project as your 'first' you will have a much higher chance of success.

We got lucky in that respect, we had absolutely no clue on how to do it and then the first big ad brokers came on-line just as we needed them (24x7, doubleclick).

And back then ads were really a way to make income, nothing compared CPM or CPC wise to today. Think $10 CPM and 35 cts / click.

That ad income got us well into the .com crash, by that time we were large enough to pull enough paying users out of our premium program to survive.

But luck is a bad thing to have to base your business on, making something that people really need (and preferably several somethings) is a lot more solid business-wise.
That's interesting; my best mate works for a company that constructs industrial SR Motors (I think they hold a lot of the patents too). They are crazy cool when you get into bigger sizes/voltages.
Living in Europe, I'm amazed that $30/$45 for non-handset tariffs are considered "ultra cheap", especially as landline services have historically been far more expensive in Europe than the other side of the Atlantic. What exactly is stopping carriers in the US from providing cheaper services? I gather network coverage/signal quality isn't even that great in populated areas, so is the lesser population density really that much of a burden? Or should I be thinking 'nefarious anti-competitive behaviour'?
The problem with this is you're assuming the target will actually access his encrypted data while in the hotel room.

If you really want to cut it in half, just kidnap him and hit him with this $5 wrench until he tells us the password. We're breaking laws, but hey, whose counting?
Underwhelmed by Wave: Google’s Wave Falls Short.
IIRC they say it is "fanless" - which is technically correct :)
> The idea of "flying under the radar" should be thrown out.

That depends on the situation. If you're going head-to-head with a large, established company that could squash you in an instant it may pay off to stay below the radar until you're strong enough to handle them.

BigCorp has been known to simply sue small start-ups for the reason that it ties them up and makes them unattractive to investors. If they're not aware of you until you are much stronger that can be a real advantage.
Good job the Googlers giving the presentation almost immediately mentioned that you'll be able to turn it off.
I never EVER use checks except when in the USA. It's like cellphones: you guys are just way behind (except that with cellphones you caught up with the iPhone).
The 'tamper-evident' aspect can be separate from the 'strong' aspect. You could for example put the laptop in a tamper-evident bag.

http://alertsecurityproducts.com/js2/eshop/prod_view?id=780
I remember asking engineers at deCODE about building server centers in Iceland. They said it was too expensive to build and staff a server center and that there was no surplus bandwidth to depress costs. They said that limiting constraints for computing in Iceland were personnel, then logistics, then bandwidth ---not energy and cooling.

"And, in an irony not lost on a country brought to its knees by finance, one early customer rumoured to have signed a deal to move servers here is - well who else - one of America's biggest investment banks. "

This "server farm to save the world" story smells like spin for a dish-washing debt service ---probably because Iceland hates aluminum smelting and fears the imported masses who'd work there.
Facebook sees ad potential bigger than Google search ads
Why Ice Cream Sellers Stand Next to Each Other Instead of Spreading Out
your right; though your solution is even more shaky ;) I find screwdrivers 100% more effective.
http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/d?k=01pg4A5jBmin6_bx0_7R7jWw==...

Thanks!!
I was looking forward to using the API in my Firefox add-on that shows the Wolfram Alpha results next to the Google results. Quick calculation of the cost: 18,000 users/day * say 3 searches/day = ~$2,300/day.
I think I'll stick with loading it in an iframe. I would have thought that this kind of thing fit perfectly with the example use case "augmenting web and meta-web search with computed knowledge" but I guess they have a different target market.
What would Clay Shirky do?
Cyborg beetles to be the US military's latest weapon (w/ Video)
Ask HN: Idea for a blog: whydontwehaveityet
So seeing that -2F superconductor story a few days ago. I got to thinking, someone really needs to follow up on this story and see if anything comes of it. And there are all kinds of articles where they hype some new technology that we're supposed to have in 5 years. I think it would be an interesting blog to do investigative type reporting to talk to the people involved in inventing and commercializing these things and find out what the hold up is, how well they're actually coming along, possibly even what people can do to help.

Here are some technologies I'd like to see covered just off the top of my head:

Reservatrol

Anything with stem cells

Carbon nanotubes

That -2F superconductor

That super capacitor mentioned a few years ago (estor?)

