HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

ipcress_file

396 karma · joined December 1, 2021

submissionscomments
ipcress_file··on 21,864 Yugoslavian .yu domains
There's a good podcast called "Remembering Yugoslavia."

https://rememberingyugoslavia.com/

ipcress_file··on GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone without requiring personal information
The bill to watch on age verification is S-209 (the "S" because it originates in the Senate). Section 12(2) includes the requirements for potential verification methods. https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/S-209/first-...

Keep an eye on michaelgeist.ca. If there are petitions to sign to oppose it, you'll probably find out there.

ipcress_file··on Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI
This -- and you might just learn how to conduct some research along the way.
ipcress_file··on Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI
Avoid the theory-heavy disciplines. You won't be told what to think (as often) if you take History and Geography rather than Sociology and Gender Studies.
ipcress_file··on Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI
Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for this!
ipcress_file··on Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI
Do you have any evidence to back this up or is it speculative?

My institution subscribes to TurnItIn's AI detector. The documentation is quite clear that the system is tuned in a manner that produces a significant number of false negatives and minimizes false positives. They also state that they don't report anything under "20% AI-generated" content.

So the marketing I've seen is intended to reassure skittish administrators that the software is not going to generate false accusations.

That being said, I have no idea whether the marketing claims are true. The software is a black box.

ipcress_file··on Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI
This assumes that the assignments and the exam cover the same material. That's not always the case.
ipcress_file··on Closure of the Weatheradio service in Canada
So I'm guessing that this is what those stylish wood grain Weatheradio cubes in the Radio Shack catalog were for?
ipcress_file··on There are many ways to read Hacker News
It's missing one:

gopher://hngopher.com/1

ipcress_file··on Leaving Google has actively improved my life
You might be better off with duckduckstart.com instead. It's the best of both worlds: you get Google results via startpage by default and can use duckduckgo !bangs when necessary.
ipcress_file··on A Chinese official’s use of ChatGPT revealed an intimidation operation
Good point. Perhaps that's what's happened here.
ipcress_file··on A Chinese official’s use of ChatGPT revealed an intimidation operation
Why did they ban the user rather than informing American intelligence and continuing to monitor the user?

They just gave up a source that could have provided info for years.

ipcress_file··on Nova Launcher added Facebook and Google Ads tracking
I've been using Nova Launcher to mimic webOS for almost 10 years. I might be slightly too resistant to change!
ipcress_file··on Nova Launcher added Facebook and Google Ads tracking
I'm still using an old version with the network access blocked. I'll use it until it stops working.

If anyone knows of another launcher with app drawer tabs, let me know.

ipcress_file··on Who invented the transistor?
My house once had knob and tube wiring. Over the past 15 years I have replaced most of what I assume is the second-generation cloth-covered wiring (which dates back to the 40s, 50s, and 60s). Every once in a while, I come across the insulators from an older electrical system, but most of the wire that went with those insulators was pulled out long ago. The only remains are short bits of wire that were wrapped around the insulators.
ipcress_file··on Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2026?
I am also not a professional programmer, but learned enough C to do some programming on hobby projects a few years back. I started with Ashley Mills' videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCNJWVn9MJuPtPyljb-he...

If you've already programmed in Python you'll know enough to recognize that he makes a few logical leaps in the later videos (where you have to read up on topics to fill in the gaps), but overall I thought they were really good.

I also liked NASA's "The Power of 10: Rules for Developing Safety-Critical Code" and their C style guide from 1994, both of which helped me achieve the simplicity and clarity I was after.

ipcress_file··on Leak confirms OpenAI is preparing ads on ChatGPT for public roll out
I love this. Now I'll be able to read student papers with ads in the middle. "Are you enjoying our exploration of state Shinto in late nineteenth century Japan? Visit Kyoto with Japan Airlines this summer! Use the code 'JAL26' for special savings!"
ipcress_file··on Canadian military will rely on public servants to boost its ranks by 300k
I believe this is a crafty method of reviving "Participaction" without Hal and Joanne.

Well played, Mr. Carney!

ipcress_file··on Canadian military will rely on public servants to boost its ranks by 300k
Not quite. Late in the war, the British Navy landed British troops who burned the White House.

About 85% of all Canadian militiamen remained at home when called up in 1812. In 1812 and 1813, British regulars and Indigenous warriors (from both the U.S. and Canada) invaded Michigan and Ohio, but didn't get any further than that before the U.S. counter-attacked.

ipcress_file··on Vancouver Stock Exchange: Scam capital of the world (1989) [pdf]
It dates back to the construction of Kingston Penitentiary. They needed a rule to determine who would serve their time in local prisons and who would be sent to the Pen.
ipcress_file··on My phone is an ereader now
Check out the Mudita Kompakt.*

*not priced like a Kindle :)

ipcress_file··on My phone is an ereader now
Hi there, I had several BlackBerry phones, including a Passport SE.

For productivity apps, nothing compared with the Bold 9900. So snappy and minimalistic. The memos, calendar, messaging and the like were great.

As far as BB10 devices go, the Passport had the screen real estate, but the Q10 was way more pocketable. So I found the Passport awkward to deal with when on the move. I still have all of them. Who knows what to do with functional old tech?

ipcress_file··on Bring Back the Blue-Book Exam
I get it. My major concern was that students were cheating online (nearly 50% if I was detecting them all) who I didn't think would have cheated in the classroom. I didn't like the idea that we were creating a situation that enticed students to cheat.

That being said, the whole experience had an impact on my generally optimistic view of human nature.

ipcress_file··on Bring Back the Blue-Book Exam
I think problem number one is that you had 200 exams to grade.
ipcress_file··on Bring Back the Blue-Book Exam
I've never stopped using them, with the exception of the pandemic year, when we were forced to run online exams.

Why replace a system that generally works well with one that introduces additional potential problems?

ipcress_file··on Pixel 10 Phones
After they stopped releasing the device tree, there's really not a lot that will hold ROM developers to Pixels. I'll definitely wait to see what happens on that front before buying my next phone.
ipcress_file··on Known Bad Email Clients
Will you add a list of Known Good Email Clients? Or just "Tested Clients"? Since you can't possibly test them all, it would be nice to know which ones have been evaluated.
ipcress_file··on Six Years of Gemini
Here are a few more:

gemini://calcuode.com/gmisub-aggregate.gmi

gemini://nytpu.com/feed.gmi

gemini://skyjake.fi/lagrange/getting_started.gmi

ipcress_file··on We're not innovating, we're just forgetting slower
I'm conflicted. I remember when I bought my first vehicle with electronic ignition. It wasn't as good as the electronic ignition today and I had to replace a few black box components that I didn't understand (what is a "thick film module" anyways???). So I was irritated and wished that my truck still had points and a regular distributor.

Flash forward to today. I can't remember the last time I replaced an ignition system component. I still don't know how they work. I can guarantee that the techs who do occasionally replace them at the dealer don't know how they work. But the whole system is so much more reliable.

That said, I do wonder how young people are supposed to learn and gain understanding in a world where they cannot possibly understand the components in complex systems. Back in the day (I know, yelling at a cloud), I could actually understand how a set of points and a distributor -- or a even a three-transistor radio -- worked.

ipcress_file··on Ask HN: Does anyone know of a general news site akin to Hacker News?
I think lobste.rs stays on topic (computers and programming).
Page 1 of 5Next →