HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

Toucan

257 karma · joined July 10, 2010

Linux Sysadmin with some hacking skills.

I have a few ideas I'm working on here and there, though nothing in production yet. Watch this space...

http://hnofficehours.com/profile/Toucan/

submissionscomments
Toucan··on From MIT, a cure for all viruses?
http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.2832

A superb example.

Toucan··on Show HN: Tired of entering map directions on iPhone? I've streamlined it
I like the iPhone TomTom app which incorporates Google Local Search. The IQ route planning and traffic avoidance are excellent also, I've found them taking 10% off of city based journeys where I previously thought I knew the roads well.
Toucan··on Show HN: KytePhone turns any Android into a kids-friendly phone
UK 020 numbers are still 11 digits. They're only a different length if you omit the dialling code, which you can't do on mobile phones anyway.
Toucan··on Use your iPhone/iPad as a controller for an HTML5 browser game.
Likewise, on a 4S with iOS 5.1.
Toucan··on Why is nobody using SSL Client Certificates?
I agree with your reasoning in the article and in point 3 here.

I used to work at a tech firm, we used this SSL Certificates to authenticate against our internal CA. Sysadmins got it wrong, devs got it wrong, qa got it wrong and nobody else stood a chance.

The worst thing about it by far was managing keys between machines. For example, it made it impossible to work from home on an impromptu basis without someone available to help you out.

Toucan··on I don't think you browse like I do
Having already installed that I was mildly amused to find Google Analytics on the blog.
Toucan··on New particle observed at LHC
Star Trek:Deep Space 9 ?
Toucan··on Grit & Determination
After certain incidents within the Royal Navy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Iranian_seizure_of_Royal_N...) the training programme has changed to deliver more "Grit and Determination".

To answer the question on how to train it, the RN believes that it's done by pushing people through difficult situations during training and showing what's possible. I'm not convinced it's possible to self-improve grit to any significant level.

Toucan··on Tinkering: prototype your way out of uncertainty
I can only strongly agree. Every time I get a block I just start (coding/designing/planning/climbing.) When I fall off I've got more experience than when I started and eventually I'll get there. I've spent far too long staring at a blank sheet not even knowing how I'm going to go wrong.
Toucan··on The Claim: For a More Restful Nap, Avoid Caffeine
In the UK this advice is actually in the Highway Code (an official government document): http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/D... (Rule 91)

It's also reasonably well advertised on TV, radio and at service stations.

Toucan··on IOS 5 to Include Early Earthquake Warnings in Japan
As I understand it, this is quite commonplace in Japan. According to a Japanese colleague, phones produced by Japanese manufacturers for local sale are legally obliged to support this feature.
Toucan··on Return of the Mac (2005)
Cmd-O has opened files and applications alike since I can remember (OS 6.) It's no more/less sensible than Windows, just different.
Toucan··on Estimate your English vocabulary size
43,300. I strongly suspect learning Latin and Greek at school helped more than a little with this particular test.
Toucan··on Why Retired Aircraft are Stored in the Desert
History does indeed repeat itself. Look up 1986's Operation El Dorado Canyon (US bombing of Libya as part of the Cold War).
Toucan··on Introducing Prompt. Nice SSH for iOS.
Just checked the .pem I was given (by a person, not by Amazon) - looks like it was an RSA format key all along. I'm a little confused - it's possible I'm an idiot.

I'll check to make sure I'm an idiot by seeing what I can generate from Amazon itself.

Toucan··on Introducing Prompt. Nice SSH for iOS.
You can convert the .pem by doing something like:

openssl rsa -in test.pem > test.rsa

Toucan··on Google Modifies HTTP, Makes Chrome 50% Faster
Sure you can. openssl s_client -connect google.com:443

Not sure what the equivalent is on windows though.

Toucan··on Why so little looting in Japan? It's not just about honesty
Apologies. I did check, but I didn't double check after pasting in the two forms (and pouring a cup of tea, IIRC.)
Toucan··on Don't touch me, I'm British
This surprises me. When I was in China 10 years ago, I certainly noticed (as a Brit) how normal it was to see people walking down the street hand in hand. It didn't seem to matter if they were two guys, girls or, err, any other combination.

I wonder if things have changed or if it was a regional difference. I was in Shenyang at the time.

