jamesbkel

YMMV, but after I was contacted about breaking the 250g limit a second time (was not disconnected since it was >1yr between overages) I played dumb* and told them that I had recently bought "a server off craigslist" and that maybe it was related to old software leftover on that. Ever since, if I have an overage I receive an email suggesting I download their security tools because I may have a bot operating on one of my machines.

I have no idea if this is simply coincidence or if they in fact have a flag for "less knowledgable users"/"malware affected users". Could just be luck on my part, but I would say give that technique a try if you find yourself in that situation.

*This part was entertaining. After countless times trying to provide customer service reps with complete details and explain things only to be met with confusion on their end, it was fun to use my knowledge to intentionally sound like I had no idea how computers/internet worked.

This article is a bit sensationalist, I would definitely enjoy having such a feature if I was driving through an unfamiliar city... from what I can tell it simply rates areas based on crime stats. However, I can appreciate the point that if this sort of application becomes widespread it could potentially perpetuate crime/poverty etc. in already struggling areas.

Just this week I started looking into similar ideas. At the moment I've been experimenting with a Wacom tablet and screen capture software... I looked up the Khan Academy methodology and started there.

But if anyone has recommendations for and iPad app that offers a shared whiteboard experience please let me know. We already use Skype on iPad as our sort of virtual office so that would be perfect.

Or... make one! We'll buy it!

Wow. Very impressive. I'm in Boston and was able to pull an almost disturbingly detailed 3d view of my balcony.

>Game design is a lot more rewarding than scientific research.

Doesn't this directly contradict you first comment?

>People should think for themselves and pursue whatever career interests them most.

FTA >“I knew all these things about her, but I’d never even talked to her,” said Mr. Balcomb, a pre-med student in Oregon who had some real-life friends in common with the woman. “At that point I thought, maybe this is a little unhealthy.”

I agree with this, but I think it says more about how one USES Facebook. I use it for organizing events and as a digital replacement for a rolodex. If I wasted my time flipping through a rolodex, learning details about people who were only acquaintances, I would consider that unhealthy too.

Based on the tone of Louis CK in his description, I would try sending some feedback on the problem... he appears receptive. It's only been available for one day so far, so I imagine he would appreciate a chance to improve the system.

There is actually a demo: http://www.excelmashup.com/ExampleApp

However it is not exactly easy to find (I almost gave up and posted the same as you did) and it would nice to have more than one example.

Somewhat in the same vein... a friend of mine teaches ESL classes for foreign US university students. He made a pretty basic app - it's not polished but it's perfectly functional - to help his students study vocab/tenses/etc. I forget now if it was free or $0.99, either way he didn't actually have that many downloads since it was only designed for his class.

That said, the students loved it. And, he could also update the app as the course went along. Finally, although he only made enough through App Store sales to maybe go out for a nice meal, it translated into promotions, bonuses and the like. So ultimately, it paid off.

My main point is: in addition to selling niche apps at a premium, there's also the opportunity to develop cheap/free apps that otherwise help you move ahead within a niche market.

That was my initial reaction... I mean it's no mystery that for $100, it simply cannot compete with the iPad and also be profitable.

That said, for only $100 I would be willing to give up a rich multimedia experience/gaming like the iPad for something that did an acceptable job browsing/email.

As someone who managed to lose over 100lbs through trying various techniques and adjusting by trial and error, I largely agree with your advice.

I rely on a diet of yogurt in the morning to get my day going, then one large meal for dinner. As long as you don't go overboard on the dinner, that generally leaves enough room for a "cheat day" each week.

Also, the "sprinting" technique worked wonders for me. I used a stationary bicycle and would do ~5min sprints/~2min breaks while watching TV or listening to music. If you live in an apt building and want to do that on the cheap, I've found running stairs works well too.

[edit: One last thing. The water fasting technique works quite well. If you are trying to drop some weight, get one of those filtered water jugs that fit in the refrigerator. Every time you feel hungry but know that you shouldn't be eating, drink a glass of cold water. ]

Steely Dan does a similar thing. Last time they were in Boston they did some along the lines of two shows that were specific albums from start to finish, plus a random collection of songs to finish up the show. Then there was a third show that offered an online-vote for the entire setlist.

That is a valid point.

One of things I noticed when I was in HS (~10 years ago) was that since it was such a new phenomenon to teach stats in public HS, the teacher was essentially learning alongside us. This was no fault of his own, but simply that when he was training to teach, the value of teaching everyone basic stats was not appreciated.

I can only hope that trend will change.

One of things that I have found to be a disappointed with the US education system is lack of statistics courses in High School. In most cases, the extent of stats/prob education is limited to AP Statistics, which most students will not take and probably scares off many otherwise bright students because of the "AP".

I find this particularly troubling since I remember as a student that my peers would constantly complain about math courses using the rationale "Am I ever going to really use this?". Both sides are arguable for certain subjects (I can't remember the last time I really used trigonometry, but I do think that learning it helped me to reason better in other domains). However, I find it troubling that statistics is not mandatory/highly encouraged, yet it is something that applies to an incredible amount of everyday activities.

