Unorthodocs: Abandon your DVCS and Return to Sanity - bitquabit
I’ve pretty much always been a DVCS apologist. I know quite a few people who’ve been using DVCSes since Mercurial and Git, and a few who go back to BitKeeper, but I can totally out-hipster you. I was there for Monotone. I actually remember struggling to grok tla, and being happy that someone took th…
Hasnain has not yet written a summary for this.
Posted on 2015-02-28T01:31:52+0000
Uber Database Breach Exposed Information Of 50,000 Drivers, Company Confirms
Uber announced today that its database was breached by an unauthorized third party last year. The company confirmed the breach in a company blog post..
Hello, world!
Hello, world! February 26, 2015 When a programmer picks up a new language it is customary to write the timeless Hello World application to ease your way into a daunting codebase with an overly-simplistic view of its syntax. I’ve personally done this at least 20 times throughout the last 13 years of…
Why Mornings Don’t Make You Moral - The New Yorker
We are different people at different hours of the day, but an early bird isn’t superior to a night owl.
FCC Passes Strict Net Neutrality Regulations
"The Internet is too important to allow broadband providers to make the rules." - FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler
A New Way to Promote Your App on Google Play | Android Developers Blog
Google Play now reaches more than 1 billion people on Android devices in more than 190 countries, helping a growing number of developers like you build successful global businesses. In fact, in the past year, we paid more than $7 billion to developers distributing apps and games on Google Play. We r…
Click to view the original at android-developers.blogspot.com
Embracing SQL In Postgres - Rob Conery
Having the ability to work SQL in your favorite database engine is a life-long, good skill to have.
The girl who gets gifts from birds
Lots of people give food to the birds in their garden and get nothing in return - but when one girl feeds the crows outside her house, they show their affection with tiny presents.
antirez.com
antirez.com
5G researchers achieve record speed
Scientists researching 5G at the University of Surrey achieve data connection many thousands of times faster than the average 4G.
25 Highest Rated Companies for Internships (2015) | Glassdoor Blog
With more than 27,500 open internships across the U.S., according to Glassdoor data, now is the time for college students and young professionals to apply to summer internships. Glassdoor combed through thousands of company reviews shared by interns over the past year to identify the companies that…
www.reddit.com
www.reddit.com
Hasnain says:
A couple of days late on this, but Snowden can be really eloquent.
" Well, when we look back on history, the progress of Western civilization and human rights is actually founded on the violation of law. America was of course born out of a violent revolution that was an outrageous treason against the crown and established order of the day. History shows that the righting of historical wrongs is often born from acts of unrepentant criminality. Slavery. The protection of persecuted Jews.
But even on less extremist topics, we can find similar examples. How about the prohibition of alcohol? Gay marriage? Marijuana?
Where would we be today if the government, enjoying powers of perfect surveillance and enforcement, had -- entirely within the law -- rounded up, imprisoned, and shamed all of these lawbreakers?"
How an Undocumented Immigrant From Mexico Became a Star at Goldman Sachs
Julissa Arce went from selling funnel cakes in Texas to derivatives at Wall Street’s most profitable securities firm
Hasnain says:
" By 2011, Arce was making $300,000 to $400,000—she won’t give the exact amount—and had been promoted to vice president. She replaced her fake green card with a real one from the U.S. government after the wedding. She was legal, elite, and rich. She was also unhappy. The only thing stranger than going from selling funnel cakes in Texas to equity derivatives in New York was how vacant she felt."
Posted on 2015-02-25T17:27:59+0000
Mathematics, biology and recreation: Finding cheaters using multiple-choice comparisons
jd-mathbio.blogspot.com
We’re just getting started with SourceTree | SourceTree Blog
About SourceTree SourceTree is a free Mac client for Git and Mercurial version control systems. Learn More » Follow @sourcetree Subscribe to the Blog Looking for Git hosting? Meet Bitbucket – our free Git and Mercurial code hosting site with unlimited public and private repositories. Recent Posts We…
Google Plans New Headquarters, and a City Fears Being Overrun
Google’s sometimes testy relationship with community leaders in Mountain View, Calif., a city already bursting at the seams, is likely to get testier.
