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izolate

963 karma · joined July 3, 2013

https://izolate.net

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/izolate; my proof: https://keybase.io/izolate/sigs/D_F__KC4AmV91FVt6wDIwztG5W0sHqAJSV_3k-hz7B0 ]

meet.hn/city/42.8867166,-78.8783922/Buffalo Socials: - izolate.at.hn ---

submissionscomments
izolate··on Why Japan has blue traffic lights instead of green
> The order of the lights doesn't change.

That argument has two issues: First, not all US traffic lights have order, as single-light ones replace stop signs in some (mostly suburban/rural) areas. Second, light position is still hard to discern at night.

My personal take: the red and yellow hues in traffic lights are often indistinguishable for those of us with red-green colorblindness.

izolate··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2023)
Exceptional jobs page! Love the blend of engineering and design.
izolate··on Why does the USA use 110V and UK use 230-240V? (2014)
I used to sympathize with this take until I bought a Zojirushi water boiler, which provides instantaneous hot water. Now even a faster kettle is a downgrade in experience.
izolate··on Ask HN: Those who were broke and lost in life in 20s. How'd you find way again?
YMMV but I found a passion in programming, self-learning led to a career, and life sorted itself out from there. Also, travel frequently if you have the means to.
izolate··on Ask HN: What is your preferred domain registrar?
Glad I'm not the only one paying the domain tax for incomplete projects.
izolate··on Vim Boss
In a world of fleeting software, Vim is a timeless masterpiece.

I only wish I had the opportunity to thank Bram for the impact he's had on my life and career, because I don't think I would have come as far without Vim.

izolate··on Bram Moolenaar has died
That thought never really occurred to me, and now I’m feeling a deep sense of regret. BM has had more impact on my career than anybody.
izolate··on Ask HN: How to give a crash course on Git?
If he's truly a novice, then he's not an anything-guy yet (hopefully). Just teach him what you know and let him to discover GUI tools by himself if he's so inclined.
izolate··on My first $10k internet dollars
Congrats! Great concept.

Curious, how do you go about advertising your services?

izolate··on Val Town Pro - $10/month for more compute, storage, private vals
Cool product and great execution! I've had the idea to build something like this for a while, but I'd rather use this.
izolate··on I Still Use Windows 95 (2008)
One aspect that I find particularly vexing is the apparent lag when toggling between MacOS Spaces, even when the 'reduce motion' setting is enabled.

I utilize Spaces as an alternative to multiple monitors, often alternating between a full-screen terminal and a browser window in different Spaces. Anticipating the need to open a new browser tab, I transition to the browser Space and instinctively press 'Cmd+T', only to discover that a new tab has instead been created in the terminal window.

AFAIK, there doesn't seem to be a way to achieve instantaneous Space-switching devoid of any animation or delay.

izolate··on Eye Candy
Very cool. I found the author's candid FAQ page worth a read. Their head seems to be in the right place.
izolate··on Apple passwords deserve an app
I switched to Apple's password manager after being burned by Twilio Authy's inability to retrieve the 2FA setup codes. I wish they had made this lock-in more clear.

Overall I'm happy with my decision. I'm now even using Safari over Chrome full-time because it has the benefits 2FA autofill.

Only thing missing is a dedicated app, but I have Apple Shortcut that works well enough in the meantime.

izolate··on Duolingo Max, a learning experience powered by GPT-4
I'd be very interested to know exactly what metrics allow them to ignore the fact that their most-recent app redesign has been, from what I can tell, unanimously disliked and shown to frustrate their userbase.
izolate··on Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
I agree that these byproducts can be an issue. However, in the context of a life-threatening situation like a power blackout in a blizzard, where the alternative is death from exposure to the cold, running a gas stove for a long duration may be an acceptable risk.
izolate··on Launch HN: Electric Air (YC W23) – Heat pump sold directly to homeowners
I live in Buffalo NY, and from the recent record-breaking snowstorms, I've concluded that the push for electrification of home appliances may not be the best solution. Although gas furnaces still require electricity, they can operate for a more extended period on a generator, and gas stoves are a crucial backup option for staying warm during a power outage. Until our electricity grid becomes more reliable, I would hesitate to switch to an all-electric setup.

