Hacker News Reader

josh_carterPDXon OpenAI: Facts from a Weekend

"There is talk that OpenAI might completely disintegrate as a result, that ChatGPT might not work a few days from now, and so on."

Oh damn! While this seems wildly unlikely, I can imagine this scenario and think it would have huge implications.

josh_carterPDXon OpenAI staff threaten to quit unless board resigns

Lots of thoughts and debates happening here, which is great to see.

However, at the end of the day, this is a great example of how people screw up awesome companies.

This is why most startups fail. And while I'm not suggesting OpenAI is on a path to failure, you can have the right product, the right timing, and the right funding, and still have people mess it all up.

josh_carterPDXon Ask HN: Which co-location providers would you recommend in the US?

I would have suggested Flexential until they had a major outage recently.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/cloudflare-claims...

josh_carterPDXon Soccer video analysis from your match videos

Ah bummer. Just got this reply...

"To kick things off, all you need to do is share a link to your video on Google Drive, OneDrive, or YouTube, and we'll promptly create a personalized analysis for you at no cost. In return, we kindly ask for your constructive feedback to help us enhance the Futvis experience."

We work with little ones and cannot just send over videos without their parents' consent.

josh_carterPDXon Soccer video analysis from your match videos

This is awesome. Would love access for my daughter's soccer team.

josh_carterPDXon Cloudflare API Down

Isn't it ironic that of all the services failing the status page never seems to go down? Of course it's likely hosted somewhere else, but I always chuckled and thought the same thing when there was a major outage somewhere.

josh_carterPDXon FCC launches inquiry to increase minimum broadband speed [pdf]

I'm a Comcast customer and bundle my services. Every two years, once the introductory rate expires, I call to get a new "promo" rate or just say they can cancel me right then and there. They've never taken me up on the cancellation. As a result I have a full 1GIG service at my house and feel like I pay a reasonable amount.

I'm just not a big fan of their "security" features. Other than that, I haven't had many issues here in Oregon.

josh_carterPDXon Trucking startup Convoy closes operations with no buyer

Your argument would be wrong. Just because a company fails doesn't mean it was a team devoid of talent.

josh_carterPDXon Bank of America's unrealized losses on securities rose to $131.6B

To those suggesting that BofA be broken up because they are considered "too big too fail" should watch one of the many movies that cover the 2008 financial crisis. There are also some really good documentaries.

Our government decided that the banks needed to consolidate in order to be more stable then enacted the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act which was put in place to "promote the financial stability of the United States."

If you really want to ensure banks don't go through this again I would encourage you to call your elected officials to make sure they not just protect the Dodd-Frank act, but to expand the way it helps to protect consumers from banks being shady.

josh_carterPDXon Ask HN: Can someone explain to a non US resident how Matt Gaetz ousted McCarthy?

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/10/06/texans-rule-change-h...

"Under rules negotiated in January during McCarthy’s tumultuous first election, any member of the House can motion to vacate the chair — a procedural move that will force a vote to remove the speaker. That was how the process worked until 2019, when then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi significantly raised the threshold."

josh_carterPDXon Ask HN: Can someone explain to a non US resident how Matt Gaetz ousted McCarthy?

As part of the negotiation to get Kevin McCarthy to the speakership back in January, Republicans made a rule change in the House which allowed just one member of Congress to bring up for a vote a measure that would let the entire body vote for his ousting.

Pelosi removed this rule when she was speaker, but to be fair she was also really good at getting her party to stay in line.

It will be interesting to see if Republicans take that rule away to avoid another mess if they manage to vote in a new speaker.

josh_carterPDXon T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

Absolutely. Didn't mean for my reply to make it seem like I was too naive to understand WHY it happens. Just amazed that it keeps happening and has happened for decades.

josh_carterPDXon T-Mobile switches users to pricier plans

It is amazing to me that the government continues to allow these mergers when time and time again it shows that the consumer end up paying more, not less.

josh_carterPDXon WiFi without internet on a Southwest flight

True. I just can't recall the name of the platform I used, but it was something similar to an ip address scanner which gave me a list of all devices already connected to the network along with their mac addresses.

josh_carterPDXon WiFi without internet on a Southwest flight

There used to be an app that would scan the ip and mac addresses on the network that were already connected to the internet. You could then change your settings to one of the mac addresses and when they were done you'd get the connection to yourself.

I used to travel a lot for work and just refused to pay for WiFi. This was good in airports and coffeeshops when you still had to pay to connect.

Now it's hardly needed, but I could see how it would be helpful where there's still a cost to connect.

josh_carterPDXon FTC sues Amazon for illegally maintaining monopoly power

I hope this works. There hasn't been a big monopoly break up since the 1982 break up of AT&T. And with this conservative supreme court, I'm not holding my breath that this will actually go through.

josh_carterPDXon Show HN: Autodevs – Generate simple prototypes automatically

Curious how much AI driven code can be generated vs. human intervention. I would imagine it depends on the app's complexity, but for some basic functionality it would be good to know how much of it can be created via AI. Also curious about the quality. Would you be spending more time correcting inefficiencies vs. having just written it yourself?

josh_carterPDXon Ask HN: What are the economics of a streaming based record label?

