Hacker News Reader

burntwateron AOL to discontinue dial-up internet

The sound effects were way better back then. "You've got mail!". The doors opening/closing.

Though maybe it's different because back then, then meant someone I wanted to interact with was now available.

Today, a chat sound means someone I probably don't want to, but am required to, interact with is now available.

burntwateron NSF faces shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions

Who forced this? Was it actually the Biden administration, or was it university policies?

burntwateron Touchscreens are out, and tactile controls are back

And what if you're deaf?

burntwateron The anatomy of a 2AM mental breakdown

>> At my previous job if something went down on our site, it was a four alarm fire, war room, and all hands on deck to get it resolved or heads would roll. It was so dysfunctional to work somewhere when something broke or stopped working, nobody was in any hurry to fix it. Several times I just thought, "Is this what they mean when they say "the inmates are running the asylum""?

That's funny, because reading your first sentence I was thinking that was the dysfunctional place. I had a boss that would take problems from 0 to 10 in a flash, when the problem was really a 4 or 5, and it really was not a great environment.

burntwateron The 1986 Oldsmobile Incas Dashboard (2020)

"The dash display is almost completely digital—strangely, they left an extra analog speedometer and tachometer"

This is common even today, even on 100% digital screen dashboards, they'll have fake analog speedometer and tachometer displays. My 2023 Mazda CX5 is 50/50, half the dashboard is analog and half is digital. And I like it that way.

burntwateron Dumb website only lets one user in at a time

B&H (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/) is somewhat like this. Super popular business, but you can't order online on Saturdays. You can browse the website, just not place an order. Their physical store is also closed on Saturdays, and closes early on Fridays. They also close for days/weeks at a time for Jewish holidays.

burntwateron Kino: Pro Video Camera

Yeah, what qingcharles says. I personally can't say I've seen what's special about 24fps artistically, but it doesn't bother me from a technical perspective (as much).

burntwateron AI headphones let wearer listen to a single person in a crowd by looking at them

For decades now, when I enter a bar or restaurant I turn down the volume of my hearing aid. Not because everything is too loud, but because it allows me to hear spoken speech much better. It doesn't work quite as well on modern digital hearing aids as it did on older analog, and I don't fully understand the mechanics of it, but it's what I do.

burntwateron Kino: Pro Video Camera

I for one would love to see us drop the fractional frame rates (29.97, etc). They're an archaic technical relic that cause trouble when working with timecode. At Sphere we debated standardizing on 30/60/120fps but ultimately decided it was a battle we didn't want to fight in an already complicated building.

burntwateron Apple announces new accessibility features, including eye tracking

That doesn't surprise me too much. I never really used Spotify or any music app much in the past. This discovery was a convergence of things - switching from Android to iPhone, a renewed exercise routine, and most importantly a new iPhone and hearing aid combo that allowed the iPhone to stream directly to my hearing aid, removing the need for bulky headphones. Phone calls are also streamed directly to hearing aid. Game changing!

burntwateron Apple announces new accessibility features, including eye tracking

I'm severely hearing impaired and enjoy going to dance classes - swing, salsa, etc. If I'm standing still, I can easily tune into the beat. But once I start moving, I quickly lose it on many songs; dance studios aren't known for having large sound systems with substantial bass. I don't know that this specific setup would fix anything -- it would need some way of syncing to the instructor's iPhone that is connected via bluetooth to the studio's little portable speaker. But it's a step in the right direction.

While on the topic, I can hear music but almost never understand lyrics; at best I might catch the key chorus phrase (example: the words "born in the USA" are literally the only words I understand in that song).

A few months ago I discovered the "karaoke" feature on Apple Music, in which it displays the lyrics in time with the music. This have been game changing for me. I'm catching up on decades worth of music where I never had any idea what the lyrics are (filthy, that's what they are. So many songs about sex!). It has made exercising on the treadmill, elliptical, etc actually enjoyable.

burntwateron Apple announces new accessibility features, including eye tracking

Guaranteed that marketers are salivating at the idea of eye tracking on apps and website. It's an amazing feature that absolutely needs to be gatekept.

burntwateron Everything Hikers Know About Lightning Safety Is Wrong

Boy the bots are thirsty today... But anyho, most of this is actually news to me. One bit that doesn't make sense to me is how caves or rock overhangings don't provide protection. I'm not following that, if it saying that the electricity will still make it's way back into the cave floor? Does it matter if you're 3 feet from the opening or 30 feet?

burntwateron Equinox.space

At least for me, I've always associated preferring mouse inversion with growing up handling BB guns. When you're lifting a rifle up, you are pulling back/contracting on the right arm. When aiming, to go up you nudge the right hand down, or nudge up to point down.

burntwateron Daily-Driving a Blackberry in 2023

I disagree, I find the total keyboard experience much better on Android.

