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malenm

83 karma · joined February 17, 2011

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malenm··on SoftBank Reveals $6.5B Loss from Uber, WeWork Turmoil
NPR Planet Money podcast recently did an episode all about it:

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/04/767379358/episode-943-unicorn...

malenm··on Bill Belichick Throws in the Tablet
The NY Times didn't include this gif I saw on Deadspin[1]:

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--unnNrpz...

I think it paints a clearer picture as to why the Surface was singled out among the equipment.

[1] http://deadspin.com/bill-belichick-is-sick-of-those-stupid-m...

malenm··on How Secure Are Electronic Safe Locks? [video]
tldr; This was a ~$500 medium-level security safe and he was unable to crack it via the electronics.
malenm··on $149 Chromebooks
I wonder how much thought they put into theft prevention if this is really intended to be used in schools - the ability to just pull this out the the USB port and walk off seems entirely too tempting in a school setting.
malenm··on Secretive Bitcoin Startup 21 Reveals Record Funds, Hints at Mass Consumer Play
I think building Bitcoin services is the only way to make Bitcoin _reach_ that consumer inflection point.
malenm··on The freelancer's guide to good jobs and great pay
I think there's a better chance of people reading it if delivered in small chunks. He also gets to deliver 8 ads (or whatever marketing opp) instead of just one.
malenm··on The $9B Witness: JPMorgan Chase's Worst Nightmare
How about a local credit union?
malenm··on Draftin' – A draft simulator for Magic the Gathering
This is really slick! Much nicer interface than a lot of the other online drafting sites I have seen. It would be awesome to be able to draft a cube, which would have slightly different logic to only allow a single copy of each card.

I also think you should have the most common recent draft formats pre-selected. Most people coming here will want to do Theros/Born of the Gods, RTR block, or whatever - only a small slice will want to go crazy with the Legends-Champions of Kamigawa-Ravnica drafts.

Lastly, I would like to see the card display a little more contained, just so it's easier to see your picks and your pack all neatly on the screen. MTGO isn't good for much, but it does have a great interface in this respect (smaller, tiled cards that you can click-to-zoom, and sorting by CMC + color).

That's all I got for now - I'm at work but I'll try to dig into it a bit more when I get home and give some more feedback.

malenm··on So, my Coinbase account was hacked, bitcoin stolen, now what?
Seriously - if you're not using 2FA then you're just looking for trouble.
malenm··on CheapAir accepts Bitcoin
I think this practice is a short-term solution. Every new company that starts accepting Bitcoin does help spread adoption. Eventually, it will mature and the price will stabilize, but this part is going to have to happen before we can get there.
malenm··on Show HN: My one month project, Statsgram.com: Website Optimization Tool
One small typo under 'Crawl Data' - Dublicate titles should be Duplicate titles
malenm··on Benchmarking Hosted MongoDB Services
I did a little digging and though the article does not name the other providers, based on pricing, I believe Hosted AWS Provider #1 is MongoHQ [1] and Hosted AWS Provider #2 is MongoLab [2]. (MongoHQ no longer has Replica Set: Small on their Pricing page but I found it in the Google cache. [3]).

[1] https://www.mongohq.com/pricing

[2] https://mongolab.com/products/pricing/

[3] http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:cj8DBbH...

malenm··on Fuck it, I'll Do This Alone
Thanks for this - I'm very much an ambivert but never heard the term until today.
malenm··on Re: “Hey:” – An Analysis of the Obama/Romney Emails
Can you please fix the first graph in the post? It's very hard to interpret 'gaps' in emails sent when you have Jul-12 and Sep-12 repeated.
malenm··on Apple told to rewrite "Samsung didn't copy", post on front page until Dec 14th
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125367616595333125.html
malenm··on ­French bees make green and blue honey after M&M’s feast
Colored honey actually seems pretty awesome if it can be a controlled process that is not harmful - rather than the result of the bees ingesting candy waste.
malenm··on Typeform... The future of online forms & surveys
Nice site, though a few small nitpicks:

1. On the showcase page, I wish I could scroll a little further down before each component becomes greyed-out. In some cases, a question will barely make it above the halfway point in my browser (basically, eye-level and my main content-viewing area) when it disappears, instead bringing focus to the next thing down (sometimes not even fully on the page yet).

2. If I enter an incomplete email and hit tab, it doesn't validate the form. If I then try to submit, it says one of my questions is incomplete, but doesn't highlight it in any way to show me which one needs attention.

3. Those really look like cupcakes, not muffins.

malenm··on Show HN: Intelligent leads for hackers and startups
I believe LeadMachine is Trademarked-

http://www.dealer.com/products/lead-management/lead-machine....

malenm··on AT&T Screwed Up the iPhone 5 Launch for me
While I can understand the excitement of opening up a shiny new thing, and agree somewhat with your assessment that the rep messed up (forgetting the charger and haphazardly handling your new phone), I don't feel that your proposed solution is in any way viable, and might even end up pissing people off more:

2. The rep retrieves the phone and hands it to you to check.

3. The rep then encourages you to open your iPhone and shares in your excitement.

4. Once the phone is open, the rep then respectfully asks to take the phone and goes about his business. He leaves the protective covers on the phone, and lets you take them off at your own will.

