Google has created its own universe. If you wanted to, you could use nothing but Google products, and you could live a very fruitful digital life. You could buy a Chromebook, use Gmail and G Suite, post your videos to YouTube, and save every last bit of data on Google Drive.
Ask HN: How do you decide when you've done enough work for the day?
Ask HN: How do you decide when you've done enough work for the day? I'm a relatively junior software engineer, a little over a year out from university, with a cushy remote job working for big-co. And I never know how much work to do on a given day. Right now, my daily rule of thumb is to try to have my butt in the seat for ~8 hours. I clock out at 6 and stay disciplined so I don't end up overworking as many remoters do. The main disadvantage of this strategy is that it just doesn't align with the reality of the job. Some days I work on something complex and want to work more hours, while others I'll knock out a few small things and want to call it early. Strategies I'd like to use but can't: - Show up and leave with my coworkers. We're a remote team, and have a few serious workaholics on the team (not to mention the issue of timezones). - Leave when I've done my tasks. This might work if we had actual sprints. Our reality is an endless stream bugs and features for us to work on before we launch our product, and we just grab tickets as they come. Hopefully this improves after launch. What do you do? I want to do enough work to feel good about myself, without burning out. I have very little supervision from management, my coworkers seem to respect and like me, and I am generally productive. Help me, HN. more
Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them?
Ask HN: What things have richly rewarded the time invested in mastering them? What things (books, activities, courses - anything really) have richly rewarded the time you invested in mastering them? more
NYT Technology: LendingClub Founder, Ousted in 2016, Settles Fraud Charges
LendingClub Founder, Ousted in 2016, Settles Fraud Charges The S.E.C. said that Renaud Laplanche had improperly approved alterations to some of the company's lending products to bolster the company's financial performance.
GOP lawmakers have 'positive' meeting with Google CEO Sundar Pichai
GOP lawmakers have 'positive' meeting with Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Google CEO Sundar Pichai met privately with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill Friday amid allegations of anti-conservative bias at the tech giant and concerns about the privacy issues and the firm's re-entry into China.
NYT Technology: Google Chief Agrees to Testify to Congress
Google Chief Agrees to Testify to Congress Sundar Pichai, the chief executive, met with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to try to tamp down criticism facing the company.
NASA Image of the Day: Apollo 7 Crew Trains to Test Technology for Missions to the Moon
Apollo 7 Crew Trains to Test Technology for Missions to the Moon This Aug. 5 1968 image was taken aboard the MV Retriever in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Apollo 7 crew, Walter Schirra, Walter Cunningham and Donn Eisele practiced water egress procedures in preparation for the October 1968 mission.
September 28, 2018 from NASA https://ift.tt/2xN1NAb via IFTTT
Ask HN: Anyone from Google here? The new Gmail UI is painful
Ask HN: Anyone from Google here? The new Gmail UI is painful Looks like Google is rolling out the new Gmail UI to users, and removing the option to revert back to Classic UI. The new UI is painful to look at, to be honest. Anyone from Google here want to mention to the Gmail team that the new UI is going to chase long-term users like myself off the platform? more
NYT Technology: Facebook Network Breach Impacts Up to 50 Million Users
Facebook Network Breach Impacts Up to 50 Million Users The company was hacked at one of the most difficult times in its history. It still faces fallout over its role in a Russian disinformation campaign.
Why isn't Japan's asteroid rover landing the top story in the US?
Why isn't Japan's asteroid rover landing the top story in the US? That was a monumentous achievement for mankind, all but glossed over in my news feeds. https://ift.tt/2R4zRzG more
Google CEO to meet GOP lawmakers regarding alleged bias against conservatives
Google CEO to meet GOP lawmakers regarding alleged bias against conservatives
Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai will finally meet with Republican lawmakers on Friday to discuss allegations of bias against conservatives, privacy and controversial business practices in China.
NYT Technology: The Week in Tech: The Robots Aren’t as Human as They Seem
The Week in Tech: The Robots Aren't as Human as They Seem Robots are struggling to cope with the real world. Lately, so are Twitter, Google, Facebook and a few other companies.