To each their own, obviously. But... yeah, IMO it's pretty bad on Apple.

burntwateron Home insurers are dropping customers based on aerial images

They're ALL raising rates. You might be able to change to a cheaper one this year, but next year your cheaper company will have implemented a 20%+ increase.

burntwateron The Great American Rail-Trail

I loved thinking about people 500 years ago walking on the same stones I was walking on, and thinking about what the exact spot I was currently standing on was like back then. What did it smell like? What did you see? Were the fields this open or were their more trees? Did you run into a lot of people?

Lots you can think about on the trail.

burntwateron The Great American Rail-Trail

Then you did a tiny piece of it and have chosen to extrapolate from that tiny piece.

If it's not for you, that's totally OK. It IS something for many other people.

burntwateron The Great American Rail-Trail

The Camino is vastly superior, just in a very different way.

ETA: I shouldn't say it's vastly superior, rather the Camino is a very, very different experience from the trails alluded to here, and is superior in relation to that experience.

burntwateron The Great American Rail-Trail

I haven't done it myself, but everything I've seen says the AT is a completely different kind of experience. You need to (should be) in reasonably good shape, you have to carry a lot more gear (ties into the first point), there's a lot more planning and logistics to work out, and it's a much more rustic experience (literally camping every night, with a few hotel stays).

For the Camino, I started out 40 pounds overweight, I did zero physical training in preparation, I had to plan basically nothing except my flight, arrival day and departure day. I was able to do it with literally only a few weeks notice (I had never heard of it until a month prior.)

Ultimately what I'm saying is the Camino trails are much more accessible to a wide range of people, as long as they're able to fly to Europe.

ETA: I should perhaps explain that the Camino trails, or at least the most popular trail I took (the Francis) is really more of a walking trail than a hiking trail. It's mostly flat(ish) and is much closer to what's depicted in pictures posted on The Great American Rail-Trail.

burntwateron The Great American Rail-Trail

Last fall I hiked 500 miles of a Camino trail in Spain. It was a fantastic experience and really made me wish we had something similar in the U.S. This is a good start, though the trail itself is only half the picture. To replicate the Camino experience you also need the network of cheap hostels every ~10 miles and the community and safety aspects that, sadly, I suspect would be lacking in the U.S.

burntwateron Paris preserves its mixed society by pouring billions into public housing

If I'm reading this right it's not quite apples for apples, as it's comparing the cost to create and move the beef, but doesn't consider the cost to create the car, only the movement of the car.

burntwateron Paris preserves its mixed society by pouring billions into public housing

My early 1910s Manhattan building was fantastically quiet, with very thick walls. The only noise I ever heard was floor noise directly above me, never to the sides.

I'm guessing mid-1900s to early 2000s buildings are the problematic ones.

burntwateron New York medical school eliminates tuition after $1B gift

Just thinking through everything this implies. Would it be safe to assume this means some people if not entire departments will be laid off? Not as much need for financial aid, bursar's office, etc.

Overall it's a great thing, a more lean administration and better efficiency, but it's a small peek into what would happen if the U.S. ever gets single-payer healthcare (as I fully hope we do).

On a different note, if things like this became more common, with fewer new doctors having massive debt, that would pull down salaries and medical bills. How you view that depends on if you're a doctor or a patient.

burntwateron How iTunes Is Changing on PC

I've switched back and fourth multiple times. After about 10 years on Android I recently switched back to iPhone for one feature and one feature only - its integrations with hearing aids. In every other way I can think of, I find Android so much better. I remember having the same reaction when I switched 10 years ago too.

Well, I switched for another reason - I've had three Pixel phones, and all three phones had hardware failures in less than 2 years, so there is that.

burntwateron Anki – Powerful, intelligent flash cards

That's great, thank you!

burntwateron Anki – Powerful, intelligent flash cards

Very helpful, thank you!

burntwateron Anki – Powerful, intelligent flash cards

Would you mind giving an example of the kind of prompt(s) you use to get these card generated?

On a different note, ChatGPT has been making me feel stupid because I fail to come up with many use cases, while it seems like tons of technically unskilled people come up with all kinds of uses...

burntwateron Waymo outperforms comparable human benchmarks over 7M+ miles

The auto-braking collision avoidance system on my 2023 Mazda CX-5 actually is exactly what caused my first collision in 20 years. I was slowing down to avoid a car that was turning off, the auto-braking decided I wasn't slowing enough (or, I might have just let go of the brake) and it proceeded to slam on the brakes bringing me to a full stop on a busy road, leading to me being rear-ended. At no time was any of that necessary. I've also had the auto-braking engage (on multiple cars) because of random debris in the road, or seemingly no reason at all.

Granted, I'm sure this will improve over time. But for the past 5ish years, all my experiences with auto-braking have been dangerously negative.