Hasnain says:
" “This last election we had maybe 12,000 voters,” said Jac Siegel, a city councilman who left office this year and is not related to Leonard Siegel. “If you brought 5,000 people in and they all work for Google and they said, ‘We want you to vote for this candidate,’ they can own the town.”"
Posted on 2015-02-25T16:59:55+0000
Get away with Google Flights
googleblog.blogspot.com
Why digital natives prefer reading in print. Yes, you read that right.
Textbook makers, bookstore owners and college student surveys all find a strong preference for print.
PHP at the speed of C
Using new tools including HHVM and Recki-CT to speed up PHP applications
Pakistanis face a deadline: Surrender fingerprints or give up cellphone
To curb terrorism, the government launches a massive bid to compile a national biometrics database.
Hasnain says:
I really doubt this will add anything. And goodbye to my old number, I guess.
Posted on 2015-02-24T17:56:35+0000
My life in London's houseboat slums
Sam Forbes: Where do you live if you cannot afford London's soaring rents? I took the only home I could find: a tiny, mouldy room in a freezing barge on the Thames. And there are many desperate people in the same situation
Hasnain says:
I wonder when people will start living in the bay here.
Posted on 2015-02-24T17:43:42+0000
A Student-Debt Revolt Begins - The New Yorker
The refusal of fifteen students to pay back loans taken to pay for classes at a failed network of for-profit colleges could have far-reaching consequences.
Hasnain says:
It would set a pretty interesting precedent if they can have their loans forgiven
Posted on 2015-02-24T17:25:06+0000
Mathematical ends
This page features a collection of mathematicians who died under unfortunate or unfitting circumstances. The purpose of this list is not clear, but it is perhaps an attempt to compile a relatively complete list (which seems to be an end itself). Perhaps this is a page in honor of those whose lives e…
Proving that Android’s, Java’s and Python’s sorting algorithm is broken (and showing how to fix...
Proving that Android’s, Java’s and Python’s sorting algorithm is broken (and showing how to fix it) February 24, 2015EnvisageWritten by Stijn de Gouw. $s Tim Peters developed the Timsort hybrid sorting algorithm in 2002. It is a clever combination of ideas from merge sort and insertion sort, and des…
DHS Extends Eligibility for Employment Authorization to Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses of H-1B...
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez announced today that, effective May 26, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking…
Lenovo slapped with lawsuit over dangerous Superfish adware
A class-action lawsuit charged Lenovo and Superfish of fraudulent business practices, making PCs vulnerable.
Linux Profiling at Netflix
Talk for SCaLE13x: Profiling can show what your Linux kernel and appliacations are doing in detail, across all software stack layers. This talk shows how we ar…
Marijuana may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say
New study: We should stop fighting marijuana legalization and focus on alcohol and tobacco instead
Phones can be tracked by battery use
Android phones can be tracked without using their GPS or wi-fi data by studying their power use over time, a study finds.
Magic
www.getmagicnow.com
Komodia/Superfish SSL Validation is broken
If you are on the ball already and just want the new vulnerability, scroll to the "client side SSL verification" section. tl;dr The Komodia/Superfish proxy can be made to allow self-signed certificates without warnings. Recap Some Lenovo laptops...
Hasnain says:
Holy shit I didn't think this could get any worse but it did
Posted on 2015-02-21T01:26:53+0000
Why the Euro will ultimately fail | Maximise Why the Euro will ultimately fail | Startups,...
Trouble is, once again, brewing in the eurozone, and politicians, journalist and bureaucrats are doing their best to provide commentary and solutions to the ongoing crisis. Yet it seems that very few understand the root of the problem.
Hasnain says:
" This disaster was entirely avoidable if the Euro bureaucrats had bothered to read Robert Mundall and Marcus Flemming’s seminal paper from 1962 which stated that according to well established macro economic models it was impossible to have domestic fiscal autonomy, fixed exchange rates, and free capital flows: no more than two of those objectives could be met. They won the nobel prize in economics for this in 1992, so it’s not exactly an obscure crackpot theory."