NYT Technology: Bytedance of China Eyes $75 Billion Valuation, Joining Start-Up Giants
Bytedance of China Eyes $75 Billion Valuation, Joining Start-Up Giants A new fund-raising round could value the maker of the Tik Tok and Toutiao apps at nearly as much as Uber, as China's online surge continues.
Columbia River electric generation in 2018 remains normal despite above-normal water flow
Columbia River electric generation in 2018 remains normal despite above-normal water flow During the 2018 water year that ended September 30, 2018, The Dalles Dam in the Pacific Northwest experienced above-normal inflowwater volume flowing into the dambut electricity generation from the dam remained relatively normal. The difference between the two is attributed to spilled flow, or water diverted past the dam without generating power. Monthly inflow at The Dalles Dam peaked in May, reaching 63% above normal, but more than half of that volume was spilled, some of which was likely required by a recent court order.
NASA Image of the Day: Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria Works on Constructing the International Space Station
Astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria Works on Constructing the International Space Station During National Hispanic Heritage Month, we're celebrating the contributions of the brilliant Hispanic women and men of NASA. In this Feb. 2007 photo, astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander, participates in a 6-hour, 40-minute spacewalk as construction continues on the International Space Station.
September 27, 2018 from NASA https://ift.tt/2ImZuIn via IFTTT
Fox on Tech: Predators using online games, FBI warns
Fox on Tech: Predators using online games, FBI warns
Online multiplayer video games like "Fortnite" and "Minecraft" are exploding in popularity, and each contains a social media component where players are encouraged to interact with each other. But now the FBI is warning of a new threat: dangerous sexual predators using those games to target underage boys and girls playing online.
DARPA launches massive new '3rd wave' next-gen artificial intelligence
DARPA launches massive new '3rd wave' next-gen artificial intelligence
The Pentagon's science and technology research arm is launching a vigorous push into a new level of advanced artificial intelligence, intended to integrate advanced levels of "machine learning," introduce more "adaptive reasoning" and even help computers determine more subjective phenomena.
Meet the new Air Force helicopters that can 'defy Armageddon'
Meet the new Air Force helicopters that can 'defy Armageddon'
Ever wonder what would happen to the U.S. leadership and the nuclear missile arsenal if the nation was under attack? New helicopters will take on these two highly dangerous – and incredibly important – missions.
Google CEO to meet GOP lawmakers regarding alleged bias against conservatives
Google CEO to meet GOP lawmakers regarding alleged bias against conservatives
Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai will finally meet with Republican lawmakers on Friday to discuss allegations of bias against conservatives, privacy and controversial business practices in China.
FCC to cities, states: Knock it off with 5G fees, delays
FCC to cities, states: Knock it off with 5G fees, delays
The FCC on Wednesday voted to ease restrictions on the rollout of equipment needed to deploy 5G networks, but detractors argue the move strips authority from local governments and deprives them of needed revenue.
Music Modernization Act about to become U.S. Law? Traditionally, the music industry (i.e. the RIAA and similar entities) has faced opposition from the internet crowd (EFF et al) on questions of copyright. This time around there didn't seem to be much of a fuss. How big a deal is the MMA? https://ift.tt/2OgOktV more
Hydro and fossil fuels power electricity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Hydro and fossil fuels power electricity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa According to EIA's international electricity statistics, hydroelectric and fossil fuel-powered generation were the top sources of growth between 2005 and 2015 in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), defined as the 49 countries fully or partially south of the Sahara Desert. During that period, hydroelectric generation increased by about 40% in the region, while fossil-fuel generation increased by 15%. SSA electricity generation totaled about 420 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2015, including distribution losses and exported electricity, an increase of 22% during the decade.
NYT Technology: The Hot Property That’s Next on Tech’s Agenda: Real Estate
The Hot Property That's Next on Tech's Agenda: Real Estate Venture capitalists are racing to pour money into technology for real estate — or what Silicon Valley is now calling proptech.
