Hacker News Reader

daniel_solanoon AOSP source code back online

Two main points:

1. Google is moving the AOSP away from kernel.org servers to Google servers.

2. The source code for Ice Cream Sandwich will be available "once it’s available on devices".

daniel_solanoon Amazon tablet: What to expect from the Kindle Fire

I keep on hearing the question: is the Fire an iPad killer? Perhaps it's just me, but the two devices seem to have very different purposes. The Fire may sell as well as an iPad, but that doesn't mean it's an iPad killer. Was the iPad a Kindle killer?

daniel_solanoon Android and iPhone: Possession vs. Utilization

Is it just me or is this a really poorly written article with questionable analysis?

For one, the graphs strike me as confusing. There's too much information trying to be packed into the graphs. It also appears that the various "utilization" measurements are the same on each graph. Furthermore, two completely different types of measurements are used for the "possession" metric, installed base for the U.S. market and quarterly sales for the global market.

Then, there is the questionable "utilization" metrics.

1. Browsing market share: Now, I don't know much about iOs, but on Android there are several different competitive browsers (Opera, Firefox, Dolphin) in addition to the stock browser. Could counting only the stock browser undercount the Android share?

2. Airport/in-flight market share: This is really a measure of what types of phones are used by people who do a lot of flying. Can any conclusions about general smartphone users be drawn from this data? If anything, it just shows that if you are trying to market to the jet-set, iOs is the way to go.

All-in-all it just strikes me a hand-wavy argument that iOs is superior to Android for development. I think there may be a way to make the case, but this certainly isn't it.

daniel_solanoon Help, I’m on the IRS hit list

It's not so much that you cannot renounce your citizenship, but it is severely discouraged. After some high-profile cases of wealthy individual renouncing citizenship, congress passed laws to make sure that if you want to renounce your citizen ship you need to have paid all of your taxes. Additionally, you may need to pay an additional "exit tax" if you have had significant income or have significant wealth.

As far as becoming another country's citizen, that gets to be fairly complex. Some nations recognize dual citizens, others do not. How that exactly works out depends on the particular circumstances. In any case, the U.S. generally likes to keep its citizens within its grasp.

daniel_solanoon Help, I’m on the IRS hit list

> Nobody can explain why the IRS has suddenly decided to enforce this law, which is aimed at money-launderers with offshore bank accounts. I guess the Americans need the money.

I don't think the law is necessarily aimed at criminals. The law is primarily sold as targeting people who try to avoid or evade taxation by keeping significant wealth and income overseas.

In any case, the reason for renewed vigour in enforcing the law is clear: the federal government is spending record amounts of money and needs to milk every source of income it can.

edit: fix typos

daniel_solanoon Richard Stallman: “Android Phones Do Not Respect Your Freedom”

From the kernel's COPYING file:

    NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs
    that use kernel services by normal system calls - 
    this is merely considered normal use of the kernel, 
    and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived
    work".

As I read it, the non-Linux part of Android is entirely in user-space, and thus exempt from the terms of the GPL with respect to the kernel.

daniel_solanoon Ask HN:Which paid web/mobile applications you use the most?

For my contracting work, I use Toggl to keep track of time. I primarily use their web interface, though they also produce desktop and mobile apps. Last time I looked at the Linux desktop app, it was lacking.

daniel_solanoon Share of Income Gains by Quintile - Great Depression til Now

The primary problem with this type of comparison is that it completely ignores economic mobility. Someone simply isn't born into a given income bracket and stays there for life. Most people's earning potential goes up over time. Speaking for myself, I think I've been in all five quintiles.

daniel_solanoon Most Pressed Keys and Programming Syntaxes

Well, there is a very good reason for this: Clojure tries to reduce the number of parentheses by substituting other characters, namely square brackets []. For example:

    ; Common Lisp
    (defun add (x y) (+ x y))
    ; Scheme
    (define (add x y) (+ x y))
    ; Clojure
    (defn add [x y] (+ x y))

Also, Clojure eliminates some parentheses that are used in other Lisps:

    ; Common Lisp and Scheme
    (cond ((> x 0) 1)
          ((= x 0) 0)
          (t -1))
    ; Clojure
    (cond (> x 0) 1
          (= x 0) 0
          :else -1)

daniel_solanoon Ask HN: Any good Macbook Air alternatives?

Well, it's typical Thinkpad design, and Lenovo doesn't compete based on looks.

I suppose if style is the main consideration when purchasing a computer, Apple is hard to beat.

daniel_solanoon Ask HN: Why hasn't JVM become the defacto implementation for dynamic languages?

> Java was designed to run on $1000 SCSI hard-drives and 32Gb of RAM.

