News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

pook

Domainkiller, you have apparently been hellbanned since your one-word comment 38 days ago.
Re:Learn python instead of java on Friday August 31, 2012 @05:37AM (#4458956)
Wiedzmin, you have been hellbanned apparently. Your previous (first) comment must have annoyed someone.
Re:How computers work, from the atom up on Sunday August 19, 2012 @09:11PM (#4405872)
An interesting course and text is From NAND to Tetris [1], which builds up from the raw silicon up to the application layer.

[1] http://www1.idc.ac.il/tecs/

Re:What I hate about “beginner” programming books on Saturday March 17, 2012 @04:28PM (#3718100)
Point #2 is the Little Coder's problem _Why spoke of: a beginning programmer is likely to be discouraged by the vast difference between the toy programs displayed in introductory books, and the real code that inspired them.

I think any purported attempt to teach programming which does not end with the student creating a non-trivial, cool app, is a shame. What went wrong between SICP and current (non-Hartl/Shaw) beginning texts?

Re:HN: How can I make my brain/mind sharp again? on Tuesday June 29, 2010 @06:23AM (#1470958)
Everyone has great advice.

I recommend learning a language or 5. Ocaml, Erlang, Lojban, Japanese, Quenya, etc. Use Mnemosyne and Smart.fm for quick, cumulative study sessions, translate webcomics and such, play golf with old programs in new and differently powerful languages.

Also, read more. You'd be amazed at how many great SF novels you can read in a year, or how quickly you can devour Misner's Gravitation at a few pages a day.

I think the overwhelming point of all this advice is to have fun. Do things that induce flow.

Or we can just adopt the Discordian Calendar and, by increasing confusion, reduce disharmony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordian_calendar

Hail Eris!

Re:ASK HN: How do you motivate a lazy co-founder? on Monday June 28, 2010 @03:06PM (#1469032)
"I have no recourse because we split the venture 50/50 (no vesting). If I want to continue on the project without him, he can block it. I've tried buying him out and he insists he's committed and will not sell under any circumstance. My only recourse is to quit and block him from taking the idea and running with it. Neither of these are admirable outcomes and I'd rather run the business as far as it can go with a lazy co-founder than end it in such an ugly fashion."

I'm sure someone here would absolutely love to work with your "co-founder". Hell, they may even give him some common human dignity as well as an interesting project.

I'm reminded every time I hear about QM being "weird", of Eliezer Yudkowsky's Quantum Physics sequence.

"I am not going to tell you that quantum mechanics is weird, bizarre, confusing, or alien. QM is counterintuitive, but that is a problem with your intuitions, not a problem with quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics has been around for billions of years before the Sun coalesced from interstellar hydrogen. Quantum mechanics was here before you were, and if you have a problem with that, you are the one who needs to change. QM sure won't. There are no surprising facts, only models that are surprised by facts; and if a model is surprised by the facts, it is no credit to that model."

http://lesswrong.com/lw/r5/the_quantum_physics_sequence/

Re:New service cleans up whiteboard pics with an email on Monday June 28, 2010 @12:34PM (#1468448)
This is a great idea!

It would be interesting to see this combined with a project management system. I imagine being able to snap your whiteboard, have the image cleaned, and placed right onto a project wiki, in one move (similar to Posterous, perhaps).

There is now no point whatsoever buying music. These people should not be supported.

I propose a reverse boycott: pirate the hell out of the artists you like, and donate directly to them what you think they deserve. Directly, as in skipping all the middlemen eager to take a cut of their pay and your freedom.

Re:Why digital license plates are a great idea on Tuesday June 22, 2010 @01:17PM (#1452464)
Article summary: "I like shiny things that move, and classic license plates are the opposite of that!⸮"

I had to fix that for you. That right there is the Sarcasm Mark.

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Irony_punctua...

Because it is often difficult to identify satire nowadays.

Re:California license plates might go digital, show ads on Tuesday June 22, 2010 @04:37AM (#1451310)
How long before someone hacks this to flip off the other drivers in style?

This is definitely one of the least thought out proposals I've heard in a while. At least when it gets completely subverted, it will only embarrass those responsible rather than introducing catastrophic data loss as with the proposed Internet Kill Switch.

[flick switch] "FUCK... YOU... FUCK... YOU"

Re:Remember this? on Tuesday June 15, 2010 @08:35AM (#1432510)
For fun: go to http://milliondollarhomepage.com/pixellist.php and check out how many of these sites no longer exist.

The top site, http://www.rentpixelads.com/en/ , is a placeholder. As are quite a few.

Re:Suggestion to Improve the Hacker News UI on Thursday June 03, 2010 @03:39AM (#1400747)
PG said on many occasions he silently tweaks the backend.

Does he do A/B testing?

Re:How Free Explains Israel’s Flotilla Fail on Wednesday June 02, 2010 @03:31PM (#1399091)
The asymmetry in money spent and effect achieved between the two sides is staggering. Call it the # sign versus the $ sign. The flotilla organizers spent almost nothing and won the day; Israel spent huge amounts of money and ended up with egg on its face.

If you don't find this incredibly fascinating and inspiring, you're in the wrong business. Hell, the wrong world-line.

Cory Doctorow welcomes you to his capital-F Future.

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