kalid

54 ms·

481.
by kalid 17y ago
Good question. I'm not an expert in functional programming but it's changed my mindset. Imperative / functional languages are equally powerful, but are they equally expressive? There's a reason I wrote the above in a shell script vs. an OO-
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by kalid 17y ago
I think Clojure may be your answer; functional programming with access to Java's enormous libraries. Regarding "betterness", it's a philosophical shift -- some problems are better suited to one domain or another. My favorite metaphor for fu
483.
by kalid 17y ago
When making instacalc I had some of the same issues -- why do we emulate the existing calculator with its limitations? I feel spreadsheets are the other extreme of interface overload -- way too much power. There's nothing in between (you ge
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by kalid 17y ago
Thanks! Glad you're finding it useful... I've contemplated turning it into a desktop app also.
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by kalid 17y ago
Awesome, glad you're enjoying it!
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by kalid 17y ago
You might take a look at progit ( http://progit.org/ ) -- it's authored in markdown (github: http://github.com/progit/progit/blob/master/en/01-introducti... ) which can probably be converted into whatever ebook format you need.
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by kalid 17y ago
Agreed. It's frustrating using an inconsistent API (camelCase, under_score, different parameter orders, overlapping functionality, etc.). The UI is the API that users work with. Inconsistencies are frustrating.
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by kalid 17y ago
Agreed, I also found the auto-expansion really jarring. My eyes are still reeling :).
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by kalid 17y ago
Agreed on the beauty of the Memoir class. I used it for my ebook and I enjoyed the result ( http://betterexplained.com/ebook/MathBetterExplained.Preview... ). It's hard to find LaTeX examples/templates for non-technical papers, but Memoir w
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by kalid 17y ago
Agreed. Mechanical turk is a waste of time for someone tech-savvy enough to ask HN.
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by kalid 17y ago
Agreed re: writing an ebook. If you have niche content and can package it nicely, you can make $300-$400 monthly. It helps to have some venue for marketing though (blog or other medium).
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by kalid 17y ago
Yeah unfortunately there's a steep learning curve, but worth it for anything math-related. Here's a sample chapter laid out with LaTeX: http://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://betterexplained.com... The #1 rule is to not use the default
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by kalid 17y ago
Thanks for sharing! One of your questions was about laying out the ebook. For my own, I started with InDesign but found it too painful to use (I only used it for the cover). I used LaTex (since I had some math equations) but the benefit is
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by kalid 17y ago
I would love to see more client-side javascript A/B frameworks like genetify (easy to embed into blogs, existing apps, etc). Unfortunately that project doesn't look that active, but it's the best out there now.
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by kalid 17y ago
I think this was a biased study -- they were used in upper-level politics classes in the Woody Woo school, which require lots of discussion about the reading itself (1300+ printed pages). Using kindles for paper-saving purposes misses the p
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by kalid 17y ago
Thanks for posting that tidbit -- it's a nice way to separate yourself from the conversation. Really, we shouldn't feel attached to what we write (we are not our works) but it's difficult to fight that part of human nature. I think this is
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by kalid 17y ago
Yes, I think this unfortunate tribal protection trait is built into human nature. In the past it may have helped, but we end up forming (and violently 'defending') tribes around random things. It seems religion, sports, politics, etc. play
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by kalid 17y ago
Really cool! Minor nits: * Multiple equivalent GMTs (GMT, GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), GMT + 0)... * GMT+n would ideally be in numeric order [but alpha sort doesn't make this easy, just something to think about] * Include country name for cit
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by kalid 17y ago
Maximize the "bad beat" factor... I like it :).
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by kalid 17y ago
http://programmermeetdesigner.com/ ... not sure how good it is, but it's there :).
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by kalid 17y ago
I think he knows that the iPad is what a tablet "should be" but can't say it.
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by kalid 17y ago
7 billion is quite a bit of VC money :).
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by kalid 17y ago
I'm having trouble thinking of what apps I'd want for the kindle. When I have it, I'm "reading mode" as just want to read my book. The screen is 16-color greyscale and refreshes slowly (for apps); I'm having trouble thinking of what app wou
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by kalid 17y ago
And perhaps a shorter summary. People chat for information exchange and entertainment. To geeks, these are the same. To many people, they are not.
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by kalid 17y ago
I gave being a teacher serious thought when leaving school (not elementary level, but high school). However, the thought of working for unions / under specified curriculum was a major turn-off. Right now I focus on blogging / writing / givi
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by kalid 17y ago
Clever idea. I can't tell whether this is line is meant to be a joke or not: "And third, the stylish case protects you from being like everyone else because BookBook is totally original, just like you." :-)
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by kalid 17y ago
I just finished the book yesterday (for the first time) and don't know why I waited this long. I highly recommend it also.
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by kalid 17y ago
Exactly, certain ideas seem perpetually "futuristic" but never seem to catch on: voice recognition ("Imagine dictating your letters!" => Really annoying to make corrections), gestures ("Imagine waving instead of using a mouse!" => G
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by kalid 17y ago
Just fyi, this article is in reference to the Blaster/Slammer worms back in 2003.
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by kalid 17y ago
Just wanted to say thanks for the analysis -- I'm considering learning to draw again and it's great to see these perspectives :).

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