Hacker News Reader

isomorphicon Captchas are Becoming Ridiculous

Don't re-invent the wheel? That is, please continue to give useful data to Google for free?

From the article, in the context of ReCaptcha, it seems like Google has stabbed itself in the face with the sword of data.

Google may think the data is telling it something, but what it's really managing to do is irritate legions of humans with terrible (borderline hostile in this case) UI/UX.

isomorphicon EBay Valet

You can't set your own price, and you only get a two-week run. On the other hand, you don't have to deal with the cesspool that is being a seller on eBay.

I wonder how eBay will deal with the "yes, please iPad to vacant lot near warehouse Miami" folks, other than immediately transferring buyer's funds without the possibility for reversal. If they did that for ordinary sellers, I'd quite happily ship my iPad to the sketchy address and go on my merry way.

isomorphicon Videogrep: Automatic Supercuts with Python

I will caution people that downloaded subs are very often misaligned (timing) with your video, due to various cuts of videos, intro logos, disc versions, framerates, etc., etc. Leave your download page open and check one-by-one against the source video.

isomorphicon Videogrep: Automatic Supercuts with Python

On the Mac, Subler can generate .srt files by OCR from both DVD and Blu-ray image subtitle tracks:

https://code.google.com/p/subler/

...although its OCR engine (Tesseract) can be a little sketchy.

isomorphicon Brotli Compressed Data Format

Some actual source code here, inside a font compressor:

https://code.google.com/p/font-compression-reference/source/...

isomorphicon Snowden a 'traitor': Andreessen

No, he's upset that Snowden revealed that the government is doing things that affect his investments. His comments make it sound like the government is neutral or somehow the victim in this.

isomorphicon Torpedo – Share files, passwords, and more with self-destructing private links

I get: "Your Web Browser is Out of Date! Some features of this site (and many others) may appear broken. Your browser may also have serious security flaws. We recommend you upgrade to the latest version of a modern browser."

This is on Firefox 29.0.1, Mac OS X 10.9.3.

Even if whatever is causing that message is fixed, the language of the message really needs changing. I am running the latest version of a modern browser, and so are the other potential users/customers that you've redirected away from your site!

isomorphicon Can This Web Be Saved? Mozilla Accepts DRM, and We All Lose

I run my browsers without Flash in order to avoid Adobe's exploit-du-jour crapware. This means, for example, that I don't run Chrome.

If this binary blob from Adobe isn't presented with a similar UI as regular "plugins" (that the user can disable or uninstall), then I will look into writing an extension to disable it, or perhaps rely on a Firefox fork to give me a Flash-lite(tm) free browser.

isomorphicon Skype group video calling becomes free

I agree completely. I am astonished that Google people genuinely don't understand the things that are off-putting about Google+.

I've never even tried Hangouts because of the G+ requirement. I suppose if I had to, I'd create a one-off account for the purpose.

isomorphicon RegExr 2.0

I got the same message (FF28 Mac). Then I turned session cookies on and it worked.

Obviously they need to fix the error message...

isomorphicon WebScaleSQL: A collaboration to build upon the MySQL upstream

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/09/12/google_mariadb_mysql...

Also, I read somewhere that Google is contributing engineers to work on Maria. Although how many and for how long (compared to the GOOG's internal databases) remains to be seen.

isomorphicon Verizon Knows Your WiFi SSID and Key

> How does this effect your privacy? If you put your own router between your machines and their device, sure, their device can see the WAN interface & IP address of your router, but it can only access your LAN like every other machine on the Internet at that point, if you have your router do NAT. (Which is the point of doing this.)

To clarify, I meant putting your own WiFi bridge or access point behind Verizon's router. (This is what was suggested at the bottom of the original article.) If Verizon has total control over their routers (they do), then using your own WiFi won't matter.

The way to get more privacy is to replace Verizon's router with your own, or to nest your router behind Verizon's.

isomorphicon Verizon Knows Your WiFi SSID and Key

I currently have FiOS. I've never used their router for WiFi. For years I used their router plus various WiFi bridges.

However, if Verizon knows your WiFi keys (from the router), it stands to reason they have total control over their routers--so putting your own WiFi behind Verizon's router won't help you if you're looking for privacy. Verizon can see your LAN through their router, even if you disable WiFi.

For this and many other reasons, a while back I pulled Cat6 from the ONT (optical network terminal--where the fiber comes into your home) to my office. I'm using an ASUS RT-AC66U for a router. I'm running DD-WRT on it instead of ASUS' firmware.

Unfortunately, all of their TV STBs need Internet (for the guide), and those can only get Internet via MoCA (i.e., Internet over cable TV coax). (Also, various services Verizon offers will not work with the BYOD router setup.) You can purchase MoCA bridges, but it was easier to just neuter the Verizon router and use it as a MoCA bridge (behind my router). By doing so I am probably opening up my LAN to spyware again. Then again, if the STBs are on your LAN, they could be spying on you as well.

