zach

84 ms·

721.
by zach 17y ago
Okay, this doesn't make sense. The latest-generation iPod Touch comes with full VoiceOver support. Sure, it doesn't have iBooks until 4.0 comes out, but what other possible advantage could an iPad have over the current iPod Touch for the
722.
by zach 17y ago
It seems like the Internet has killed the reference book format for a lot of programming subjects. Now okay, it's also killed the market, and that's not coming back, but the format can still be useful. Especially for the iPad, which in my
723.
by zach 17y ago
I would recommend networking within a local programming user group (Python, Ruby, Cocoa, etc). Introduce yourself at a meeting or on the mailing list letting people know just a little about your background and that you're looking for a sid
724.
by zach 17y ago
Yes, but they make good money licensing those databases for managed use to nice companies like: http://www.semaphorecorp.com/
725.
by zach 17y ago
Basically, jazz musicians were replaced by DJs. At some point, house parties didn't invite a piano player. At some point you could just have someone "putting on some records" for people to dance to at a wedding reception or big event. At
726.
by zach 17y ago
Please. Python is so wildly C-like that it uses zero/non-zero for conditions.
727.
by zach 17y ago
More recently, the developers of the iPhone game BloodnGuns built an anti-piracy level that would only be seen by those playing a cracked version. It placed the player in an arena with a never-ending wave of killer chickens armed only with
728.
by zach 17y ago
For syntax, ugly yet familiar is more successful than obscure yet beautiful nine times out of ten.
729.
by zach 17y ago
Need I mention the real-world achievements of those (no, not me) who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eagle_Scouts_%28Boy_Sco...
730.
by zach 17y ago
This could be a great way to ask users for their feelings when an error occurs, like the Wufoos suggest -- "right now I'm feeling (adjective) about it": http://particletree.com/features/on-asking-users-for-their-f...
731.
by zach 17y ago
And it's typeset in Gill! Did anyone who went to his Open Space session have a report?
732.
by zach 17y ago
Why even provide this benefit to private student loan providers -- letting them avoid dischargement just like government loans which have lifetime maximums and other safeguards? I think it's pretty clear the results have been catastrophic.
733.
by zach 17y ago
Very good description, and I'd even say there are some problems missing from it. Actually, increased salary demands due to student loan balances lead to: - exacerbated income disparity, since only the elite are hired, which makes the job m
734.
by zach 17y ago
Now now, I'm sure there are coders who have those areas of expertise as well! Seriously, coders are not the only valid cofounders for this kind of company, but they're the only necessary ones. For example, I don't see a lot of coders beggin
735.
by zach 17y ago
The trite answer is to_json. The more substantial answer is to use a Javascript generator like RJS.
736.
by zach 17y ago
Don't be fooled by that, productivity in the top EU countries is better than just about any state in America. But the overall Europe/US productivity gap has gotten a lot worse as of late... http://blogs.ft.com/money-supply/2009/12/10/the-
737.
by zach 17y ago
Oh, you lucky so-and-sos who get to watch Only Connect on BBC Four. There is no legal (or even expedient) way for me to watch it here in the USA. Then again, we don't pay for a TV license...
738.
by zach 17y ago
And PopCap has helped by repackaging two of their games as WoW add-ons so you can, you know, play while you play: http://www3.popcap.com/promos/wow/
739.
by zach 17y ago
I did the exact same thing with my startup's name in 2007 and it was amazing, but in 2008 they went to an auction system (their "domain name aftermarket"). It was a super-hot deal at the time.
740.
by zach 17y ago
So are the really bad things you mention things like obliterating intellectual curiosity, fostering dependence on authority, crushing children's self-esteem and so on? Because it seems like there are some people for whom those results defin
741.
by zach 17y ago
That's hardly unique to Bill Gates. People rarely re-examine what they presume to be correct, and when people call that a "problem" I tend to think that it just means "he's wrong and pig-headed." Which he may likely be, but let's at least
742.
by zach 17y ago
Yahoo Answers and Yelp are the ones I would pick. I think the issue is more about providing a meta-experience as games do rather than the particulars of the game mechanics.
743.
by zach 17y ago
Oops, this was already covered here in this thread: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1024982
744.
by zach 17y ago
Yeah, when I saw "spoon-fed" I thought this was going to be about how people learn, not how they split up restaurant bills. I agree, making things clear or intuitive is a virtue, not a vice, and the language should reflect that.
745.
by zach 17y ago
That's correct, but not the whole story. At chain restaurants in the US, we get a single bill in two inches of space and 10 inches of space with laborious instructions on how to complete their customer satisfaction survey.
746.
by zach 17y ago
But what about iChat video capabilities? That seems like a pretty fun application. An electronic picture frame that can receive videophone calls from the grandkids? Classic 21st-century technology concept.
747.
by zach 17y ago
Talking about "college" as a mere experience, drained of its knowledge value, reduces its significance to being a social club of sorts. You make friends, you signify some kind of status to potential superiors, and so on. I don't think many
748.
by zach 17y ago
This kills me -- I've seen so many financial illustrations about the miracle of compound interest and the true cost of a loan. But these lessons are never applied to paying off an onerous student loan until middle age. This unexamined atti
749.
by zach 17y ago
I don't know about that. My local PBS station experiences a lycanthropy where they degrade into infomercials for older people every pledge week. They very well know the kinds of programs that pull in more funds. If the Wikimedia Foundatio
750.
by zach 17y ago
As a game guy, I think it would be better to call them "user engagement techniques" or something instead of "gameplay elements" when gameplay is not at the core of the experience. To be fair, I guess it's like how game designers talk about

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