skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
This is true and it isn't true. It depends on context. What content are you placing? Who needs to see it? What kind of mentality will they be in when they're looking for it? In a rush or browsing? All of these factors will determine what kind of placement is optimal.

If you're talking about an info box with a CTA in it, maybe it doesn't need to be near the top of the page or viewable on initial load.

But if you're a service based company, and you're talking about a support link, having it anywhere other than prominently displayed immediately on page load is going to aggravate your customers. In that case there is definitely "a fold."

The fact that there's 4k different devices viewing your page doesn't change the fact that their browser window has a bottom, it just means that the location of that bottom is volatile. If you really care, your page design can be responsive to not just the width of the browser window but the height as well.

Abusing the concept of a fold is lazy and ignorant. It shouldn't be treated like the only aspect of web browsing that matters. But at the same time, ignoring the fact that some of your content will be immediately viewable to users upon loading the page and other content won't, is also lazy and ignorant.
Canonical have an official cloud partnership scheme, so why is Ubuntu doing an exclusive launch-day cloud image deal with Microsoft Azure and not their other cloud partners?
Spin up a new one, transfer your data, spin down the old one?
I would go with Django if you want to focus on web development.
That would be awesome, though I wonder what you can do with a third dimension and additional freedom of movement?
Just a guess here. Maybe they put in the next flight out based upon the location of the Access Point? So if 4 gates are served by 1 AP, then the first flight leaving those 4 gates gets listed...

I have never heard of that before though, so I have no clue, just a guess.
thanks, that's an important distinction.

To better state my initial point: if you have a clearance, you can only read classified material you're supposed to have access to for your job. If it's leaked but still classified, you can't read it.

If it's declassified, then you can read it.
Real Money Fantasy Gaming for Finance
StockBattle.com just launched their new finance real money gaming website. Just like FanDuel and DraftKings but for Finance and the Stock Market.
I would go WordPress and host at mycompany.com/blog for maximum SEO advantages.

Using Medium.com would work well for discoverability, although links to those articles would mean less SEO effect for your website, but more people would be able to find your articles.

If content marketing will be a key strategy, then you may be best served publishing articles on both platforms.
SO trippy.
Rails Garbage Collection: Naive Defaults
I like C++, but using it to teach beginners who have no knowledge of C or compilers in general is a horrible idea. My college CS101 course was taught using C++, and I was lucky because I already knew multiple programming languages before that.

1. There are a lot of abstractions in C++ that make it very powerful, but the reason those exist would be completely lost on a newbie. Pass-by-reference vs. pass-by-value? Oh yeah, there are pointers too that you might run into, that's almost exactly like a reference but with a different syntax. We have smart pointers instead to obscure that from you, but if you search for examples online you might run into any of these. But don't worry about all of this; these language features only exist because of type safety and performance which you have no clue about. Just change the syntax until it compiles and runs.

2. Programming is more than write->compile. Debugging is as important, if not more, and heaven help you if you're a beginner trying to debug C++. With C you'll at least get exposure to machine code that pretty much looks like the program you wrote.

3. C++11 is an improvement, but it's not ubiquitous and it adds abstraction that someone without a solid C/Assembly background will have very little chance of understanding.

Teaching C++ to someone with a firm grasp of C would be a lot easier and additive. "Here are the new features that can help the compiler make your program more performant or type-safe or fix your memory leaks." Otherwise you're throwing a bunch of solutions at students to problems they've never had.
> uncontroversial, accurate factual description.

Are you so obsessed with minutiae of definitions that you are unable to see that both terms describe reprehensible acts performed by people against other people?
Indeed, and everyone thanks you for it, but others enjoy freeriding. I think the actual game-theory is clearly simplistic. You could think of it more as being at home and having work to do rather than go shovel, so it costs you in other ways. It's not just shovel or be passive and wait.
My (biased) view on the matter is that this instance is a useful standards are pushed forwards. rel='prefetch' is well trod (some support existed in Firefox <3.5) and part of the HTML5 standard. The browser appears to be given a lot of leeway in how to implement link prefetching (the page is just hinting that prefetching seems like a good idea), so persisting prefetches across navigations seems entirely within the spirit and the letter of the standard. The high profile launch of this feature in a major product is a signal that other browsers can take that persisting a prefetch across a navigation is worthwhile. That sort of feedback about what works and what's important is very helpful to the standards process, and very much aligned with the spirit of rough consensus and running code.

Abuse of standards, to me, looks more like intentionally breaking compatibility with other browsers or implementing features that are easy for one party to implement and hard for anyone else to. For example, ActiveX was problematic in part because it was straightforwards to implement on Windows and a nightmare to try to implement anywhere else. This forced other browsers to either make their non-windows users second class citizens, or fall behind on feature parity.