Toucan··on What Apple hopes you didn't notice about iPad2
Apple never mention how much RAM is in their iOS devices. If I had to guess why I'd say it forces more consumers to compare based on things other than specification. The tech savvy know what they're reading and where to get the data, most other consumers don't care, but there is a group who know where to get the data and don't know how to interpret it, who may be fooled by numbers which don't actually affect their use of the device.

As for having features missing in the first version, that's also been the Apple way. Release early, release often. See what the consumer actually wants and complains about and include that in the next version.

I do think that the sync cable still isn't very Apple though. I've been hoping that will vanish ever since iOS devices first had wifi capability across the board.

Toucan··on A Built-in Web Server For PHP
The idea isn't to open the server to the world. The RFC states that it's meant to be used in a similar way to django's manage.py runserver, for development and internal testing.

Django phrase it in their tutorial as:

"We've included this with Django so you can develop things rapidly, without having to deal with configuring a production server -- such as Apache -- until you're ready for production.

Now's a good time to note: DON'T use this server in anything resembling a production environment. It's intended only for use while developing. (We're in the business of making Web frameworks, not Web servers.)"

As long as the PHP documentation includes similar caveats and guidance, an HTTP server isn't a bad thing.

Toucan··on London Hack (Crack) Day?
I'm in London and I'm curious.

You may want to send an e-mail to the http://london.hackspace.org.uk/ list. Depending on size you may be able to use their venue also.

Toucan··on Nokia admits it rejected Android; eyes "billions" in revenue from WP7 deal
"Nokia was unable to give a firm timeframe on when its first WP7 phone would appear but it is hopeful for a launch before year end."

I find this very telling. As far as I can tell, Google made the first public announcement of the Open Handset Alliance in November 2007 and HTC released the first handset in October 2008.

Nokia and Microsoft who should both have more experience and resources specific to the mobile industry than HTC and Google did in 2007 are "hopeful" to even meet this timescale, let alone beat it.

In a year, Nokia will have even further to catch up. I'll admit I may be underestimating the difficulty of getting a new device to market, but it seems to indicate an aversion to risk-taking which may set Nokia even further back than they need to be.

Toucan··on Genetic Algorithm Car Physics
Reddit is the source. equalRightsForRobots created it, and is writing about it in that post.
Toucan··on Production is Red, Development is Blue
You could put a shell script around cd that checks the current working directory every time you cd and alerts you appropriately.

A little clunky, I'll admit. I'd like to hear any more graceful solutions.

Toucan··on The Mac App Store Debug Menu
This is what it looks like on my system: http://imgur.com/eo49s

Options are:

Application and Distribution signed by: (None/Signed/Signed by Apple)

Apple ID Authentication: (iTunes, MacBuddy)

Server: (Porco, Localhost, Custom)

Show install progress in dock: (Firenze, App, App no launch, Applications stack)

Toucan··on Why Your Form Buttons Should Never Say 'Submit'
People who use the web are used to have some sort of confirmation that their data has been safely squirrelled away somewhere. When I use sites that behave like this, I often find myself going back to the settings page to make sure my new settings have actually been changed, even though I understand the technology behind it.
Toucan··on Cwora - taking the piss out of Quora
If you scroll down to '"Taking the piss"' there's an explanation here: http://www.history.uk.com/history/a-dyeing-art-jess-dyde/
Toucan··on Cwora - taking the piss out of Quora
"Taking a piss" is literally urinating. Piss is a synonym for urine. "Taking the piss" in this context means mocking somebody/something.

You can also "take the piss" if you're lying, exaggerating or any number of other social mistakes. If someone said that they had 5 years experience in PHP on their CV and you later found out they didn't, you could say they were taking the piss.

Obviously, it's quite an informal phrase. It's also one that just sounds wrong out of context, the correct context being quite hard to define. Like all slang you have to live amongst people using it before you pick up correct usage.

Toucan··on Apple cuts iPhone 3GS price to $49
But any cheaper phone is still useless without a contract anyway? The difference isn't $899, it's $899 minus the cost of ownership of an equivalent phone. Even a free phone on a 2 year basic contract is going to be around $600-700, surely?

There are pay as you go options, but other than the lightest of users, I don't know many people who find it cheaper than a contract, especially if they use any data.

← PreviousPage 2 of 3Next →