Hacker News Reader

dcw303on Companies Should Pay for Their Employees to Attend Conferences

To be fair, conferences are not always the best way to learn new things. It's variable depending on the conference, and there are some at the lower end that are glorified trade shows.

But for me, the obvious reason to attend is to network with other developers. Whether your company sees that as useful or not will probably determine if they spring for it.

dcw303on Companies Should Pay for Their Employees to Attend Conferences

Let's assume we're talking about developer conferences. Because that seems to be the only kind where we get contention about the value of attending.

Entrepreneurs conference? Can't build that start up on your own. Sales conference? You'd be derelict in your duties if you are not networking over every possible shill you can.

But programmers? Well. We're just expected to glom into some dark corner and crank out code, right?

dcw303on Death pools can bring financial security for the long-lived

> and the blockchain, a type of decentralised ledger, could anonymise it

How would "the blockchain" anonymise anything? Isn't it the opposite, if all transactions are transparent?

dcw303on McDonald's delivery to be available in 3,500 restaurants by the end of June

I wonder if they are adding delivery options due to pressure from franchisees. McDonald's is really a real estate company[0], so I would've thought it's better for corporate if people are coming into the stores. That keeps the real estate valuable and means they can charge higher rent.

[0] https://seekingalpha.com/article/73533-mcdonalds-is-a-real-e...

dcw303on New Distros Coming to Bash/WSL via Windows Store

I downloaded the iso during the free upgrade period but didn't get around to installing it until last weekend.

On my first attempt I agreed to a prompt to download updates to the installer; it then told me I needed to have a key to continue.

So I started again without downloading the updates, and I could install and activate without a key.

dcw303on The tragedy of 100% code coverage (2016)

I'm curious - how old are the systems you're working on?

In my experience, unit tests don't catch many bugs when the code is fresh. But when it's five years old with many modifications over the code base, some dumb little test that you thought was a waste of time is now alerting you to what would have been a horror regression.

In other words: Even though it feels like it's slowing you down now, if you write tests while the functionality is still fresh in your mind, and you capture your assertions well, they'll pay off dividends in the future once you've forgotten what some block of code does.

dcw303on The tragedy of 100% code coverage (2016)

I think you should write a test.

Naming the test just "initialise" is not very useful as it doesn't assert what you expect the method under test to do. Given that the purpose of the initialise function is to populate a watchlists collection variable from the parameter, i'd name the test something like "initialise_daoRecordCountIs9_watchlistCountIs9". The pattern I generally use is <method_name>_<assertion_under_test>_<expected_result>.

Then, my test would be the following:

* Set up / mock the dao parameter to have 9 rows

* Create an instance of the class under test and push in the dao parameter

* Verify / Assert that the class under test now has 9 items in the watchlists variable - I'm assuming there is a public method to access that.

dcw303on What’s New in Bash/WSL and Windows Console

The inotify implementation looks very promising! Editing source files in a Windows-native IDE and having changes picked up by, say, node.js is a great workflow.

I'm yet to try it out, but I wonder if the problems with editing files in the linux filesystem[0] is going to be an issue with this?

[0]: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/commandline/2016/11/17/do-n...

dcw303on We’re dropping Google Ads

I'd be interested in something that was the web site equivalent of Spotify, but not if it was HTML HBO.

I think the reason the online music subscriptions have done so well is that their catalogs span multiple publishers, and customers really don't want to subscribe to multiple services. While there's minor differences, you pretty much can get access to any music you can think of.

Otherwise you just end up with some crummy bundling service where you pay a premium for a few things you are interested in, and waste money on the rest of the junk.

dcw303on Automation is set to hit workers in developing countries hard

Maybe I've just played too much Civ, but I don't understand why space colonization isn't our top priority.

It changes everything.

It won't matter if a large percentage of jobs have been automated. The ones that haven't will go up in demand with every habitable planet that is settled.

dcw303on The miracle of reading and writing Chinese characters

As a student of Japanese and having previously thought I might have Aphantasia this was interesting to me.

But I'm still not convinced that we understand Aphantasia completely. I think there's a whole spectrum of different conditions in visualisation and everyone has different skills and abilities. Here's mine:

- I can currently recall just under 1000 Kanji

- The learning system I am using (wanikani) doesn't require me to, but from previous study I can write a few hundred

- I can easily recognize people's faces from memory ("never forget a face")

- But if you asked me to draw a face from memory I'd have a very hard time

- I can visualize geometric figures in my mind's eye and move them around

- As a long time software developer I can effortlessly deconstruct a complex system into base abstractions, hold these in memory, and manipulate/recall the constructs in my head

- I get a very abstracted visualisation when reading fiction. Lengthy overwrought descriptions bore me and I throw away most of it anyway, so I tend to favour Charles Bukowski over Dan Brown

- My imagination is similiar, I can set up basic scenes but I can't "see" the detail in any way like looking at a photograph

- My art skills are decent but I'm not working off any kind of internal image. I think of the main points I want to express but I don't know exactly how they'll look until I commit them to paper/pixel

- Sometimes when I'm really tired I have very short (under one second) open eye hallucinations where I do visualize random things in extreme detail, indistinguishable from reality.

