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Coats are somehow relevant to computing, but the political implications of computing aren't? What is this doing on Hacker News?

by gue5t 10y ago

Voloskaya 10y ago
HN isn't just about "computing". This article is a very good example of how even big companies that are dealing with physical products can go from idea to production in a small amount of time.
- gue5t 10y ago
  Big companies are diametrically opposed to the practice of hacking. Hacking consists of making computers and other more-or-less formal systems (sometimes—as a joke or in security—ones which include the responses of human operators) perform unexpected tricks. The status quo is established by the actions of large-scale corporate and political actors, among them the computing industry. It's important for hackers to be aware of the actions of corporations and governments because they will have effects on us and we can exert some influence on them in return, but I don't see how this logic applies here. "[Going] from idea to production" is such a vague concept that I find it hard to pick a sphere of human activity to which it can't be applied. It certainly doesn't explain why this article is appropriate for discussion in a niche which actively brands itself as catering to hackers.
  - alexhawdon 10y ago
    Hmm. I think if you try posit a canonical definition of the word 'Hacking' here, you're going to have a bad time. The community decides the relevance by voting. > The status quo is established by the actions of large-scale corporate and political actors Then isn't it important for people to learn about the status quo? Especially given it's moving so fast. Without this article I would have probably considered a startup doing the same to be cutting-edge, disruptive and most definitely 'hacking'. Now we all know where the bar is set.
  - ch4s3 10y ago
    Since it seem to bear repeating: "Hacker News Guidelines What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic." At least for me, logistics gratifies my intellectual curiosity.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Naritai 10y ago
It's about time to market and processes allowing for quick iteration. Items of great relevance to any startup.
edblarney 10y ago
It has nothing to do with coats. It has to do with 'fast business' approaches, which is very relevant to entrepreneurialism. I can absolutely guarantee you that were you to get a tour of their facilities and see their processes, you'd be shocked and amazed. Zara, H&M, IKEA are in many ways much better than the Silicon Valley at doing a lot of things, particularly when it comes to supply chains, materials, brick and mortar, esp. consumer-facing marketing.
dang 10y ago
The political implications of computing are relevant, but we asked users to take a breather from political stories for a week, because the threads tend to erupt into flamewars. As for what belongs on HN, the answer is: "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity". Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

Coats are somehow relevant to computing, but the political implications of computing aren't? What is this doing on Hacker News?

by gue5t 10y ago

Coats are somehow relevant to computing, but the political implications of computing aren't? What is this doing on Hacker News?

Voloskaya 10y ago

HN isn't just about "computing". This article is a very good example of how even big companies that are dealing with physical products can go from idea to production in a small amount of time.

gue5t 10y ago
Big companies are diametrically opposed to the practice of hacking. Hacking consists of making computers and other more-or-less formal systems (sometimes—as a joke or in security—ones which include the responses of human operators) perform unexpected tricks. The status quo is established by the actions of large-scale corporate and political actors, among them the computing industry. It's important for hackers to be aware of the actions of corporations and governments because they will have effects on us and we can exert some influence on them in return, but I don't see how this logic applies here. "[Going] from idea to production" is such a vague concept that I find it hard to pick a sphere of human activity to which it can't be applied. It certainly doesn't explain why this article is appropriate for discussion in a niche which actively brands itself as catering to hackers.
- alexhawdon 10y ago
  Hmm. I think if you try posit a canonical definition of the word 'Hacking' here, you're going to have a bad time. The community decides the relevance by voting. > The status quo is established by the actions of large-scale corporate and political actors Then isn't it important for people to learn about the status quo? Especially given it's moving so fast. Without this article I would have probably considered a startup doing the same to be cutting-edge, disruptive and most definitely 'hacking'. Now we all know where the bar is set.
- ch4s3 10y ago
  Since it seem to bear repeating: "Hacker News Guidelines What to Submit On-Topic: Anything that good hackers would find interesting. That includes more than hacking and startups. If you had to reduce it to a sentence, the answer might be: anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity. Off-Topic: Most stories about politics, or crime, or sports, unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon. Videos of pratfalls or disasters, or cute animal pictures. If they'd cover it on TV news, it's probably off-topic." At least for me, logistics gratifies my intellectual curiosity.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

Naritai 10y ago

It's about time to market and processes allowing for quick iteration. Items of great relevance to any startup.

edblarney 10y ago

It has nothing to do with coats. It has to do with 'fast business' approaches, which is very relevant to entrepreneurialism. I can absolutely guarantee you that were you to get a tour of their facilities and see their processes, you'd be shocked and amazed. Zara, H&M, IKEA are in many ways much better than the Silicon Valley at doing a lot of things, particularly when it comes to supply chains, materials, brick and mortar, esp. consumer-facing marketing.

dang 10y ago

The political implications of computing are relevant, but we asked users to take a breather from political stories for a week, because the threads tend to erupt into flamewars. As for what belongs on HN, the answer is: "anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity". Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.