Hacker News Reader

NotAWorkNickon UK bill quietly gives powers to remove British citizenship without notice (2021)

And, as per usual, the river flows on past, slowly eroding the rights of the 99% as the news channels and social media focus on the click ratio.

NotAWorkNickon uBlock Origin 1.41

From the release notes -

New - Dark mode Support for dark mode added to the Settings pane, under the (new) Appearance section:

Thanks Raymond!

NotAWorkNickon A 1970s paper predicted societal collapse in 2040-heres what the author says now

A quote from the 1972 research paper

* The team discovered that a so-called “business-as-usual” approach to economic growth would drain the planet’s resources and lead to collapse within the 21st century. While human civilization would not end, people would be significantly worse off than previous generations amid tumbling food production, industrial output, and population numbers. *

(checks the News) Yep, sounds spot on

NotAWorkNickon Number of Earth’s tree species estimated to be 14% higher than currently known

Please note that I was originally going to post a ranty shout about the Mods altering submitted article titles and then, upon reflection, I thought it best to ping Dan G an email (hn@ycombinator.com) directly (since that is absolutely usually the best way to resolve anything to do with anything, especially questions/rants that boil down to ‘Whah, Why did the HN mods do … xyz’)

/inserts self-deprecating humor alert

However. Upon further reflection of my reflectioning - I’ve decided to post the following in the hopes it will bring a smile to someone today rather than add an extra email to Dan's overflowing inbox :)

{Post Follows}

Ee Gads! [0]

I see that the submission pedants have been at work modifying the submitted article title which was originally to do with the number of undiscovered species.

I totally get the "Don't Editorialise" rule but when the entire article title is too long ("Number of Earth’s tree species estimated to be 14% higher than currently known, with some 9,200 species yet to be discovered") = Error of '44 Characters too long' and I decide to emphasize the 9,200 species yet to be discovered, finding that it has been altered (many hours after submission) to opt to highlight the first part then that is pedantry taken a step beyond the pale. Personal Opinion only of course.

[0] [Ee Gads] https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Ee+gads

NotAWorkNickon The metaverse is a new word for an old idea

Thanks but I get a 504 Bad Gateway error (I'm assuming the submitted link is paywalled, geo-fenced or similar?) so heres a Wayback link https://web.archive.org/web/20220208121636/https://www.techn...

NotAWorkNickon Ask HN: How do you effectively take notes in meetings?

Free flow thoughts and questions jotted down as they occur to me. I jot them down and then forget about them so I can concentrate and what is being said. If the query/question/thought is dealt with later on I draw a line through it and then circle back to anything that is still outstanding during the (typical) Q&A section that tends to occur towards the wind-down part of the meeting.

NotAWorkNickon Ask HN: A submission every 40 seconds ... do you follow the “New” page?

Typically I browse the HN front page down to the third or fourth page a few times/day (not logged in) and then browse the 'New' section (logged in) and browse down to the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th page page to upvote things that seem interesting (to me).

Not sure how a single data point helps nor even what the 'question behind the question' is but hth.

[Edit to add that I have 'Show Dead' enabled when logged in]

NotAWorkNickon Is SMB open-source? Am I contributing to Microsoft monopoly by using it?

First paragraph of the Samba Wiki (https://wiki.samba.org/index.php/Main_Page)

"Samba is an Open Source / Free Software suite that has, since 1992, provided file and print services to all manner of SMB/CIFS clients, including the numerous versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Samba is freely available under the GNU General Public License.

The Samba project is a member of the Software Freedom Conservancy. "

Search engines are wonderful things

NotAWorkNickon Privacy regulations may force Meta to shut down Facebook, Instagram in EU

Two thoughts spring to mind here -

Thought #1 - Who wants to seed-fund an EU based FB / IG clone in the hopes that this isn't a massive game of bluff on Meta's side?

