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It's not as if we can cure diseases or solve poverty by writing code. I wish we could. What is a "real problem that plagues society" that a hacker could feasibl

It's not as if we can cure diseases or solve poverty by writing code. I wish we could. What is a "real problem that plagues society" that a hacker could feasibly solve? I would really like to know.

potatolicious 13y ago
We can't? There are many ways software can be applied to "real" problems. Folding@Home[1] is one of the oldest examples of this. It is a distributed computing network that uses brute force to crack protein folding, which is imperative in our understanding and curing of many conditions. It also makes it easy for the everyman to contribute their computing power to the task. We literally can help cure diseases by writing code. [1] http://folding.stanford.edu/ http://folding.stanford.edu/
- BadCookie 13y ago
  Perhaps I wasn't clear. Of course code can be a very useful tool for people with expertise in other areas. I'm asking about what sort of problem a couple of typical hackers who are trying to start a business could feasibly tackle. Folding@Home is not a business, and requires more expertise in biology to build than most of us possess. My point is that it's not like a bunch of us are trying to decide between building the next SnapChat or curing cancer, and only choosing the former because it's a faster way to get rich.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - cheesylard 13y ago
    That's mostly a problem with the current laws in place, which encourage the creation of these frivolous services. For example, let's say piracy was legal, who would need to get a new job? Software developers, filmmakers and musicians, mostly. If you think about it, the only reason why musicians/software developers make any money at all is because threat that we will be thrown in jail if we pirate the product (and the culture that "piracy is bad"). Given, there are trivial ways of getting around this barrier, but the fact of the matter is that nobody can officially sponsor a centralized service that you pay for that pirates content and make it extremely convenient. If piracy was legal, the free software movement would have the most ground, because most people wouldn't be making any money off of the software anyway. Microsoft would go bankrupt. Apple probably would suffer a huge hit, but they would probably survive due to the fact that they manufacture their own hardware. So both would likely release the source code to the public if they want to hold any market share at all. People would be able to legally sell jailbroken iPhones and Android phones with cyanogenmod installed by default for a fraction of the cost. And provide support. Nobody would be making these shitty iPhone game apps like Candy Crush because there would be no money in it. Instead they would be making software for individual companies that are solving actual problems, like those self-checkout machines at the grocery stores for example. Most software development would instead be a hobby instead of being completely overvalued the way it currently is.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

It's not as if we can cure diseases or solve poverty by writing code. I wish we could. What is a "real problem that plagues society" that a hacker could feasibly solve? I would really like to know.

potatolicious 13y ago

We can't? There are many ways software can be applied to "real" problems. Folding@Home[1] is one of the oldest examples of this. It is a distributed computing network that uses brute force to crack protein folding, which is imperative in our understanding and curing of many conditions. It also makes it easy for the everyman to contribute their computing power to the task. We literally can help cure diseases by writing code. [1] http://folding.stanford.edu/ http://folding.stanford.edu/

BadCookie 13y ago
Perhaps I wasn't clear. Of course code can be a very useful tool for people with expertise in other areas. I'm asking about what sort of problem a couple of typical hackers who are trying to start a business could feasibly tackle. Folding@Home is not a business, and requires more expertise in biology to build than most of us possess. My point is that it's not like a bunch of us are trying to decide between building the next SnapChat or curing cancer, and only choosing the former because it's a faster way to get rich.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- cheesylard 13y ago
  That's mostly a problem with the current laws in place, which encourage the creation of these frivolous services. For example, let's say piracy was legal, who would need to get a new job? Software developers, filmmakers and musicians, mostly. If you think about it, the only reason why musicians/software developers make any money at all is because threat that we will be thrown in jail if we pirate the product (and the culture that "piracy is bad"). Given, there are trivial ways of getting around this barrier, but the fact of the matter is that nobody can officially sponsor a centralized service that you pay for that pirates content and make it extremely convenient. If piracy was legal, the free software movement would have the most ground, because most people wouldn't be making any money off of the software anyway. Microsoft would go bankrupt. Apple probably would suffer a huge hit, but they would probably survive due to the fact that they manufacture their own hardware. So both would likely release the source code to the public if they want to hold any market share at all. People would be able to legally sell jailbroken iPhones and Android phones with cyanogenmod installed by default for a fraction of the cost. And provide support. Nobody would be making these shitty iPhone game apps like Candy Crush because there would be no money in it. Instead they would be making software for individual companies that are solving actual problems, like those self-checkout machines at the grocery stores for example. Most software development would instead be a hobby instead of being completely overvalued the way it currently is.

deleted 13y ago

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