skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
This is a nice idea. What would be better I think is industry-standard certifications / exams that prove you can do the job, then they can just verify that you passed the exam.

A computer science degree doesn't prove you can program but an industry standard programmer test does. Then all that is left is the interview itself (to see your personality etc.) but I think although careersmob could do an initial screening, there should be an interview with the team you are going to join to see if you are acceptable.
People who are interested in Modular phones can also check out Phoneblok's website[0], which I believe to be the people who started Project Ara.

[0] https://phonebloks.com/
I don't understand why anyone uses a wireless mouse. You have a device that's utterly useless except in close proximity to its parent, why wouldn't you just plug it in and never have to charge it?
I agree they would be against it, they are after all fighting any and all forms of disintermediation, the last thing they want to to be just a seller of 'airtime minutes'
How did you determine that the male in question was competent (i.e. that he actually made the cut) and that the woman in question was not competent?
Kickstarter, anyone?
Looking at this, and watching Downton Abbey, I am struck by the parallels between Internet companies today and publishing companies 100 years ago. Both used new technology to empower and enrich young go-getters who would not have had those opportunities under the old social order--a social order they helped disrupt. Both were objects of high public interest; people wanted to know how it all worked, and how they could get in on the ground floor.

Looking at the state of publishing companies today should give Internet companies pause, or at least a reason to be humble.
Sure, the air may not be tremendously hot (though I'm still seeing reports of 10-20 µSv/h as far out from the plant as 5km, when the US CFR's recommended annual aggregate dose limit for individuals is 1 mSv), but what about the groundwater? What about the soil?
Back to sleep, Louis, or I'm telling Mom about your Playboys!
you can book an appointment online, so that would be the other option
The ones they like, I don't care that much. Lately, Battlestar Galactica and a couple I don't remember the names.
Shingles Virus Explained
You missed 5) Narrowly avoided making large parts of a space constrained country unfit for habitation.

Think I'm being alarmist? The Japanese PM at the time of the crisis has publicly stated that he was seriously considering having to evacuate Tokyo. [1],[2],[3]

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/world/asia/japan-considere...

[2] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/revealed-secret...

[3] http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/japans-former-pm-...
+ satchel, macbook, mid length beard, turn up on a fixed-gear bicycle sipping a decaf skinny soy latte.

(Apparently it is hip)
Either college has gotten way less fun or Quora is a lot more fun than other tech companies
Dude is a politician. Those were really boring answers.
I find this to be an issue with many of the articles linked on this site. They refer to 'hackers' or 'programmers' .It usually means people doing some sort of web app, or related thing, and it usually doesnt apply to me at all though I know I'm a very good programmer. I make games.

I have a background in architecture, its a mature industry and there are architects, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers, architectural technologists, quantity surveyors, project managers etc.

Perhaps as coding as a job matures over the decades this process will also take place.
Counter-point: As not-the-primary-computer, my MBA is plugged in 80% of the time and gets moved from place to place as my crowded workspace dictates. I can't count the number of times I've accidentally yanked the Magsafe connector out trying to move it just out of cable reach because I needed to get at something underneath.

Granted, a lot of that is learned behavior because I know I can yank the Magsafe out without incurring a $500 repair.
Found a resource that was posted on HN before.

https://darshanhegde.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/learn-machine-...
Microcorruption player identities were totally private. There's no way for a recruiter to look someone up, unless they used a very-identifiable username. Privacy is important to us.

How would you imagine the bizarro-world third party recruiter that would emerge from something like Starfighter could interoperate with employers to shield you from the kind of BS you're concerned about? We're interested in ideas!
This was my immediate concern as well, though (to pre-answer the question Thomas already asked you) I don't have any good off-the-top-of-my-head suggestions as to how to stop it.

I think this sort of kick in the pants is exactly the sort of thing that has to at least be tried to sane-ify hiring in tech, but I'm oddly fascinated to watch the ways in which little bits of status-quo inertia and company politics may act to sabotage it.

It is very easy to imagine companies not really "getting it" and seeing it the way they see github contribs or stackoverflow scores or whatever other metric that some do use as a signal, but which very rarely actually gets someone in the door or even on a particularly fast track.

In an ideal world, any sort of testing like this plus a screen to make sure you're not a psycho, a narcissist or just a general pain in the ass on a personal level should be sufficient for virtually any programming job, but there are lots of obstacles without obvious technical fixes: HR dept politics, the hazing culture ("We all did this stupid interview thing, so should the new guy/girl!"), general distrust ("nobody ever got fired for hiring someone using the old method"), etc.

