Top posts
Every blog post that took off on Hacker News, ranked by the votes of its best submission. 913 posts.
Dark Horse Discord
How a gaming chat platform is secretly connecting the internet, and defining the future of work
Website data leaks pose greater risks than most people realize
Students find website data leaks pose greater risks than most people realize
Turkey buys Delphi licenses for an estimated one million students
The ministry of education in Turkey recently announced that they will be offering Delphi free of charge to students of computer sciences. An estimated one million students will thus have access to …
We are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS releases
Cross-posted from the Chrome Releases Blog Due to adjusted work schedules at this time, we are pausing upcoming Chrome and Chrome OS relea...
Lawyers automate this, so why don't airlines?
My working title for this blog post was “Why I’ll Never Fly With easyJet Again”, but that was far too clickbaity. Also it’s probably worth prefixing this post with two things. The first being the caveat that whether or not i ever fly with easyJet again is immaterial to their business, given that the model of budget…
Google, nobody asked for a new Blogger interface
I'm writing this post in what Google is euphemistically referring to as an improvement . I don't understand this. I managed to ignore New ...
Google removes all Danish music from YouTube
About Koda's task and where Koda works
The EARN IT Bill Is the Government’s Plan to Scan Every Message Online
Update 10/1/2020: The EARN IT bill has been amended since this blog post was published. We still oppose the bill.Imagine an Internet where the law required every message sent to be read by government-approved scanning software. Companies that handle such messages wouldn’t be allowed to securely...
The Khmer Rouge: Genocide in the Name of Utopia (2016)
How is history used to support ideology? Is violence by a government against its own civilian population ever justified? Why are certain events given priority over others in history books? This les…
It bid high and lost. Should Amazon be allowed a do-over on JEDI?
Today, the Inspector General for the Department of Defense published a report into the DoD’s handling of the JEDI contract. There is a simple explanation for Microsoft’s victory: We were rated equal or superior to Amazon in every evaluation factor. We can all agree that bid-protest cases serve an important function in…
I went to see a movie, and instead I saw the future
A few days ago my wife and I went to see Uncut Gems at a Regal theater in Chicago. We booked our ticket online, reserved our seats, showed up 15 minutes ahead of time, and settled in. After the coi…
How to identify an immoral maze
Previously in sequence: Moloch Hasn’t Won, Perfect Competition, Imperfect Competition, Does Big Business Hate Your Family?, What is Life in an Immoral Maze?, Stripping Away the Protections, What is…
California agency blocks release of police use of force, surveillance training
Under a California law that went into effect on January 1, 2020, all law enforcement training materials must be “conspicuously” published on the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) website. However, if you visit POST’s Open Data hub and try to download the officer...
The Abundance of Silicon Valley
Abundance is fragile, it is accidental, and it is the most incredible thing on earth.
The Great Toilet Paper Scare of 1973 (2014)
Following a poorly-timed Johnny Carson joke in 1973, millions of Americans hoarded every toilet paper roll on the market and induced a mass hysteria.
The US can reach 90% clean electricity by 2035 without increasing consumer bills
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2020 Media Contact: Chelsea Eakin, ceakin@climatenexus.org, 347-371-1305 New national re…
Wildfires in Big Basin Redwoods State Park
We are devastated to report that Big Basin, as we have known it, loved it, and cherished it for generations, is gone. Early reports are that the wildfire has consumed much of the park’s historic facilities. We do not yet know the fate of the park’s grandest old trees.
An Update About Changes to Facebook’s Services in Australia
If Australia’s proposed news regulation becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia to share local and international news on Facebook and Instagram.
There are many SARS-CoV-2 strains with gene deletions
In my first post on a possible solution to COVID-19 I hypothesised that there would be gene deletion mutants to be found in the SARS-CoV-2 viral strains out in the world and that we would find them if we looked.
Stop the Apple and Google contact tracing platform
Apple and Google released a joint specification that allows both iPhones and Android devices to do contact tracing on a global scale. Even though "privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance", this is a game changing event that has grave consequences. We must stop Apple and Google in their tracks. Or…
Covid-19 contact tracing study finds children key to spread
Researchers from the Princeton Environmental Institute find the continued spread of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is driven by only a small percentage of those who become infected.
A Worsening Culture War
When leaders run out of unifying myths, division is the last currency. Why this Thanksgiving, America is a "death cult" versus "radical socialists"