So, here you are on iPhone 5 launch day, you've been waiting for hours, and the store is absolutely packed with people. How does this process work out? Do you lose your place in line while you open your phone and play around with it for a few minutes (even though it doesn't do anything yet)? Is the rep supposed to stand there and wait, 'sharing in your excitement' while the lines grow even longer? The reps are at work and they are trying to get these rabid fans their iPhones as soon as possible. This guy was working quickly because the line was out the door and he's trying to do his damn job. I'm guessing that when you work at a phone company, even the thrill of a new iPhone loses its charm pretty fast.

malenm··on Kickstarter suspends project 10 hours from successful funding
A little Googling finds the founders - Jason Sun [1] and Ben Yi [2] - both worked at KILLSPENCER [3] before starting Vinted Goods [4]. While it's true that both sites have a top nav, I couldn't find any pics of someone operating a sewing machine on either site. Either way, the products seem similar, but what would you expect from a mentor/protege relationship?

[1] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jason-sun/20/84a/124

[2] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/benjamin-yi/16/662/662

[3] http://killspencer.com/

[4] http://vintedgoods.com/

Edit: The owner of KILLSPENCER, Spencer Nikosey [5] has a few interesting interview nuggets [6][7]:

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF? I'm most proud of the upcoming products and relationships I've built with the members of our SPECIAL PROJECTS INNOVATION TEAM. (This is the team Jason and Ben were on.)

WHO DO YOU BOUNCE IDEAS OFF AND/OR GET INSPIRED BY? I have a small group of mentors. These people are amazing at what they do. I give them products and they use them, and give me feedback on how to improve the designs, construction, etc. I'm so lucky to have such amazing people interested in supporting the vision.

TAKE US BRIEFLY THROUGH YOUR PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND. WHERE HAVE YOU WORKED BEFORE LAUNCHING YOUR OWN COMPANY? I launched my business straight out of school. While in school, I had the opportunity to intern for some great people. Scott Robertson (Design Studio Press) is where I got my first work experience. I spent so much time observing and picking his mind on the business of design and watched him build his business from the start.

[5] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/spencer-nikosey/12/5a6/866

[6] http://swipelife.com/2009/04/15/the-newcomer-an-intervew-wit...

[7] http://www.carryology.com/2012/04/12/interviews-spencer-niko...

Edit 2: Google Cache of the Kickstarter campaign page: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:jQYA_YU...

malenm··on Facebook Timeline Remover: Works, but Malicious
This was exactly my point - the fact you can't prove that the app isn't doing something suspicious is true of every app. Yes, there are a lot of personal details on Facebook. There are on your phone, too. These are not Timeline-removal app-specific.

Yesterday, there was a post on Hacker News about the Wolfram Alpha Facebook Analytics [1] with very little concern about privacy (3 comments out of 104 mention privacy). My issue with this post is that it needlessly targets Timeline removal apps when it just seems to be making a general statement about being careful when installing any app.

[1]http://blog.stephenwolfram.com/2012/08/wolframalpha-personal...

malenm··on Facebook Timeline Remover: Works, but Malicious
I'm a little surprised that after inspecting each plugin and finding:

"the first 3 plugins work well and do remove the Timeline after the user logins to Facebook. There is no suspicious activity."

that the final conclusion is:

"In conclusion, we would like to warn all Facebook users to not try any Facebook Timeline Remover apps or plugins."

Why take issue with an unsuspicious app that works as advertised? It's a little unfair to the people who built these apps.

Aside from the general privacy concern presented by every single FB / smartphone app which has access to some level of your personal data, it seems like this is being too specific in its claim that "Timeline removal apps are scams."

malenm··on Kaspersky Lab Discovers 'Gauss'
Just read the same thing [1] - that does seem to be a logical use for a 'custom' font

[1] http://blog.crysys.hu/2012/08/on-the-palida-narrow-mystery-o...

malenm··on An Unexpected Ass Kicking
As a huge technology fan (and moe. fan), I was ecstatic to get to witness the entire band perform live on iPads last year at moe.down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzVhVJaKexk

malenm··on Facebook has more than 83 million 'fake' users
It was pretty annoying, not gonna lie, but weeks may have been a bit of a stretch - I have about 450 friends and I'd say after a couple days of 'vigilance' I was 90% of the way there, but there were stragglers that showed up for a while after that. It wasn't until everything reverted and started showing up again that it truly felt like a nightmare.
malenm··on Facebook has more than 83 million 'fake' users
-You can set them to "Important Updates Only" but then you miss lots of posts you might find interesting. I want to ignore their Likes of memes/pictures but still get their posts of their own content, etc.

There is actually a setting for this - You need to "Unsubscribe from comments and likes by ___"

I worked vigilantly at this over a few weeks and eventually my feed went back to what it used to look like circa 2008. Then, sadly, a few weeks ago, they were all back one day out of the blue. Since then, the unsubscribe functionality has been straight-up broken.

https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=2297060 https://www.facebook.com/help/community/question/?id=2300268

malenm··on The year 2000 illustrated in 1900
Site is down for me - here is the cached Google version:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wOFiv4Z...