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kvn_95

Re:The Techade Quiz on Monday September 28, 2020 @09:34PM (#24623318)
26/45 is the best that I can do without cheating.
Re:Data science interview questions with answers on Monday September 14, 2020 @09:45PM (#24477104)
> But generally I agree with you that companies should prioritize problem solving skills over technical minutiae.

Unless, the company's goal is to hire someone with technical minutiae that they can pay the lowest wage possible :)

Re:Data science interview questions with answers on Monday September 14, 2020 @09:43PM (#24477092)
The way I see it, an interview goes both ways. They try to assess your fit in the company, and you're also trying to assess if the company is something you want to spend your time on.

I call this the "game show style" interview. You know the answer, you get $10k. Next question. You didn't know the answer? You're out of the show. Next contestant.

To me this is very disrespectful of your time and your capabilities. Once I was pumped to go into an interview with a very well known company in Sydney, but was dismayed to learn that they do this game show interview (with IQ test, no less!). I wouldn't want to waste my most precious resources (i.e. time) for a company that doesn't respect me.

This is such a recurring issue that I just stop using new-ish Google products for fear of the rug getting pulled under me.

I used to use Google Home, now renamed Nest Home, and now I just stop using them altogether since I don't know how long it will survive.

Pretty much the only thing from Google I use today are Gmail and Google Docs.

This thread https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24165445 describes what's going on internally at Google that led to that graveyard. Namely, how the promotion system encourages the creation of a new thing, and inadvertently de-emphasizes maintenance.

Re:Ask HN: Secure async conversations for non-tech people on Tuesday September 08, 2020 @09:19PM (#24415665)
Secure communication is unfortunately still difficult for non-tech people. Most of the "easy" ones are tied to a smartphone, like Signal.

However if the goal is to prevent accidental leaking by using reply-all or adding an email address by mistake, then I think encryption features are nice-to-haves rather than a must-have. It's a very nice to have, but for non-techies and for your specific use case, usability is probably more important at this point.

I would thus recommend either:

* Discord (https://discord.com/), easy group voice chat should you need one

* Slack (https://slack.com/) using a free account, but they limit the number of messages for free accounts. May not be a deal-breaker for you.

* Element (https://element.io/) which was formerly Riot.im, and is encrypted and have more security features vs. the other two. Probably the most secure here.

All of them have their pluses and minuses, but all of them can be opened in a browser and require no smartphone. I suggest you pick one that you feel is easiest for your group to register and use, and provides the feature set that you require.

With regard to Discord, please make sure to read [0] before making any decisions :)

[0] https://cybernews.com/privacy/discord-privacy-tips-that-you-...

Re:Microsoft confirms compact, $299 Xbox Series S on Tuesday September 08, 2020 @07:58PM (#24415061)
I admit I'm a bit confused about Microsoft's strategy here. So they're releasing two Xboxes at the same time: series X and series S, with the S positioned as the less powerful version of the X, with the promise that it can play the same game as the X.

The X seems to be a direct competitor to the PS5 [0], hardware-wise.

Wouldn't the release of the S and the X together forces game developers to code for the lowest common denominator (i.e. the S) and makes development more complex for the Xbox? Or is it a strategy to undercut the PS5 (normal edition and digital edition) in price?

[0] https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/ps5-vs-xbox-series-x-vs-xb...

Re:Ask HN: What important truth do few people agree with you on? on Tuesday September 08, 2020 @02:42AM (#24405781)
This is a difficult question to quantify for me. "Few people" could be interpreted differently, and it depends on where you are. E.g. around the circle of people I know, I might be in the minority, but there is likely to be a niche where I'm part of the majority. It's just that I'm not aware or usually part of such a niche.

Second, what is the nature of the "truth" here? Is it mathematical/physical where there is no denying them? Is it opinion about something? Or historical facts? There are different level of truthiness there that I can see. However once you go into opinion-land, can it still be considered as truth?

I feel there are deeper reasons for this question.

Re:MongoDB History on Friday September 04, 2020 @08:32PM (#24380374)
I would also add that the replica set concept that is based on Raft [0] allows for built-in high availability, so the individual servers can be maintained while the whole set is running and servicing clients.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raft_(computer_science)

Re:MongoDB History on Friday September 04, 2020 @08:04PM (#24380196)
It also helps that the creator of the default storage engine (WiredTiger) are Keith Bostic of BerkeleyDB fame [0] and Michael Cahill, whose PhD thesis on serializable snapshot isolation [1] formed the basis of Postgres concurrency control [2]. Notably, both of them still work for MongoDB.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Bostic

[1] https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1376616.1376690

[2] https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/SSI

I played it using a basic Soundblaster card in the 90s and it’s already amazing. Lately I used DosBox with the MT32 emulation and was blown away by how good it sounds.

Here’s an instruction on DosBox MT32 emulation if you’re curious: https://blog.zyrain.org/2016/11/roland-mt-32-and-emulating-i...

Here’s a clip of the MT32 opening soundtrack if you just want to have a listen https://youtu.be/i3dB0qEcG20

Oh there’s like 5 of us playing it on the same pc so there’s always ideas thrown around. If nothing works then start clicking on everything :)

I don’t recall it to be as frustrating as say King’s Quest but then again it might be nostalgia.

Wow this really brings back memories! If Ron Gilbert is reading this, thanks for all your hard work on this game. This game was definitely one of the highlights of my childhood.

As to what makes the game great, I think it's the perfect combination of humor, pirates, and difficulty level that feels just right for a kid in the early 90s. It also has an amazing soundtrack.

Look! A three headed monkey!

Re:iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years on Thursday September 03, 2020 @02:15AM (#24361210)
At the rate of their price increase, buying 2nd hand will soon be the only option left to get Apple devices.

You know something is not right when their own website start to list trade-in prices. I mean, this is a phone, not a car.

Re:iPhone unit sales have been declining steadily for 5 years on Thursday September 03, 2020 @01:35AM (#24361044)
And also the opting for the nuclear option when faced with defending their 30% app store commissions.

I love Apple devices, but at some point no one can afford them anymore. Strangely, I noticed that this has happened before when Steve Jobs left Apple for the first time. At that point, Apple's product lineup keep getting more complex and more expensive, until Jobs came back and cut both the product count and pricing back to sensible levels.

This time, there is no one that can go back there and do that anymore. Will be interesting to see where this goes.

I find this really sad. I do congratulate the students that managed to figure out the system and game them (they will go far!), but using this keyword salad grading thing is totally missing the point of education.

I came from a third world country where the "education system" is basically just a series of tests on memorization and conformance, and I'm hoping I would never see a system like that ever again.

Re:Ask HN: What is your favorite method of sending large files? on Wednesday September 02, 2020 @10:13PM (#24360254)
Do you mean requires no configuration on the source or destination? :)
Re:Ask HN: What is your favorite method of sending large files? on Wednesday September 02, 2020 @07:59PM (#24359558)
"Why do you need to buy an Audi RS6?"

"Dude, I'm maximizing my data transfer speed"

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