This is plain wrong. Java was originally developed as a language for embedded devices, not servers. Later, it was targeted for the web (remember applets?).

These days Java may be best known for being "enterprise", but that is hardly its origin.

daniel_solanoon Ask HN: Monitor size

I use three monitors, all 22" 1920x1200. The centre monitor is in the landscape orientation, while the other two are in portrait orientation.

I am not sure what to think of the wide screen aspect ratio. In some cases it can be good, though sometimes I think it's just a bit extreme.

daniel_solanoon Starting as an app developer: iPhone or Android? Which one to choose?

If you're in it for the money, one question is whether or not you have a Mac and iPhone. iOs may gross more revenue, but if you have to spend $1000 just to get the necessary hardware to develop, then that's going to cut into your net revenue deeply.

daniel_solanoon Initial Thoughts on Clojure

Well, if your interest is to release on Android in the immediate future, you may be best served by sticking to Scala. Clojure code needs to bootstrap itself at start-up which creates a bit of a load delay on the initialisation of your app. If you want to just throw up a splash screen and not worry too much about the load time, Clojure may work out fine.

At this point, I have written significant amounts of code in both languages, and I honestly prefer Clojure. Scala is definitely a big step up from Java, and there is a lot to like in the language. Nonetheless, I think that Clojure is a step up from Scala.

There have been a number of times when writing in Scala that I wish I had some of the features of Clojure, macros in particular. Scala provides many neat features that would be implemented as macros in Clojure, but there are some things that can be done as macros that cannot be done in Scala.

Of course, typing is a big issue. I'll have to admit that when writing client code static typing is very nice, but when writing library code dynamic typing makes things easier. Most importantly, Scala suffers from some of the typing problems that are part of the JVM, most notably: type erasure in generics. Scala provides some means to reify generic types, but it is still a pain to work with. I think that Clojure also contains superior polymorphic dispatch capabilities.

In the end, they are both fine languages. I enjoy coding in Scala and Clojure more than C++ or Java. Still, if I have the choice between the two, I'd go for Clojure.

daniel_solanoon Extreme concentration of wealth in US economy has led to central planning

We could have a freer market and near full-employment if we replaced all our social welfare programs with a single minimum living stipend (you apply if you make below it, and if you qualify, get a check for the difference), and abolished minimum wage.

I disagree. A minimum stipend, at least in the way that you described, would create a perverse incentive. Let's say this stipend is $20,000/year. Why should anyone who makes $5,000/year and get $15,000 free want to work harder to earn the same amount?

A slightly better take on this is to have some sort system were it always pays to earn more. For example, you get 1/3 of the difference between what you earn and $30,000. Under such a system, if you earn $10,000, you would get $6,667 for a total of $16,667. If you earn $15,000, you get $5,000 for a total of $20,000. Thus, it always pays to earn more/work harder.

Personally, I don't like either idea. In my opinion, things like the minimum wage only serve to create unemployment. By making it more expensive to hire workers, companies find other means of being more productive, such as automation or illegal labour.

daniel_solanoon -Xmx is hurting the usability of Java

The only problem with this advice is that as the amount of memory available to the JVM increases, whenever a full stop-the-world GC occurs it will be longer. Granted, this generally doesn't become a problem until you're talking heap sizes in the tens to hundreds of gigabytes.

daniel_solanoon An Idea for the Economy that will Freak Out a lot of People

I think that the general argument goes that something like "the economy" is something so immensely complex that any effort to manage it top-down down is likely to fail, regardless of how brilliant, talented, or well-meaning such efforts would be.

As analogy (imperfect though it may be), it's like trying to fix a bug in a program that consists of trillions of lines of code, except that you don't have access to the source code or a debugger. Instead, you have just a few high-level variables you can adjust (which may or may not be useful).

In summary, the issue is that there are some problems that have a scale and complexity for which a top-down approach is really beyond human comprehension.

daniel_solanoon An Idea for the Economy that will Freak Out a lot of People

Perhaps I'm just overly cynical, but I'm under the impression that the stimulus funds have been primarily used to stimulate the politically well-connected rather than truly stimulate the economy as a whole.

daniel_solanoon An Idea for the Economy that will Freak Out a lot of People

Some people would argue that's a good thing: that a government that does nothing is less harmful than a government that does too much.

daniel_solanoon What features of Java have been dropped in Scala?

To me, the odd thing is that it doesn't mention the one thing Scala drops for which I haven't a workaround: static final fields. Now, from a pure coding standpoint, I don't actually need a static final field. However, Android requires such creatures if you want to create a new Parcelable, Android's lightweight alternative to Serializable.

daniel_solanoon Help erase USA's national debt

When the government is running up billions of dollars of additional debt per day, really there is nothing that individuals can do to make a significant fiscal impact.

