billybob

53 ms·

481.
by billybob 16y ago
I agree very much. I really like the features of Google Voice, especially the call screening. And I hate the way AT&T doesn't let me set up spam filters for text messages, happily charging me for crap I don't want. So I'd love to ha
482.
by billybob 16y ago
It works like this: 1) You port your number to GV. That has the effect of cancelling your carrier plan - you're no longer their customer. (Same as if you ported from Carrier A to Carrier B.) You may have to pay early termination fees. 2) Yo
483.
by billybob 16y ago
"they are both pro massive-corporation" More specifically, they are both pro-campaign donations. And it's much easier to court a few big players than thousands of small ones. They may even think they're being fair and objective. But they ca
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by billybob 16y ago
I think that you're exactly wrong on this. It makes sense for government to build roads because, for one thing, it's physically infeasible to have multiple sets of road-builders competing with each other. There is finite land. On the other
485.
by billybob 16y ago
Yes: you don't own the messages. It is a private internet that FB owns. That's why I don't like it. The internet is meant to be decentralized. I use Mail Service X, you use Y, maybe one of us runs our own mail server. Doesn't matter. A
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by billybob 16y ago
Well, here's why distributed is better than centralized: You're working on something in SVN. You've made progress that you'd hate to lose, but it's not great yet. Which do you do? 1) Don't commit until it's great. This prevents bugs from hu
487.
by billybob 16y ago
"I would ask if there are moral implications of selling what you believe you can do (to employees/customers/investors) as if you actually can/have done it." I totally agree and think it's SUPER important to be honest. Example: I'm a coder.
488.
by billybob 16y ago
So you're saying that one can't express strong emotions in writing without swearing?
489.
by billybob 16y ago
My favorite motion is search. As in "c/foo" to change until the next occurrence of foo.
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by billybob 16y ago
10 Things Smart People's Bosses Don't Want Them To Know
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by billybob 16y ago
Man, I didn't even START programming until I was 27, and my career is going great. You aren't old until you stop learning.
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by billybob 16y ago
Saving money is not a luxury. It's completely irrational not to save unless you are truly destitute. Put it this way: you have a car. Sooner or later it will break. Are you preparing for that? Are you setting aside money to repair and repla
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by billybob 16y ago
I'd also choose being middle-class today, but there are several complicating factors. 1) Loss aversion. I know that I like modern conveniences and would hate to lose them. Psychologically, we place greater weight on losing something than ge
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by billybob 16y ago
Absolutely. Let's not fall into false dichotomies here. Yes, we developers sometimes focus on making the code perfect, beyond the point where there's an actual business case. So we need to be reminded that the code serves the business, not
495.
by billybob 16y ago
"...and you won't need to build any features on top of it." Right. It seems to me that most coding "best practices" are designed to help you maintain and build on your code. The guy who hacked together the animations would be in a world of
496.
by billybob 16y ago
Yes, it sucks to sell a commodity. But if Verizon cripples their internet, someone will sell unrestricted access, and they will win. Furthermore, why do you assume that the way for them to differentiate themselves is by throttling content?
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by billybob 16y ago
Yes, it sucks to sell a commodity. But if Verizon cripples their internet, someone will sell unrestricted access, and they will win. As long as their IS competition, I think it will keep driving customers toward open access and thwarting ca
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by billybob 16y ago
Regarding the contrast in durability between corporations and cities: I think this mostly a matter of definition. Nearly everything about a city - who lives there, what language is spoken, what industries it has - can change, and we'd call
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by billybob 16y ago
Yes. The government argues that terrorism is a unique threat that requires extreme measures, such as removing rights from citizens. But the counter-argument is that it IS a unique threat: one that can never be conclusively dealt with. There
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by billybob 16y ago
To me, this sounds a lot like "you didn't bother to lock the door, so obviously it's legal for me to come in," or even "you used a lock that's easily picked" with the same conclusion. If I'm a non-technical person, I send an email, I addres
501.
by billybob 16y ago
Imagine the following conversation: Carrier: "You're making money by having access to our customers. You should pay us." Facebook/Youtube/whoever: "You're making money by selling access to our service. You should pay us." [awkward slap-figh
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by billybob 16y ago
"One obvious potential problem with switching from an "open Internet" approach to this "charge by app" approach to data is just how much power it gives the established players. Say some new video on demand service comes along; it needs plen
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by billybob 16y ago
Those developers generally make a big distinction between "work I do for free because it's fun or intrinsically rewarding" (like helping a charity) and "work I do to make a living." They will try to get maximum pay for the latter, partly to
504.
by billybob 16y ago
"It is a bad pattern, for you and also for your colleagues in the same profession." Agreed. I once had a photography professor who was adamant that we not work too cheaply, because it sets expectations for the profession. His take was that
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by billybob 16y ago
Yeah, I TOTALLY respect Everest. Everest would kill me dead. That's why I'm staying the heck away from it. I respect lions, too.
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by billybob 16y ago
Agreed, mostly. But without SOME secrecy, a government can't function. Imagine if the US became 100% transparent. You could listen to the president's phone calls, watch military strategy in real time, etc. Unless the government's enemies (i
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by billybob 16y ago
If the risks are indeed roughly equal, I would like to point out that only one of these two risks costs us money. Also, being blown up doesn't hurt nearly as much as cancer does.
508.
by billybob 16y ago
I'm just thankful that the TSA makes people mail home their keychain Swiss Army knives with 1-inch, non-locking blades. Goodness knows what sort of carnage someone could inflict with that. Almost as much as with a ballpoint pen, which I not
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by billybob 16y ago
Yep. First letter of a sentence, or title, or any other proper noun. So... how can your program tell which it is? The correct algorithm approaches AI in complexity.
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by billybob 16y ago
This is far from universal. I know that when I studied journalism, I had to unlearn that habit - I think the official style guide for the industry mandates one space.

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