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wittyphrasehere

1,790 karma · joined March 17, 2012

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wittyphrasehere··on Obama’s Changes to Government Surveillance
then what's the point of politicians?
wittyphrasehere··on Obama’s Changes to Government Surveillance
which for some reason is being kept off the front page...
wittyphrasehere··on Ask HN: Where can I find a software job that helps society?
I don't know where specifically to look but these organizations are doing cool (and positive) things with tech:

Raising political awareness and transparency - http://sunlightfoundation.com/ - https://www.govtrack.us/ - https://www.popvox.com/

Defending rights in the information age - http://www.fightforthefuture.org/ - https://www.eff.org/

Alternative fundraising: helping the little guy raise money - http://www.indiegogo.com/ - https://www.wepay.com/

Facilitating online activism campaigns - https://www.change.org/ - http://front.moveon.org/ - https://secure.avaaz.org/en/

wittyphrasehere··on Forced Exposure
Already a term for that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)
wittyphrasehere··on XKeyscore: NSA program collects 'nearly everything a user does on the internet'
It's impossible for him to do it, he's in Russia!
wittyphrasehere··on Statement by Julian Assange after One Year in Ecuadorian Embassy
Here it is on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5298125

I agree with clicks that it's something worth being aware of.

wittyphrasehere··on Before Prosecuting, Investigate the Government
What do you mean by "history shows us otherwise?" Are you saying that all power structures created by humans have continued to rule indefinitely? History actually shows us the opposite, unless I misunderstood what you meant. Genuinely curious.
wittyphrasehere··on Show HN: We built a realtime design feedback tool using Node.js
Absolutely, feedback is just more input for finding the right solution, and is valuable from any source.
wittyphrasehere··on Show HN: We built a realtime design feedback tool using Node.js
The designer should have received all relevant context prior to starting the task. There will be exceptions, where a piece of context is missed, and in these cases where feedback is necessary the format of the feedback is important.

Rather than, "do it this way because businessReasons."

Instead, try, "We must not have properly conveyed this aspect of our business, here is the relevant context. Knowing this, how do we solve this design problem?"

If the designer is incapable of translating business requirements into design solutions then perhaps they're not a product/ux designer, maybe just a visual/graphic designer.

wittyphrasehere··on Show HN: We built a realtime design feedback tool using Node.js
Looks great, just as long as there's a verification process to ensure that only designers are giving design feedback.

You wouldn't want your MBA boss looking over your code and suggesting you "break that method out into a new class," why would you want someone who's not a designer telling you to "make the logo bigger."

Joking, but seriously.

wittyphrasehere··on After your job is gone
In addition to using some of the newly created wealth for paying fixed incomes, as the author mentions, we should be using that money to make higher education free.

The author says, "let them eat cake, smoke pot, and play video games." I say let them study art history (or CS). Who knows, maybe it will inspire them to do something useful in our brave new world.

wittyphrasehere··on Steve Wozniak: "For a corporation, there's no such thing as personal ethics."
Never thought about it like that, but I agree.

As a person (mini-corporation?) I have expenses; rent, food, etc. It would be great if I only had to pay taxes on my "profit", because my tax burden would then be much lower. Conversely, it would be great if corporations had to pay tax on revenue (more tax money for things we desperately need, like education and healthcare).

wittyphrasehere··on Cards Against Humanity has made more than $12 million
Maybe they'll turn it into a worker-owned coop and all participate equally in the governing, and ownership, of the company. http://electricembers.coop/pubs/TechCoopHOWTO.pdf
wittyphrasehere··on Be a good boss
As an individual contributor these are definitely the qualities I look for in a good boss.
wittyphrasehere··on IBM’s solar tech is 80% efficient thanks to supercomputer cooling tech
If the heated water can be utilized, then, in a way, the energy has been captured. Even in a hot climate it's still nice to take a warm shower. I agree that the title is misleading though.
wittyphrasehere··on Company with the “World’s Least Powerful CEO” Makes $2.5 Million Every Day
Considering that a large part of software creation is, well, creative, I'd love to see more of this in the tech industry—like Github, for example.
wittyphrasehere··on Coke, Pepsi, and Passover
I think a lot of people assume that cane sugar is healthier than HFCS although that may not be true. See: http://ideas.time.com/2012/12/27/what-you-need-to-know-about...

The reason the big soda brands use HFCS in the US is because it's cheaper (due to corn subsidies). The speciality sodas like Boylan's, etc. compete on quality, not price, so they are able to transfer that cost to the consumer. The consumer with more disposable income wants to justify the extra cost to themselves and peers. "Oh, yeah, this is 'Mexican Coke'. Sure it's more expensive but it has REAL sugar."

Would the average consumer in the midwest be willing to pay more for a 12-pak of Coke if it had real sugar? Maybe, maybe not.

wittyphrasehere··on Flat UI jQuery Theme
This.

"Flat UI is bad for usability" keeps getting repeated as a criticism against the flat UI trend but is not actually true.

Bad UI design is bad for usability, regardless of VISUAL style.

As jack_trades mentions, there are MANY other ways to convey interactivity without artificial depth, texture.

Think about a simple modal. Users know to look at the top-right, sometimes left, for controls for the modal. What difference does it make if the user sees a flat X icon or an X inside a beveled, drop-shadowed button?

Re: desktop vs. mobile; If a user has to hover over an element just to know if it's interactive then perhaps the design has already failed.

wittyphrasehere··on Flat UI jQuery Theme
The vertical alignment of the text is off and the colors are a bit muddy compared to the vibrant palette of http://designmodo.com/flat-free/ (which was clearly the inspiration for this).
wittyphrasehere··on Our Favorite Typefaces of 2012
Yes, HiDPI, whatever you want to call it, doesn't change my point.

Also, Kleenex is a brand name but if I ask for a kleenex people know what I mean.

wittyphrasehere··on Our Favorite Typefaces of 2012
Retina displays.

I know they're not common yet, but they will be someday. Designers often use the latest (Apple) hardware, so what looks good on their screens may not look good for everyone else. In some ways I see this as a positive—it helps push the industry forward—like PC game developers who require the latest $800 video cards for the best experience.