Hacker News Reader

onojon Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health

I would appreciate you pointing me to comprehensive articles that have a null result ("n" greater than 100 would be good)

onojon Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health

The last section of the article is a systemic analysis of articles that did not find any effect and analysis as to why.

onojon Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health

the second group of papers mentioned in the article was commented on as follows:

"Laudisi et al. (2012) used a different exposure system, that of Ardoino et al. (2005) where the vast majority of the exposure is produced from reflections off a long cylindrical surface in a TEM cell, where the curvature of the cylinder will also produce a largely non-polarized EMF and different reverberation paths and consequent destructive interference, may both be expected to occur. Consequently the predicted low biological activity of EMFs produced by the Wu et al. (2009) system may be expected to also occur from this TEM exposure system Ardoino et al. (2005). It is not possible to study biological effects of EMFs from Wi-Fi, cell phones or any other important exposures using such exposure systems because of the polarization changes they produce from the original polarized EMFs and because of destructive interference."

onojon Wi-Fi is an important threat to human health

my apologies I did not see the previous post - I wanted to review what this article suggests is correct and incorrect Wi-Fi testing.

This article states that many previous studies tested: (from the article)

It uses a large chamber surrounded by 1 mm aluminum mesh wire mesh to provide reflections of the EMFs. The chamber in which animals are exposed on a platform at its center, is also surrounded by antennae in all 6 directions (up, down, all four horizontal directions) such that each antenna is broadcasting with one polarization is opposed (at 180°) by another broadcasting with the 180° opposite polarization, as well as by four other antennae, broadcasting with 90° different polarization in each of the four possible directions. This produces a field that is more like a non-polarized EMF rather than the usual polarized artificial EMF"

is this a fair test of modulated polarized Wi-Fi?

onojon Why Design Thinking Works

my understanding (without research) was that one of the founders of IDEO created the concept so they could broaden their client pool from traditional design to finance / business consulting.

https://trydesignlab.com/blog/great-design-thinking-tim-brow...

onojon Why Design Thinking Works

Ultimately, and in addition to many existing "innovation" or "time and motion" tools, Design thinking is in-depth analysis of the customer and desperately hoping that somehow a "new idea" comes out of it. Roll in billions of consultancy dollars.

Nothing at all to do with a professional design process however.

onojon Why Design Thinking Works

Might work, otherwise just a word pitch on past "business improvement" protocols and snake oil

onojon Nobel in Economics Given to Angus Deaton for Studies of Consumption

It was not intended to be pedantry, though you are within your rights to see it as such. If you don't perceive a central bank with an interest in legitimizing a field of human endeavor for it's own interests as wrong. As other articles have noted, there are many other fields that may be more deserving of a prize. Given the economic damage that the recipients of the prize have caused, can we really say that it advances human knowledge in any other way than identifying what is wrong?

That is a very different impact than the majority of the other awards.

(edited typos)

onojon Nobel in Economics Given to Angus Deaton for Studies of Consumption

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nobel_Memorial_Prize_l...

It was not established by Mr. Nobel, the name was taken. The family does not acknowledge it. To me this is disrespectful to the man who set up the prize in his name.

onojon Nobel in Economics Given to Angus Deaton for Studies of Consumption

there is no Nobel prize in economics.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/there-no-nobel-prize-economi...

onojon Will Your Hardware Startup Make Money?

One issue not being discussed is the revolving cost of having products out in the market and the cost of the next production run.

if your orders double from 20K units to 40K, your costs will roughly double, usually meaning that any profit made on the 20K is re-invested to make the 40K - usually plus additional capital.

So long as your production quantities double, you will not actually "have" any money (unless your FOB cost is north of four times sell price). Many companies cannot "realise" profit until orders stabilise.

onojon The Greatest Good: What is the best charitable cause in the world?

My thoughts would be: 1) sponsor the private schooling of an orphan or disadvantaged child - if they get the grades you pay direct for the school and materials. (this system exists for most orphanages in most 2nd and 3rd world countries but you can start at home.)

2) International work camps for peace - fully volunteer organization and you get to see another country in a real way and do good work while doing so.

Both are 100% - 100% direct.

onojon Strong, Unique and Memorable Passwords: a Creative Approach

Two cents worth: Write a poem. spend some time. make it relevant, make it rhyme. Do not put it anywhere digital.

use stanzas of it !without spaces! as a password.

onojon Why Wal-Mart Will Never Pay Like Costco

There was a lot of content, but the premise of the article - that it would explain why Walmart paid less than Costco, was missing.