FWIW, I don't have a case on my iPhone 4 since I can't stand the extra bulk, but I am definitely considering the Audman. I left my iPod out in the sun awhile ago and it overheated... since then I've found my iPhone to be a lousy replacement for listening to music. The lack of a tactile UI means that I'm constantly fishing it out of my coat to do something as simple as skip a song. Even worse in the car (I have a 1/8" connection, but don't use it because trying to manage the iPod app while driving is really no better than texting while driving).

Seems like this product may be a good solution.

From what else I've seen about this, it's not actually a functioning store and was mostly a publicity stunt.

That aside, I'm curious about why they would have multiple slots on the same shelf for the same product. At least looking at the image in the article, it appears that some of the milk and various juices have >1 slot on the same shelf. Since there is no stocking issue and there need only be one QR code to scan per product, this seems like a waste of space where additional products could be displayed.

I suppose in this case, it was probably just a consequence of them using a photo of a real-life cooler. However it would be interesting to find out if it's more effective to retain that traditional in-store setup versus using a display that had only one image per item. Perhaps keeping the normal in-store look adds a certain level of comfort/familiarity that makes up for reduced product set.

Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions - Gary Klein http://www.amazon.com/Sources-Power-People-Make-Decisions/dp...

Also, Gerd Gigerenzer is a good name to look into. My degree is in Decision Science, so I'm slightly biased against some of the pop-sci authors. However Gigerenzer has a number of books that range from highly accessible to the academic. Also, he has served as an editor on volumes that relate the study of mental models/cognition to other fields.

One example is: Heuristics and the Law http://www.amazon.com/Heuristics-Law-Dahlem-Workshop-Reports...

Similar situation here. My Dad uses his laptop for browsing and email, maybe to scan a document every few months. After getting fed up with all the calls about spyware and other generally weird issues I installed Ubuntu.

Since then, I've had two support calls from him: 1) "Is it safe to enter my password when it's installing updates?" 2) "I'm at my friend's house... how do I add a new wireless network?"

Can you point me in the direction of more info about that law? Maybe I'm just choosing the wrong search terms, but I couldn't find any concrete info.

In case you missed this: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/11/in-store-pickup-se...

(there was actually a well-commented post about this on HN not too long ago, but after a few min I gave up trying to find it)

Truly a fantastic individual. I felt privileged to see him one last time when he spoke at my CMU commencement.

A quick addition to the awesomeness of sperm whales: part of the reason they dive so deep/long is to hunt giant squid. While a sperm whale vs. giant squid battle has never been observed, there are multiple counts of sperm whales with scars that are from squids and in some cases almost certainly from giant squid.

My guess is that it's this photo, presumably from the same shoot. It looks like the harmonicas are in their cases at the nearest corner of his desk.

http://www.linkagree.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/about_st...

It was available for older devices in the past. I had it for awhile, but since it was really was only good for searches like "where is the nearest...?" and lacked iOS integration, I don't recall using it much after the novelty factor wore off.

Correction: as JoeAltmaier pointed out, I should have written something along the lines of "failure rate" or "hazard rate". Clearly a "survival rate" like that would make no sense.

Ha, thanks for the correction. Was too caught up in the numbers :p

It seems silly to be worried about this sort of thing given to low likelihood of a crash in the first place. Most measures of flight risk are in "flight hours", so it's hard to make a direct single-flight measure. But most of the sources I was able to find quickly ranged from about 1/1MM to 1/10MM, largely depending on the airlines and countries out of which they are operating. I'll use 1/5MM for my purposes (if anyone has a better idea, pipe in).

So, if one were to look at the survival rates in the chart as "per flight" versus "per crash", it would be.

First Class: 49% * (1/5MM) = .0000098%

Ahead of Wing: 56% * (1/5MM) = .0000112%

Over Wing: 56% * (1/5MM) = .0000112%

Rear: 69% * (1/5MM) = .0000138%

[edit: cleaned up for readability]

Agree on both points. Another situation where I've found QR codes useful for the consumer is links within print publications. I would hesitate to follow any QR codes in a print ad, but for something along the lines of a follow-up video to an article, QR codes can be convenient for the reader.

I view time in a similar way. Whenever I remember something from awhile back, I quite literally visualize "rotating" the year in question like a dial until I'm on the correct day/month.

I also view numbers in general in a similar fashion. For example, I see 0-10 as points on a line that is about a 45 degree angle. 11-100 are the same but they are at a 135 degree angle. 101-1000 goes back to 45 degrees. This keeps going in a sort of logarithmic fashion... each turn between 45 and 135 is smaller/"zoomed out" as the numbers get larger. When I think of a number, it's almost like pointing to it (except all in my mind). Kind of hard to describe, but maybe this makeshift diagram will help.

10,000

  \

   \

    \ 

     1000

     /

    /

   /

100

\

  \

   \ 

    10

    /

   /

  /

 0

I was under the impression that the roadster was more about developing and perfecting the tech rather than immediately scaling up production. As redwood noted, the sedan is leading into the mass production phase.