Hacker News Reader

HXFIVEon How the Australian government plans to access encrypted messages

A rose by any other name

Yeah, I was expecting something insightful, but it's just an Ethereum promo. Nothing against Ethereum (although I'm personally not very excited about/interested in it).

HXFIVEon Theresa May says the internet must now be regulated after London terror attack

I'm strongly of the opinion that democracy will never flourish in the Middle East. Any attempts by the US and its allies to impose democratic systems are naïve (although I suspect those at the top are well aware, but just won't admit so).

Libya, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan all need secular dictators who can keep the populations under control.

HXFIVEon Google Contributor: Buy an ad removal pass for the web

I like the technology and pricing model, but I don't think that it is being put to its best use. I think a better use would be for news sites that require a login to view articles. At present I usually just go without viewing many as I can't afford to sign up to 10 different sites where I might view a couple of articles each week. If I could make a one off payment per article then I'd be all over it.

HXFIVEon Paul Allen's new rocket-launching plane

Originally it was going to use a Falcon 5 Air, and later a Pegasus II. Both projects were cancelled.

HXFIVEon Uber Posts $708M Loss as Finance Head Leaves

Exactly. I'm in Australia and have no idea how Uber and taxi prices compare. I use Uber because of the quality of their product.

Not a big fan of Uber as a company though. If Lyft of another viable competitor set up shop here then I'd be open to switching.

HXFIVEon As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

Christchurch should be pretty safe now with all the dangerous building having come down and new buildings being built to high seismic standards. I personally would never consider Wellington as I believe the earthquake risk is too high.

HXFIVEon As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

A few others have pointed it out already, but you're quite misinformed (not uncommon, most Australians assume NZ has worse internet connectivity).

NZ has a nationwide copper network owned by NZX listed company Chorus, and there is a gigabit fibre network nearing completion (Chorus and about 3 other companies). Network owners are prohibited from retailing and must provide retail ISPs access on fair terms (wholesale pricing is regulated).

There are a few Australian owned ISPs, but none that operate in both Australia and NZ.

HXFIVEon As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

Supply (particularly in Auckland) has been a big issue. The government has recently been working to rezone more land for development/higher densities.

HXFIVEon As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

You wouldn't be allowed to build a new house today without proper insulation and double glazing.

HXFIVEon As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

The rollout started a number of years ago. They're already over 70% of the way towards the 75% target.

HXFIVEon As New Zealand Courts Tech Talent, Isolation Becomes a Draw

75% of the population will have access to fibre at gigabit speeds by 2019 [1]. Coverage will increase to 84% by 2024. Not sure about latencies off the top of my head, but there are several new international cables under construction [2] which will help which accessing sites hosted overseas.

[1] https://www.crownfibre.govt.nz/ [2] http://www.hawaikicable.co.nz/