Posted on 2015-02-21T01:21:35+0000
The Great SIM Heist: How Spies Stole the Keys to the Encryption Castle
American and British spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world.
Kenn White on Twitter
“Looks like Redmond invoked the nuclear option on Superfish > RT @FiloSottile: GO MICROSOFT”
Hasnain says:
Kudos to Microsoft for killing Superfish with windows defender.
Posted on 2015-02-20T17:47:19+0000
How to Grow a Forest Really, Really Fast
Shubhendu Sharma is working to reforest the world, one tiny patch at a time
History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian
smithsonianmag.com
Mumbling Isn’t a Sign of Laziness—It’s a Clever Data-Compression Trick - Facts So Romantic -...
Many of us have been taught that pronouncing vowels indistinctly and dropping consonants are symptoms of slovenly speech, if not outright…
Lenovo's Response to Its Dangerous Adware Is Astonishingly Clueless | WIRED
Lenovo says that the Superfish adware it preinstalled on laptop computers isn't a security problem. That's not true. And guess what? It breaks Slack too.
Check if you trust the Superfish CA
What's this about? Turns out Lenovo preloaded their laptops with adware that will intercept all your secure connections, and allow hackers to do it, too. This is a test to check if you are affected.
Errata Security: Extracting the SuperFish certificate
blog.erratasec.com
Hasnain says:
And here's the private key if you know anyone with a Lenovo laptop.
Posted on 2015-02-19T17:14:54+0000
Oliver Sacks on Learning He Has Terminal Cancer
I am now face to face with dying. But I am not finished with living.
Hasnain has not yet written a summary for this.
Posted on 2015-02-19T17:11:09+0000
Lenovo Caught Installing Adware On New Computers
It looks like Lenovo has been installing adware onto new consumer computers from the company that activates when taken out of the box for the first time. The adware, named Superfish,…
Hasnain says:
I used to recommend Lenovo. Now I'll be darned if I ever do.
Posted on 2015-02-19T17:09:50+0000
How Google determined our right to be forgotten
Google has acted as judge, jury and executioner in the wake of Europe’s right to be forgotten ruling. But what does society lose when a private corporation rules public information?
Fix conflicts only once with git rerere
Fixing conflicts is chore enough not to do the same ones over and over again. See how rerere makes Git remember your con…
The original indie dev: How one man made 22 games in 22 years, mostly from his basement
Jeff Vogel has created a prolific, independent game development success story without leaving his house. He tells us how it's done.
Hasnain says:
This is engrossing.
"It’s not good design, from a contemporary game design perspective, which is why I think that contemporary game design is actually kind of bad. I think a lot of game designers are so tight-assed and want everything to be so balanced and so super under control — I think that’s a bad instinct. We’re making games. We should allow them to go crazy sometimes."
Posted on 2015-02-18T17:12:42+0000
Why the World’s Biggest Military Keeps Losing Wars
America’s inability to translate its immense firepower into meaningful political effect suggests the $500 billion it spends annually on defence is wasted.
Hasnain says:
" America’s inability to translate its immense firepower into meaningful political effect suggests the $500 billion it spends annually on defence is wasted. In a recent article in the Atlantic Magazine, James Fallows asked the previously unmentionable question: how can America spend more on its military than all the other great powers combined and still be unable to impose its will on even moderately sized enemies?"
Posted on 2015-02-17T20:14:29+0000
The Gig Economy Won't Last Because It's Being Sued To Death
If Uber, Lyft, and others don't stop relying on contract workers, business could crumble. Is it time for a new definition of employee?
Hasnain says:
" Perhaps most frightening for companies like Handy and Uber was when, FedEx--a company that many gig economy companies had pointed to as an analog example of why their hiring practices are legal--lost a string of the many class action lawsuits that allege it has misclassified its delivery truck drivers as independent contractors"
Posted on 2015-02-17T17:50:20+0000
Apple Promotes Strange New Game Type In iOS App Store, 'Pay Once And Play'
Apple is using their position as a leader in mobile to promote a new kind of game that has the potential to take the scene by storm. Apple has employed their much coveted “Featured” section in the iOS app store to showcase games in a category they call “Pay Once [...]