Memristors

Some super efficient way to process titanium I heard about (we were supposed to have super cheap titanium by now)

Anyway, just wanted some general feedback on the idea. I'm probably too shy to do it alone, I wouldn't want to be calling strangers all over the world to track down the technologies. But I'd be happy if someone else picked up this idea and did it.
IPhone: Rado and DeWitt Applications
The writer is not talking about average programmer I guess.
We just registered the domain name for our startup (site not yet available). I was, as always, amazed and appalled at how hard it is to find an available domain other than "adlksfjlaksfjls.com". All of the obvious names for our product were already taken, and essentially none of them were actually in use.

My co-founder and I disagree on this one. He makes the (very valid) point that right of first sale should apply to domains just like anything else, and if you want to buy one and do nothing with it (or nothing yet), then that should be valid.

I can't disagree with him on that basis, but I think that the law needs to treat domains identically with real estate. In the former case, there are rules controlling what I can do with a piece of land I own; I am liable if it contains an attractive nuisance (e.g., a trampoline or swimming pool) on which a neighbor is hurt--the same could apply to open proxies and bot boxes. My neighbors have recourse if I allow my property to decay to the point where it is an eyesore or a health hazard. Similarly, companies that demonstrate a desire to USE a domain name should have recourse against squatters and speculaters.
Apparently on the US side, the SAC commander would receive a phone call that a nuclear attack was under way, and he would be given 2-3 minutes to decide if the warning was valid (all warnings turned out to be false in hindsight, obviously). I'm not sure I like that system a whole lot better.

Edit: Also see Stanislav Petrov, who correctly identified an attack warning as false: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
How about... instead of arms, four (or six) legs? Like a dog, but with retractable wheels at the bottom of the feet so it can go a bit faster on flat terrain but use the legs otherwise.

Hang on some sensors. For weapon systems, a small turret with a heavy machine gun and maybe a mortar. Or something.

In sum, a small jeep that you strap yourself into which can go through any terrain, if it so has to climb.

It wouldn't be as visible as a mecha for targeting. Some carrying capacity. It should be able to carry wounded on top.

Nah... it would be an inferior version of this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandvagn_206
Give it a break.

> The Coandă Effect is very well known, and Dyson hasn't invented something revolutionary here

When someone does this to a startup, this place is ripe with "screw the idea, it's all about execution" and "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".

I salute Dyson for putting simple physics to work in simple, yet aesthetically pleasing fashion.

In other words, if it's so easy, why aren't YOU selling a £200 Coandă effect deskfan?
I was surprised that, after having DSL problems, my not-very-technical friend cracked 5 APs in his area in less than a day.

Now, I can do this, as can some of my geek friends, but the fact that this guy easily did it was pretty amazing to me. It also shows that you can't hold people responsible for what comes across their wire.
JQuery Concrete: a bit like jQuery.live a bit different
Some more examples:

John Collins, 57, who runs a software company from a room at his home in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, received letters saying he needed a licence for the classical CDs he played while working. "If my wife Susan brings me a cup of tea and hears the music then I might be liable," he said.

Even dogs and cats do not always escape targeting. Follybridge cattery near Peterborough and Stokenchurch dog rescue centre in Buckinghamshire, which play Terry Wogan’s Radio 2 show to their "guests", were both told they would need a licence in case any workers heard the music.
I think you are reading too much into that statement. The Coandă Effect was well known and all I claim is that Dyson didn't invent it. My other claim is the £200 is a lot for a fan no matter how cool the technology is.

In other words, if it's so easy, why aren't YOU selling a £200 Coandă effect deskfan?

I never claimed it was easy, you also edited my blog post to remove the bit where I say (although I assume the engineering is very good).
Thanks! Somehow I missed Text::Brew. Looks interesting.

I've found that scoring is a rather slow operation (relatively speaking), and so at the very least people should consider using memoization when they score or some other technique to reduce frequent scoring of identical terms.
Graph theory is conspicuously absent from the list. Is that considered computer science these days, or does the author not think it is particularly important for programmers?
Street View: We can trike wherever you like
Sounds like a job for "crowdsourcing." If you can't reach original sources, perhaps you can get responses from people who know people, work in the same field, etc.