I work at google, but as a ground level engineer working on internal tooling, not on Chrome or Search or anything. My views here are my own.
http://gohugo.io is great. It's secure and runs everywhere.
CIA Paid Torture Contractors More Than $80M
This is my website. I would love to hear any feedback or ideas that anyone has for our competition platform! - Lee Lowden
Be careful highlighting government inefficiency around here - apparently it's a hackneyed cliché.
> Why should a map not having a value in it cause an exception?

map controlCenters = database.getControlCenters(); // returns map column->value, nil if no connection
int controlCentersInExistence = controlCenters["count"]; //FIXME - use the other syntax, I forgot how it looked like
if (controlCentersInExistence == 0) { // someone nuked USA!
WW3Manager.launchMissiles(); // we need to retaliate!
}
Yep. You can also keep the same IP address and just repoint it at the new server, so absolutely no downtime.
I'm definitely interested in playing with React. My Angular experience was pretty painful.

If I can summarize your point: Data-binding can simplify complex pages.

That can be true. I do think most page interactions for most websites don't come close to approaching that level of complexity however. And even then, a helper-function that takes one message and performs multiple assignments can be simpler to write, simpler to understand and simpler to maintain. You still have to explicitly bind the data after all. If you only need to make one update, such as a message post in a chat application, then you're probably not saving a lot from a pure character count perspective.

You're also throwing in a framework requirement, a need to maintain it, spreading your data-binding across the page, adding abstractions, etc.

I'm not sure what you mean by not waiting for a response from the server before updating the app, though I suspect it implies even more complexity (local storage, synchronization, out-of-band management of failures, etc).

From a maintenance stand-point: $(".content").html(response) has had a very long shelf-life. Where you can probably put a 2-year expiration date on any project targeting most of the handful of popular JavaScript MVC frameworks. Trying to predict which one is going to go the distance, not replace major components in that time, and provide a smooth, relatively painless upgrade path is probably futile I'd guess.
Ask HN: Can you code friendship?
I know this is a philosophical can of worms, but if you can describe X, does it follow that you can code X? Let's replace X with friendship. Are there any books that tackle this question? I guess I've been feeling lonely.
Here's their update https://torrentfreak.com/swedish-police-raid-the-pirate-bay-...
From that article:

"used in my example above where we decided that us meant “unsafe string” and s meant “safe string.” They’re both of type string. The compiler won’t help you if you assign one to the other"

Assuming you have the luxury of a language with a good type system (either because it's designed for the task in hand or it's extensible), the compiler can help you, and you would be much better off having unsafe and safe strings as separate types. Then the encode function simply becomes a function of type unsafe -> safe. I believe Michael Snoymann touches on this in his presentation, "Designing Type-Safe Haskell APIs"[1].

I'm not arguing that Joel's method isn't a good idea. However, if you can it's better to leave hints for the compiler, not just the programmers.

[1] https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1K7smIeqmca-fY8qgQUKr...
The model proposed by Snowdrift.coop is better fit to downstream projects really than to stuff like OpenSSL, although it touches on similar issues.
IIRC, doesn't Heathrow's "free" wifi want a name and/or email address before it lets you onto the net?

Perhaps it's cross-referencing your name w/boarding records for security purposes.
WARNING: These 3 Common Excuses Are Holding You Back from Starting a Business
I hate torture. One of the problems is that many interrogation professionals also say it works.
Don't focus on expectation, focus on probability of winning.
I am extremely doubtful about your assertion that most people would rather be shot dead than locked up indefinitely.

You're also making assumptions that people die instantly on the battlefield and in drone attacks. That's not the case. They can (and do) die in slow, lingering, painful ways in such cases.
They said it was "based on real events", didn't they?
A refreshing change of pace from being tracked by others to being tracked by oneself!
Throwing water on someone and leaving them in a 59-degree room is worse than shooting them dead? Keeping someone awake until they hallucinate is worse than shooting them dead? Really?

I can imagine torture that's worse than death. I don't think any of the things revealed in the article qualify. Which is precisely what I'm getting at. If you're not a pacifist and you think it's okay to kill people in war, I think you have to go to pretty tortured lengths to say that these enhanced interrogation techniques are unjustifiable in light of that. If you're a pacifist who doesn't think that killing is justifiable in the first place, that's a totally different thing.
This man literally tried to chew through his own body, to bleed out, to avoid having his food forcefully shoved up his ass, for no reason whatsoever. He further attempted to kill himself on several occasions to avoid this as well.

That is the cold truth of that statement. This is fucking disgusting, and someone needs to be held accountable.
Realtime RevealJS with Tornado and SockJS  First project so please criticize
They are browser/canvas fingerprinting you and me at a very large scale.
In one case, CIA abducted a mentally handicapped man who they knew to be innocent[0], for the sole purpose of recording and sending video tapes of him crying and in distress to his family members to use "as leverage"[1][2].