I keep an eye on the STB traffic, but who really knows.

I think my next step will be to curtail, then discontinue FiOS' TV service. Lately I seem to pay more for less (their STB interface is frozen in time, slow, and now has advertising to add insult to injury). I think the equivalent or less money will buy sufficient entertainment from Internet streaming or digital downloads. And as a bonus there's less potential for Verizon LAN abuse from their STBs.

isomorphicon DNSSEC has failed

While we're cataloging security technologies that have failed, we should add S/MIME-based email encryption to the heap. (Well, except for those organizations that have centrally-managed keys and infrastructure for internal email encryption.)

I know that some savvy users encrypt email, but in the age of the NSA, payload-encrypted email should be the default case.

isomorphicon Save more with Google Drive

Are we sure that this isn't just an oversight, or they haven't gotten around to updating the Apps pricing page yet? I mean, it's not like Google has consistency problems across all of their properties.

However, I did the same thing as you when I read this post: I went to our GA for Business account to see the pricing.

Hopefully Google will rectify or clarify the situation.

isomorphicon Apple releases OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 with SSL fix

FWIW, I did this for the combo update. The SHA1 checksum on the Apple page, c06a63982b522e43997a05cedc04b0bdb1a10207, matches the file, and pkgutil reports

   Package "OSXUpdCombo10.9.2.pkg":

   Status: signed Apple Software

   Certificate Chain:
    1. Software Update
       SHA1 fingerprint: 1E 34 E3 91 C6 44 37 DD 24 BE 57 B1 66 7B 2F DA 09 76 E1 FD
       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Apple Software Update Certification Authority
       SHA1 fingerprint: FA 02 79 0F CE 9D 93 00 89 C8 C2 51 0B BC 50 B4 85 8E 6F BF
       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Apple Root CA
       SHA1 fingerprint: 61 1E 5B 66 2C 59 3A 08 FF 58 D1 4A E2 24 52 D1 98 DF 6C 60

isomorphicon Bup: Efficient file backup system based on the git packfile format

You mean like rdiff-backup, which I've been using in production against millions of files for more than half a decade without a single problem?

It may be that some languages or runtimes host consistently more reliable software than others, but I'd bet that the individual programmer, coding style and practice have more of an effect on reliability.

isomorphicon Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

By "cast," you mean "tell the Chromecast to fetch/display content", rather than "show streaming video of my device's screen"?

This is part of what I'm asking: I don't get the usage model. I prefer using the STB directly with a remote (and no other client device), or pushing the client device's screen to the STB. If you're saying that you use "tabcasting" (which I guess is remotely-directed Chromecast web surfing), then fine. It's not something I'd ever use, but I understand that the equivalent doesn't exist on other STBs.

Please don't get me wrong: I would prefer if there were an open AirPlay equivalent that Android and iOS devices supported at the OS level. But I don't think that's what you're talking about.

isomorphicon Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

Out of curiosity, what have you been using your Chromecast for?

I have drunk the Apple Kool-Aid: I have iOS devices, AppleTVs, and a home server running iTunes. Admittedly, the iTunes server is serving video and music that is ripped from legitimately-acquired spinning-discs, so perhaps I haven't tasted the iTunes Store Kool-Aid.

I purchased a Chromecast right at launch. As far as I could tell, the only things it did well was Netflix and stream YouTube. However, for my purposes, the AppleTV was better at both, so I literally put the Chromecast in a drawer.

When someone announced a jailbreak for it, I took it out of the drawer, rooted it, fiddled with it some more, then put it back in the drawer when I realized I was just wasting my time.

I'm not trolling, here; I really want to know how you use it. Is it that is works better with Android devices? Is it providing a better, open, AirPlay alternative? I just don't understand how it is in any way more useful than existing STBs--if not the AppleTV then, e.g., a Roku.

isomorphicon Chrome and Firefox sometimes display text unpleasantly

I tried his code.

It renders with proper anti-aliasing in Firefox 26 and Safari 7 on Mac OS X 10.9.

Perhaps his problem has its roots in his operating system, or rather browser developers' use of that operating system? I admit to ignorance about whether browsers are doing their own font rendering or if they are handing that off to the OS...

isomorphicon What Hard Drive Should I Buy?

That report does not have data about individual manufacturers. Perhaps Google considered that to be lawsuit bait, or perhaps they considered it to be proprietary. Either way Backblaze's post has actionable information about which manufacturer to buy with respect to reliability trade-offs. Google's report does not.

isomorphicon I Decided to Delete All My Facebook Activity

I "deactivated" my Facebook account long ago. I'd like to delete it, but that apparently involves sacrificing some small animal and studying the entrails for clues.

