drpixie

6 ms·

391.
by drpixie 4y ago
Yes - the site (naturally) lacks context and the "translations" lack subtlety. But their the main point stands strongly ... take the time and devote the thought to choosing the correct word, and you'll produce better prose. Y
392.
by drpixie 4y ago
Good to see a discussion on compiler error messages. I would like to see the message boilerplate removed from most of those compilers. #1 We're almost all using some IDE and don't need copies of multiple text lines and irrelevant
393.
by drpixie 4y ago
I'd say "the classics". Don't ignore older texts - the basics won't (don't, can't) change; the language of choice changes every year but the basics are still the same. Things I liked: * Tanenbaum on Comput
394.
by drpixie 4y ago
Probably none. RFCs are about implementation specifics and details. Developers should be aware they exist, but don't waste your time until you need to implement or use something specific. Better to spend your time getting a good gener
395.
by drpixie 4y ago
And to the original question "Why doesn’t HN have quality discussion around crypto?" . The hacker news readership loves technology, loves anything new (not that crypto is really new), is protective of their latest enthusiasm, and
396.
by drpixie 4y ago
It's still rather common for people running "blockchain" projects to completely misunderstand the both their project's requirements and what is provided by a blockchain. I can point to a couple of large public projects u
397.
by drpixie 4y ago
I can point to several important public sites that fail on all non-Chrome-based browsers. Until recently, I expected websites to work on any of Chrome, Firefox or Safari, but we seem to be looking increasingly at a google only internet. (
398.
“the browser may not be compatible with all the features on this site.”(cheapskatesguide.org)
3 points by drpixie 4y ago|3 comments
399.
by drpixie 4y ago
It does seem rather like someone has just scanned for IT futurist stuff and put it all in a list - there's little consistency between many of the points, and sometimes little consistency within a point!
400.
by drpixie 4y ago
I'd love to see Optane used as the basis for a non-volatile OS. Unfortunately pretty much all our substantial software "needs" to be restarted occasionally, so a non-volatile system is not so practical :(
401.
by drpixie 4y ago
Yeah - I look at the last few decades of computing and see the great god of compatibility driving almost everything. It's all very well the author seeing some cute ideas and running with them, but not many are in a position to discard
402.
by drpixie 4y ago
Similar. The only thing I find problematic is fingerprint readers, which Linux doesn't yet support very well. Literally EVERYTHING else works fine: power-yes, sleep-yes, sound-yes, video-yes, network-yes, tablet keyboard-yes... (My pre
403.
by drpixie 4y ago
Absolutely ... Windows config gets changed with every significant upgrade. The things I've carefully set-up get disabled, other things just stop working, and new garbage appears ... Windows is not a stable work platform. It's beco
404.
by drpixie 4y ago
So ... for a Mac, get the full version from libreoffice.org, or a full version from TDF, or pay for a (slightly) cut-down version via the app store. Isn't that the definition of a "lazy tax"?
405.
by drpixie 4y ago
Really? Most of it seems to be machine generated from the code definitions - very little explanation, very little usage info. I find it terrible.
406.
by drpixie 4y ago
I believe the author is correct that old-time engineers had a better grasp of basics. When I was starting out, engineering degrees were pretty much ALL fundamental principles and calculus. Everyone was required to (be able to) derive everyt
407.
by drpixie 4y ago
I believe all scientific publishing should be open access, but it doesn't address the fundamental problem with scientific publishing - there just just too much of it! Due to the well known pressures of academia, and of CV writers every
408.
by drpixie 4y ago
Please not video. Video is a horrible way to communicate anything non-trivial: it's slow & difficult to navigate around; it's difficult to extract from (eg. I can't just copy a reference); it's difficult to skim; and
409.
by drpixie 4y ago
Like other investment options ... we tend to look at the successful few and assume that they know something special, or have something special. But over time, a few are just lucky and most are not, and we have no way of predicting luck :)
410.
by drpixie 4y ago
The author's criteria for 'good' projects seem very reasonable. So all you blockchain yeah-sayers, convince me that sensible, useful, REAL applications exist - things that make the author's criteria (no vague "in
411.
by drpixie 4y ago
Add to the list: - buttons that don't look like buttons ... What, I have to know that clicking on a plain word on the page has some special significant action. So your entire app is a collection of easter eggs! Aaarrgghhhh %$#$$@#$#%$
412.
by drpixie 4y ago
Hmmm, yes. The Core-X seem helpfully lacking in undesirable features, but the standard range is certainly heavily encumbered. If I can get a half descent RISC-V chip and motherboard, that might be the go...
413.
by drpixie 4y ago
Yes ... I certainly look for chips WITHOUT certain "security features" when I'm building a system - makes it more difficult for the "bad guys" (really, just the greedy guys) to force me to do things the way they wan
414.
by drpixie 4y ago
Can't disagree with that :) But most people do agree on lots of things as "bad" - corruption, dereliction of duty, ... insurrection! Could we hold everyone to those?
415.
by drpixie 4y ago
But individuals (elected or not) should fully operate and make decisions in accordance with their openly held beliefs. Or alternatively, you could expect/require officials to operate for the good of the country/organisation! It&
416.
by drpixie 4y ago
...the most successful country in the history of the world. Looking from outside, it's obvious that America is the most economically successful country, and has had some marvellous successes in science, but it also seems to be a co
417.
by drpixie 4y ago
The assumption is that we [Americans] can embrace our hyphenated identities without disloyalty to a broader national project. An assumption that seems false in light of your (American) current events. Perhaps France has noticed the result
418.
by drpixie 4y ago
The social nature of driving becomes clear when you see people in different countries/societies drive. The cues they give, their expectations, and the way people react is quite distinct - even when the formal road-rules are very simila
419.
by drpixie 4y ago
I love the idea of the parent teaching a child ... "foot" ... "dog" ... "justice" ... Illustrates strikingly how little we know about language and about intelligence.
420.
by drpixie 4y ago
There's a similar project at MIT call App Inventor http://www.appinventor.mit.edu/ which uses a graphical Scratch-like environment to build Android apps. I can't tell if the two projects share code, but they cer

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