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PirateDave

232 karma · joined March 12, 2015

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PirateDave··on UCLA introductory programming classes should focus more on Python, not C++
For some schools, including all schools in the UC system, CS majors have to take EE classes as part of their requirements. I remember having to setup and program gates and the sort on FPGA boards.
PirateDave··on Interview: Apple’s Craig Federighi about Face ID
_You don't need to be able to see the camera to respond to messages in the bottom half of the screen._

But the camera _does_ need to see you in order to unlock in this case. You can't read or reply to a message without unlocking first.

PirateDave··on Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships
During my time of service this was an oft repeated bastardization of Admiral Nimitz' quote: Common sense was an uncommon virtue.
PirateDave··on Super Bowl Delivers Thrills, but No Ratings Record
Right. You used to have to see the ads during the actual game, but now they show the ads that will be shown during the game during the "news" in a "you have to watch these ads" segment.
PirateDave··on VIZIO to Pay $2.2M to FTC
In California, there is the "Shine the Light" law [0] that requires a company to release third-party information to a consumer if there is identifiable information given to third-parties along with the data collected. So in this case, Vizio would be required (at least to California natives) to release those third-parties' names and associated data collected from you. [0] http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection....
PirateDave··on More than 90% of ‘genuine’ Apple chargers and cables sold on Amazon are fake
I just looked into why that is the case and if you hover over the little dropdown carrot for the "3.8 out of 5" you see this:

Amazon calculates a product’s star ratings using a machine learned model instead of a raw data average. The machine learned model takes into account factors including: the age of a review, helpfulness votes by customers and whether the reviews are from verified purchases.

So a product would just need a small percentage of 5 star reviews in the beginning of the review period.

PirateDave··on Search Results are officially AMP’d
On mobile, at least Safari iOS, all the AMP results are at the very top. I can't even see the first non-AMP result unless I'm in portrait.
PirateDave··on Why I Majored in Philosophy Despite Everyone Telling Me Not To (2013)
It looks like in Los Angeles this could become a reality soon. At least for a year: http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-edu-garcetti-co...
PirateDave··on Home Depot Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Visa, MasterCard
My corporate CitiBank card required me to set a pin when they switched to chip cards. All my other chip cards have been chip and signature though.
PirateDave··on Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur
scorecardresearch is the endpoint for comScore which is used to do exactly what you mentioned. Imgur buys the data from comScore as a sort of "online Nielsen rating" in order to sell the value of the site to ad vendors.
PirateDave··on The Most Popular Cars in American Cities
I almost bought a Prius for this exact reason a couple of years ago. Unfortunately(?) the emissions requirements is now limited to electric or plug-in hybrid models now.
PirateDave··on On asking job candidates to code
CalTech didn't make it, so I guess Knuth would be out of the running ;-)
PirateDave··on Apple Speeds Up Electric-Car Work
This was submitted previously:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9414211

PirateDave··on I’m Ahmed. Except I’m Not Brown
This was posted on HN not too long ago, but further proof they're useless:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-undercover-dhs-tests-find...

PirateDave··on 3D reproduction of TSA master keys
Some locks do have alert features [0] so you should at least know it was opened. It won't stop a thief, but at least it lets you know when someone was looking. That is, if it makes it to your destination :-)

[0] http://www.amazon.com/Kolumbo-TSA-Lock-2-pack-BLACK/dp/B0106...

PirateDave··on State court orders Kickstarted game creator to pay $54k for failing to deliver
I think the difference is that you're only funding the company if it reaches the point where it won't fail due to lack of funding. They're supposed to have all costs associated with deliverables factored into the amount they request to be funded.
PirateDave··on 'Suicides' over Ashley Madison hack
You can donate to a 501c up to I believe $5000 anonymously.
PirateDave··on FCC Fines Smart City $750K for Blocking Wi-Fi
Yup, you're correct. In the attached pdf [1] it says

the complainant alleged that Smart City transmitted deauthentication frames to prevent the complainant’s customers’ use of their Wi-Fi equipment

[1] http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2015...

edit: formatting

PirateDave··on FCC Fines Smart City $750K for Blocking Wi-Fi
Agree. They should be fined just for charging people $80 a day to connect to their network.
PirateDave··on VW Has Spent Two Years Trying to Hide a Big Security Flaw
I can't find the HN link, but I think this is the article you are referring to:

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2909589/microsoft-subnet...

PirateDave··on The Marines say the F-35 is now ready for combat
This reminds me of an anecdote that a Marine officer once told me.

He said that when the Air Force builds a new base, they're given a certain budget and they build every part of the base, gym, mess hall, rec facilities e.t.c. and use the entirety of the budget to make the base nice and comfortable for the airmen that are stationed there. Then, when the base is almost completed, and over schedule, the party in charge asks for more money, and more time because they still need to build the most important part of the base, the flight-line.

I know this is most likely an embellishment, but being involved with government work in the past, it doesn't sound far off from the truth and felt it fit nicely in this situation.

PirateDave··on Spraying Magnetic Stripe Cards with Iron Filings
When he pulled the ShooTag out I thought he was totally going to write the card data to it. Nonetheless, interesting article.
PirateDave··on Google Takes Stricter Approach to Costs
Also, their server/tools division was more profitable than their Windows division starting in 2013[0]

http://www.microsoft.com/Investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Fina...

PirateDave··on The Biggest Tech Problems So Obvious We Aren’t Fixing Them
Yes! My Harmony Hub remote is one of the best purchases I've made in the last 5 years.

Also, now that you can control the hub remotely, it makes purchasing home automation items more appealing.

PirateDave··on The Software Engineer’s Guide to Negotiating a Raise
Is 160k common in SV for 6 years experience?

I'm in the L.A. area and people want to crap their pants when I tell them to give me 150k.

PirateDave··on What Ticketmaster is doing about technical debt
If you've ever tried to purchase tickets for a concert that you know would be sold out, the process is horrendous.

I mean, they know when they'll have a surge in customers (there's a freakin countdown clock to the purchase time) and yet they still can't set up something more elastic that actually allows me to load the page?

PirateDave··on Water Fluoridation May Not Prevent Cavities, Scientific Review Shows
I could be totally incorrect about this theory, but I thought that's why we get wisdom teeth around that mark, since we would be essentially without teeth at that point in our life if we had went a lifetime without brushing.
PirateDave··on About the OS X Yosemite v10.10.4 Update
I was having the same issue with my iPhone 5s a couple of days ago.

Apparently, it's specific to a T-Mobile update and using calling over Wi-Fi.

[0] http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/06/25/iphones-hit-w...

PirateDave··on Should I Work for Free?
When I used to repair computers, my starting rate was a six-pack and went up to a case for virus removal.
PirateDave··on The Curse of the Pixar Universe
I got the same feeling; I'm not sure what movie the reviewer thought he was going into, but it feels like he was expecting a David Lynch film or something similar, not a simple kid's movie.
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