I will be watching this experiment with great interest (and hoping it succeeds).
http://unchecky.com/
Verification of media claims about Apple
Thank you for running a long-term CTF ! I've always been interested in those "improve your coding skills by playing" challenges but from my inexistent experience most of them fall in a combination of:

- They are timeboxed

- They are mostly (if not only) about cracking security

- They are targeted towards low-level languages

You've already stated that it won't be timeboxed (which totally makes sense as a hiring "middleman": you're interested in applicants at all times). You already said that security will not be the single domain. Now, will I be able to use Starfighter as an excuse to finally stop procrastinating and learn that shiny new language I've had on my to-learn list for far too long ? (Patrick more or less hinted it shouldn't be the case, but I'd like to know)

I'm really looking forward to this. On the overall point of breaking the interview standard we have, I'd like to say a huge "Thank you". The points you've made in your blog post really resonate with what I can see (the interview process is a joke if you want to hire actual programming engineers). I really hope we can move towards a model where applicants can show skills through a portfolio, of which Starfighter should be a part if I understand things correctly.
As noted, an Android laptop was in the works. I think an Android laptop with Chrome browser, with extension support, would've been the holy grail. But Sundar Pichai wanted to protect his Chrome OS project, so when he took over Android, he killed that project. (And yes, I can dig up a reference to this, if anyone questions it.)
Ah, infosec. Yes, it was clear that it came from some other part of the computer universe, but I had no idea which one.
Pebble vs. Apple – Kickstarting the Smartest Marketing Decision of 2015
bazillion hit on a couple of things I totally agree with.

One of the things I do is troll Craigslist off and on. We have a contract right now valued around $90k from a single phone call to a poorly written craigslist ad that I reached out to. Not bad for literally about 30 minutes of a phone call and 90 minutes of discussions and negotiations.

No one will represent you the way you can if you are willing to learn some skills, but sometimes you need the outside help. However, a little mentoring/guidance can go a long way if you are willing.

In the end work will not find you guys until you have a niche and decent reputation, and even then people who say they never look for clients I think are not being totally honest. I met with one successful and smart guy who runs a consultancy and he swears he never looks for work it "just finds him". Well, that is sort of true but not really the whole truth or being totally honest. Specifically in his case, he does a lot of tech training, writing and is involved in a specific tech scene. So in the end he is doing a ton of marketing and talking about his team and their abilities, he's just not out cold calling or using a lot of traditional marketing.

Also, consulting can enter into feast or famine mode unless you designate someone to keep deal flow moving. This isn't optional and can't be something you do half hearted. It takes dedication, but it doesn't have to be sole sucking shit work, it should be fun and be a lot about pre-sales and pre-qualification of clients. It can even be something that is a shared duty but it has to be dedicated time every week.
Another view is that there was a moment when they saw/realised what USB-C could do for Apple and a radically new laptop, and then became a lot more invested then.
HBO Streaming to Start in April, on Apple Devices Only
Letters to my kids – The only way to spend your day
Mashable: Apple understands fashion with new watch
Super-simple, live CSS/JS injection in browser with fb-flo and Brunch
Parenthoods (YC S14) is hiring a front end engineer – part-time, remote
A deal in San Francisco or NY perhaps, but not most of the country.
Don't expect to do anything processor-intensive on that fanless Mac.
Random story from last week, and my experience with Apple software. I don't use Apple products too often, but I was downloading some apps for a family members ipod touch 4g (latest model being 5g). The 4g only supports up to iOS 6, and nearly every app I tried downloading on the device gave an error saying it required iOS 7 and it couldn't be installed.

I thought that was strange, I used most of these apps before on older devices, why does everything no longer work on a device that's relatively new? According to those error messages the device is basically useful, it can't install apps any more, which is the heart of the ipod touch.

I searched around online and there's an official solution. I had to install itunes on a computer and login to the same account as the Apple account on the device. Then I had to download the incorrect iOS 7 version of the free app I wanted. That would assign it as a purchase to the Apple account. Then I could delete that download. Then, I had to open up the Apple store on the device like I was doing previously, find the free app on there again, and click download. After doing all that, it wouldn't give an error saying the device wasn't supported, but now ask if I wanted to install the last compatible version.

My mind was blown. How could such popular software provide such an awful user experience? The ipod touch said the app isn't supported for the device, but then I 'buy' the free app on itunes, and magically it is supported and I can download a compatible release.
features from pathfinder come to mind:

1) somewhere to copy the file path without opening a "get info" dialog
2) tree-based view instead of the HORRIBLE thin columns that never auto-size to display filenames in a way you can view
3) ability to open command line from whatever folder you're in