[0]: https://twitter.com/Ethan_Heilman/status/542386688329125888/...

[1]: https://twitter.com/Ethan_Heilman/status/542385586313502720/...

[2]: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1376...
Thanks. I guess this speaks more to my lack of lack of experience.
Indeed, Snowdrift.coop says it's really for existing projects, not for new initiatives. It's not for Kickstarting.
Saudi Arabia now teaching programming to all high school students
Please label your axes. The units are not obvious.

I think the x-axis is pixels, where 0 is the top of the viewable part of the browser, and increases downward, but it took me a long time to figure that out. (My initial guess was milliseconds into a page view, but that makes no sense since I assume the y-axis on the second graph is seconds into engagement.)
Medical privacy laws in the US makes it hard to draw those connections. Can you tell who has been admitted to your nearest psych ward?

The OP wrote "I bet that at least one of your fellow students will wind up in a psychiatric hospital", not that you would know that to be the case. I doubt that the department head will tell people that student X is no longer in the program because of mental health reasons ... nor pretty much any other reason.

A friend of mine killed himself a few years ago and it took months before I could finally learn how he died, as no one would say more than "died too young." (A social worker friend of mine did clue me in that that's code word for a suicide.) Now replace that with "decided to leave the program" and how do you know what happened?

There is no need for precise data. The link is to a set of suggestions for people thinking of entering graduate school, made almost universally by people with PhDs. The OP objected to the lack of information about the dark underside of graduate school, and pointed out the likely survivorship bias.

I think you are unfairly raising the bar on the OP by calling for more rigor. If you think it's anecdotal fear-mongering then you must also object to the original responses, as their individual experiences are also anecdotal, and perhaps even anecdotal whitewashing. Their advice did not include any real evidence either.
Note: .coop is not a new fancy TLD, it's a sponsored TLD only for actual cooperative organizations, and been around more than a decade.
I think the claim is more that there is no Overseas Constituency (basically a congressional district for non-resident citizens) like several other countries have.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_constituency
Please feel free to email me at lee@stockbattle.com !
Well, exactly. The entire issue only applies when talking about public goods. Proprietary software is not a public good.
I'm surprised no one has brought up Homeland's past two episodes. It's fiction to be sure, but I think the raw emotions can be seen in the episodes. I have issues with people here being armchair ethics police.

Also, I have just skimmed the report, so may be in error, but is there any context to those tortured? If they did not share with the CIA when they asked nicely, why? Did the tortured gun down innocent civilians? Are they known to have plans for a large attack? What would you do in that situation?

I refuse to make the jump to "America the Gestapo"
I refuse to make black and white "torture is wrong, always" OR "they got what's coming to them".

There is evil. There is good. We get into theological and moral implications if I go any further so I'll stop there lest I get downvoted because I believe in some old white guy with a beard.
71% of employees say they have access to data they shouldn't
What about taxis in the uk needs dragging? I phone a taxi, they text me when they're on their way, they pick me up. Mobile apps were happening before uber came along.

The UK doesn't have the same problems as the US has, we don't have a shortage of private hires or cabs caused by a limited supply of medallions and we don't have sprawling suburbs with poor public transport.
Being a friend is pretty simple:

- Talk to people you like.

- Call them, message them, and get them to do stuff with you.

- Repeat.

But in all seriousness, being a good friend and making friends is easy! Just be willing to put yourself out there and initiate!

When I was younger, I never really understood how this stuff worked: I would isolate myself from everyone, and somehow feel 'lonely'.

Over the past 5 or 6 years I realized that if you want a real connection with someone, just go for it! Be friendly! Say hi! Invite people out to do stuff with you (go to a meetup, grab coffee, tag along on a trip -- whatever).

It's a little scary at first (everything is), but it's honestly great!

I'm not sure if you're in the bay area at all, but if you are, and want a friend, feel free to hit me up. I'm a nice guy and would be happy to hang out -- can never have enough friends =)

I'm r@rdegges.com on google chat and my phone number is 818-217-9229.

-Randall
Nope and the DOJ is standing by their decision not to indict anyone after performing an investigation five years ago [0].

Doesn't seem shocking these days. Can't prosecute the good ol boys club.

[0] - http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/cia-torture-report/doj-stan...
Re: "potential law suit": Maybe just calm down and don't assume people are litigious by default...?
I usually only see my desktop whenever I view all my open apps. Other than that, I pretty much never see the desktop
This is such a cool idea. Works perfectly with multiple monitors (the map extends across displays).
Unless the whole map database is included in the app, then this is still you being tracked.
Senate Torture Report Condemns C.I.A. Interrogation Program
I have a company page, and I did not run into that issue. Is this something new? I made a company page last year.
I've forgotten the passwords to some important encrypted documents, so I tried a few of the crackers.