Hasnain has not yet written a summary for this.
Posted on 2015-02-14T01:44:42+0000
Solving an Unsolvable Math Problem - The New Yorker
Yitang Zhang bided his time teaching calculus. Then he solved a hundred-and-fifty-year-old math problem. Alec Wilkinson reports.
Hasnain says:
" I asked about Hardy’s observations regarding age—Hardy also wrote, “A mathematician may still be competent enough at sixty, but it is useless to expect him to have original ideas.”"
Posted on 2015-02-14T01:16:35+0000
Fuck It, I'm Going Back to Firefox
Remember when we all switched from Firefox to Chrome? Chrome was stripped down, simple but fast as hell. It was like browsing the web on a whole new computer. These days Chrome is bloated, slow, and constantly crashing on me. I've finally reached the breaking point.
jbmouret/matplotlib_for_papers
matplotlib_for_papers - Handout for the tutorial "Creating publication-quality figures with matplotlib"
Online Algorithms in High-frequency Trading - ACM Queue
HFT (high-frequency trading) has emerged as a powerful force in modern financial markets. Only 20 years ago, most of the trading volume occurred in exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange, where humans dressed in brightly colored outfits would gesticulate and scream their trading intentions. N…
Broadband Competition in the US: 12.1% Only Have Access to 1 Wired Provider
Since 2010 the US government has spent $3.3B on broadband infrastructure yet 39 Million Americans only have access to 1 wired broadband provider. See the worst states and learn more about your state.
Game Theory Calls Cooperation Into Question | Quanta Magazine
A new solution to the prisoner’s dilemma, a classic game theory scenario, has created new puzzles in evolutionary biology.
Not even the lack of a trademark can cool sales of the original Sriracha
Wander down almost any supermarket aisle and it's easy to spot one of the food industry's hottest fads. Sriracha, the fiery red Asian chili sauce, has catapulted from a cult hit to flavor du jour, infusing burgers, potato chips, candy, vodka and even lip balm.
Hasnain has not yet written a summary for this.
Posted on 2015-02-13T02:22:48+0000
Harvard and M.I.T. Sued Over Failing to Caption Online Courses
A federal class action filed by advocates for the deaf says both schools violate antidiscrimination laws by not providing closed captioning in online lectures and podcasts.
The bell has tolled for rand()
In their recent meeting in Urbana, the C++ standard committee took the rare step of removing several outdated facilities from (what will probably become) C++17. Most of the things removed had been ...
How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life
The unique 21st-century misery of the online shaming victim.
Hasnain says:
A sad and thoughtful read on public shaming. A well written piece with actual quality journalism
Posted on 2015-02-12T17:17:08+0000
This new Tesla battery will power your home, and maybe the electric grid too
The stationary battery could be out in as little as six months.
Enough’s enough
Contract teaching at a Canadian University
Hasnain says:
The mistreatment of adjuncts at most universities continues
Posted on 2015-02-12T02:31:05+0000
Blurred lines: Business and partying among Pakistan’s elite
As we walk from the cul-de-sac clogged by Land Cruisers, Mercedes and BMWs towards a residence in one the city’s most exclusive suburbs, trickles of laughter and music drift down to greet us. Drive...
Hasnain says:
“I have a friend who is an SP [Superintendent of Police] and he is very clean and known for not taking bribes. But the other night he calls me up and says ’Yaar, your village has the best kebab in KP, could you please send some to me for my party?’ And of course I do it. I give him little favors, little gifts like this that are so small that they do not even seem like bribes. But over a year of giving small gifts, I could easily have given one person 20,000 dollars worth of gifts. Is that a bribe? It is a favor and of course he will have to return it to me. If I have a problem with the police, I call him and he solves it for me. He would not take any money from me, but items and gifts, as long as they are not too big at one time, he will take.”
