HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

woobar

1,156 karma · joined January 12, 2011

submissionscomments
woobar··on Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra
> You can also beat the Neo on every measure by comparing it to $700 Windows laptops

Can you count how many (out of 9) measurements the windows laptop beat the Neo in that article?

woobar··on SpaceX to buy Cursor for $60B
> How can cursor be worth even 10% of 60B?

Maybe because SpaceX paid with monopoly money (all stock deal)?

woobar··on Intuit to lay off over 3k employees to refocus on AI
Would you prefer to pay $100 for software, or a 50% marginal tax on a meager £100K?
woobar··on 81yo Dodgers fan can no longer get tickets because he doesn't have a smartphone
The numbers you mention are total fraud losses. Most of fraud has nothing to do with phones, it is fraudulent money transfers and card charges.
woobar··on Antirender: remove the glossy shine on architectural renderings
Pretty good. Compare with a real sunny day on that street.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kf7ELMLoFPn3qioDA

woobar··on Europeans' health data sold to US firm run by ex-Israeli spies
Facebook offered paid subscription for ad-free experience in Europe.[1] First, europeans complained it is too expensive. After a price cut, they EC still wanted a free version with less personalization.[2]

If google offers something similar, I am pretty sure Europeans will find something else to complain about.

[1] https://about.fb.com/news/2024/11/facebook-and-instagram-to-...

[2] https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-will-let-facebook...

woobar··on Icons in Menus Everywhere – Send Help
Look at the traffic signs. You have very limited time to read the sign. That's the reason they have distinct patterns and rarely (except in USA) rely on blocks of text.
woobar··on Nano Banana Pro
Nano Banana is focused on editing. But the Pro version handles your prompt much better. First image is Pro, second is 2.5

https://imgur.com/a/3PDUIQP

woobar··on U.S. Added 911,000 Fewer Jobs in the Year Ended in March
> but there is a whole range of forces driving a sharp decline in jobs

Technically, there is no decline in jobs. There were more jobs as of March 2025 than a year before. Less than reported earlier, but the overall number of jobs is still growing.

woobar··on 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program
What are your assumptions are based on?

NC outsourced safety inspections to private sector decades ago. And nothing you have described has happened.

- the service prices are all fixed ($30 or $13.60)

- tons of places to do your inspection, wait times are almost zero

- work is done in 10 minutes

- new reduced rate ($13.60) for newer vehicles was introduced some years ago

If they do something similar for driver license offices or vehicle registration offices it will be a giant leap in quality of service. Right now in bigger cities you cannot make an appointment 6 months in advance, and walk-in does not guarantee you will get any service even after spending whole day in line.

woobar··on Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week
It is clear what you are saying. It still doesn't make any sense.

If I buy a bottle of wine, a chicken, a cake, and a pint of blueberries, is it correct to say that my diet is 99% fruits? There are more than a 100 of blueberries in the pint after all.

woobar··on Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week
> Imports from China are ~40% of all US imports

You mean 14%?

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/imports-by-countr...

woobar··on Cars and Key Fobs: Attacks on Car Remotes
I have my BMW key in Apple Wallet. When I was out of town and needed to share the key with another person, all I did use a standard share sheet for the key. It let it share via SMS, email, AirDrop, etc.You can revoke the key later.
woobar··on First Orbital Rocket Launched from European Soil, Rocket Crashes, but It's Cool [video]
Technically Russia's Plesetsk is in Europe. With hundreds of launches over the last 60 years.

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

woobar··on Meta's memo to employees rolling back DEI programs
Looks like they have designed Tesla prototype.

https://www.automobilesreview.com/pictures/volvo/ycc-2004/wa...

woobar··on A 10-Year Battery for AirTag
But it doesn't do this right away.I was traveling with a group of people that had AirTags, and I only start getting alerts by day three.
woobar··on Why America's economy is soaring ahead of its rivals
> I won't burden her financially either as I happily live out my retirement on a decent pension.

What is a decent pension and where it will come from? I'm projected to get a decent SSA pension (bigger than a median income in top tier EU countries), but I am not counting on it. What gives you confidence that government will be able to support you through retirement?

woobar··on How good are American roads?
Probably Cat's Eye

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_eye_(road)

woobar··on Netflix buffering issues: Boxing fans complain about Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson
I've tried to watch an old Seinfeld episode during this event. It was freezing every few minutes even at downgraded bitrate. A video that should be on my local CDN node.
woobar··on A new dental scam is to pull healthy teeth to sell you expensive fake ones
You are saying that multiple dentists found issues with your wife's teeth, she routinely refuses treatment, and this is somehow a scam?
woobar··on FCC wants all phones unlocked in sixty days, AT&T and T-Mobile aren't so keen
Because contracts that people sign when they buy a subsidized phone are not really enforceable. Folks will get a "free" phone and stop paying. There is not much that provider can do. The cars are valuable enough and when you stop paying your loan you will lose it pretty fast.
woobar··on Ask HN: Is it possible to make FAANG salaries without working there?
It is not about stress. You are asking to pick between a) do same job at a different company for 2-3x income, or b) learn to do something different for a chance of smaller/same/or bigger income than in the previous case. First option requires passing somewhat stressful interviews and then it is all familiar territory. Second option has more unknowns.
woobar··on Panic at the Job Market
FizzBuzz?
woobar··on Japan's clothes-drying bathrooms
Hmm. Isn't the temperature adjustment a feature of any dryer? Concerns about damaging clothes could be easily rectified by choosing lower temp.
woobar··on Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
Never heard about others but Revolut is not a great example. 1% exchange fee plus another 0.3% on exchange rate. I agree that Amex is scamming their european customers. But my point was that they don't do it in US despite the lack of regulations. Same Amex is nicer to their american customers than Revolut to europeans. And one of Revolut's main selling points is their great exchange rates.

https://www.revolut.com/currency-converter/

woobar··on Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
It is an example that greed is everywhere. Not only among card issuers but also among merchants. The moment merchant find a socially accepted way to extract extra they will do it. Similar to tip screens on square terminals in all takeout places. Costs nothing to ask, generates some additional revenue.
woobar··on Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
Debit txs are not free. For big ($10B in assets) regulated issuers they are pretty low, but for everyone else they are close to 1.9%

[1] https://usa.visa.com/content/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/vis...

woobar··on Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
Interesting. Europe has stricter regulations that cap interchange. As a result not a lot of rewards cards and less competition in that space. In US no caps, but much more players in the rewards cards space. I've checked recent foreign transactions and it looks like both of popular travel cards make some money on exchange rates, but not as much as in France.

Amex Plat did not charge foreign fee, but exchange rate is 1% less favorable according xe.com

Chase Sapphire Reserve also no fees, exchange rate is 0.3% different from xe.com

woobar··on Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
Is $60K cash split between these 6 people? Then it is not that impressive.

If you want higher ROI on spreadsheet hobby start using it for your own financial/retirement planning. Playing with numbers in that field can change outcomes by hundreds of thousands dollars.

woobar··on Anatomy of a credit card rewards program
> ends up costing 2-3% more than it would otherwise

This is a very simplified view. Cash handling is not free. Fraud levels with cash are different. Overall attractiveness of a small but cash-only business is different.

Page 1 of 19Next →