I'll echo a few of the comments made here. There is not much money in streaming. Bands typically have to tour and/or sell a ton of merch to make any money.

Instead of another label being created, I would love to see a service for bands (similar to a digital or marketing agency) that helps to create activations. Some of the most memorable bands out there have come up with creative ways to sell albums.

Years ago a rap group called the Get Busy Committee bought a bunch of uzi shaped thumb drives for $1 each. They unpacked them, loaded their album onto them, and sold them for like $20 each. They pocketed the profits and walked away with more than what they would have done if they did streaming alone. We need more of this style of engagement.

josh_carterPDXon Show HN: Get notified when sites update their terms of service

There's a great platform out of Portland called Versionista (https://versionista.com/) which has been working closely with the government and other entities to understand changes that happen on websites or even internal documentation managed by multiple teams.

josh_carterPDXon Plans develop for high-speed rail in the PNW

While I am excited to see a study has been done, the pessimist in me thinks I will not be alive when this finally happens.

josh_carterPDXon Free prison phone calls boost family ties, rehabilitation

Prisons are a money maker for both public and private entities. Everything has a cost including copays for medical and dental. Oregon is the worst when it comes to advocacy for prisoners while they tout how progressive they are. It's a racket and hopefully California is the example that motivates other states to change.

josh_carterPDXon What AT&T and Verizon knew about toxic lead cables for decades

One only needs to go into a Central Office to know how at risk you are for any number of toxic chemicals. The more shocking part of this is that there aren't more studies that link cancer among telecom engineers that work closely in Central Offices and around legacy telecom infrastructure.

Having been a former lineman at PacBell (yes, I'm old), I can tell you that there should be no surprise when you're working in old buildings, with old legacy systems, in a building with zero windows.

josh_carterPDXon Animated Drawings

Guess I know what I'm doing with the kids this weekend. This looks awesome. Thank you!

josh_carterPDXon Launch HN: OutSail (YC W23) – Wingsails to reduce cargo ship fuel consumption

The ship building industry is alive and well here in the PNW. I think the biggest threat is the work force. Many people are retiring and we're not doing enough to back fill what we're losing. Add that the Jones Act keeps international companies from being part of the process and we're going to run into a wall very soon.

Innovation is coming, but the labor unions are apprehensive. We have literally heard them say that they don't fear automation and innovation, but "put a steering wheel on it." That's such a short sided perspective and if it doesn't change soon, we're going to see a very crippled industry being outsourced by international companies.

josh_carterPDXon Launch HN: OutSail (YC W23) – Wingsails to reduce cargo ship fuel consumption

As someone who runs an accelerator focused on the maritime industry (maritimeblue.org) this is awesome! I've seen some of this technology being tried in the nordic countries and it's nice to see it being built here in the US.

If I can be of help, please let me know. My email is josh.carter@maritimeblue.org.

josh_carterPDXon Ask HN: Who is hiring? (April 2023)

Stealth Startup | Sr. Machine Learning Architect | Remote/PNW

This company is looking for a Sr. Machine Learning Architect who will end up owning the development of the platform. The industry is within sales, but the platform is much more than that. Company is early-stage, but already funded and looking to scale. This person would be coming in as an early employee and could possibly end up being brought in as a co-founder for the right fit with appropriate compensation and equity.

Ideal candidate will know how to build out a complete machine learning platform including all related stack and substacks. They will have experience in early stage startups and know how to deal with changing requirements.

Co-founders have a previous exit and looking to bring in a team to help scale this solution.

You can email resume and github profile to josh (at) 1859 (dot) vc

josh_carterPDXon Why to start a startup in a bad economy (2008)

It's a good point. It does seem like some VCs have short term memory.

josh_carterPDXon Why to start a startup in a bad economy (2008)

I think this is the old way of thinking in the VC world. Yes, it still happens, but I think enough VCs have been burned by garbage deals that they are starting to look under the hood more carefully. No VC wants to be funding the next Theranos or WeWork. Bad economy doesn't mean going back to 2008 funding levels. I think a bad economy today means that the companies being created need to have a viable path for growth as well as profitability.

josh_carterPDXon Why to start a startup in a bad economy (2008)

"But it doesn't matter much either way. It's the people that matter. And for a given set of people working on a given technology, the time to act is always now."

So agree with this sentiment. It matters less about when you start a company. It's how you execute. You might be building something very timely, but if you can't scale then it hardly matters whether there's a recession or not.

josh_carterPDXon The Decline of the City Grid

That's amazing. It reminded me of Livermore, CA. They have a bike trail that follows a creek. Wherever it crosses a road (in most parts) the trail dips under the road. A few times every decade the creek floods making the trail there unusable, but I always appreciated being able to avoid the traffic as a kid.