Show HN: Memex – annotate and instantly recall any website
Show HN: Memex – annotate and instantly recall any website After 18 months of tinkering and iterating, we want to show you our Memex: An open-source browser extension to effortlessly organise your web-research. We'd love to know what you think :) Check it out at https://ift.tt/2OU3ZfY Memex features: - Instantly find websites you visited with the fuzzy memories you have about them, instead of bookmarking everything or keeping dozens of open tabs. Search for every word of every website you've seen, and filter by time, domain, custom tags or bookmarks. - Add your thoughts to websites via comments & annotations, directly in the browser - not in external, disconnected apps. - Cite websites with precision: Share links to pieces of text on any website. more
Apple Store robberies continue in Bay Area, with 9 stores hit this month
Apple Store robberies continue in Bay Area, with 9 stores hit this month
Mob-style robberies of Apple Stores continue in the San Francisco Bay Area, with multiple locations losing a total of more than $280,000 in iPhones and other merchandise in the span of a month, local reports showed.
Show HN: You Need Feeds – Introduce friends/family/workmates to RSS and webfeeds
Show HN: You Need Feeds – Introduce friends/family/workmates to RSS and webfeeds Partially inspired by recent discussions on HN and other places. I've made a single-focus site to introduce your friends/colleagues/neighbours/family to RSS and web feeds. https://ift.tt/2Odqgbo The site is meant to give the elevator pitch for feeds, show a newbie what feeds are and how to use them, set them up with a reader, and give them some nice starter content if they want it. So much tastemaking and newsmaking power is concentrated in the hands of Facebook/Reddit/Twitter, but I'm convinced it's because much of the general populace doesn't know about feeds. Many people just don't know of any other option than the core three social sites for keeping up with what they like! They're forced to endure all the anger and fighting of social media, just to keep up to date. The more people know about feeds, the more they use feeds, the more sites support feeds, and then more people learn about feeds in a virtuous cycle. I hope to create more uptake of feeds amongst the general population, a more decentralised internet, and maybe just make the average user's day a bit nicer. Let me know what you think. Questions, comments, all appreciated. Spreading the word is very appreciated. :) more
NYT Technology: It’s Google’s Turn in Washington’s Glare
It's Google's Turn in Washington's Glare The internet giant has largely avoided the scrutiny faced by its internet peers. Now lawmakers are questioning whether it has too much influence.
The U.S. Air Force is taking specific steps to expedite a measured, steady developmental plan for its new, next-generation Intercontinental Ballistic Missile in order to align with the more aggressive U.S. nuclear weapons strategy outlined in the administration's Nuclear Posture Review.
NYT Technology: The Sun Sets. The Wind Dies. But Energy Data Is Relentless.
The Sun Sets. The Wind Dies. But Energy Data Is Relentless. Alternative power sources have upended the electric grid. Ivan Penn, who covers the beat, discusses the changes and how he keeps track of them.
NYT Technology: Spare Your Friends: Make a Mini-Movie of Your Fabulous Vacation
Spare Your Friends: Make a Mini-Movie of Your Fabulous Vacation Showing all of the videos from your travels can be cumbersome. Instead, stitch them together into a short highlight reel.
Navy weapons strategy preps for future 'high-end' fight, massive ocean war
Navy weapons strategy preps for future 'high-end' fight, massive ocean war
The Navy is firing weapons, engaging in combat scenarios and refining warfighting tactics through a rigorous training regimen aimed at better preparing the sea service for massive warfare on the open ocean.
NYT Technology: Uber Settles Data Breach Investigation for $148 Million
Uber Settles Data Breach Investigation for $148 Million The ride-hailing company faced charges that it covered up a breach of user data, rather than immediately notifying consumers.
Ask HN: What can we do to stop the rich from getting richer?
