contextual

The NSA needs to put people back at ease, to make the Snowden story go away. What better way than to have Microsoft, Google and others make a statement like this?

Before using any Microsssoft product again, remember the parable of the Indian and the Snake: http://instereo92087.tripod.com/indiansnake.html

It's a bizarre and complicated story I hope to one day tell, but not today.

I ran a similar experiment with Rejection Therapy a year or so ago. I used big red "DON'T BUY" purchase buttons and sales went up slightly.

Long story as to why I took them down, and I'm not even sure if I should discuss it so I won't.

No. Searching on Google is akin to using a public washroom where video cameras have been installed.

That's a September article, and a little context is in order. The writedown was in inventory and not cash. It was for product that had only been in the retail channel for a few months. Good product like the Z10. It was a strategic move to lower the price of the corporation so it could be taken private.

They were trying to make BlackBerry as affordable as they could, as quickly as they could.

Data point: I sideload Android apps onto my BB Z30 all the time, and it's less than five minutes from start to finish. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.

Make 'em pay. Become so successful that the VC who screwed the deal looks like an idiot.

The Jolla UI looks like they borrowed liberally from Blackberry 10 OS. This is a good thing mind you, as I prefer subtle swiping gestures over tapping, and I like being able to 'peek' into my email without opening applications up.

Using the Blackberry 10 OS seems more like a true smartphone experience IMHO. Maybe Jolla felt the same way.

You are very kind. If you need an outside opinion, don't hesitate to ask. You'll find my contact information on my website: http://jasoncomely.com

I don't know your exact life situation, but in most cases, people get into startups for three reasons 1) they have a burning desire to be their own boss and control their own destiny 2) they see an opportunity in the marketplace and/or have a product idea they want to bring out into the world 3) need money to survive (pay rent, food etc) and a startup could provide a quick income source.

If at this stage in life you are in constant need of direction and instruction, don't have a business idea, and you are getting financial support to further your education - stay where you are for the time being and ride out the confusion.

BTW, I am an experienced serial entrepreneur and probably twice your age.

My parents know about Bitcoins. Officially, you are no longer an early adopter.

The asking of the question is your answer. Full-time startups demand every ounce of you. They are for entrepreneurial people with a high tolerance for risk and a vision of something they want to bring out into the world. Startups aren't for the timid or confused.

If you have any doubts at all (which you do), stay in school.

The answers here expose the lack of gratitude and ethical backbone of certain HN readers. Snowden risked his life to expose the surveillance programs of the most powerful countries in the world. You could argue he did more for civil liberties than any other human being thats ever lived.

No one else even comes close in terms of taking personal risk for the benefit of the world.

Snowden FTW.

81% of the internet do not use Wordpress: http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/27/19-percent-of-the-web-runs...

I made what I perceived was a potentially valuable insight, and lightened my comment with an idiom. No need to get emo.

This is cool, but I'm going to be a wet blanket here: you are seriously limiting your audience by making people install and host it themselves.

Even the fact it's on github is a big turnoff for a lot of potential users. Developers who want traction for their hard work should keep this in mind.

Study the Bible and/or Zen poetry every morning, preferably before reading anything else.

Spoken like a person of privilege, someone completely out of touch with the challenges of the poor.

Have you considered that low wage workers may be too exhausted after working two and three jobs a day to engage in "class warfare"? They worry about meeting basic needs for their families like rent and paying for medicines. Their war is survival.

Please, step out of your ivory tower and help them.

Makes me wonder if scientists and supporters of vivo animal testing are unwitting psychopaths, not just simply having low moral intuition.

I've been listening to EconTalk with Russ Roberts[1], The KunstlerCast [2] and Poetry Magazine podcast [3] for years. Good stuff. It'll put hair on yer chest.

[1] http://www.econtalk.org/ [2] http://kunstler.com/writings/podcast/ [3] http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/

My favorite word that's picked up a new meaning (for me, anyway) is trespass, as in "trespassers will be trespassed"[1].

Apparently, using the word trespass as a intransitive verb is correct (albeit archaic) and was used as such in the New Testament, as in forgive those who trespass against us.

[1]http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/dictionary/trespassers-wil...

Zuckerberg must be a traffic-drawing keyword for them to put it in the headline. It's such an obvious statement for an otherwise informative article.

NeoMailbox.net is a real, offshore alternative to gmail: http://neomailbox.net

Tony Schwartz in his book "The Way We're Working Isn't Working" is big on naps. It's basically the crux of the book. In it, he mentions a study on laboratory mice. They were deprived of sleeping or even being unconscious until they died.

From this Tony Schwatz deduces we have a daily nap.

Michel Jouvet[1] was the researcher who developed Modafinil. In one of his experiments, Jouvet deprived cats of sleep until they drowned in a vat of water. On average, the cats survived 35 days with only micro-sleep[2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Jouvet [2] http://psychology4a.com/sleep8.htm

Seriously cool stuff. Are there other formats (PDF for example) for those who want to buy this and read it on their smartphones later?

For me, there's always a 'toread' backlog. Then when I'm in the mood, I feast.

If the article is really important, I convert it to PDF using PrintFriendly.com and save it to my Basecamp. Otherwise, I save it to Pocket for a snack later.

Who said I can't read German? My mother is German. Besides, I trust the Germans a lot more than I trust the US government.

It's PGP sign/encrypt email with a passphrase option. There's also an option to read receipt.

Look, I'm not the sales department and I'm not going to hold your hand. Please, do your own homework.

I guess our priorities are different. I place a high value on my communications with family, friends and business partners. People who communicate with me know I value their privacy.

A ciascuno la sua.

NoMailbox has built-in encryption functionality. It's one of the many features and options in the new web interface.

To be clear, I'm just a satisfied customer. Using NeoMailbox gives me peace of mind. It's the best option I've found, and that's after months of testing many different paid and free email services.