While I think your product looks excellent and applaud your launch, I regret that it's not something I'd purchase anytime soon, given my concerns about relying solely on electricity during power outages.

izolate··on Last Flight Out
Fascinating. I wish I could do something similar. My personality traits naturally favor isolation, darkness and the cold. Unfortunately, I doubt there's any need for software engineers in Antarctica.
izolate··on ChatGPT Can't Kill Anything Worth Preserving
Curious question. This makes me think ChatGPT is to English what gofmt/Prettier is to Go/JavaScript.
izolate··on Why didn't you buy a Tesla?
Besides the fact that I prefer ICE, and need a 4WD off-road vehicle, I don't want to further enrich Elon Musk.
izolate··on Ask HN: Programming related ChatGPT prompts you are being blown away with
I used it to teach me how to implement an airbnb clone in postgres using only native postgres data types and methods (e.g. point, earth_box).

It was mostly an exercise in learning the types, and the interactivity had me up and running much faster than Google or reading the docs ever could.

izolate··on Apple to allow outside app stores in overhaul spurred by EU laws
As a developer, I understand this sentiment. As an iPhone user however, I don't want the power to shift to developers, because I know developers have financial or other interests that are sometimes at odds with mine.

A large portion of users want the protection that the walled garden affords. If you value openness, then I suggest you use and develop apps for Android.

izolate··on AngelList Talent is now Wellfound.com
Sidenote: does anybody else find this type of website hard to read? Seems like animated text on scroll is all the rage these days. But I find it takes the focus off the copy, and makes it harder to read quickly.
izolate··on Ask HN: Are you good smartphone typer?
You can't blame Steve Jobs for that. Perhaps you can blame the absence of Steve for the proliferation of capacitive touch screens where they are not suited. I believe Steve would've known better, at least in the automotive world.

More on-topic, I'm also terrible at typing on my phone. I find my self leaving messages unattended to until I can find a physical keyboard from which to reply from.

izolate··on Tell HN: HN London Meetup
I would join from Buffalo! If I can help in any way, let me know.
izolate··on Tell HN: HN London Meetup
HNLondon was my absolute favorite meetup. Maybe it was where I was at the time in my career, or the state of the London tech community in the early 2010s, but it was such an exciting time. The talks were interesting, and the post-event drinks were fun. Met some great people. I live in the US now, but if this will be a regular event, I'm sure I could attend at least one event a year.
izolate··on Will Bun JavaScript Take Node's Crown
That looks like global statistics. Of course most developers in the developing world aren't using MacOS. I'd be interesting to see the OS breakdown when selecting for just the developed world. I'd imagine Windows percentage is much lower.

Also, looking at some strictly web development surveys, Windows is behind Mac/Linux: https://medium.com/codex/jetbrains-django-developer-survey-r...

izolate··on Ask HN: Where is the best place to order quality t-shirts for employees?
Los Angeles Apparel. They’re the successor to American Apparel, and make very high-quality, American-made t-shirts.
izolate··on Launch HN: Hello (YC S22) – A search engine for developers
Congrats on the launch! Looks promising, so I'll try it out for a couple of days.

One feature request at first glance: please default to the system font stack for code snippets. I see you're currently using Consolas, a Microsoft typeface, which is not pleasant to see as a mac user.

You can use this to default to the system font on every platform:

    font-family: "SF Mono", "Monaco", "Inconsolata", "Fira Mono", "Droid Sans Mono", "Source Code Pro", monospace;
izolate··on Tell HN: I made $1000 with my app and now making $500/mo
Great job! This is inspiring to all us indie hackers out there.
izolate··on Milk alternatives produce up to 4.5x less greenhouse gas emissions as milk
Dairy is not going anywhere in your lifetime, you (and I) don't have to worry. Choice is good.
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