Hacker News Reader

srbbyon Why I Resigned from the Gates Foundation

And what am I doing? Muslims can stop being Muslims if they want to.

srbbyon Instagram Threatened Removal of Verified Status for Posting Snapchat Content

"verified" means "good citizen of the platform"

srbbyon Increased rates of myopia linked to reduced time outside, studies suggest (2015)

I can attest that I'm short sighted and the problem becomes much much worse if I spend a lot of time in front of my computer.

Some days when I go out early in the morning I can see everything perfectly, and other days I can't even read a number plate that is five metres away.

srbbyon Text Rendering Hates You

Probably because pdf.js is implemented using <canvas> so it's basically like printing screenshots of the PDF

srbbyon Facebook, WhatsApp Will Have to Share Messages With U.K.?

http://habitatchronicles.com/2007/03/the-untold-history-of-t...

srbbyon Facebook, WhatsApp Will Have to Share Messages With U.K.?

Obviously not here, but I don't care much if LE sees them.

srbbyon Microplastics found in 93% of bottled water tested in global study

low-hanging fruit: "pure life" is the most impure brand

srbbyon Twitter launches its ‘Hide Replies’ feature in the US and Japan

srbby on Match.com Used Fake Ads to Swindle Users, F.T.C. Says

>If you want to improve your dating prospects, get in shape. Anyone can get in shape, doesn't matter how rich or successful or handsome your face is.
That's exactly the problem: men have to get in shape to get women who are way below their looks. And that's all. Men see this as unjust. Whether this is unjust or not is a matter of opinion which you may or may not agree on, but it's an opinion nonetheless.
Also with 5 and 6 you seem to be dismissing the need to be loved as a healthy person?

srbby on Drilling open a smart door lock in 4 seconds

403

srbby on The largest offshore wind farm is nearly complete, can power 1M homes

It's an attack on clean energy... I'm sure there's got to be a way to discredit it... it doesn't matter if I make it up!

srbby on Centralised DoH is bad for privacy

Thank you. That is a sensible approach.

srbby on Centralised DoH is bad for privacy

So, let's be clear about this--if Chrome detects your DNS server is on one those lists, it will automatically switch to using DoH with the same provider?

srbby on Some tea bags may shed billions of microplastics per cup

Staples can't be microwaved. Yes I know, you can microwave the cup and then put the bags in, but some people make that mistake and (rightly) freak out when they see the fireworks.

srbby on [dead]

I find using kids for political reasons to be problematic.
I find using emotions instead of facts to sway the political discourse to be problematic.
There are legitimate reasons to be concerned or even angry at this. Maybe not good enough reasons to create an account on Twitter and scream into the void, though.

srbby on [dead]

It's going to end like the kids from "March For Our Lives" ended: swimming in complete irrelevance. The media are just milking these kids because emotions sell. All of this is boring and useless, and even the beginning of a worrying trend.

srbby on Cuba's 'sonic weapon' may have been mosquito gas

Better link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49770369
Also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21017914

srbby on Is Stack Overflow allowing ads to use fingerprinting to track users?

I can't. Neither can SO.

srbby on Is Stack Overflow allowing ads to use fingerprinting to track users?

How can I take your fingerprint (IP, user agent info, etc) and trace it back to you as a person?

srbby on Is Stack Overflow allowing ads to use fingerprinting to track users?

Cynical pov: if you don't use an ad blocker, you know you are exposing yourself to this. Why get upset at all?

srbby on Snap Detailed Facebook’s Aggressive Tactics in ‘Project Voldemort’ Dossier

If such a problem arose on iOS, Apple would patch it. Android manufacturers don't usually have that option, as they sometimes don't even have the code to the drivers.

srbby on My Talk at Microsoft

Two things that come to my mind from reading your response:
Why are we releasing this document in PDF format? Shouldn’t it be in docx or XPS? https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20110104-00/?p=11...
Why we don’t want you and your Android green bubbles in our iMessage chat https://www.fastcompany.com/90391587/why-we-dont-want-you-an...

srbby on Snap Detailed Facebook’s Aggressive Tactics in ‘Project Voldemort’ Dossier

I remember the same problem in a Nexus 4. And Google said they couldn't fix it because it was a bug in a Qualcomm driver and they had no access to the source code.
I think the redesign fixed that because Snapchat no longer takes pictures with the camera. Instead, they take screenshots of the camera preview.

srbby on Snap Detailed Facebook’s Aggressive Tactics in ‘Project Voldemort’ Dossier

Seems like a problem with your camera hardware and/or software. An unprivileged, user-space app should not be able to soft-brick a hardware part.

srbby on My Talk at Microsoft

Linked from tfa: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/microsoft.html
>we do recognize [Microsoft] as the company that has separated more users from their freedom than any other
Is this still true in the age of the iPhone?

srbby on Macron Secures €5B Investment to Boost French Tech Startups

Do you really think DailyMotion is a strategic asset for... anything? They most likely stopped the acquisition because they didn't want the founders to profit from something they built using state money (and maybe rightly so)

srbby on Macron Secures €5B Investment to Boost French Tech Startups

Links about "the case of DailyMotion", please?

srbby on Why I Write Games in C (yes, C)

>Writing super secure code is usually not a requirement for gamedev
Many consoles have been "jailbroken" by making buggy games load specially crafted savegames that ended up in code execution.
That also extends to players downloading innocent-looking maps, savegames, models. etc that exploit bugs and end up in code execution too.
Also if you have an online game then you can have RCE bugs, especially if players are expected to be able to connect to 3rd party servers.
(Not saying I necessarily disagree with you, just a counterpoint)

srbby on More on Chrome updates and headers (2018)

For me Chrome is the fastest browser all around. It may not be substantially better than Firefox anymore, but it's still the best. The day it stops being the best I will consider shopping for another browser.
(I mention Firefox specifically because it's the only browser that uses something other than webkit/blink, now that Edge is out)

srbby on More on Chrome updates and headers (2018)

Because Chrome is the fastest browser[] and Google services are usually the best.
[]Perhaps that will change once they nerf ad blockers.