They only sort of work. For example one has a choice of brute force or a dictionary, but not a combination of the two.

Also they do a lot of calculation they don't need to. Rather than hash every word in a dictionary every time they are executed, they could has them all just once, then save the hashes in a file.

Some offer the option of CPU implementations, NVIDIA CUDA or OpenCL. My MacBook Pro supports all three - lots of Macs have multiple cores, as well as both NVIDIA _and_ AMD CPUs. What I'd like to see is all three ways going simultaneously, but they don't do that.

Now it's not like I couldn't "use the source, Mike". It's just that I haven't actually done so yet.
IMO the problem isn't that there are less resources dedicated to open source stuff than to commercial projects. The problem is that there is much less effort and especially polish dedicated to any not user facing aspescts of software. Internal libraries are almost certainly even more half-baked and full of shitty code than most open source projects.
Snowdrift.coop discusses Gratipay (which they say mostly supportive things) in their review of all the other crowdfunding sites https://snowdrift.coop/p/snowdrift/w/en/othercrowdfunding
For cryptography, there's really no reason to use rand(), mt_rand(), or the other insecure variants. No excuse, I should say.

Just use urandom. Or getentropy() if your OS supports it.

If you're not using it for cryptographic purposes, then I don't see why it matters. :)
Easier to make a website than to change tax law.
> Just witness how many people justify the recent high-profile police killings by pointing out that one victim had previously robbed a convenience store and another one was selling cigarettes on the black market

I haven't seen many people use Brown's robbing the convenience store (and assaulting the shopkeeper) to justify his shooting. It's his attacking the officer and trying to take the officer's gun that is typically used as justification.

The convenience store was relevant before the forensic evidence was available, because at the time we had to choose between two stories, neither of which made much sense:

1. Cop with no prior evidence of problems flips out for no apparent reason and blows away a young man who he had stopped for jaywalking, or

2. Young man who was kind, gentle, non-violent and never harmed anyone flips out for no apparent reason and attacks a cop who is just trying to tell him to walk on the sidewalk.

Both of these require someone to be acting way out of known character. Add in the convenience store, and we know that Brown was already acting way out of character that day, just moments before the shooting, which tips the probabilities way in favor of #2.

Now that the forensic evidence is available and backs #2, there are two questions that we should be asking.

1. Why was Brown acting so out of character that day?

Or were we seeing the "real" Brown that day, and the character he presented to family, teachers, clergy, etc., was a front? If so, then we should be finding out how he fooled them, so that in the future teachers and clergy can do a better job of recognizing such people and intervening.

2. Why did Officer Wilson allow himself to get into a position where Brown could attack him and go for his gun?
Sure. I'll drop you a line.

The growth pattern is weird -- in kind of a good way -- and is definitely real as confirmed by admin panel signups, paid conversions, etc. mirroring and confirming it. Those are also pretty solid stable percentages of the overall count.

Web visits follow a much more rocky pattern but if you smooth out the noise you get a rough echo of the 1.4% connected devices growth rate for recurring visits, which make sense and further confirms its reality.

I've just never seen a growth rate so consistent and deterministic. You can hold the edge of a piece of paper under a log(Y) scale graph of "devices online" and the line is straight. Apparently in ten years I will have a device online for every atom in the solar system. /lulz

Granted I've been focusing on bug fixes, software improvements, and working with select customers, so I haven't done much to update the web site or optimize for viral growth. This is very much a "hands off" organic rate. It'll be interesting to see how it responds if I do change things up a bit. The smoothness of it will make any kind of A/B testing a breeze... any change should jump right out and smack me in the face. :)
Thanks, I missed this, and it sounded interesting!
> Torture should be like rape. Anyone suggesting debating if rape is acceptable should be slapped on the head and considered an idiot.

How do you know we haven't used rape as torture? We've already walked up to that line, with medically unnecssary anal rehydration acknowledged as a form of control.

So, we are debating the appropriateness of rape. And yes, that sickens me.
So who were Riot's founders? Who were Media Molecule founders? Did the barriers for entry suddenly rise between 2008 and now? From what I see it's much easier to publish a game even for consoles. There are tons of indies doing that regularly. In 2008 you had to have a secured office and 20K in cache to get a devkit, today you can get a loaner at home if you cannot manage 2K price.

AAA do get a lot of money but it's the effect of them making games that sell well. There are dozens of startups in SF that cannot make even mobile games with their piles of cash and hundreds people. Money do not make you a AAA studio.
Out of curiosity, how do you prepare different environments in AWS/Google? staging, dev (individual dev if possible), prod?

What happened when you have internet interruption during development/testing cycle?
There were CIA officers that disagreed, protested, and withdrew from the situations. It's mentioned in the report.