Posted on 2015-02-11T18:28:22+0000
Prosecutors shouldn't have immunity from their unethical – or unlawful – acts | Alexa Van Brunt
Law enforcement officers only receive qualified immunity against legal liability for their actions on the job. But getting lawyers to amend the law isn’t easy
A Y Combinator Company Copied our Design and Data Viz: We’ve Arrived
It's flattering to see others appreciate our design and data visualization. Here is one YC company that appreciated us a bit too much.
Samsung's smart TVs are inserting unwanted ads into users' own movies
Samsung's smart TVs have already come under fire this week for a poorly-worded privacy policy that apparently let the devices listen in on owners' conversations. Now, there are reports that the...
Hasnain says:
Let's all just move back to dumb TVs.
They claim it was supposed to be "opt-in" only... Yeah right
Posted on 2015-02-11T17:20:39+0000
One-Bit To Rule Them All: Bypassing Windows’ 10 Protections using a Single Bit - Breaking Malware
Introduction Today, Microsoft released their latest Patch Tuesday. This Patch includes a fix for vulnerability CVE-2015-0057, an IMPORTANT-rated exploitable vulnerability which we responsibly disclosed to Microsoft a few months ago. As part of our research, we revealed this... Read More
Paper sizes | royvanrijn
Yes, this blogpost is about paper. This has absolutely nothing to do with programming, but there is a beautiful piece of math involved.
EFF Files Amicus Brief in Case That Seeks to Hold IBM Responsible for Facilitating Apartheid in...
EFF defends rights in the digital world. But what about when the digital world enables violations of human rights? We think that’s important, too.
Hasnain says:
" For those who might want a fuller description of IBM's active facilitation of these kinds of crimes, you should read Edwin Black's book, "IBM and the Holocaust".
Those tattoo's on Holocaust victim's arms? They were serial numbers directly tied to IBM punchcards designed by IBM for the Third Reich.
It gives context to former NSA chief Michael Hayden's comment, "We kill people with metadata"."
Posted on 2015-02-11T02:58:50+0000
Impossible Escape?
Using binary mathematics to solve, what seems like, an impossible puzzle
Why animals eat psychoactive plants
Johann Hari, author of Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs, learns about drunk elephants, the stoned water buffalo, and the grieving mongoose.
Hasnain says:
" For example, in 1995, the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted a massive scientific study of cocaine and its effects. They discovered that “experimental and occasional use are by far the most common types of use, and compulsive/dysfunctional [use] is far less common.” The U.S. government threatened to cut off funding to the WHO unless they suppressed the report. "
WTF?
Posted on 2015-02-11T02:43:21+0000
FarmLogs
I recently got to be a guest at a FarmLogs board meeting. I was struck by how much of an impact the company was having on the world, and how just a couple of years ago it seemed like they were...
Automating Tinder with Eigenfaces
The website of Justin Long. Crockpotveggies is a collection of notes about Justin's own projects.
Another 34,000 People Are About To Put Their Future In the Hands Of An Algorithm
If you’re a medical student or recently became a doctor, no need to read further. I’ll be describing one of the most stressful and pivotal moments of your professional life, and you probably alread...
Hasnain says:
" The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) has been sounding alarm bells for years that there won’t be enough residency positions for all the doctors graduating from U.S. schools. As the demand for doctors grows with the Medicare rolls and the influx of new patients under the Affordable Care Act, they’ve increased the number of matriculants by nearly 30 percent since 2006."
Posted on 2015-02-10T02:28:44+0000
Today I Am Releasing Ten Million Passwords
Frequently I get requests from students and security researchers to get a copy of my password research data, so I built a data set of ten million usernames and passwords that I am releasing to the public domain. But is it legal for me to release this data?
Hasnain says:
“This is completely absurd that I have to write an entire article justifying the release of this data out of fear of prosecution”
Posted on 2015-02-10T02:13:30+0000
America’s Last Ban on Sunday Shopping - The New Yorker
Should Bergen County’s blue laws fall, it could mark an end to Americans’ fragile agreement to take one day a week as an antidote to the forces of commerce.
