auctiontheory

5 ms·

1.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
I'm trying to make a point about technology and the rate at which it improves. Make whatever point you want, but TFA is about an MBP subscription service. People buy MBPs for usability and reliability, not for hardware specs. Always
2.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
Did you read the article? These guys are leasing MBPs, not Dell Inspirons. Your MBP depreciation numbers ($2000->$500 in 5 years) are also wrong.
3.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
Regardless of how you slice it, computers depreciate significantly faster than cars. Actually an MBP [1] holds its value better than many Detroit products[2]. [1] See eBay. [2] http://www.forbes.com/2010/10/27&#x
4.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
You were downvoted for saying exactly what I was about to say: for most consumer use, my 2009 MBP does everything I need. It beats me at chess. A/V transcoding could be faster, but that's really an edge use case for me, and probab
5.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
I occasionally wonder whether to replace my 2009 MBP (upgraded to SSD and 8GB, naturally). What software finally vanquished your laptop?
6.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
You need capital to buy the machines to give out and slowly collect $60 on That is a very generic argument that applies to (against) any leasing business - but clearly many such businesses exist, across many industries.
7.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
Even in Silicon Valley, Caltech is often confused with Cal Poly. I agree that you can't assume your interviewer has a clue.
8.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
I don't have one. In fact, I appreciate the precise technical explanation. I guess I just needed to be reminded that humor is wasted on HN.
9.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
Don't give up - there is help. Reach out to your local chapter of Sesquipedalians Anonymous.
10.
by auctiontheory 12y ago
It's about time. In fact, it's way past time. But don't expect Microsoft to give up without a great deal more fight, a legal challenge or two, and other tactics from their vast playbook.
11.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
Even if you're not interested in planes or the souls on them, the technology deployed to find this needle in a large haystack is quite Hacker News-worthy.
12.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
> It's pretty well accepted that the first person to give a number loses Accepted but not necessarily true. In this market where the candidate often has very good salary data, s/he can also win by anchoring very high.
13.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
I was just about to post exactly this. Anyone interested in what Wall Street actually does needs to watch this movie. I have an MBA. I have nothing against making money. But while it's possible to make money by creating something of v
14.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
"Those who know don't tell. Those who tell don't know." -Onngh Yanngh
15.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
What a fascinating story. It's like the difference between startup life and working for IBM or someplace.
16.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
I so 100% relate to your post that it makes me feel very old. "The kids these days" don't know about metal in microwaves?!
17.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
This gives "cooking the books" a whole new meaning.
18.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
I use South African "Tessa" on my Mac. Until now, I'd never understood why I preferred her - this explanation makes so much sense!
19.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
Upvoted for the elegant use of "BFG."
20.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
"Santa Clara County, in the heart of Silicon Valley, has the highest average wage in the country, ... It would be a mistake to think of these plaintiffs as an oppressed set of victims." In addition, I very much doubt Silicon Val
21.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
Would be interesting to see more analysis of what these numbers mean. Is it salary? Benefits? Work environment? Interesting work? (Big companies do not offer the most interesting work, in my experience.) Long-term stock upside? Or just ...
22.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
There are still many taboos around menstruation in India. Women can't visit temples or public places, they're not allowed to cook or touch the water supply - essentially they are considered untouchable. Every religion has elabor
23.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
> My girlfriend uses Obama Care and pays $21 for basic insurance. I used Obamacare for the month of January. My plan cost $507, I received the card on the 30th of the month (so the plan was unusable before then), and they (Blue Shield) w
24.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
The financial situation in CS is not at all typical of academia. I'm not sure what your point is. Surely you're not suggesting that all academics should become CS academics?
25.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
This Menlo Park police officer makes $133K in base salary , i.e. before overtime: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_22382095/menlo-park-police-off... That is significantly higher than the per-capita income in Menlo Park:
26.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
I once gave a presentation at a USAF base overseas. IIRC almost anything I wanted to bring for the presentation was allowed (I wasn't searched - no TSA), but USB drives were forbidden. The disk burner on my MBP failed (weird foreign cu
27.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
> we should consider modestly affluent lifestyles to be the norm That is a very interesting statement. I wish I could agree with you, but neither history nor the current state of the world support the idea that affluence is "normal.
28.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
Despite the name, "middle class" does not mean "around median income." This is more apparent in countries like India and Brazil, but it's increasingly true in the US. "Upper class" definitely does not mean
29.
Chinese man builds his own airplane(shanghaiist.com)
1 points by auctiontheory 13y ago|0 comments
30.
by auctiontheory 13y ago
I used to donate through Kiva until I discovered that the whole "directing" story was just marketing. That doesn't make Kiva evil, but it does remove much of the feel-good motivation of supporting a named project.

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