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The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 338 posts.
This essay can be read in my 2020 book, Essays on Free Knowledge. Perhaps ironically, it is no longer free. UPDATE: I've posted a very long set of replies. UPDATE 2: I've decided to reply below as well--very belatedly...
Exploring the world of free tools for GIS, GPS, Google Earth, neogeography, and more.
On Malcolm Gladwell’s argument that Jobs was a “tweaker” and not a “large-scale innovator”.
Who takes over for Steve Jobs? 1 John Gruber recently posted his argument for thinking it will be COO Tim Cook. The biggest point in Cook’s favor is simple: “He’s already run the company while Jobs has been on leave.” That’s true, but it’s less meaningful than it sounds. But to understand why, you need to understand…
The Amazon Kindle is full of all sorts of amazing, delightful touches — the sort of thing you’d expect from an Apple product. For example, when you first take your Kindle out of its (gorgeous!) box, it boots right up knowing your name and logged into your account. This is actually out-Apple-ing Apple: it’s possible…
UPDATE: Jay Radcliffe, the researcher discussed in this post, has emailed me, a ...
I take illegal drugs for inspiration Daily Telegraph, Saturday May 21st 2005, pp 17-18 (Note: This version is very slightly different from the published, edited, version) © Sue Blackmore 2005 Every year, like a social drinker who wants to prove to herself that she’s not an alcoholic, I give up cannabis for a month. It…
This was passed on to me by Ben Elliston, ex-gcc hacker and good guy. Amusing in context, but the corollary is that working on free software means you'll encounter such people. You may have to work with them. You may have to argue with them (and they may be right). Quite some time ago I was horrified by the private…
Google has recently announced their intention to remove the H.264 video codec from its Chrome browser. This decision has been smeared as an evil campaign for controlling video on the web, akin to not-invented-here syndrome. It’s also been lauded as the push that the web needs to remain open and free. Mostly, it’s been…
A voting system that sidesteps Arrow's theorem entirely. The scare quotes around
This is the story of Twitter and the last four years of my life. It's a pretty long story, but one that needs to be told.
Free markets don't always produce optimal results, or even desirable ones. As entrepreneurs, our job shouldn't only be to create profits, but to do something useful in the world.
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a bliki entry for Software Patent
