Hacker News Reader

matthewfelgateon How one engineer beat the ban on home computers in socialist Yugoslavia

I didn’t say that computers were outright banned; I pointed out that most people were effectively prevented from owning them. It was still the policies enacted by the Socialist government that restricted imports. Also, limiting access to computers and parts isn’t exactly the ideal way to inspire creativity.

You can also look at Cuba were personal computers were severely restricted even in 1990s and 2000s. The internet was severely restricted until the mid-2010s!

matthewfelgateon How to Learn Things by Yourself

I’d say the real benefit of flashcards is being reminded of the content at specific intervals, helping reinforce what you’ve learned over time. Writing them can be useful, but the real power of flashcards comes from spaced repetition, which strengthens memory and recall by revisiting material at optimal times.

matthewfelgateon Musk, Bezos need just 90 minutes to match your lifetime carbon footprint: Oxfam

Isn't this what the Soviet Union tried to do?

matthewfelgateon Musk, Bezos need just 90 minutes to match your lifetime carbon footprint: Oxfam

Communist countries are some of the worst polluting on the planet.

matthewfelgateon Musk, Bezos need just 90 minutes to match your lifetime carbon footprint: Oxfam

Musk has replaced 5 Million cars on our roads with electric cars. Also he has installed five hundred thousand solar panels.

matthewfelgateon Musk, Bezos need just 90 minutes to match your lifetime carbon footprint: Oxfam

SpaceX is not an oil company. Neither is Tesla.

matthewfelgateon Musk, Bezos need just 90 minutes to match your lifetime carbon footprint: Oxfam

Musk has contributed to replacing 5 million gasoline-powered cars with electric ones and has facilitated the installation of 500,000 solar panels via Solar City. While there may be valid criticisms of Musk, questioning his environmental impact seems a bit misplaced to me.

matthewfelgateon Why Are Americans So Rich?

Sure, but Brits are 30% poorer than Americans.

matthewfelgateon How to Learn Things by Yourself

True. But doing a class with no practice outside class is also pretty limited. Living in China is the best way to learn the language, but only if you put in the effort too. I knew plenty of westerners who lived in China but put no effort in to learn the language. You have to do both immersion and study by yourself.

matthewfelgateon How to Learn Things by Yourself

I've been meditating on the idea of using an LLM or Python to automatically generate Anki cards from source materials like PDFs.

matthewfelgateon Why Google Search Is Falling Apart?

I have no idea how that even got launched, but thankfully, it seems to have disappeared now. When I see a feature like that roll out, it really makes me question the decision-making at the company.

matthewfelgateon Don't use "click here" for link text

Missing a great source of humour to have the Hacker News headline link "click here"

matthewfelgateon Please do not write below the line

I say try writing "drop table;" at the bottom and post it back. :-)

matthewfelgateon Please do not write below the line

Reading this correspondence gives me a little PTSD about every time I have to deal with one of these bureaucratic organisations.

matthewfelgateon A step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics

This is fascinating. I did thing a while back if it was possible to 3D print primitive electronics.

matthewfelgateon US weighs Google break-up in landmark antitrust case

Sure. If you ignore Microsoft Teams, One Drive, LinkedIn, Azure, Bing, Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Outlook, GitHub, Power BI, Skype, Visual Studio and Office...

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

OK I've redone my post.

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

Not than many people died.

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

How did you come up with the number 100?

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

The current situation will not lead to nuclear war.

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

  - Liberal democracies should have Nuclear Weapons.
  - Dictatorships and Communists countries shouldn't.

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

What's name calling?

matthewfelgateon Tesla Robotaxi

I don't understand how they can't get autonomous working in a tunnel. It sounds like the perfect controlled environment.

matthewfelgateon Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 awarded to Nihon Hidankyo

[flagged]

matthewfelgateon US weighs Google break-up in landmark antitrust case

I don't understand how Microsoft gets away with being a bigger monopoly for longer.

matthewfelgateon Waverley, the last seagoing paddle steamer

Nice. I would love to do a trip.

I heard about Waverley when I visited the Maid of the Loch https://www.maidoftheloch.org/ which is a paddle steamer that they are currently repairing at Loch Lomond where it used to do trips.

matthewfelgateon Ask HN: Why are so many people leaving OpenAI?

If you come for the king, you best not miss.

matthewfelgateon When To Do What You Love

What are you thinking of building?