HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

hackerbob

473 karma · joined November 1, 2009

submissionscomments
hackerbob··on Google Being Forced to Sell Chrome Is Not Good for the Web
If Google has to sell Chrome what stops another buyer from being even more profit maximizing then Google. What if a private equity firm like Silver Lake buys it?

Some will say well the free market will do its thing and people will just switch. The problem is Chrome has a 60-70% market share. And like it or not anyone that is a professional developer will be at the mercy of this new buyer because like them or not they will own 60%+ browser market share overnight.

Anyone who was old enough to remember what web development was in the 2000s and early 2010s remembers that was not a smooth or enjoyable transition going from IE to Firefox to Chrome. I remember those years it was the Dark Ages of desktop internet browsing.

hackerbob··on Show HN: Voice bots with 500ms response times
This is indeed fast! Also seems to be no issue interrupting it while speaking. Is this using WebRTC echo cancellation to avoid microphone and speaker audio mix ups?
hackerbob··on Before Altman’s ouster, OpenAI’s board was divided and feuding
My conclusion was that Sam slipped up somewhere and lost Ilya. Which maybe because of the reason you mentioned. Previously it seems like it was a 3 cofounders vs 3 non cofounders board split. Ilya switched teams after being upset by something.

If I may wear my conspiracy hat for a second. Adam D'Angelo is a billionaire or close to it so he has a war chest for a battle to hold on to the crown jewel's of AI. Sam has powerful friends but so does D'Angelo(Facebook mafia). I don't think the board anticipated the 90% potential employee turnover, so there is a small chance they leave the board because of that reason. But my guess is there is a 4 letter company that starts with an 'M' and ends with an 'a' that comes into the picture eventually.

hackerbob··on OpenAI investors considering suing the board after CEO's abrupt firing
I'm starting to wonder if it was a gang of four or if it was a gang of three and they used one of the cofounders (Ilya) to turn on his cofounders to get control of the company.
hackerbob··on Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’
My personal belief was after 2016 there was a Trump effect. Once everyone saw you could say WHAT!? and still become the president of the United States. I think that made a lot of people bolder in what they could think, say and do from business people to sports athletes.
hackerbob··on Tim Cook tells employees the return to offices will begin on April 11th
Do they share HR offices too! https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/02/google-tells-employees-to-re...
hackerbob··on Facebook has exempted high-profile users from some or all of its rules
Yeah I wonder why this is. Perhaps misplaced idealism of human nature and authority. The Judge, CEO, or the Journalist despite their lofty titles are human too and can be influenced by others. They also are not immune to their own personal desires and biases as well.
hackerbob··on Microsoft makes Flash removal from Windows 10 mandatory
calling yourself an "elitist" is definitely a word.
hackerbob··on Microsoft makes Flash removal from Windows 10 mandatory
Normally I wouldn't be in favor of OS imposed changes either, but in this case I think there is more good being done here by Microsoft than bad.

I can barely tell the difference between your title edit and mine. Anyway I can't change it now.

hackerbob··on Elizabeth Holmes trial delayed because she’s pregnant
"proud of its ignorance" - This sums up so much.
hackerbob··on How to Be Clear
It shouldn't. Everyone's time should be respected. Clarity and conciseness in writing or in speech is a great way to show that.
hackerbob··on Discord bans r/WallStreetBets server, subreddit went private for a while
Exactly! The bet has been people aren't capable of coordinating in large numbers to take advantage of this so it's not really broken. Now that they are it's officially broken and will be reviewed.
hackerbob··on Ask HN: Anyone know any funny programming jokes?
Why did the programmer leave the restaurant?

He didn't like the table layout.

hackerbob··on Notion Timeline View
Discord is also an Electron app and I see few complaints. Sometimes it just the case that some apps give the rest a bad name.
hackerbob··on Luna – Cloud gaming service
If you only need the basic stuff , lookup application portables.
hackerbob··on What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft
Yes, this was one of the things I learned in Big Co after a few years. You end up realizing most work relationships (not all) are what I now call "proximity kindness".