Ask HN: What can we do to stop the rich from getting richer? The current political developments indicate that the Anacyclosis [0] theory is true, the political caste is closely engaged with big business and the small voter has almost no influence in changing this development . Same is true for the media, which are with a few exceptions by globalists, so the fourth estate is, to check those in power. Morover, in germany - as an example - flat market prices are dictated by a few coorps too [1]. Are we doomed to watch the system evolve into an oligarchie/dictatorship or are there some bottom-up approaches to stop it? [0] https://ift.tt/2KFGrIY [1] https://ift.tt/2DyODMF more
NYT Technology: Ex-Google Employee Urges Lawmakers to Take On Company
Ex-Google Employee Urges Lawmakers to Take On Company A former research scientist at the tech giant said that a project to build a censored search engine was a "catastrophic failure of the internal privacy review process."
Show HN: Intercept.rest – 10x Faster API debugging
Show HN: Intercept.rest – 10x Faster API debugging Sharing an internal tool that accelerated my development work 10-fold, especially with API debugging. Thought fellow developers here might find it useful. As a developer, I often have trouble reproducing errors at the client end. https://intercept.rest lets me debug and monitor API requests and responses. It is similar to the Network tab in Chrome Developer Tools but works for any API: mobile apps, webhooks, frontend etc. After I shared it with a close circle of friends, they found it incredibly useful and even found new use cases, I never imagined. Been a long time lurker here and have found several such tools that made my life easier. So, wanted to share this here and keen to hear if you folks find it useful too. Some of the Use cases (Look forward to other use cases for this tool): - Reproduce error requests at client side, helps to debug faster. – Easily switch between mock, dev, staging and production – You can even record requests and run load tests to see how your server behaves when 100,000 hit it – debug/monitor webhooks. – Share requests with the backend team for debugging. If you would like to take it for spin, DM me at https://twitter.com/intercept_rest , I can hook you up with credits. Also made a blog post on how this tool could be used to monitor network requests in real time. https://ift.tt/2zvrAhw... Let me know what you think :) Happy Developing! more
'Robot sex brothel' slated to open is not wanted, Houston's mayor says
'Robot sex brothel' slated to open is not wanted, Houston's mayor says
The mayor of Houston is exploring options in an effort to "restrict or regulate" the first so-called "robot sex brothel" in the United States that is slated to open this month in the city.
Like natural gas, coal in the Southwest Power Pool is cycled to accommodate wind power
Like natural gas, coal in the Southwest Power Pool is cycled to accommodate wind power Electricity generation in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a regional transmission organization (RTO) covering all or part of fourteen Midwestern states, is mostly provided by three fuels: coal, natural gas, and wind. Several states in SPP have the highest shares of wind generation in the country. In SPP, unlike in other regions, some coal-fired generators are operated similar to natural gas units and are used to balance fluctuations in wind output throughout the day.
NYT Technology: How Apple Thrived in a Season of Tech Scandals
How Apple Thrived in a Season of Tech Scandals Everyone is worried about the power of big technology companies. Apple alone has managed to turn the fears into an argument for its own business model.
Houston mayor says so-called 'robot sex brothel' slated to open is not wanted
Houston mayor says so-called 'robot sex brothel' slated to open is not wanted
The mayor of Houston is exploring options in an effort to "restrict or regulate" the first so-called "robot sex brothel" in the United States that is slated to open this month in the city.
NYT Technology: India’s Top Court Limits a Sweeping Biometric ID Program
India's Top Court Limits a Sweeping Biometric ID Program The Supreme Court upheld the Aadhaar program but rebuked the government for requiring the fingerprint ID for virtually everything in daily life.
NYT Technology: When Zuckerberg Asserted Control, Instagram’s Founders Chafed
When Zuckerberg Asserted Control, Instagram's Founders Chafed Facebook's acquisition of the photo-sharing site was a model for making a tech deal work. But slowly losing independence was difficult to accept.