I could go on and on - these are all trivial to implement and they never ever happen. number 2 is one of the most irritating of all.
If you do well at any of those schools, you'll likely end up with a job that will easily allow you to pay off any student loans you need to take out.
This article should be titled "Maybe you should stop using Grunt for things it was never meant to do to begin with"
Porn Actress Explains When It's OK to Pirate Porn: Freedom of Information
I work in a beautiful non-SV city, earn six figures, and enjoy my job. I am a Classic ASP developer.
Why the long face? Retailer says walmart.horse domain infringes its IP
There are lots of ways to acquire and prove skill and knowledge; ultimately, they are all monkey dances to at least some degree. Until we develop a way to read minds (and it'd be great to also do the reverse: give everyone the ability to insta-learn, Matrix-style), we will continue to have to use some kind of signaling mechanism. Right now, there are many of them, all with various levels of difficulty, entrance requirements, and resource requirements. Many are only available to those with various types of scarce resources: free time, supportive parents and family members, and money. Let's list some examples:

- get a degree in any subject (money, family support)

- get a degree in a more pertinent subject (money, family support)

- continually learn new theory/techniques/technologies on your own (time)

- write FLOSS code (time)

- get industry certifications (money)

- get achievements with HackerRank and other 'challenge' services (time)

- go to interviews, answer questions (time, possibly others)

Not to mention all of the 'administrative' things people do to communicate their capabilities (as another comment noted. Those take time, too.)

Something like this seems like it is taking a stab at replacing at least a few of these, but of course it still requires at least some extra resources (in this case, time.) The go-at-your-own-pace nature of it definitely works in its favor. Things like this evolve similar to technology, and its cycles of consolidation and deconsolidation; where once we may have used separate devices (for music, video, reading, etc.), we now use just a couple, or increasingly, one. Perhaps we could think of things like this as the next steps in 'skill and knowledge acquisition consolidation.' Hopefully, things like this will reduce the need to spread efforts so thinly, and save us more of those scarce resources. So while it may be another monkey dance, perhaps it will allow us to dance less, but in a more focused way. Or at least stay on a smaller number of simian dance floors.

If nothing else, it'll be another fun way to learn new things and experiment with theory/techniques/technology you ordinarily wouldn't.
API Authentication Examples in Swift and Java
http://www.amazon.com/HDE-SuperSpeed-Individual-Switches-Inc...
This whole interview process is broken. Even with this mind of ctf game, one should not be expected to race through peers with different kinds of tools.

Developers are expected to build resumes at work via daily routines, then at home via github, hackerrank, side projects. System administrators are expected to do daily system administration routine, know OSes, tools, cloud/iaas/paas providers inside out and code side projects and build a coding portfolio.

With years of experience, one expects to be respected and not lose time on games, tests, unwanted side projects. Interview process is built towards young gals/guys.
You may be interested in this: https://www.academia.edu/6932933/Twitter_Who_gets_Caught . Section 7.2 has a study of a spambot social graph.
I'm fairly sure it wont be too long before they come out with USB/USB-C flash drives. I've already seen several USB/Micro-USB drives.
It really depends on what you want to do. If you see yourself getting into programming languages, and want to work at a place like fb/google or even a trading-house like JaneStreet, most of the interesting work will be parceled out to folks who really tinkered with language design/logic/type theory at school.

I can talk about each of the (few) areas I mentioned in detail, but I think I'd be leading you astray. The real question is: what are you interested in specializing in? Let's say it's field x. What will it take for you to become so well versed in x that a company will hire you to work on hard problems involving x? X can be anything - programming languages, graphics, kernel, distributed systems. And x doesn't just have to be something "hard in CS" - it can be any number of UI/UX/HCI related fields that are popping up these days.

In terms of how you pick them up: figure out what your interests are and either find a professor at school that's into this and work with him/her, or start hacking on this stuff and getting your hands wet in your spare time. I'm a new grad myself, and I can say for a fact that the ~5% of my peers who are working on truly hard problems in industry are exactly those peers who worked on hard problems in their spare time at school.
I'm curious – why are they hard to keep running?
Everything is a memory error on some level.

Back to grounding in reality, a way to reliably[1] break security measures is an exploit. Cosmic ray bit flips are anything but reliable.

[1]The threshold of reliability being somewhere below "instant and always" and somewhere above "one in a million if you give it a day to try".
At $10k it's one of the cheaper solid gold watches out there. I'm sure for quite a few wealthy people in China $10k is a perfectly fine price point for a disposable tech toy with some cool features.

What surprised me was the price for the bands for the stainless steel version of Apple Watch. Sure a link bracelet from Omega would run you upward to $1000, and I'm sure Apple's one may even match Omega's in quality, but an Omega watch starts at $6k minimum, which means a band costs at most 15% of the price of the Watch.

Where as in Apple's case those bands are priced at 40 - 80% of the price of the watch they are meant for, that's...very uncommon in the watch world.
it should be fun and be a lot about pre-sales and pre-qualification of clients.