Like a Science HN. I guess there's a Science Reddit now ("I'm a stem cell researcher--ask me anything").

Edit: Maybe that's what we really need--Reddit with only "I'm a" posts from qualified, authoritative sources. Of course that's what rating systems are supposed to be for.
I use it on one of my servers. But unfortunately, I have no data to compare to =(
Has Playfish exited to EA for $250m? The VC chatter says yes.
I guess I'll stick to Yahoo! Pipes.
The reality is, nobody is going to physically attack your laptop (just don't bring your work machine to Black Hat). But there is an unacceptably high probability that your laptop will get stolen; for instance, you will often leave it in your car, where anyone with a cinderblock can get it in under a minute.

TrueCrypt is about the guy with the cinderblock, not about stopping Joanna Rutkowska from installing a keylogger.
It's a very nice idea actually. I'd contribute to it. What happens in most cases is that that one of the party (researchers, PR, ....) has oversold the potential product in the first place. Another part of the story is that in the process of maturing, or increasing their technology readiness levels (TRL) some technologies just don't make it because they do not find a niche market to evolve in and grow.
DARPA, Microsoft, Lockheed team up to reinvent TCP/IP
What has been created here is a new kind of API, one the result of a lifetime of experience, and one that will no doubt influence the way you think about programming for years to come.

How fortunate you all must feel to use this API, and to interact with this amazing, lifechanging software. I don't think I exaggerate when I say that within this API lies the ability to understand our very universe.
Use HTML5 to Default To The Numeric, Email, And URL Keyboards On The iPhone
Article from 1998. (I hate it when a post doesn't show date/time at top of article).
So if my car is stolen and used in a terrorist bombing I'm also liable?
that's a good point. Maybe if I used crowd sourcing I wouldn't have to call anyone.
Kellogg's to laser-brand individual Corn Flakes
Doesn't the OP sort of invalidate this? Any government should find it reasonably easy to install this kind of a keylogger on your computer. It would be quite easy to get a few minutes alone with your laptop.
It's very simple. If your laptop is unencrypted, could even possibly contain Protected/Personal/Patient-Health Information, and is stolen, you are very likely legally required to formally disclose the loss. That's a legal and PR nightmare.

If your laptop is encrypted, contains PI, and is stolen, you probably don't need to disclose the loss.

No matter what Joanna Rutkowska does with her (very slick) USB key, things like TrueCrypt are very cheap, very very effective insurance.
Survey of angel investor groups: To charge or not to charge?
Unless you've got a very special sort of BIOS, those passwords aren't very strong. And I'd probably just use a keylogger.
Venture capital harms your wealth
And I've used both every day for years. I don't cringe moving from OSX to Windows 7 and back (even XP isn't that bad, just less fun). In fact, I don't even blink an eyelash over it.
Amazon Fresh: Will the grocery delivery service go national?
Pick partners that are just as enthusiastic about the actual idea and its business potential rather than those who are only really looking to line their pockets. You may miss it at first (especially if it's your first venture), but nobody can keep a facade up forever...
Ask HN: How about a limit on the number of links you can post per day ?
5 Links per day that are of interest ok. 10 still fine. 15, pushing it. but 30 or more is clearly contrary to the guidelines. So how about some sane upper limit ?

And/Or charge you X karma points for each link you post ? That would cut down tremendously on the spam as well.
Before my first start-up? I wrote it up here:

http://danieltenner.com/posts/0005-starting-up-with-a-friend...

Many other things, too, most of which are mentioned in other responses here, but this would have saved me enormous amounts of grief and money if I'd read it and understood it ahead of time.
On a similar note, let's not forget the amount of corporations that run Windows XP because it's the most ideal solution for their software. I don't know about most other corporations, but our company doesn't readily run out to buy every new version of anything, no, we're normally upgrading every other version.

