Hacker News Reader

nreeceon Make Linux Fast Again (2019)

Will these parameters work on a VM as well, or just a bare-metal host?

Edit: looks like "performance gained by disabling workarounds for the mostly Intel CPU security flaws are not all that impressive in all workloads": https://linuxreviews.org/HOWTO_make_Linux_run_blazing_fast_(...

nreeceon Ask HN: Do you monitor your REST APIs?

One of our APIs is powered by a cloud function that we monitor (and keep it warm to avoid cold start time) using https://www.statuscake.com

nreeceon Viruses are Largely Unrelated to Life on Earth. Where Do They Come From?

Where in the article does it say that "Viruses are Largely Unrelated to Life on Earth"?

nreeceon Ask HN: What is your blog and why should I read it?

https://www.nilkanth.com on the philosophy of technology.

nreeceon 1.1.1.1 for Families

So '1.1.1.1 for Families' is actually 1.1.1.2 or 1.1.1.3. Bit confusing, for non-tech-savvy families. Why not just call it 1.1.1.2 (viz version 2).

nreeceon Vulcan Salute (Handshake Alternative, U+1F596)

If it's suggested as a handshake alternative in the context of human-to-human infections, then probably a namaste[1] is an alternative salutation more widely understood by people around the world.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste

nreeceon Ask HN: How to get free AWS, Azure, GCP credits?

Here's a list of software (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc.) and other offerings that have free tiers for developers and startups: https://free-for.dev

nreeceon MeiliSearch: Zero-config alternative to Elasticsearch, made in Rust

Looks pretty good. The single filter approach is restrictive though.

We're currently leaning towards Manticore Search[1], which is a fork of Sphinx Search[2].

[1] https://manticoresearch.com [2] http://sphinxsearch.com

nreeceon Ask HN: A way to make a search link without choosing the search engine?

There doesn't seem to be any native option to perform search in the default search engine provider set in the browser.

There used to be a external.IsSearchProviderInstalled native JavaScript method[1], but it was deprecated by browsers, most likely to prevent them detecting and recommending one search provider over the other.

Simplest workaround will be to show a dropdown select list or page modal with search engine options, for the user to be able to select their choice.

[1] http://help.dottoro.com/ljfslnsp.php

nreeceon Don't Terminate People's Internet Connections

"Here in Australia Labor’s plan was for a nationwide network with 93 per cent FTTP coverage. Under the Coalition’s model, only around 20 per cent of NBN Co customers will enjoy FTTP. Around a third of fixed-line premises will be lumbered with FTTN."

https://independentaustralia.net/business/business-display/n...

nreeceon Don't Terminate People's Internet Connections

Yeah it sucks, and what's worse is that there's no near-future course correction by the policy makers. This is going to come back and bite us in some very uncomfortable places.

Kudos for the multi-gigabit fibre, when we can only imagine of a gigabit lottery.

nreeceon Don't Terminate People's Internet Connections

Here in Australia, a few responsible providers like Aussie Broadband have already announced unmetered data usage and temporarily stopping all service suspensions.

https://www.aussiebroadband.com.au/blog/aussie-broadband-ann...

Edit: The real test though will be the bandwidth of our gov-sponsored, substandard, widely FTTN (instead of full FTTP).

If iOS apps are snooping on the pasteboard/clipboard, then surely many Android apps are doing so too. It's worrisome specially when copy-pasting from password managers. Not sure if 1Password, LastPass, Dashlane etc. offer any protection.

nreeceon Ask HN: Recommendations for Working from Home?

Been remote working for years. My top three tips for working from home:

- Semi-formal dress up, specially shoes, tricks the mind into 'professionalism'

- Workout, even 15 minutes of exercises have a positive effect

- Take breaks, away from work desk, for lunch or casual phone call

https://twitter.com/VoidMonk/status/1237542707980976130

nreeceon Ask HN: Is RSS dead?

Yes, for almost any public webpage.

nreeceon Ask HN: Is RSS dead?

RSS feeds aren't dead. On the contrary, their usage for content aggregation, media monitoring and podcasts has increased in the past few years, specially by power users (inforvores) and in the business world.