Honestly, I believe that the best dollar spent to get the debt under control is a dollar spent to get a new senator or congressman elected that will actually do something to change things in Washington.

daniel_solanoon Moody’s: Why the U.S. Is Still AAA

While I agree that there is a fundamental division of ideologies of what precisely the federal government ought to be amongst the American people, I disagree that it is a division between the two parties.

In my opinion, the establishment in Washington consisting of the bureaucracy and life-long politicians is generally pro-government and pro-spending. The Republicans pay a lot of lip service to small government, but it is only the Tea Party types like Ron Paul that actually fight for smaller government.

daniel_solanoon Which bank(s) are the best options for a new startup corporate account, and why?

Most of the good advice I have read or heard generally says to go with a local bank or a credit union. With the major banks, like Bank of America or Citi, you're just a number (unless you've lots of money). Working with a local institution is more personal.

I am fond of credit unions, simply because they are member-owned and generally are fairly competitive for basic services.

I don't know much about handling merchant services, as that's not the type of business I do. I think warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's Club also offer those sorts of services of business members.

daniel_solanoon Positronic Net library for Android in Scala

There's actually more than one such library; just about a week and half ago I announced my own effort:

Announcement: http://www.deepbluelambda.org/programs/baitha/announcing-bai... GitHub: https://github.com/sattvik/baitha

The good news about these two libraries is that there is relatively little overlap, so it'd be great to get the best of both.

daniel_solanoon Multiple APK Support in Android Market

One thing that I hope doesn't get lost amidst the jubilation is that I do not think that this changes the recommended way to create Android applications. Generally, developers should write applications to allow the same code run in as many different configurations as possible. Using the compatibility library should help developers create applications that are designed to scale from low-end phones to high-end tablets.

If anything, I believe that the biggest boon is not so much in creating device-specific builds, but being able to leave out some things that are unnecessary to keep application sizes low. If you know that a particular package is going to be used only on small, low-resolutions screens, there is no need to include the artwork for tablets.

daniel_solanoon Ask HN: A non-Java Android book, what would you like in it?

Thank you for the feedback. I do plan to include some information about the platform. In particular, it is important to explain why some JVM languages work and others do not. Some of the more detailed discussion will likely end up in an appendix.

I'll have to think about your idea to include networking synchronization. The tricky part with that is exactly how to implement it. Off-hand, there are two basic approaches: server/client and peer-to-peer. The problem with server/client is that either I have to choose someone else's platform as a server or provide a server (either as a service or as an included program you can run from a home computer). The alternative is to use something like Bluetooth or NFC to allow synchronization between two devices.

The second issue that I need to figure out is exactly how much material to present. There are some absolutely necessary basics such as activities, services, and resources. Beyond that, there is a question of which platform features are most important. Certainly, something like location is more important than NFC, but deciding on what to include won't be easy.

daniel_solanoon Offer HN: Free Tax Help from a Pro.

Thanks for the confirmation. I appreciate your help.

daniel_solanoon Offer HN: Free Tax Help from a Pro.

I have a question: I am receiving stock (not options) in a publicly traded company for part of my compensation in a project. I believe that is considered by the SEC to be restricted stock, so to sell it I will need to follow Rule 144.

However, as I understand it, from the perspective of the IRS, it is no restricted as it is an outright stock grant with no vesting or other such provisions.

So, given the above, let me lay out a scenario:

I earn 100 shares of the stock at a rate of $1/share. On the day that I invoice for this stock, it is worth $1.50/share. After six months, when I am able to sell the stock, I sell it at $2/share.

As best I understand it, under section 83(a), I have to report the full $1.50 as income on the day I receive it. Section 83(b) does not apply as it is not restricted stock from the perspective of the IRS. As such, when I sell the stock at $2, it is taxed as capital gains.

Is my understanding correct?

daniel_solanoon Scala isn’t complicated; it’s clever

I think his argument is that if you wish to create a variable called ©, that's up to you. For some reason, he objects to the language/standard library allowing ← in addition to `<-`.

I think I would definitely object to `<-` to be replaced by ←. It's inconvenient to type. On the other hand, as an alias, I am not sure what to make of it.

daniel_solanoon Rapid DHCP: Or, how do Macs get on the network so fast?

I am not a networking expert, and I haven't looked into this in any greater detail than what was in the article. However, it is possible that the Mac doesn't wait long enough to see if an address is already in use before using it. As such, it may end up essentially being an ARP cache poisoning attack.

How this works out in the end may depend on the DHCP server in use. Perhaps the server may discover the broken ARP resolution and invalidate the lease, allowing the Mac to jump in and steal the address while the other device is still trying to figure out what happened.