Think two people walking into an elevator together.

hackerbob··on A guide to threads in Node.js
We've been throw this game before: CoffeeScript

Until TS becomes an official standard supported by ECMAScript out of the box. Were just going along with what feels or looks good and the javascript community has proven that can change from year to year.

hackerbob··on American Entrepreneurs Who Flocked to China Are Heading Home, Disillusioned
There's a double standard. Rich Chinese are buying industries and property around the world, but secretly (or perhaps not so secretly anymore) have a problem with Western entrepreneurs owning things in China.
hackerbob··on “It’s Easier To Ask Forgiveness Than To Get Permission”
This point is so good, and so subtle, I'll try to expand on it. In tech teams the saying that "the best idea always win" is commonly believed. But the more experienced know that first and foremost groups are social and there are certain folks within the group who throw out an idea and everyone is willing to give it a shot. Whereas someone else in the group with less authority or social status or persuasiveness may have presented the same idea first only hears everyone saying "we're too busy", or poking holes in it not to make it stronger but to avoid doing it altogether.

How does this relate back to forgiveness over permission. Because with forgiveness the person is humbling themselves to the superior or group and falling back in line. That's more psychologically pleasing as the superior or group gets to reassert their will over a person again. Permission (especially if its not related to something they were assigned to do) can come across as diverting off course and pulling peoples will towards theirs, more so if the request requires action on their part.

Often the outcomes play out as much on power and us as social beings as we are rational.

hackerbob··on Ask HN: What are fun entertaining YouTube channels/videos you watch in free time?
medium/short length documentaries DW Documentary

Also like watching movie character and screenplay breakdowns Nerdwriter1 and Lessons from the Screenplay

hackerbob··on LAPD arrests man on suspicion of making deadly swatting call to Wichita police
It's not right, but we have a broken system that favors them over us. And I don't think it will be fix soon.

Another problem we have is people getting falsely accused and sent to jail when they make mistakes in interrogations. It's why you always if you can afford one, get a lawyer for guidance.

hackerbob··on LAPD arrests man on suspicion of making deadly swatting call to Wichita police
Of course there are scenarios out of our control. In this one particularly the victim walked out of the house and then was shot after he slipped up on one of the commands.

Not to blame the victim, but his mistake lead to their over reaction. My point is even us citizens aren't experienced these situations and some guidance could help.

hackerbob··on LAPD arrests man on suspicion of making deadly swatting call to Wichita police
The way things are going if a SWAT team rolled up to my house ( I know this is going to sound silly). I'd call 911 and have them on speaker phone coaching me through it.

Most people are not trained to handled these situations properly and they will be nervous and start slipping up which a not well trained or inexperienced officer may wrongly interpret as suspicious/dangerous.

If I am truly innocent then perhaps I am the one that needs the hostage negotiator from the threat on the other side of the door.

hackerbob··on In the Videogame Industry, Hiring People Is a Last Resort
Paywall bypass bookmarklet https://jsfiddle.net/samx10/n6mxp8ag/
hackerbob··on How to Get a Job as a Developer in Less Than Six Months
I'm debating whether to learn Python or Ruby. And the initial post as well as this one has me leaning towards Ruby despite all the good things that have been said about Python.

Are there non CS majors out there that picked up Python as a first language and had doors opened for them?

hackerbob··on Why I Quit My Job, Killed a Company in Six Weeks, And Still Feel Great
If its still all about perspective, might we say those 5% are still yet to fail.

Given a long enough timeline even currently successful companies can become future failures.

Edit:By this I mean even successful companies can eventually lose out to competition when they lose their edge. Only the Paranoid Survive - Andy Grove.

hackerbob··on Facebook acquires Instagram
I would like someone to sit me down, and explain the economics of why accept a buyout immediately after raising. And NOT the part of accepting $1 Billon. But why they closed a round with a buyout just around the corner.
hackerbob··on Colbert tribute to Steve Jobs
the link by rlivsey on gawker works. http://gawker.com/5847556/watch-stephen-colberts-tribute-to-...
hackerbob··on Steve Jobs has passed away.
I don't even know what to type. I'm just simply sad.
hackerbob··on HP to produce 100,000-200,000 TouchPads to clear out supplier inventories
Where there will be at times small or major fragmentation in the branding, Android app development is still the unifying factor, and while apps are still the name of the game in town, Android will gradually gain strengthen.
Page 1 of 2Next →