emontero1

"We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash."

I can attest to the veracity of this statement. My MBP's processor spikes whenever I get on YouTube or any other Flash-based site. I've had a couple of major crashes on both Firefox and Chrome while using Flash. I've also heard other users express similar views with these and other browsers on Ubuntu.

Dominican Republic

Go ahead and read it. You'll know why I shared it (it's only 30 pages long).

I'm leaving RIT/ROC this upcoming Sunday! I would have loved to attend. I know a few HN readers that would surely like to drop by. I'll spread the word.

His post reminded me of the discussion we had about Cory Doctorow's "When I'm dead, how will my loved ones break my password?" (link: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=681753). The fact is we haven't thought about what happens to the online presence of the deceased since the web is still relatively young. This is indeed a complex situation that I'm sure will grab more and more of people's attention in the near future.

Although I do see the point, I wouldn't advocate strict adherence to the author's propositions. I think the following has been said on HN before, but it bears repeating: balance is key.

Please, let us know how it goes with the intensified debauchery. Maybe I'll change my ways if your experiment's results prove to be enlightening. =)

The reason I consider this article HN worthy is this:

"Designed to resist the rigours of lengthy space travel, the anti-static, flame-resistant, odour-eating, bacteria-killing, water-absorbent smalls have been put through their paces as part of a project aimed at ensuring that future space travellers will need only minimal space in their suitcases."

Now imagine the myriad of different uses such underpants could have here on Earth. And? Precisely!

Although, one could also make the case that he already had access to the code before his departure as part of his daily responsibilities. Therefore, the fact that he was leaving had no real implications in him knowing the innards of the application and its source code.

What I don't understand is why there's no word about an NDA between Goldman and Mr Aleynikov. Had he been under contractual obligations, or bounded by a noncompete clause, Mr Aleynikov wouldn't have been incentivized to extract code from the repository to being with. It seems logical to me that if you're dealing with coveted IP, a contract between the parties is a necessity rather than a luxury.

I concur with you. Pirate is definitely a more pertinent term. Patent trolls recklessly attack companies in hopes of finding some good loot. What they're doing may not be illegal, but it's ethically murky at best.

That's really interesting. Are you using any tools to do the actual time tracking? Are those productive hours per day? How do you cope with distractions? I noticed you don't have "idle" time in your chart.

Incredibly, I heard similar words when a tech support rep called me with an irate customer on the line. The customer's words: "I've called 3 times and tried 3 different approaches. There's clearly something wrong with this f*ing piece of shit. Now, I've figured I might as well talk to the developers since you guys can make what I want happen, right?".

In the end, the infuriated customer only wanted a different set of options for a report (nothing fancy). The guy stopped calling tech support after that. He used to email the developers whenever he found an issue. He was happy with this approach. So were we. We got to understand our customers a bit better.

In the context of starting your first startup while you're still young and single: yes, you'd be lucky. Life in general: that's actually unfortunate. =)

I agree. Tolerance for risk is another big aspect of all this. I'm not married. I don't have kids. So my real only concern is myself right now. Others aren't as lucky.

I couldn't agree more. Discrete Mathematics is one of those areas I wish I'd explored further during my undergrad years. Logic, set theory, operations research, and information theory will all prove to be fundamentally important in your later years, irrespective of your ultimate concentration.

Evidently, the author got a bit carried away there. The implication that just because your HTML works in Safari means that it'll also work in IE or Firefox with "minor tweaks" is simply bogus. Anyone with any significant web development under his/her belt would vehemently disagree. I think the author is just an ardent Safari user. That's all good and dandy if you ask me. However, we should call it for what it is: that was a blanket statement. As such, it lacks verifiable, factual information.

We all know entrepreneurship entails huge risks. However, that's no reason to not forge ahead. Most people can't seem to understand that entrepreneurship is not about money, fame or power. Those are all secondary things. Entrepreneurship is about an idea and its development. It's about developing a thought, a concept only you and maybe the 2 other people starting the venture with you understand. It takes balls and passion. It takes courage. But more importantly, it takes unrelenting love. Love for the idea behind the venture, love for the concept of creating something valuable out of just abstractions, and, ultimately, love for the better world you're helping shape with the economic impact of your plan.

I'm not downplaying the importance of following sound economic principles (e.g. do NOT put your house as a collateral for a loan). Nonetheless, if you're going to be deterred by the economy, your wife, this article, or a friend, then you clearly don't have, and probably never had, what it takes.

My favorite John Von Neumann quote is: "It would appear that we have reached the limits of what it is possible to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful with such statements, as they tend to sound pretty silly in 5 years." That was circa 1949. The statement may appear silly at first glance. Nevertheless, even when Mr Von Neumann couldn't foresee any more advancements in the industry, he still was humble enough to concede his own limitations by implying that maybe there was more to do/discover. That stance alone deserves much praise.