Thought #2 - What are the odds re Meta actually taking its' ball home in a huff vs the EU backing down? My gut says that Meta will 'magically' find a way since they aren't going to want to walk away from the EU revenue stream .... especially not since I'm surely not the first nor the only one that has had Thought #1

(I'm aware that this announcement is part of an obligatory statement of worst case scenario requirments)

NotAWorkNickon Bloomberg accidentally publishing a story headlined 'Russia Invades Ukraine'

It makes me wonder what if they had accidently fat-fingered the "Russia DOESN'T Invade Ukraine" version

(tfa Quote to linked Bloomberg retraction) We prepare headlines for many scenarios and the headline “Russia Invades Ukraine” was inadvertently published around 4 p.m. ET today on our website. We deeply regret the error. The headline has been removed and we are investigating the cause.

NotAWorkNickon Department Press Briefing – February 3, 2022

Ok this sort of makes sense but 2 things spring to mind here -

#1) Any actual things/events will be automtically doubted even if true. Given the restriction on live casting to YT this leaves citizen journalism effectively muzzled.

#2) Pot meet kettle. Google Yellow Uranium Hoax and the "Sexed Up Dossier".

Personal Opinion Only - I find it sad seeing the Internet being weaponised

NotAWorkNickon We all learned a painful lesson from Facebook. Now Facebook is learning it, too

Link for those having trouble accessing the article link

https://web.archive.org/web/20220205135606/https://www.washi...

NotAWorkNickon Los Angeles Bans New Oil Wells and Will Phase Out Existing Ones

From tfa - "Shutting down domestic energy production not only puts Californians out of work and reduces taxes that pay for vital services, but it makes us more dependent on imported foreign oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq," Zierman said in an email."

I feel like I've just spotted the fourth horseman of the apocalypse to go with the other three* scare quotes that are trotted out in response to a good thing

* (#1 think of the children; #2 terrists and #3 the baddies will use this tech/thing/law to do bad things)

I'm surprised that there wasn't a 'They Took Er Jerbs!' argument... errr no, wait... there it is

NotAWorkNickon Research brings analog computers just one step from digital

Abstract: Processing-in-memory (PIM) architecture has demonstrated great potentials in accelerating numerous deep learning tasks. In particular, resistive random-access memory (RRAM) technology provides a promising hardware substrate for PIM accelerators, because it can support efficient in-situ vector-matrix multiplications (VMMs) with high-density RRAM crossbar arrays. However, such accelerators suffer from frequent and energy-intensive analog-to-digital (A/D) conversions, severely limiting their performance. This paper proposes a new PIM architecture to efficiently accelerate deep learning tasks by minimizing the required A/D conversions with neural approximated peripheral circuits. By characterizing the existing dataflows of state-of-the-art PIM architectures, we first propose a new dataflow by extending shift and add (S+A) operations into the analog domain before the final A/D conversion, which can remarkably reduce the required A/D conversions for a dot-product. We then elaborate on a neural approximation method to design both accumulation circuits (S+A) and quantization circuits (ADC) using RRAM crossbar arrays. Finally, we apply them to build a RRAM-based PIM accelerator--\textbf{Neural-PIM} based on the proposed analog dataflow and evaluate its system-level performances. Evaluations on different DNN benchmarks demonstrate that Neural-PIM can improve energy efficiency by 5.36x (1.73x) and speed up throughput by 3.43x (1.59x) without losing accuracy, compared to state-of-the-art RRAM-based PIM accelerators, i.e., ISAAC} (CASCADE)

NotAWorkNickon Mechanics Ask Walmart, Bike Manufacturers to Stop Selling “Built-to-Fail” Bikes

The thing is people are often not all that clued up on 'the tech jargon' and so would be unlikely to purchase a single speed, non-suspension plain jane bike when right next to it (for the same or similar price) is something that has (fake) suspension, shoddy gears etc but loudly proclaims 24 Speed, Comfort Suspension etc.

I mean caveat emptor but when manufacturers stoop to such deceptive practices as fake/non-functional suspension pieces then you can't always blame the purchaser*

(* not that you were btw - just a seperate train of thought).

NotAWorkNickon Mechanics Ask Walmart, Bike Manufacturers to Stop Selling “Built-to-Fail” Bikes

One of the problems with owning and using a bike is the high theft rate from outside shops, libraries, street racks etc which means you risk losing it each time you leave it chained up outside. Even the expensive locks don't seem to be up to much if you've watched a few Lock-picking Lawyer YT vids.