Millions of Facebook users have no idea they’re using the internet
To many internet newcomers, they're one and the same.
Samsung warns about 'listening' TV
Samsung is warning people to avoid discussing personal information in front of their smart television set.
When Children With Autism Grow Up
I was 23 and needed a summer job; he was 21 and needed full-time support. He's one of an estimated half million children diagnosed with autism who are soon becoming adults — and who society is enti...
Hasnain says:
Surprisingly well written journalism from buzzfeed.
"But how did he end up here, so far away from the availability of solid, meaningful relationships? Because it's not Scooter’s disability that isolates him; society does. As a newer, much larger, and more visible generation of kids is growing up in the same system, an important question arises: Can this be changed?"
Posted on 2015-02-09T17:01:21+0000
Noisli - Improve Focus and Boost Productivity with Background Noise.
Noisli is a fantastic background noise and color generator for working and relaxing. Plus Text Editor for distraction free writing.
At some start-ups, Fridays are so casual, everyone can stay home
New companies find the value in giving employees a chance to invest in more personal time
Maikel Zweerink / WhatsSpy-Public | GitLab
GitLab Community Edition
JustWatch - Streaming Search Engine for movies and tv shows
Find out where to watch movies and tv shows legally online with JustWatch. The streaming search engine.
At 92, the man who brought you the lithium-ion battery is still having creative breakthroughs
For John Goodenough, it's never good enough.
Hasnain says:
"Yet despite his central role in the first commercial lithium-ion battery, Goodenough earned no royalties. Oxford had declined to patent Goodenough’s cathode—the university seemed to see no advantage in owning intellectual property. In the end, Goodenough signed away the royalty rights to the Atomic Energy Research Establishment, a UK government lab just south of Oxford, reasoning that at least his invention might reach the market. He never fathomed the scale of the market to come. No one did."
Posted on 2015-02-06T17:17:37+0000
I'm an Anti-Braker
Guys, I wanted to let you know about a personal decision I recently made. I don’t really feel like discussing it, but I want to put my position out there. Please be respectful. This is a really long...
Hasnain says:
Oh man, this is great. I hope it gets the point across
Posted on 2015-02-06T16:54:47+0000
Throwback Thursday: The Fundamental Constants Behind Our Universe
How many does it take to give us our Universe, and what’s left unexplained?
How did science come to speak only English? – Michael D Gordin – Aeon
Science once communicated in a polyglot of tongues, but now English rules alone. How did this happen – and at what cost?
Why Learning to Code is So Damn Hard
What every beginner absolutely needs to know about the journey ahead
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality | WIRED
I am proposing the FCC use its Title II authority to implement and enforce open internet protections, banning paid prioritization, and the blocking and throttling of lawful content and services.
Why We Remember So Many Things Wrong - The New Yorker
If we remember dramatic and emotional moments so well, why do most people forget what they were doing when the Challenger exploded?
Negotiators Burn Their Last Opportunity to Salvage the TPP by Caving on Copyright Term Extension
New reports indicate that Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators have agreed to language that would bind its 12 signatory nations to extend copyright terms to match the United States' already excessive length of copyright.
The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment
Here's something that many Americans -- including some of the smartest and most educated among us -- don't know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.
Matterhorn: Your new project manager
Meet Matterhorn - Your new Project Manager. A simple-to use, lightweight project management tool that helps your team keep track of multiple people and projects at once
BLETCHLEY PARK: Alan Turing's notes found being used as roof insulation in Hut 6 at Bletchley Park
View all the latest pictures in the gallery, BLETCHLEY PARK: Alan Turing's notes found being used as roof insulation in Hut 6 at Bletchley Park, on MK News.
.NET Blog
The .NET blog (AKA: dotnet blog) discusses new features in the .NET Framework and important issues for .NET developers.
rein.pk
rein.pk
In Net Neutrality Push, F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating Internet Service as a Utility
Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is expected to propose reclassifying high-speed Internet as a telecommunications service.
Exclusive: Google and Uber Are Going to War Over Taxis
The two companies may soon become ferocious competitors rather than allies