From that I wondered if the article itself was just some form of PR or politically motivated rather than unbiased journalism.

onojon Why Wal-Mart Will Never Pay Like Costco

I have heard of this journalist before. Apart from the absolute lack of an explanation as to WHY Walmart cannot pay higher wages (spoiler - it's complicated!)

also, I find the link in the S.H.A.M.E. project of interest.

http://shameproject.com/profile/megan-mcardle/

onojon Obama said the NSA wasn’t “actually abusing” its powers. He was wrong

Am I misunderstanding something here - surely the information Snowden revealed is that the NSA is dumping EVERY electronic communication in a huge data dump all the time. Then they are saying "sometimes" they search for the wrong things in that archive? Isn't the issue that they are archiving everything we do in the first place?

onojon Why Aren't More Designers Starting Companies?

As a designer comfortable with my choice, I always saw design as the tool used to capture and manifest the dreams of others. This creativity is then placed in the view of the world to meet with brutal success, failure or mediocrity. By definition, a designer must be public. They also must imagine themselves in everyone else shoes and use their creativity for others. Artists, for me, are narcissistic. Trying to create only for themselves. And ideally, they should not care about the opinion of others. I strongly believe that good design is harder, more professional and more demanding than art. Having said that , and having started four businesses. I agree that start-ups are much more difficult.

onojon "I've got nothing to hide" and other misunderstandings of privacy

A simple concern on this topic: When my day to day life is public online: a)strangers know when I am on vacation and my house is empty b) given the standard misunderstandings amongst people - what they can check about what I am doing via online tools and it differs from what they expect - and they never have to let me know they know (a seed for massive misunderstandings)

Both a and b open my life to problems out of my control. Irrelevant of the life I am living. Thus the need for privacy.

onojon The Invisible Bank: How Kenya Has Beaten the World in Mobile Money

I thought the Philippines had cash transfer and payment by sms since 2006 (article is 2007) my friends use this so it is not vapour.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/news/19iht-20oxan-PHILIPPI...

onojon Ask HN: Trademark Trouble

Do you have many customers and do they identify you through the logo? You may have accumulated some good will in that case. However, as you have not registered the mark, there is no legal history.

As it is too late to contest their registration, your options are limited. A legal professional will be able to give more detailed advice but from my unprofessional understanding you may be able to preserve your use of the mark by negotiation with the company or possibly using good will and prior use in court. I do not think you can stop them doing anything however.

onojon Apple patent scam?

The patent claims refer only to printed documents, ie: hard copy. nothing about onscreen UI. I can´t see this working in court.

onojon Ask HN: Help - rendering frames in XP .net accurately

Thanks for the reply,

We are basically rendering a white circle 2D. but it has to be the full circle and it must be for 0.033 of a second in pulses. Also the full cycle is 3.7 seconds. We are having problems with folding and slow mainboard video drivers.

It is being displayed on laptops and desk stations

onojon The Golden Ratio is Evil (and why, in Clojure)

"golden ratio" nonsense. The words never link to the correct maths. It is evil, but not rational. http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/pseudo/fibonacc.htm

onojon The Sobering Reality of Entrepreneurship in the U.S.

Having lived in two countries that have free public health care at a good level, I can say that starting my own business is much more relaxing in that environment. I would not dream of doing the same in the USA at my age or family situation.

onojon Jon Stewart assails Apple for becoming "Big Brother"

I am trying to figure out the criminal aspect of this as (to me) it makes no sense to search the guy who returned the product but it possibly could make sense to investigate the guy that "found" it. (In his story the phone was in a silicon case so you could not see the design). If I return someones' wallet the police don't bust down my door, so what (apart from the "Apple") is different here?

onojon Jon Stewart assails Apple for becoming "Big Brother"

But guy had already returned the phone - so for what purpose was the search in any case - and why not just call him in - it's not like he posted his own face on his own blog or anything? Apple could be perceived as going too far to protect an average design here.

onojon How electricity doesn't work

Are the models of metals /hopping you are referring to involving free outer electrons in a metal crystal lattice - as he was referring to?

onojon Ask HN: How to sell?

I agree with many postings here but would like to add the following perspective. I dislike labels and "roles" so I would suggest thinking in the following way - you like creating good, viable solutions. You are prepared to go above and beyond to make something work well and work in all applications.The best and fastest way of achieving this is to meet with people who could use what you do and find out what they need. If you use this as an optimization tool, I believe the "selling" part will take care of itself.

onojon Ask HN: Why doesn't "Uvote" Startup exist yet?

While the social side has commercial applications I am more interested in creating a ground level validated voting system that can link community involvement on a local, national , global level. If the registration of users is secure similar to domestic financial transaction level it can become a valid tool for relevant comments on a vast number of issues. I don't have sufficient resources to build it myself however.