On that note, we're probably going to be upgrading to windows 7 eventually, though not until a machine is out of warranty I wouldn't think.
Cinderblock is so unwieldy! I'm more of a broken spark plug man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUgsi9gQBeA
Unwiring Wired
Check out Technology Review (TR) published by MIT. I was a long-time subscriber.

http://www.technologyreview.com/
Final Bilski Briefs Filed - Microsoft, Google, FFII, ABA etc.
It's basic thing that is usually always part of a CS curriculum.
Facebook's Snazzy New HQ Unveiled
There's a history in the US of the government giving large corporations money to do something, but then not attaching any requirements to it. So the corporations, obviously, act in their own best interest. Communication networks that otherwise wouldn't have existed are built on taxpayer money, and the company that controls it is now in a hugely advantageous position, having been "bootstrapped" on someone else's dollar.
Everyone loves to get downloaded.
Head-up Displays go Holographic
It's all about the Benjamins, sadly.
I know Bill Gates is in no position to do this but the best way to help farmers in third world countries is to stop paying out the stupendous subsidies that the developed world pays to keep their farmers "in business".
I would work on getting a better camera first...street view quality sucks!
I'd appreciate someone pointing out any incongruent remarks in my statement above. It's a fact that JP Morgan succeeded where the others failed during the recession, it's a fact that their customers are happy with what they're doing, and it's NOT a fact that the government knows their business better than they do.
To Retire in This Weak Market, the Magic Word Is ‘Focus’
Thanks for the tip! I'll have to try using NetBeans for Python.
This is fantastic, it took me about a week to get all that stuff set up a couple of years back. Looking forward to trying it out!
I'd throw in some order theory too. Posets, lattices, boolean algebras etc. All crop up pretty often, if you know how to recognise them.

In fact I think often when people recommend graph theory for computer science, they're thinking more about order theory (trees, DAGs, posets etc), or failing that, more the "basic algorithms over graphs" stuff than the "let's prove a bunch of clever theorems about k-colourings" kind of graph theory which you might get if you bought a book on it.
That is pretty amazing. I remember reading about an experiment in which they had a man wear glasses that reflected the light such that the man saw the world upside down. Within about two weeks his brain has adjusted and he saw things as he had before wearing the glasses. When he took the glasses off he saw things upside down.

It is incredible how flexible the brain is in adapting.
No, you would receive a notification in the first instance, which would represent an opportunity to discuss terrorism with others in the household and which would provide the car owner with the information and tools to help ensure that the car is not used illegally again.

But if it's used again, you're fucked.
When it comes to first-order logic, you don't actually need this to reason about conditionals.

That's just Propositional Logic (or Boolean Algebra, if you want to put it in a slightly more abstract setting, which wouldn't hurt since you can then apply it to other related things like set union/intersection/complement).

First-order logic is really useful for Relational Algebra though. Which you should know if you do anything with relational databases.
Success map or 4 foot basketball players
Their still missing the best revenue model; Google's own.

All this fancy pages nonsense is all very well but I bet a system for keyword tagged ads, the same as adsense, for those box adverts on the right of pages would go down a storm.

Currently most of those are junk (and for me, as I am single, mostly involving women of salubrious intentions). If they could get good contextual adverts going they should..
Critical illness insurance
Avail critical illness insurance cover Jump Money UK.
No, I know. I only meant Mercurial itself, not the whole set of tools you've built on top of it.
Really? Why do you need relational algebra to do anything with relational databases? It actually seems to me to be wholly irrelevant if you're just using one.
The problem with CDS is when they are based on crap, ie the ability of people without money to buy houses.

Clever people looked into those CDS and decided to bet against them. They became extremely rich during the crisis.

There is nothing wrong with CDS, it's just that it was based on crap and people didn't do their homework. "It earns money, must be cool".

Want to prevent this? Well have American banks join Basel II. Stop allowing them loaning money to people who will never be able to reimburse. Make sure insurance companies like AIG can't enter the derivative products market so easily.

And please stop reading articles from people who learnt about derivative products yesterday.
PyCon 2010: Invited Speakers announced
I want to see them attempt Venice; although technically 'street' view would not be accurate. It would not be easy, between canals, pathways, and especially all the bridges: foot traffic only, with stairs, and you'd have to keep the camera steady somehow.

The results, though, would be very cool.
Flying cars; medical tricorders; food replicators; space vacations; gravity boots; anti-gravity boots; Rosie the robot; basically, anything from Star Trek or the Jetsons.