Show HN: Meetter – Reduce time wasted by meetings Hey, HN! This post is not about useless meeting tips, nor about some new tool that drains remaining calendar hours. Like most of us, I'm very frustrated by the amount of time wasted by meetings. Why most of us here hate meetings is well described in PG's essay: https://ift.tt/ebCxrz There is also a great solution that worked for YC: office hours. Ok, but how can this help a regular maker in a regular company? Most makers struggle with the meetings scheduled by their colleagues, so let's focus just on the company internal meetings. What if every maker will have her/his own office hours few times a week at different times? Yeah, that probably won't work. Makers & managers often need to meet in 2+ groups... OK, what if all makers within the company will have office hours at the same time? Would be nice, but that won't scale as it will require too many conference rooms and switching rooms fast enough may not be possible if someone has six 10min meetings with different folks… Oh, wait, but what about video meetings? There is no room limit there and switching rooms takes seconds. Many of us work in distributed companies with a lot of meetings online already. Great, but there is still a problem with agreeing on times and booking small meetings within those hours. Also, what to do if there is urgent discussion and everything is overbooked ahead of time with non-urgent managerial stuff? OK, so that is what we are trying to solve with https://www.Meetter.ai and would love to hear what you think about the early version. Please check How Meetter Works section on the landing page for more details. Here is an open demo account just for HN: https://ift.tt/2ztfhm7 After sign-up, just try to post few agenda topics with random people and see if you can join office hours scheduled Tue/Wed/Thu at 8 AM PT. more
NYT Technology: Is a New Russian Meddling Tactic Hiding in Plain Sight?
Is a New Russian Meddling Tactic Hiding in Plain Sight? USAReally might look like any other fledgling news organization. But some cybersecurity experts believe it may be part of a retooled Russian propaganda operation.
NYT Technology: Qualcomm Accuses Apple of Stealing Secrets to Help Intel
Qualcomm Accuses Apple of Stealing Secrets to Help Intel The chip maker claims Apple wanted to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm technology and make sure Intel's chips were just as good.
Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? Every other HN profile lists a Keybase public key and a proof, but has anyone actually needed to prove their identity on HN? Does anyone use Keybase for encrypted communication? more
NYT Technology: Ex-Content Moderator Sues Facebook, Saying Violent Images Caused Her PTSD
Ex-Content Moderator Sues Facebook, Saying Violent Images Caused Her PTSD The woman, who worked as a contractor for Facebook for nine months, cited her viewing of thousands of images of rapes, killings and other disturbing acts.
Ask HN: What sucks about where you live? I'll start. Here's what sucks about NYC: 1) Home - Apartments are expensive. Can get 4x more space in Chicago for same price. - Difficult to shop for home. Wanted a desk for my bedroom. None of the stores in the city, included Target, offered reasonable-priced desks that could fit. Had to buy online, which came with own issues. 2) Services - Services are expensive. Want to get your hair dyed blond from someone you saw on Instagram? It's $600 and they ruin your hair. 3) Food - Groceries are expensive and inconvenient. Get delivery or Whole Foods and pay 30-70% over Trader Joe's price. Or you need to walk/Uber to Trader Joe's, wait in line, then walk/Uber back. Local bodegas? Usually bad quality and high prices (eg watermelon is $25). - Restaurants are expensive. Entree's in Manhattan are usually $25-35. - Food isn't uniquely great. I recently went to a well-rated David Chang restaurant in Chelsea. Meh. - Grocery delivery is usually done by foot. Sometimes this is great, sometimes it leads to food being delivered hours late, warm, and gross. This happens across platforms. 4) Transportation - Can't have a car in Manhattan. Parking is $600/month in my building. Btw, the doorman gets 50%, so $300/month (yay!). - Car rentals are quite expensive in the city. Want to rent a van to go camping? That's even worse. - Uber and Lyft is extremely slow in the city. I generally prefer taxi's since drivers understand how to get around faster. They're also priced competitively. 5) Airport - Traffic between airports is quite bad. Usually about an hour. Makes me jealous of the 20 min SFO commute. 6) Healthcare - Want to book a doctor or therapist? Go to Zocdoc, enter your insurance, try to book - they call you in a day saying they're booked or don't take your insurance. Great healthcare providers are tough to find. more
Google uses AI to improve Google Images, video search and AMP Stories
Google uses AI to improve Google Images, video search and AMP Stories
Google, which already uses artificial intelligence to power its search, video and news offerings, unveiled three new AI-enhanced offerings at a Monday event, commemorating its twentieth anniversary.