Hacker News Reader

rlaabson Tell HN: YC companies scrape GitHub activity, send spam emails to users

I've received the exact same email from the same company.

rlaabson Declining quality of consumer-grade products – 2009 fridge compressor autopsy

Modern Vitamix benders (roughly within the last 8 years) have the same declining quality issues.

Newer models are typically much lighter. This means they now have far less internal material to reduce noise. I can't use mine without ear protection since it's about chainsaw level of noise. The reduced weight means I also need to hold onto it during use otherwise it will vibrate itself off the counter.

The company seems to be most interested in selling smoothie recipe subscriptions for their blender companion phone app. Aside from subscription selling the app is pretty much useless -- who wants a phone app to remotely control a blender?

rlaabson Apple is working on iPhone features to help detect depression, cognitive decline

According to a security researcher[1], a 0-day in Analyticsd allowed any installed app to access the users health data.

[1] https://habr.com/en/post/579714/

EDIT: Found the link to the previous HN discussion about this: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28637276

rlaabson Amazon third-party sellers reportedly hound customers who leave bad reviews

The New York City council recently passed a bill that requires apps, like Doordash, to share the customers real name, number, email address.

Their reasoning is that this somehow "helps" small-business.

https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4...

rlaabson Apple's iCloud+ “VPN”

BBC Select is another option for BBC documentaries if you have either Amazon Prime video or an Apple TV.

https://www.bbcselect.com/

rlaabson Leaked emails show crime app Citizen is testing on-demand security force

Community based policing, cops on neighborhood patrols, has been on the decline for years.

Police funding is now more often used to to acquire military weapons/hardware.

"Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" is a highly recommended study of this problem.

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Warrior-Cop-Militarization-Ameri...

rlaabson The Mythology of Red Bull

Have you tried cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana)? IMO they taste very similar to sugar free Red Bull.

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

rlaabson Sponsored Top Sites

Unfortunately it seems like I was one of "small percentage of Firefox users" this feature is being tested on.

Contrary to what the article claims, there was no way to disable this feature from the menu: it wasn't possible to uncheck the 'Sponsored Top Sites' button.

I had search for 'sponsor' settings in 'about:config' to disable it. Sadly, I don't think most users will be able to figure this out.

I'm seriously reconsidering moving away from Firefox, or at the very least no longer recommending it to non-technical users

rlaabson Doomsday Ships Were Ready to Ride Out Nuclear Armageddon Before Doomsday Planes

Daniel Elllsberg's "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner" covers this (and other related issues) in good detail.

https://www.amazon.com/Doomsday-Machine-Confessions-Nuclear-...

rlaabson Police playing music while being filmed, seemingly to trigger copyright filters

The lead singer died decades ago, but I think it is still very clear what the band would think: the lyrics of one of their songs are about very similar issues:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_29,_1992_(Miami)

TLDR : Sublime is about as "anti-cop" as you can get.

rlaabson How to lower the price of plant-based meat

I would highly recommend 'The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America's Food Business'

https://smile.amazon.com/Meat-Racket-Takeover-Americas-Busin...

rlaabson The public has a right to know how companies that pay no taxes pull it off

I would highly recommended reading "A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer, and More Efficient Tax System." It compares tax systems around the world, unpacks common issues and suggests a fix (in short a "broad base low rate" strategy).

https://www.amazon.com/Fine-Mess-Global-Simpler-Efficient/dp...