Speaking from my own experience running Feedity - https://feedity.com, a growing service that helps with custom feeds for unstructured sources like webpages.

nreeceon Firefox is showing the way back to a world that’s private by default

One evaluation found that Ecosia is 'better' than Google and Duck: https://www.kylepiira.com/2020/02/07/which-search-engine-has...

nreeceon Ask HN: Is the disappearance of RSS feeds affecting your happiness too?

Isn't RSS magical!

* Shameless plug *: Our web service, Feedity - https://feedity.com, helps create custom RSS feeds for any webpage, even social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), via an online feed builder and REST API.

nreeceon Simple Analytics hits $4k MRR and shares its numbers

Fyi, your CDN hostname (cdn.simpleanalytics.io), as in your JS code, is blocked by uBlock Origin.

nreeceon The state of full text search in PostgreSQL 12

This looks great! Been considering moving from SQL Server to Postgres for our .NET Core apps' storage and search, rather than use a separate service like Manticore or Elastic. I wish Microsoft SQL Server had easier and better full-text support, now that their cross-platform development framework and tooling has improved so much.

nreeceon Building a Simple VPN with WireGuard with a Raspberry Pi as Server

+1 for Algo. I've been using it since last year on a VM (took under 5 minutes to setup), for firewall access (SSH, RDP, DBs etc.) to work servers.

Works great for secure access from anywhere when working remotely or travelling.

nreeceon Into the Personal-Website-Verse (2019)

Here's mine: https://www.nilkanth.com

Been blogging (with some gaps) and maintaining a personal website since 2003. Moved all that data from WordPress to Ghost last month.

nreeceon How much longer will we trust Google’s search results?

Too bad their lite mode doesn't support region setting.

nreeceon The Power of the Niche

>> Look out for non-competitor competitive alternatives: the things people use instead of using an actual product. This can be Post-It notes, an Excel Sheet that does not involve numbers, anything that is a general tool applied to a specific problem. That is where you can find your critical problems, and that is where you can serve your niche best.

This is an overlooked factor by many bootstrapped startups. Rather than copy the competitors features, look at the gaps in the market, that you can build and cater to.

nreeceon Ask HN: How do you come up with a good name for your company or product?

Igor Naming Agency has a very good guide[1] on branding and naming. Must read!

[1] PDF - https://www.igorinternational.com/process/igor-naming-guide_...

nreeceon Ryanair, Hamiltonian Cycles, and using graph theory to find cheap flights (2018)

Cool site! Curious to know what do you use for scraping, without getting blocked?

nreeceon Show HN: Bash Script to Install a Webserver and PHP on a Clean OS

I used to rely on bash scripts, but now just use WordOps[1] for PHP/MySQL and performant Nginx for it as well as Nodejs or ASP.NET Core.

Its made things easier to setup, configure and manage, with added performance.

[1] https://wordops.net

nreeceon Tricks to start working despite not feeling like it

>> "Screw it, let's do it"

Similar productivity hack that works, shared by Kevin Systrom (Instagram founder):

"If you don't want to do something, make a deal with yourself to do at least five minutes of it. After five minutes, you'll end up doing the whole thing."

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/the-5-minute-hack-insta...

nreeceon Reject Google Nest or Amazon Ring Corp Surveillance and a Dystopic Future

You're not entirely wrong. Parents, and individuals in general, have to more careful. I won't call them total idiots though, because these companies promise those very use-cases through their marketing.

Any device that compromises the privacy of you/others without your/their permission is dangerous, as is a video doorbell for your street and neighbors, a voice assistant secretly used for persona marketing, or even a webcam on your laptop. A false sense of security with a huge potential for misuse.

I won't go into details, but my past gov projects tell me it's better to be safe than sorry.

nreeceon Reject Google Nest or Amazon Ring Corp Surveillance and a Dystopic Future

>> But I don't see how security cameras, or at least the video doorbells, are more dangerous than all of the other things we've just already accepted, like constant tracking of our positions via smartphones and our online browsing habits.

Nothing personal, but I can't fathom such naive viewpoints in this day & age, specially as a parent. One of the many stories: "Man hacks Ring camera in 8-year-old girl's bedroom, taunts her: 'I'm Santa Claus' " https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-hacks-ring-camera-8...