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Tekker

442 karma · joined January 25, 2013

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Tekker··on Is Multi-Millionfold Speedup Proof That Google Is Really Quantum Computing?
I have to say, though, that regardless of whether or not it's quantum it's still damn fast. But the question was, is it quantum? I don't exactly know how you prove that. I assume you can, I just don't know how.
Tekker··on Netgear Routers Susceptible to ‘Serious’ DNS Exploit
Unfortunately, it doesn't describe "how" the exploit was done, even generally. Anyone know?
Tekker··on Could we do this? Open source replacement for iTunes
I'm not worried about managing my music (I know there are alternatives); I'm more frustrated by the ridiculous process of managing the phone.
Tekker··on Coconut Headphones: Why Agile Has Failed (2014)
I think the overarching aspect of agile has failed, in part because it requires more implementation than most companies are willing to put up with.

I see, in general (and I am a certified scrummaster, FWIW), that companies tend to embrace sprints - usually going for two weeks - and daily standups (which they might do poorly, but at least they try). Everything else - estimation sessions, lessons learned, burndown charts - are up for grabs. Maybe that's a failure of the company. Maybe that's a failure or Agile, for failing to take into account the normal inertia of companies - I don't konw. It is better than waterfall, but it's not fully embraced.

Tekker··on Talk me out of it – switching from Firefox to Chrome
I disabled everything but Ghostery, since in reality I don't use Firebug much. We'll see what happens with that as the only add-on. Otherwise, I'm jumping ship. I don't mind some inconveniences, but when I can't get anything done...
Tekker··on Talk me out of it – switching from Firefox to Chrome
I have an 8-gig mem 64-bit Windows 7. I run almost no extensions (usually just firebug and ghostery and web developer).

It's not any one thing; it just seems to bog down, and I can't noodle out why, except Firefox seems to be the common denomator ATM.

Tekker··on Real Games for Windows (1994)
Oh my God, WinG. That lasted for what - a year? I think I was using it seriously at one point. Part of the ultimate quest for a generic graphics library (suitable for gaming, or whatever).
Tekker··on Unbounded High Dynamic Range Photography Using a Modulo Camera
"Beginning of the end for over-saturated images" ?

Well, then, say goodbye to the Disney channel, the most oversaturated channel out there.

Tekker··on Researcher says can hack GM's OnStar app (different from UConnect)
Here we go again!
Tekker··on Voyager’s Golden Record for Aliens Now Available on SoundCloud
They were, but not assembled in one place.
Tekker··on WDT, a library to transfer files as fast as possible over multiple TCP paths
How is this better than 0MQ (or ZMQ)?
Tekker··on Hackers Remotely Attack a Jeep on the Highway
I'm not going to comment on the question of whether or not the highway patrol should have been called or not - just say I understand where poster tombrossman was coming from.

However, I fully agree this was a ridiculous stunt. They could have gotten the same results by demonstrating (on the highway, if they insisted) the air conditioner going full blast, the radio, and the picture of the hackers on the screen. Anything else (cutting transmission, obscuring visibility) should have been saved for a safer environment. The point still would have been made.

And it's got nothing to do with the vehicle and driver itself (though I wonder how the hackers knew the exact driving situation - was it plastered with cameras?) - what if two unrelated vehicles got in an accident for some reason and the test driver had to get out of the way, but couldn't?

And to make it worse, the cranked radio made it hard for the tester to communicate with the hackers. Very dangerous stunt.

Also, and I know it was unrelated to this particular hack, but if the UConnect recognizes voice commands (I assume so), and sends it back for processing, then might it not also be able to bug (eavesdrop) on the car's interior?

Many disturbing revelations came out of this, and I applaud them for making it known, but I criticize them harshly for the cavalier way they endangered public safety.

Tekker··on Ask HN: Can you get to AWS?
Leap second posts?
Tekker··on Android Studio 1.0
I've been using Android Studio for a while now, and greatly prefer it over Eclipse ADT (being phased out anyway, and thankfully so) but I've had a lot of trouble getting my projects from earlier versions of Android Studio up to date - it's always a form of a gradle incompatibility; Android Studio is great when it works, but it's been a rocky path to 1.0.
Tekker··on Appeals court ruling could be 'death' of software patents
IMO, there's not need for a patent on an algorithm to "allow one window to display partially occluding another" or "method to display multiple items on a drop-down menu".

I can understand patenting things like file formats (e.g.: PSD) but general computer operation "controlling tones over a device connected to telephone lines to initiate a connection between a remote computer and a local one" or the more stupid GUI patents or obvious usage patents.

I have no problem if they all go away.

