Recent submissions

Comment · 4 years ago
Here’s the problem with aggregation. Even if the if is not attributable to you as an individual the data can still be used as a weapon against you. I’ll give an example: Imagine that you are a gay person living in a country that kills gay people by law. If gay people are frequenting websites that indicate they like to hang out at a particular bar, this gives authorities more than enough to target that group while still not using your personal data directly. The indirect aggregated data is just as harmful as if they had targeted you personally. This is where companies try to fool you into thinking you are safe to give them a “non identifiable” advertising id and aggregating your data before selling it. It’s not safe.
Comment · 4 years ago
In this case we could verify if the ratio of dark matter is always the same. The article would suggest that it isn't. So this might lend possibility to the idea. There was a video a while back about what can happen in higher dimensional space when a volume would pass through a "fold" for lack of a better word. It would be right there next to you but not visible. I wonder why this can't be a more popular hypothesis or maybe we're missing something.
Comment · 5 years ago
This is the only play I can see working in the long term. Become their own content creator, aka game studio and publisher.
Comment · 5 years ago
The only model that seems to work with GNU's philosophy while also compensating the developer fairly is that you have to create the software, or a demo of the software, and then do a kickstarter style fundraising effort BEFORE you release it. You can have it completely done, but in essence the first customer doesn't get the software until you get paid. Then they are free to do whatever they want with it once you release it. Updates can be released on the same model. NOBODY gets it until you can support yourself on the income before releasing it into the wild, because once you do, there's no way to get compensated without some kind of support contract (which is no guarantee) or restricting the user from doing what they want with their own bits.
Comment · 6 years ago
Then someone can dual license the code. Something like AGPL for general development and commercial licenses via request. This way the source is open at all times and companies that want to use it and modify it for commercial purposes can get a commercial license for that. In this case the biggest issue is copyright assignment. In order to dual license you require everyone who's contributed to agree. In large projects that's difficult. In a company, copyright can be handed over to the company, but anyone outside the company who contributes has to either sign over copyright or agree to letting their contributions be dual licensed.

The best option looks like a tight copyleft license combined with a contract for copyright assignment and revenue sharing for contributors and dual licensed for commercial use. The most difficult part of this would be gauging developer worth based on contributions, but that's something that happens in every company anyways.

Comment · 6 years ago
Start by writing very simple C code and compiling that to assembly with the C comments. Then follow the System V ABI to learn what registers you need to pay attention to when calling functions. Start small. Once you learn the simple stuff, the more complex stuff is a matter of using it when you run into it.
Comment · 6 years ago
I used to play on consoles, typically would have 2-3 of them each generation and buy up the biggest AAA titles. God I can't imagine how much money I spent during those years. These days I spend most of my gaming on the PC, where I don't feel this constant urge to keep up. The games are reasonably priced and there's plenty of free-to-play options that actually end up being the more fun games anyways. If I feel like spending money on in game items I will, but generally I spend a small fraction of what I used to. There's no way I'm spending $70 on a video game unless it's something I see myself playing for years on end. Think Elder Scrolls. Suspect the vast majority of games don't fit into this category though.
Comment · 6 years ago
Dark is just a placeholder until we find out exactly what's causing it.
Comment · 6 years ago
I had the pleasure of driving through and visiting Oklahoma a decade or so ago. Some people don't like the rural states, but it felt so serene out there. We stopped at a shaved ice place off of some random exit and just sat there on the hood staring out at the plains. There's not much out there but it felt so peaceful. It felt like home.
Comment · 6 years ago
Because hiring an American requires you to treat them like a human being.
Comment · 6 years ago
We should use Mexico. Wages will be low. Shipping can come on trucks or rail. The labor pool is plenty large. And if we get into a large war it's close enough to more easily defend our factories. And the country is on good standing with the US, no aggression between the countries.

Mexico is preferable to China in almost every way. We start by lowering the tariffs there and raising them on a timetable in China. There's nothing that says it has to be all-or-nothing USA manufacturing. If we find another country to build up, there's only room to benefit. This is all within the scope of government powers.

The long term solution I'd mainly prefer is to directly subsidize the industries that we deem important to a manufacturing base, but beyond that at least lets find a country that doesn't threaten to destabilize what we've got going on.

Comment · 6 years ago
In 5 years there'll be another shiny thing everyone will flock to. It's part of the fun, but there are some languages that just do that particular thing just right. Ruby/Rails is bittersweet to me. It does that thing just so right, but it feels like there's an evolution around the corner that could be an upgrade when it comes to the ecosystem. It certainly doesn't feel like Rust is a good replacement if you enjoy Ruby syntax and dynamic typing simplicity. Ruby reminds me a lot of how Perl 5 is a great language, yet finding jobs in Perl 5 is becoming more and more difficult.

I'd love to think that Raku (formerly Perl 6) would be that language, but it doesn't seem like the trajectory is there.

Comment · 6 years ago
How do you start? I can't seem to find a consistent diet plan that isn't insanely difficult to get into.
Comment · 6 years ago
Yes, NORAD keeps track of every object above a certain size in orbit. Their data is essential to keeping spacecraft from hitting each other.
Comment · 6 years ago
Is that the same as discarding constants in big O notation?

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