The cost of having to replace even a cheap bike due to theft to a low income person is huge. Something in the 1.5k price range would be devastating so ... cheap bikes it is. I think that the ultimate problem is the excessive mark-ups on the cheap/junk bikes doesn't allow for a mid tier (in terms of price/quality) brand or manufacturer room to enter the market.

NotAWorkNickon Why is a browser extension required to access research papers?

Unfortunately due to an ongoing court case, Sci-Hub have paused adding any new papers

[ https://old.reddit.com/r/scihub/comments/lofj0r/announcement... ]

Further details and suggested alternatives at https://old.reddit.com/r/scihub/wiki/index

NotAWorkNickon Systemd, 10 years later (2020)

".... and found that someone was about to release TCP/IP for Linux" (Fred van Kempen, linked interview 1992)

Wow. I had forgotten how ropey early Linux was. I mean, I rip on Windows folk about early versions of Windows prior to 98SE or NT4 (and can recall having to install Winsock on a home Win95 install and thinking why the hell????) but finding out 30 years later that my early struggles with Linux were not entirely down to my own incompetence is ... refreshing. I mean how do you Google (ok in those days Altavista!) a "how to" if the network stack is borked? How do you even download the drivers or updates if the interface fails to come up?

It sounds silly but I'm so glad to know it wasn't something I was doing wrong on my end. 30 years later and dayamn!

NotAWorkNickon Italian mafia fugitive caught after police spot him on Google Maps

I thought Google Street View started blurring faces around 2014? If so how was his face found on Google maps?

NotAWorkNickon Is Norway the New East-India-Company?

https://www.dw.com/en/norways-climate-hypocrisy-clean-at-hom...

https://www.arctictoday.com/norway-will-keep-exploring-for-o...

https://www.energyvoice.com/oilandgas/norway/330163/norway-a...

There ya go; 30 seconds on DDG, 3x varied sources (mops brow from the sweat of using the internet to search for something)

NotAWorkNickon FSD Beta 10.8 is coming with Holiday fun update on Tuesday, Dec 21, says Musk

I'll skip the obligatory "CARnage at Christmas" comments/news articles although gosh the headline almost writes itself and just stick in my tuppence.

I get the idea/concept behind restricting the rollout to high safety score drivers but...

Wouldn't it be a great idea to release it to extremely low scoring drivers? That way Tesla can (with the telemetry) show how many times their system intervened and prevented x number of crashes?

I mean sure - that's some 'out of the box' thinking right there but since Elon Musk is never one to shy away from the press headlines just think of the Tesla PR copy ..... "Tesla FSD saved x number of lives this holiday season".

* The (almost) obligatory disclaimer follows - I don't work for Tesla, I don't own Tesla stock and I also don't own a Tesla. AKA I don't have a dog in this fight, although I do also have enough gray hairs on my head to be happy to let the first-adopters kick the tires on stuff as I observe. Has served me well when it comes some Google products, bit me in the ass on bitcoin so meh, swings and roundabouts on average. i.e. - YMMV, My opinions are my own etc.

NotAWorkNickon Don't Ask to Ask

I sometimes volunteer as an admin on an IRC server's #help channel and see this frequently.

It is a fine line between a newbie entering the help channel and asking 'hi is anyone here able to help?' vs. 'Hi, I can't change my nick'.

In the case of the former, the channel bot boots them and sends a PM/DM explaining the protocol (it is stated in the channel topic as 'Don't say Hi or Hello, just ask your question and wait').

At first I was a bit taken aback by the server operators stance since it seemed so user hostile but after a few weeks I began to understand the reasons.

It makes it much easier when paged (the bot pages/pings a descending list of nicks if nobody responds to a new post within 60 seconds).

Being paged to drop by the help channel is made so much easier by being able to scan back and read the actual problem rather than a 'Hi, is anyone able to help me?'

From a users perspective it seems rude to just blurt out 'hi, I need help with xyz' and I totally understand that (see my earlier comment about it seeming rude) buuutttt... it just saves so much time/mental energy on the 'person helping' end to parse the problem, dig out either the FAQ link or ban-hammer or other remedies if the 'hi I need help' is predefined.

It also allows those that are just idling in the help channel to decide whether or not to try to deal with it or if the problem is beyond their remit/knowledge/server privileges.

Took some getting used to but damn does it save a lot of time!