3am_hackernews

Not the OP, but something a bit more open ended and allowing interesting answers (IMHO):

- If you had to design a programming language, what would be some of the decisions you would make?

- (Since he lists things such woodworking, fiction writing, etc.) How has programming influenced your life?

- If you had to write another book, what would it be on?

- What do you think about the general state of interviews (programming related positions) in the industry?

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Other non-question comment:

- UX/Usability/Readability, layout, font selection of you website is really poor. Please make it easier for the readers (e.g. https://blog.ycombinator.com/chris-slowe-interview)

Slightly tangential to the post: Does anyone know how to make diagrams (watercolor style) like the ones in OPs article and blog?

How different is this from pinboard.in - why should I migrate to this?

Not to be a debbie downer, looking at this chart hurts my head. I am sure there are many other ways to present this information in a much more elegant and clean way.

Can you please elaborate?

At this point I am unsure if I should develop my C/C++ chops more or learn C# application development and add something new to the skillset.

Getting a job to develop with Rust would be a dream :)

Why?

A lot of ML and scientific computing libraries are in C++. Quite a few of the roles I have see want a solid understanding/experience with C++.

I think you pointed out my only concern quite well.

The C# role is mainly developing application level software which would talk to the C/C++ drivers and such. This C# will be fitted into another framework which is the top level platform.

Can you please elaborate on this "But really, it's pretty trivial to learn a language. C# is a fantastic language, but it seems that it is likely that your role will be taking you further away from your future plans, not nearer them."

As people have pointed out, learning a new language seems definitely like a good addition to the skill set, but I wouldn't want to do it at the expense of pigeon holing myself.

TL;DR: I am not sure if I should become better in C/C++ or pick up C#?

Could you also send me an invite please :)

A couple more things I encountered when trying to sign-up: 1. I could not see New York, SFo on this list. Which are the current target cities? 2. Upload a JPEG only picture. Really?

I am more interested as to how they "..scraped the Urban Dictionary from its memory." - is it trivial to just delete something learned by AI?

Is the iPad Mini really the '...at the moment the most sought after device in the tech blogosphere....'?

I think at this point you will just have to hide your birthday from fb.

So you are saying that they should start something like Amazon Payments?

I am sure that they are looking into it and the 'Facebook Gifts' might play very easily into all this.

Is this the result of the Karma acquisition [1]?

[1]http://blog.getkarma.com/post/23305446792/karma-is-moving-to...

As with most of the neuroscience research, there exists a counter evidence to this -

Boecker, H., Sprenger, T., Spilker, M.E., Henriksen, G., Koppenhoefer, M., Wagner, K.J., Valet, M., Berthele, A., Tolle, T.R. (2008). The Runner's High: Opioidergic Mechanisms in the Human Brain. Cerebral Cortex DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn013[http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/11/2523.full]

Haha, yes - I lost my iWork apps likewise.

Let me clarify: You pay a premium for the entire ecosystem - hardware and software.

Also, there are a lot of Mac apps not made by apple of better quality and inexpensive.

I think the point isn't that is impossible to be able to do a clean install of an OS and apps (Time Machine included) you have already paid (premium!) for but the fact that it is non-trivial and very much involved - all the things for which the Apple system stood against. Most of the newer Apple products are a black box which cannot be fixed unless even the technically competent users take extra efforts(^).

And this is coming from Rob Pike[1].

edit: (^)Or you take it to the Apple Genius people, who just have the correct tools.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Pike

I would like to ask your criteria for deciding the best phone.

A few years ago, yes the iPhone was the best in specs and had the most innovative and unique features. I don't think it holds true any more.

Faster, slimmer, lighter and longer lasting - yes, these are really good updates in a small piece of equipment that iPhone 5 is, there's no denying that.

But what really irks me is the way Apple marketing team is hyping it up - "This is the best <insert iDevice> we have ever made!", "This is revolutionary!", "This will change everything you were doing before!"... A slathering of these so often during the entire event and then on with their advertisements makes me cringe and shake my head with disappointment. This iPhone and the iPod[x] are pretty much an iteration and minor upgrade, not what the actual 'revolutionary' things were - iTouch, iPhone, iPad, retina display, etc.

I don't expect 'revolutionary' every year or any time, I just expect some sincerity announcing.

I agree to the daily or maybe have an option for a weekly thing, but I am not sure how this will match up with the model/book you have planned out so far.

About design and usability: Most of the people accessing the web from India don't focus on design as much as they do on content and or the purpose. This is changing though as more and more consumers and developers are paying attention to UX and other such aspects.

About mobile based access: I don't have the specific numbers at this point, but most of the mobile access is through 'dumbphones'. So not having a mobile site is not exactly an issue.

I was under the impression that quality triumphs over quantity for these cases.

Yes, I was really curious about their metrics for ranking the startups.

As you correctly pointed out - why is instacart missing while 9gag is present? I can name so many much better alternatives to 9gag: instacart, KIPPT, Everyday.me etc.

It is written so beautifully that the "code" part of these thoughts can be substituted for many other things: design, engineering, life etc.