jmduke

196 ms·

1771.
by jmduke 15y ago
Being a "bad country" is not relative. Denial of due process is an abomination of human rights, regardless of the number of countries committing it.
1772.
by jmduke 15y ago
That's my point, though. I don't like books -- I like the words in them. I certainly realize that there's a tendency to form attachments to physical objects (and, as others point out, vintage book stores are sure to thrive in the coming y
1773.
by jmduke 15y ago
Why is this a sad thing, besides nostalgia? On my Kindle, I have a semester's worth of textbooks, a dozen periodicals, and a few novels I've been busting through. And that's a mere fraction of the allotted storage space, whereas it would t
1774.
by jmduke 15y ago
Pirate Bay isn't the only way to find torrents. Private networks (such as what.cd for music) are hilariously easy to use, and generally much quicker than public torrents.
1775.
by jmduke 15y ago
I completely agree (and its hypocritical of me, because I pirate too much for my own good, but due to financial reasons rather than 'moral' ones.) Pirating Windows still helps Microsoft, because its another computer not using a competing O
1776.
by jmduke 15y ago
I completely agree -- I'm just saying civic engagement is always possible, if not easy.
1777.
by jmduke 15y ago
I meant to type first world country (pitfalls of posting at six in the morning.)
1778.
by jmduke 15y ago
If you want to rationalize your piracy, awesome, but torrenting isn't going to compare to actual protest of an issue. If you're passionate about SOPA, tell people; write a blog post; write to a congressman. Slacktivism needs to go away.
1779.
by jmduke 15y ago
In terms of cultural cache alone, America is leaps and bounds beyond most other third world countries. This isn't from luck; America's brilliance has always been in its sociogeographic diversity.
1780.
by jmduke 15y ago
That 'supercompensation peak' is pure soft science, but the overall message is dead on: if you're at the gym, act like it. It boggles the mind to see people my age baffled at their inability to lose weight when their cardio involves readin
1781.
by jmduke 15y ago
"Learning is good only if it either enables you do to something useful or you enjoy it." I completely agree. But something is not only 'useful' if you can use it in your career.
1782.
by jmduke 15y ago
I don't disagree with you, but I think pair programming (at least as how it was explained to me, and how I've approached it in my studies/work) is less a mechanism to foster creativity and more as a 'second set of eyes', a way to alleviate
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by jmduke 15y ago
This is the wrong way to think about education. Learning is learning, regardless of job placement, and while I recognize the need for stronger STEM education it shouldn't come at the expense of equally important topics.
1784.
by jmduke 15y ago
Okay, am I missing something? Microsoft wasn't a monopoly because their software pervaded rampantly; Microsoft was a monopoly because their entire business model bastardized the notion of vertical integration by making alternate software (i
1785.
by jmduke 15y ago
Not sure about my greatest triumph, but my biggest problem is definitely how certain tasks are either hilariously easy (linear analyses, data modeling) or prohibitively frustrating (lack of conditional loops, version control.) Generally spe
1786.
by jmduke 15y ago
This article bothered me. First off, it seems like a false dichotomy: the ideal situation is to have the hard skills afforded by a computer science education (something that irked me as the article seemed to equivocate 'learning to code' w
1787.
by jmduke 15y ago
Excel is considered 'functional programming', which is different than traditional programming but nevertheless incredibly valuable. I took a 'Computer Skills for Business' class during undergrad and I can't thank it enough for turning ten-
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by jmduke 15y ago
Honestly, I don't see the point. The effectiveness in the blackout is going to lie in its ability to inform users who might not be aware of the threat SOPA poses: I think the number of regular perusers of HN who are unaware of SOPA is midd
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by jmduke 15y ago
Not to underscore the value of self-creation (I remade my own personal webfront recently using Django, and nothing's a more valuable coding experience than making something you use yourself) but I think the primary advantage of CMSes like W
1790.
by jmduke 15y ago
As a poor college student I can't really deny the appeal of piracy but: a) Saying 'hey, I can get this illegally for free' isn't really a valid economic argument. b) Pirating HBO just, I dunno, feels wrong. They're a company with a unique
1791.
by jmduke 15y ago
I think at this point, my primary (and perhaps only) reason to stick with the traditional TV delivery paradigm is HBO. That being said, I would be ecstatic if they introduced an HBO Go-only price plan.
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by jmduke 15y ago
While this is obviously great (and it's wonderful to see this sort of action more often from companies) it's no-brainer PR: the cost of a 360 (retailing for around $300 nowadays) for a positive spot in Consumerist.
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by jmduke 15y ago
Really, really cool concept. I'm a sucker for in-browser coding, and wrapping it in a little game with 'AI' is a great idea. But as someone who knows other languages and doesn't know Ruby, it does a pretty poor job of teaching the language