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ali_af

40 karma · joined June 22, 2017

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ali_af··on Ask HN: Could you share your personal blog here?
https://ali.af Adding mine to the list here :-)
ali_af··on How America lost its love for the stick shift
My issue with automatic transmissions is that while they may be able to predict optimal settings in specific conditions, they cannot understand the overall conditions of traffic and operate accordingly.

An example is bumper to bumper traffic moving at high speed. Traffic may momentarily slow down abruptly, then pick up again. All automatic transmissions I have driven react the same when I release the gas, and then press it again as traffic speeds back up. They either stay in high gear, so the torque is not immediately available when traffic speeds up, or worse, they take a few seconds to downshift and then lunge forward.

With a standard transmission, I can put the car in neutral when I see brake lights ahead, slow down with the brakes if necessary, and when traffic starts moving faster, I drop into the appropriate gear for the speed I'm at and the torque I need.

ali_af··on Huawei caught cheating performance test for new phones

  People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware
I never get tired of this quote, and I will always point to it when people compare iOS/Android or macOS/Windows.
ali_af··on 2003 Request of Afghanistan for Redelegation of the .af Top-Level Domain
I tried registering a .af domain around ten years ago. At the time the Afghan NIC registration process involved downloading a PDF application, manually filling out your WHOIS info and nameservers, then emailing it to them. Registration fees were paid via a wire transfer to their NY bank account. Actually it turns out this is still the process [1]

Eventually though I found a registrar that supports .af domains and I was able to secure mine :^)

[1] http://nic.af/en/page/what-we-do/afgnic/af-registration

ali_af··on How Apple sidestepped a 2013 crackdown on its Irish tax practices
Note that Cook has been vocal about repatriation and has suggested that it be mandatory to all corporations, then taxed specifically for infrastructure development.
ali_af··on Ask HN: Why does my credit union check if I'm logged into Steam and Reddit?
Safari sandboxes each tab so you could simply dedicate each one to a specific website.
ali_af··on Technology preview: Private contact discovery for Signal
Yes, they rolled this out in a relatively recent update.
ali_af··on iOS 11 reviewed
To add to the list of questionable UI changes, they are continuing to push iMessage Apps and there is no way to remove the icon from the input bar. Now with iOS 11 they have added an additional bar whether you use any apps or not.
ali_af··on Under iOS 11, authorities won’t be able to image your device without a passcode
I believe that they simply dumped the NAND to circumvent the passcode entry limit then brute-forced. But it was also an iPhone 5C model which does not include the Secure Enclave. This method could not be reproduced on any model beyond the 5S.
ali_af··on Ask HN: Should a login be a Username or an Email?
Gmail actually banks on the idea that most people just fill out whatever fields they are presented. The phone number is not actually required to register an account.
ali_af··on The iPhone killed my inner nerd
On one hand you could take advantage of available tools to make your job easier. On the other you could do everything from scratch for personal satisfaction. Neither option discounts the other but I think the author comes off as whiny when he clearly chose the former over latter.
ali_af··on Crash Bandicoot: An oral history
Andy Gavin wrote a series on the creation of Crash Bandicoot [1]. It covers some of the intricate details and compromises of developing for the Playstation. It's one of my favorite pieces of writing, definitely recommend it to anyone who likes development articles.

[1] http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/02/making-crash-ban...