Jeff's conclusion reminded of an adage I read recently about creative work (pardon me for paraphrasing and savagely butchering the author's idea -- I can't seem to find the source now): "Creative work of high quality is not the end. The real work stars once you're done with your work, for making people interested and know about it is as important as your creation itself." In other words, the real work starts once you're done coding.

Allow me to suggest Glims. I've been using it for a while now. I can't understand why Safari doesn't come with Glim's extras by default (e.g. full screen mode and better tab handling). Anyhow, here's the link: http://www.machangout.com/

Hope it helps.

Here's a review from Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/28/review-free-chri...

OK, educate: I don’t want to die at 50. What do I do?

The first step is to think about who you hang out with. There’s no silver bullet for longevity. I’m not gonna tell you to take a pill. If your three best friends are obese, there’s a good chance you will be. Surrounding yourself with people who don’t smoke or drink too much and who have a spiritual component in their lives has a profound impact over time. Cut out the toxic people in your life and spend time and effort augmenting your social circle with people who have the right values and a healthy lifestyle.

I don't know why, but this snippet brought Robert Greene's The 48 Rules of Power to mind: "Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky" (Rule 10). Of course, Greene's approach can be interpreted as a tad Machiavellian. But the message is still the same: watch who you're hanging out with. I've noticed that many of one's peculiar behavioral habits can be directly attributed to friends and acquaintances. It's interesting to see longevity talked about in the context of the people you spend time with.

Amazing, uplifting story! Thanks for sharing.

Your response's utter geekiness earned my vote! I couldn't have put it better.

I hope this one is a joke. Isn't goto looked down on because of its role in the Roman Inquisition? Seriously though, the project is just a cool technical hack not meant for public consumption, right? Right?

Believe it or not, I'm more interested in the people here than the content.

I wholeheartedly agree. As a matter of fact, I was reading the RSS feeds exclusively until very recently (2 weeks ago). A friend of mine then told me I should check out the discussions that take place on the site. I'm so happy I followed his advice. Generally, the discussions are at least an order of magnitude more interesting than the articles themselves. That's the reason HN is my browser's homepage now.

I couldn't agree more. The author nailed it here. The web is bringing all these disparate voices, all these writers from different backgrounds, ethnicities and walks of life, together. The resulting collage is enriching for aspiring writers and normal folks alike.

Also, I think this is the crux of the article:

True, much of what is written online is quotidian, informational, ephemeral. But writing has always been so: traditional newspapers line bird-cages a day later; lab reports describe methodology in tedious detail; the founding fathers wrote what they ate for lunch. And the quality of many blogs is high, indistinguishable in eloquence and intellect from many traditionally published works.

Well said.

You're missing the point entirely. I'm not questioning money's importance. We all have families and responsibilities. Money is the only way in which we can provide for our loved ones. However, if the first thing on your mind every morning is money, well, I don't envy you.

Also, I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I've been working nonstop since I was 17 years old. I've never stressed about money though. Maybe I'm just lucky I guess.

A distant uncle replied to me like this when I, being 9 years old and yet extremely curious, asked: "Why do you keep working everyday, uncle, when you have a gas station, a pharmacy and 4 other businesses?". His terse answer confounded the living hell out me: "Because working is lots of fun, kiddo. I'll keep starting businesses until there's no more fun in doing so."

Memories of our conversation are still vivid. That was 17 years ago. I finally understood what he meant when I got my first job and started making my own money. If you're passionate about your job, money will be nothing but a nice perk instead of being the reason you wake up early every morning.

Indeed. We've talked about this phenomenon before. Here's the link: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=678144

This was my remark on the matter:

As a foreigner in the US about to finish a MS degree in IT and travel back home, I find Friedman's words apropos. The limitation on H-1B visas does more harm than good. I've met many young, intelligent knowledge workers about to get their advanced degrees who, unfortunately, find themselves unable to stay in this country because of visa restrictions. Sending those brains back home is a mistake. A new approach is required if the US veritably wants to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.

It's good to see more and more people are joining us and voicing their opinions loudly. Evidently, the H-1B program needs some major tweaking. The more people know and understand the implications of what's at stake here, the better.

I've had blog posts that are a direct result of my interactions with several HN members. HN is a great catalyst for debates. Thus, sometimes I write what I write because of an idea picked up from a discussion that originated here. However, I wouldn't say I'm tailoring my content for HN either, since, generally, I write so that others (i.e. people outside this community) can at least understand what's the topic at hand and its repercussions.

Well said, pj! Thanks for such an illuminating commentary.