Hacker News Reader

jamesgillon What Was the First Bookmark?

I always liked the term ‘hypermedia’. It seemed apt. But now, I suppose the distinction between hypermedia and just ‘media’ has been lost.

jamesgillon Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

You're right; I was thinking of distance traveled, not direction.

jamesgillon Voyager 1 is about to reach one light-day from Earth

If Voyager could stay operational and keep its speed of ~61,000 km/hr, it would reach the nearest star (Proxima Centauri) in about 72,000 years.

My mind understands the numbers, but can't grasp them.

jamesgillon Microsoft makes Zork open-source

Yes, I get it. It's right there in the headline.

jamesgillon Microsoft makes Zork open-source

I kinda hate that Microsoft gets to take credit for being magnanimous with yet another product they never created.

The TL;DR: The Zorks were created by several guys at MIT who later formed Infocom. Infocom eventually sold to Activision, Microsoft bought Activision and voila--"Microsoft is open sourcing Zork".

jamesgillon How Slide Rules Work

Last week I donated several slide rules to Goodwill; a few were very nice. Meanwhile, I still have a pristine HP-41cx and HP-15c, and an HP-25 app on my iPhone.

jamesgillon A woman who discovered the first black hole

Wasn’t the first black hole (Cygnus X-1) discovered by several people independently, not one woman? That’s fairly well-known.

jamesgillon The US AI boom drives trade and investment surge

I would say rather that it's the other way around.

jamesgillon IDEmacs: A Visual Studio Code clone for Emacs

I wasn't talking about programming.

jamesgillon IDEmacs: A Visual Studio Code clone for Emacs

Emacs for programming is definitely one important use case. This tool seems to focus on that use case, though I think I can get 75% of it by just using Emacs keybindings with regular VSCode.

But Emacs is so much more than an ‘IDE’. I realize some don’t like the Emacs approach of ‘here’s a box of parts and tools, build it the way you want’, but that’s the point of Emacs.

Besides the functional approach, of course, there is the philosophical stance: freedom.

Emacs is an elegant weapon from a more civilized age. But some people prefer blasters, and that’s okay.

jamesgillon Writerdeck.org

Your mileage may vary, but the screen on mine looks as good as new.

jamesgillon Writerdeck.org

My 'writer deck' is an old 11" 2014 Macbook Air with no wifi enabled, running Linux Mint. It only has a few apps. Beautiful machine, works perfectly. I paid $35 for it.

And by 'no wifi enabled', I mean it's not enabled in the OS, so I can't even be tempted to turn it on. When I need to sync files/update, I have a USB ethernet dongle.

I love refurbishing old Macbooks/ThinkPads, and I always tell people just buy one, customize it any way you like--paint it, stickers, whatever--and for a few bucks you've got something great.

jamesgillon Show HN: MarkdowntoCV

Thanks, adding an example output is a good idea.

I use it to customize my resume for each application, and this is an easy way for me to customize my 'source' then output files to share. Most folks I know do the same thing.

I've hired, but I'm no expert in hiring. Everyone does it differently, but I think this tool outputs ATS-friendly files, which is where most resumes go first these days.

jamesgillon How cops can get your private online data

Hey, thank you.

jamesgillon Show HN: MarkdowntoCV

Yours is slick. I like it.

jamesgillon Show HN: MarkdowntoCV

Nice. Yours seems to be only for promoting your own resume, right? Mine's a tool for a user to control, customize, and create their own, locally.

jamesgillon How cops can get your private online data

HN truncated it, unfortunately.

jamesgillon Increased Coronary Artery Plaque Volume Among Male Marathon Runners

”individuals chronically performing high-intensity long-distance running appeared to lose the mortality benefit.10, 11 Indeed, an emerging body of scientific data suggests that chronic, excessive, high-intensity exercise may induce oxidative stress and myocardial fibrosis, accelerate atherosclerosis, increase vascular wall thickness, and increase cardiac chamber stiffness.”

Yes. And there’s already a growing body of research showing this in those that regularly lift heavy (competitively or otherwise).

TL;DR: Some stress is good. Extreme and repetitive stress is not.

jamesgillon Palantir CEO Says a Surveillance State Preferable to China Winning the Al Race

Sauron Says Palantir Surveillance Preferable to Haradrim Winning the Horse Breeding Race

jamesgillon Chinese next-gen robot effectively crossed the uncanny valley

And it’s of course—female.

jamesgillon You Don't Need a New Laptop

I like this idea. I have FreeGeek in my area, but there are some steps between asking and receiving one.

The real barrier I've discovered is perception: we've been convinced of the notion that, like cars and other things, we need the newest, fastest, shiniest computer available. People almost disdain 'used' computers.

jamesgillon Canonical's plan to make Ubuntu 26.04 the mainstream Linux desktop

As a long-time Linux user, I'm okay with this. I used to think Mint was an easier transition for Windows users, but Ubuntu is likely the 'sweet spot' for the general public.

Meanwhile, I've mostly moved to Debian.

jamesgillon Chaldean Language Resource [pdf]

This is what the wizard solemnly reads out loud just before the thief quietly stuffs the tome in his pack, thereby sealing the party's fate.

jamesgillon ElementaryOS – Thoughtful, capable and ethical replacement for Windows/macOS

I would say rather "are regular updates really necessary"? Personally, I'm not sure they are (for most users). To paraphrase Debian, there's a lot of value in stability.

jamesgillon The Majority AI View

Having lived through some decades of hyped technology trends, it always seems the same: the 'hype' is mainly business seeking a competitive advantage and a transient opportunity to monetize.

AI feels no different at all in that respect; the 'pressure' that everyone feels is just that hype. Is AI something important and cool? Sure. Is it mostly about money? Ask Sam Altman.

jamesgillon The Battle of Hastings Isn't Over

There's a long history of mythologizing (and rooting for) the Saxons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxonism_in_the_19th_cen...

jamesgillon ElementaryOS – Thoughtful, capable and ethical replacement for Windows/macOS

Are you sure he wants a rolling release?

If so, then Manjaro.

If not, I always say:

From Windows? > Mint.

From MacOS? > Ubuntu.

The answer is almost always one of those two for non-technical people.

jamesgillon Amazon's Ring Plans to Scan Everyone's Face at the Door

https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/15/make_up_thwart_facial...

jamesgillon The Framework Desktop is a beast

I like Framework and own one of their laptops. But the desktop seems more a triumph of gimmicky marketing than a desktop that's meaningfully different. And, it seems significantly overpriced.

jamesgillon Newsom says CA will hold special election to combat Trump, TX redistricting

All states gerrymander. Both major parties do, too. The problem is the system of laws and practices that allow them to do it.