- I have visual dreams that feel as accurate as reality

- I have sporadic occasions when I (start to) lucid dream. Before I'm lucid, everything in the dream is vivid, but once I become aware then all the detail of the dream unravels and I wake up shortly after

dcw303on We like impostor stories because we’re afraid we’re impostors (2016)

There's this joke on Arrested Development where Lucille Bluthe complains there's (paraphrasing) no manual on raising children. They then cut to an Amazon search revealing hundreds of search results for books on "Raising Children".

While this is excellent snark and a great witty rejoinder to internet arguments, there is something underlying which I think is useful: Figuring it out yourself is commendable, but no-one's going to mind if you look for some expert advice from time to time.

dcw303on What happened to tablet sales?

There's some kind of obscure irony that the longevity of tablet hardware and software is having a negative effect on sales. Like netbooks, that could ultimately mean manufacturers lose interest in the form factor in favour of something with higher revenues.

The tablet would have doomed itself by being too user friendly.

dcw303on It's Better To Animate a Film Alone, Even If It Takes Years

Only slightly related to your tangent, but I've been wondering about the economics of funding a solo indie game project. From what I've seen on Twitter, most of these seem like passion projects as well, but the creators are very much looking for a source of income.

At the risk of wandering even more off topic, it's pretty dispiriting when you see the leaders of the pixel art community with 20k+ followers begging to do a commission for for 25 bucks.

That's not my definition of success.

dcw303on The Logic Behind Japanese Sentence Structure

5 or 6 grammar points can go a long way? If it's that few then I guess they must be the formal forms. So you'll need at least another 5 or 6 to understand the casual forms that you would use with friends or when you're the sempai in the situation. Want to talk to kids or young adults? Better learn another 5 or 6 forms of manga styled grammar slang. And if you interact with sales clerks, listen to train announcements or want to hear other official announcements, they're going to speak keigo, so there's another "5 or 6" forms to learn.

dcw303on The Logic Behind Japanese Sentence Structure

Agreed. This [0] and the subsequent lessons go onto explain that if clauses change depending on whether something is a fact, whether it is an invitation, whether it is volitional, etc.

I've been studying Japanese for years and I am at a basic intermediate level. I still find grammar hard to read, and even harder to produce naturally. I may just be particularly thick but I think saying "you can master Japanese grammar in a matter of weeks" is pretty misleading.

[0] http://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/japanese-conditional...

dcw303on Nintendo to Double Production of Switch Console

Thanks, that's an interesting data point.

But it kinda does justify the view that they are bungling this release if they have stock left on shelves in those countries while those in US / Japan (where I am) can only resort to buying in secondary markets.

dcw303on Nintendo to Double Production of Switch Console

Good. I'm getting sick of walking into Bic Camera and asking the same question when I already know what the (disappointing) answer is going to be.

I get that they're a typical conservative Japanese company, they don't want to screw up inventory, blah blah blah, but it's getting annoying.

And slightly off topic, does anyone know what is up with the NES classic / Famicom mini? As far as I can tell that thing never restocked after launch.

You can see how it looks like Nintendo is majorly shooting themselves in the foot with these slow launches.

dcw303on Reverse Culture Shock

I'm six years in Japan. I think staying in touch with your home country makes a big difference. I'm yet to move back for good, but I find that two things have made my readjustment when visiting home much easier:

  1. Keeping up with family via Facebook
  2. Getting an AFL streaming subscription

If you're not Australian it's hard to understand, but once you've experienced the greatest sport in the world it's hard to give it up.

dcw303on A comment left on Slashdot

> more that programming in the USA and Europe has become a blue collar job, as it has been in Japan for decades

I wouldn't use Japan as your data point to champion programming as accessible to the common man. One only needs to suffer through a few domestic websites to know that talent is sorely missing.

Pay peanuts, get monkeys, etc.

dcw303on Ask HN: Who is switching away from MacBooks this year?

I recently got a Surface Pro after two cycles (~7 years) of MBP 15 inchers. I wanted something lightweight I could draw on, and did think about the iPad Pro with Pencil for a while, but in the end having the flexibility to install any app won out (currently I'm using Aseprite and Manga Studio).

I've been using both Mac and Windows OSes since the last millennium, so I'm not precious about either one. But I do personally prefer explorer over finder in most aspects.

Visual Studio is a beast, and it's absolutely ridiculous that MS now give away so many features for free in the community version.