Tekker··on Microsoft signs Android patent deal with Foxconn
Microsoft gets royalties on Android devices because it owns some patents of stuff Google uses? Worlds collide.
Tekker··on Kickstarter accepts anti-gravity device campaign
I don't see how this is "anti-gravity" - making something that floats isn't necessarily anti-gravity. He wants to create a microversion of a weather system, so I don't see how this is going to work beyond being a few cms over the ground.
Tekker··on Thai character ก็็็็็ (ก) gets rendered in a strange way
Same for me
Tekker··on Why I created Comic Sans
Regarding Comic Sans misuse, I suspect many people are looking for a "handwritten" font, of which Comic Sans is often the first similar sort of thing, and people gravitate to it.
Tekker··on Why I created Comic Sans
Why is the uppercase D so droopy? That's the one character I hate in the font.
Tekker··on A new type of piano keyboard: The Seaboard
Although the comments seem against it, I'm for it - I've played piano (and organ) for some 45 years now. You have to remember that the piano is mainly a percussion instrument, and there are few options to temper the sound, outside of sustain and such.

Synthesizers have had the same capability as shown in the video, but you had to reach to the side and twirl a wheel to get the same effect, which detracts from the playability.

Initially, this is not suited for traditional classical (probably better for jazz) but who's to say someone couldn't write a new classical based on this instrument (although goodness knows what the musical notation would be).

Tekker··on The world's smallest ARM chip announced, designed for swallowable computers
The chip is small, but the USB connection is a b*tch.

Really, though, it gives rise to other potential dangers (not that that's a reason to not do it). Imagine a USB flash drive with a full computer behind it (but so small you'd not know it was there).

There are real uses that would benefit greatly from this, such as artificial eyes that could do whole image processing and send it on to the brain.

Tekker··on Why we don't hire programmers based on puzzles and tricks
When I interview others, I use a couple of basic whiteboard show-me pseudocode questions (how would you reverse a string, how does a linked list work, give me an example of a callback). It seems to me that if they know their stuff, they can answer those. If someone can't get through any of them, or at least have a valient stab at it, chances are they don't have the background I want.

By the same token, I've been interviewed myself where I've been given weird shit questions like others have mentioned; not the blender one, but shit along that line. That's nothing I personally do without some serious contemplation, not to be achieved in 5 minutes in an interview. Anyone who does so likely knew the answer ahead of time or is extremely puzzle-oriented. I think the real test is to examine the puzzle-solving processes of the candidate, but as a rule I don't think much of those kinds of questions.

Tekker··on When to Sell Your Company
Apparently, it's before an article like this is written...: http://www.privco.com/livingsocial-receives-emergency-110m-c...
Tekker··on The reasons why 64-bit programs require more stack memory
I would have preferred he simply turned off optimization, for clearer results, rather than obfuscate the code (and who knows what other optimizations were still in place).
Tekker··on We broke the tomato, and we’re using science to fix it
In addition to the red delicious, the strawberries, and the tomato, count in watermelon. It's gotten so you can only buy seedless in the store, and seedless isn't close to the flavor of seeded.

On all of these, flavor has been bred out in favor of looks and hardiness, and we now have a generation of people who don't know what the stuff really tasted like. Hell, I'm forgetting what some of it is like myself, until I eat a different or heritage variety. And don't get me started on poultry.

Tekker··on Dolphins Call Each Other By Name
Then we could build it into Unicode!
Tekker··on Winter chills limit range of the Tesla Model S electric car
Living in New England, 45 degrees is not "chilly", it's (at this time of the year) very nice. Will this car run at, say, 5 below? Cold, as a rule, is not kind to batteries. Though the tests are enlightening, they show this car is not destined for cold climates. And that's okay; cold + batteries != good, we understand that.

That said, if we ever want EVs to "take over" the gas-powered engine industry, there's a lot of work to do, and we're a far, far, far cry from running long-range trucks on EV (granted, no one's talking about that now, but that's the obvious ultimate conclusion).

Tekker··on Heroku Blog: Routing Performance Update
I appreciate the honesty, but I don't see any "this is how we'll fix it", rather, just "we promise to document it and make it clear to anyone who wants to measure it".

Effectively, they have a fundamental architectural problem, and don't know how to work past it.

Tekker··on 447 Days Ago, I Found Out I Had Cancer
As someone with Stage IV cancer, I say "congratulations" but don't be so hard on your oncologist - I don't know your details, but every situation is different. Every cancer case responds differently. If you think your oncologist was wrong, then switch oncologists. However, maybe (s)he was right if they gave you a life-saving regimen. Enjoy the life you have, and be grateful for every day/week/month/year that you're still around.
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