One of the things that we have been caught up in before is a continuous sales cycle where the client has no intention of actually committing to picking up our services but rather is seeing how much pre-consulting work they can get out of us. This has only happened a couple of times in our history but when it does it is costly to whoever is working the sale as it's not really a salaried deal with us. So we get a little gun shy about extensive pre-sales. As well we are trying to move away from a contracting / consulting service and into something that we have some ownership of.
Wonderful! The descriptions of the accretion disk images are particularly good.

Recently for an abstract art project I wrote a simple gravitational lens simulator to distort an image as if there was a 10 Earth mass black hole between the viewer and the objects: http://www.tjradcliffe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/test1....

It was a quick hack to explore the idea, and I'm pretty sure important details aren't right, but it was good enough for going on with. While doing it I remember thinking, "I wish I had time to explore this whole process properly." Now I don't have to!
The Complete Google Leaked PANDA Do and Don’t LIST – 2011 to Present
Exactly this. My ultra-highend desktop at work has a 1200W PSU.
patio11: Why name the company Starfighter, while the domain is startfighterS(.io)? Why not name the business Startfighters? (I understand the other domain was taken).
The article recommends getting a 580 as the cheapest, most cost-effective option. One thing the 580 has going against it is that the cuDNN library does not support it. Only Kepler and Maxwell cards (600, 700 and 900 series) are supported. Since many of the popular libraries for deep learning (Theano, Caffe, Torch7) support using cuDNN as a backend now, I think this is worth mentioning. For many configurations cuDNN provides some of the fastest convolution implementations available right now. Even if the 580 is a great card for CUDA, a more recent model may actually be a better choice in light of this.

I agree 100% with the 980 recommendation, it's a great card in terms of performance, power usage and price point.
Quite common approach in Europe, I think? At least in Denmark it's the same, dirt cheap and all the data you need.
Re-Frame – Functional Reactive Programming with ClojureScript and React
Think of it as an iPad
A sortable table for comparing NYC Neighborhoods using API Data
In order to make it easier for NYC renters to find suitable neighborhoods. I combined data from these APIs: Google Distance Matrix, the Census API, the Streeteasy API, NYC Open Data, and the Youtube API.

How can this be improved? What do you think? Is the information/layout useful?
I personally swear by Total Commander[0] (previously Windows Commander).

[0] http://www.ghisler.com/
I'm also curious - what about Windows Explorer makes it a painful experience? I learned how to use computers using DOS/Windows and it's what my idea of "correct" is. I'm curious about the other perspective.
I've been wondering if they're just having the expensive version so they can look more like a legitimate high-end watch maker. Maybe more of a marketing thing than a "we're going to make a ton of money on the expensive version". We'll see though.
I'm surprised this article didn't mention the sweet spot of affordable-but-still-good phones out there. The Moto G could reasonably be called the flagship for this category: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/26/moto-g-review/
They're operational nightmares. Among other reasons, their designed intent is to allow untrusted users to execute arbitrary computer code on your infrastructure. The abuse problems are mammoth, the not-malicious-but-still-bugged submissions from users even worse. They have lots of moving parts, most of which are more complicated than standard CRUD app components.

Also, fundamentally, a CTF is a distraction from the core business everywhere it runs.

Except Starfighter.
Not an expert on these things, but as I understand it the groundwater can't actually become radioactive, it picks up trace radioactive material. So the next question is, how hard is that to filter, and how many people in Japan drink unfiltered groundwater.
Will you be allowing anonymous participation?

By this I mean, the article uses some creepy language as only a company enthusiastic about its power to broker reputation can.

>>We can tell you exactly what happened when your candidates tried to implement a REST API.

What, are you going to keep a record of the time I fiddled with it for an afternoon and then use that to disqualify me from a job?

You say elsewhere about MicroCorruption:

>Microcorruption player identities were totally private. There's no way for a recruiter to look someone up, unless they used a very-identifiable username.

Sounds like a good starting point, but what if I don't want my report card stored and used to compare with other people? What if I don't want to feel like my performance is owned by you?

>>We assess for skill first, passively as players play our games and then actively. Our founders — talented technologists — personally reconstruct candidates’ solutions and evaluate them.

If I don't have any control over how and when my information is going to be monitored, I'm forced into an ugly position where I have to treat the whole thing as part of my career and perform competitively. The sense of relaxed exploration is killed, the idea of treating it like a college course or project isn't viable, and honestly I begin to resent the project.

Alternatively, I play on an anonymous account, and then if I decide to use my information about me in a professional setting, I'm best served by creating a new account and just redoing everything.

Edit: I should say that the idea really excites me and I'd love to learn in this format.
Given that a big chunk of the course is developing iOS apps, it makes sense for participants to own both a Macbook (for XCode) and the hardware they're running their code on.