I had no expectations for the type cover keyboard, but it turns out it is fantastically comfortable and productive.

I have no plans to get a new Mac, but my 2014 MBP is still proving useful to do remote iOS builds from Xamarin. I'll probably keep it around just for that but if I never have to open Xcode again it will be too soon.

dcw303on Video Pros Moving from Mac to Windows for High-End GPUs

For a company that understands computers are very similar to fashion (their SVP of retail was poached from Burberry), they show a disappointing lack of foresight by not keeping their taste makers happy.

Introducing OS X as the mobile Unix platform of choice on top of the first ever drop dead gorgeous notebook (The Powerbook G4 Titanium) declared Apple as the platform for discerning power users. Those power users could confidently brag about their systems, giving free advertising to non-power users. The halo effect of which can still be seen today, trickling down to Joe Coffee in your local cafe. How much longer that lasts in the wake of mis-steps like the touch bar is questionable though, even in the wake of massive unit sales to the broader public.

This article is about high end video / graphics users, and workstations are a slightly different use case. But not much. Once these users move off Mac, who is going to be left to champion the desktops?

dcw303on Ask HN: What're the best-designed things you've ever used?

The Casio F-91W Digital wrist watch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W

Keeps better time than a Rolex, and is a fraction of the price. Waterproof. Has an alarm, stopwatch, and timer; all things missing from traditional wind ups. Interface is easy to use and discover. The battery last almost forever.

Now, if you're asking if it's aesthetically pleasing, that's a different story. But we were talking about design, right?

EDIT: Wikipedia says they're only splash proof; I used to swim with mine but there you go. And I'm making up the timer function, that must have been on later models only.

dcw303on Ask HN: How do you overcome fear of failure?

Forgive me if I'm off base, but I am getting a vibe that you are very concerned about what others think of you.

My advice (which is free internet advice, so take that for all it's worth) is that this is holding you back. As long as you don't see yourself as a fraud, it doesn't matter if someone else calls you one.

And, now I've done diagnosing you, I'll now assume you're in the exact same situation as I was (which is even worse internet advice, so prepare to pile up some massive grains of salt)

Because it wasn't that long ago, I remember the first time a project of mine got the focused attention of the HN front page. I was very nearly physically ill, because I was sure I was going to be judged harshly by some internet rando.

And yes, eventually someone did claim that my project was lame / worthless / something else equally stinging, and yes, it did hurt my feelings for a while.

But then I realised that I didn't care what they thought. I'd finished my project to (generally) good acclaim and they were just some bitter armchair expert who felt they had to chip in.

The good news is that it's easily solved, you need a tougher skin. The bad news is the only way you can do that is by putting stuff out there, failing, and then doing it all again :)

dcw303on Ask HN: What is the most exciting development in your field right now?

If the CRM has your purchase history, does this solve the problem of targeting products on users who have already purchased it?

Because I am really sick of Google serving me ads for stuff I recently searched for and subsequently bought.

dcw303on How Australia is stubbing out smoking

As an Australian who has been living abroad for the better half of a decade, I've noticed ever increasing prices and ever restrictive policies every time I've been back.

Being a very occasional social smoker who should probably quit anyway it hasn't bothered me, but I did find it just a bit ludicrous when I tried to buy a pack at Safeway. The exchange went something like this:

  me: Give me a pack of Peter Stuyvesants, ah, um, I think the light ones in the blue colored pack.
  staff: They don't have colors anymore. We can't show you the packet. You have to tell us which ones.
  me: Really? Ok, fine. Well, just give me the 8mg low tar ones, whatever they're called.
  staff: They don't have mg measures on the packets any more.
  me: So how do I know which ones are the light ones?
  staff: You just have to know.

I eventually picked one of the packs at random. Not what I'd call the best harm minimisation strategy.

dcw303on iOS and MacOS Developers Can Now Respond to Reviews

It's a start but it doesn't fix the underlying problem. It's not specific to the App Store, but a major problem with Internet based communities in general is that a small vocal group of discontents has a disproportionately loud voice.

5 one star reviews out of 100,000 known installs is very different to 5 out of 10.

I wish that the app review had stats for 1/2/3/4/5 star ratings as percentages of the known user base.

dcw303on Amazon Web Services in Plain English (2015)

This is really useful for a layman like me who doesn't have a lot of exposure to AWS.

Anything similiar for Azure? I would really like to understand the difference between the different types of app services, and especially how they relate to the project templates in Visual Studio.

dcw303on The Three Machines

  finders (sales - those that bring in the $$$) = customer machine
  minders (admin, finance, hr, etc) = company machine
  grinders (the grunts who actually do the work - for a tech company this is the engineering dept) = product machine

dcw303on The Three Machines

In certain industries, it's said a company is made up of three types of staff - finders, minders, and grinders.

It's a pretty simple exercise to map this to the three machines.