I deleted by Google+ account(s) recently, as well. I have several Twitter accounts with no tweets. I'm thinking of sanitizing my LinkedIn account soon.

It's not that I'm anti-social (well, maybe); I am just one of those elder geeks who once dreamt of truly federated services under one's own control.

isomorphicon I've Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here's Why It's Actually Amazing

I'm one of the people this article is targeting: I received a free year of Evernote through a software bundle purchase. From time to time I go in to Evernote, fiddle with it, then leave. I can't see what the fuss is about. I feel vaguely disappointed that I'm burning through my "free" year with zero utility.

On the other hand, I use the heck out of Apple's Notes.app with iCloud syncing. However, I'd never pay (directly) for that.

isomorphicon Dell introduces 28" 4K Ultra HD Monitor for under $1K, shipping early 2014

The press release is saying that the 24"/32" will support 99% of AdobeRGB. So, better gamut on the 24"/32" means more money than the 28".

isomorphicon YouTube Shoots Google in Foot, Publishers Suffer Collateral Damage

> The real debate should be over how to make ads less annoying, more relevant, more pleasant

Doesn't it seem like Google would be the right company to determine how to make ads more relevant? Does it seem like they're getting better at this, or worse?

isomorphicon YouTube Shoots Google in Foot, Publishers Suffer Collateral Damage

Whiny? Should everyone accept whatever site operators choose to shove at them? PBS is the wrong comparison; Google is a for-profit company.

In the cold light of capitalism, this is a game theory problem. As a site operator, what ads can I get away with before I drive away my visitors? Will additional advertising reduce the effectiveness of my existing ads, due to visitor burnout? Am I making more money in the long run with the introduction of these ads?

As a user: What content can I get from this site without wasting my time on ads? Are there technologies that let me see the content without the ads? Is this site even worth the hassle?

The capitalist marketing purist would argue that an Ideal Ad is one that suggests something to the viewer that is exactly what he or she actually wants or needs, and said Ideal Ad is so well-done that the viewer does not mind watching it.

Given that Google is the world's largest advertising company, with arguably the best data of any advertising company, how well do you think they are doing that?

isomorphicon YouTube Shoots Google in Foot, Publishers Suffer Collateral Damage

  I like using free services and I'd like to support the owner. As such, I don't use AdBlock.

I remember years ago when Ars Technica ran the article "Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love":

http://arstechnica.com/business/2010/03/why-ad-blocking-is-d...

So I disabled AdBlock on Ars Technica. I was immediately greeted with a horrible blinking ad claiming some nonsense that was completely insulting--the IT equivalent of those "punch the monkey" ads. I turned AdBlock back on. I've never turned it back off on Ars Technica.

Websites that run advertising cannot pretend that advertising is somehow separate from the site. Advertising becomes part of the content. Ads are therefore representative of the site. Website owners should curate the ads as carefully as the site's main content. Otherwise they're committing some of the same sins as spammers.

isomorphicon YouTube Shoots Google in Foot, Publishers Suffer Collateral Damage

Google could prepend the ad in such a way that it appears to be part of the main video data stream, so that the ad is impossible to block on a URL basis.

I could write userland software to automatically skip ahead 30 seconds on any YouTube video.

Google could prevent people from skipping the first 30 seconds of any video by delaying the data stream for the remainder of the video at the server level.

At that point, I could go outside and watch the sunset.

Or, I could buy a frak-ton of EC2 instances and cobble together a crappy IsomorphTube--with discreet text-based ads, which might attract viewers simply because Google had turned YouTube into an armed camp (with forced video viewing for all).

Let's remember that even though Google has a huge scale advantage, it isn't Google that's creating the content on YouTube.

isomorphicon Dear Googles: G+/YouTube Anschluss – you've done outed me

Am I the only one who finds it ironic that she's posting her criticisms from Google+? I'm not trying to be snarky or funny. Does she genuinely value her Google+ blog or associations or whatever more than the privacy she's so concerned about?

She can, in fact, delete Google+ and keep Gmail. Try it. I have!

Since Google supposedly runs on data, the only way Google is going to figure out their problems is if people delete Google+ or stop using it. Otherwise there's no such thing as bad publicity, especially if you're an advertising company.

isomorphicon A roster of TLS cipher suites weaknesses

The elephant in the room for me is the legion of paying customers running old Microsoft browsers.

Microsoft's regrettable browser-tying/integration strategy has exacerbated web crypto problems. And it doesn't look like Microsoft is going to stop doing it, either--ten years from now we'll be dealing with whatever crypto suites the maximum IE version supports on Windows 7.

I'm picking on Microsoft here, but the same is true for any platform browser. Crypto suites need to be completely modular, enabling backporting to old environments.