Sounds cool, I hadn’t really kept track of it until now. I think I need to add it as a payment method here though…
Author: Ben Brooks
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‘How Hacker News Ranking Really Works: Scoring, Controversy, and Penalties’
Ken Shirriff:
> Some submissions get automatically penalized based on the title, and others get penalized based on the domain. It appears that any article with NSA in the title gets an automatic penalty of .4. I looked for other words causing automatic penalties, such as awesome, bitcoin, and bubble but they do not seem to get penalized.
> I observed that many websites appear to automatically get a penalty of .25 to .8: arstechnica.com, businessinsider.com, easypost.com, github.com, imgur.com, medium.com, quora.com, qz.com, reddit.com, rt.com, stackexchange.com, theguardian.com, theregister.com, theverge.com, torrentfreak.com, youtube.com. I’m sure the actual list is longer. (This is separate from “banned” sites, which were listed at one point.The problems that HN is trying to avoid by doing this is understandable, but I do think it has been gone about in the wrong way. ((Not that it matters, as HN is largely an Android-VC-HackerNews circle-jerk anyways.))
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Avoid QuizUp
In addition to sending private data to *other* users phones, Joseph Keller reports:
> Also of note is how QuizUp handles access to your contacts. The game allows you to invite your friends to the game via text message, which you need to grant QuizUp access to your contacts to allow. Once this is done, QuizUp sends your contact’s emails, in plain text, to their servers, in violation of federal privacy laws. This is the same thing that got social network Path in trouble last year.
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Quote of the Day: Craig Grannell
“For now, though, it seems rather pointless for the LGs, Sonys, Facebooks and Amazons of this world to keep swallowing down data when they regurgitate recommendations that have barely more accuracy than a horoscope.” -
Tech Headlines That Could Be
“How to Solve Email With Carrier Pigeons”
“5 Reasons This Backpack Is Better Than the One I Posted Last Week”
“10 Reasons Why You Hate Facebook, and How That Is Your Fault”
“How Apple Deleted Photos of My Dead Parents”
“Why Google Ads Are Better Than iAds”
“Meet the 28 Samsung Phones That Will Kill the iPhone in 2014”
“Here’s the Tablet That Will Kill the iPad”
“15 Reasons I Love Your Site, but Will Never Pay for Your Shitty Paywall”
“The Best Fork”
“16 Extremely Stupid Things That Will Extend Your Macbook Pro Battery Life”
“58 People Senselessly Beaten to Death (Pics!)”
“Here’s Why This App Is Worth Billions”
“Why Record Profits Spells the Death of Apple”
“Why Record Amazon Losses Means Their Future Is Bright”
“Why Your Remote Office and Open Concept Office Plans Are Shit”
“15 Ways to Value Your Company for More Than It Is Worth”
“20 Reasons Turning Down a Billion Dollar Buyout Is Smart”
“You’ve Been Cooking Your Eggs Wrong, Here’s How”
“69 Things You Didn’t Know That You Needed to Know”
“My 15 Minute Re-Design of Your Well Studied and Thought Out Design”I really could keep going all year long.
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The New Glif
Looks fantastic. I ordered one, but was tempted to order three.
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‘Okay, Google, you officially beat Siri’
Marcio Cyrillo:
> Whatever the future of digital assistants may be, it’s clear that the service must be fully context-aware, super responsive, and most importantly, learn about you. If Apple doesn’t empower Siri with a true digital brain, the service will soon become a joke when compared to the significant improvements Google Now is achieving.
It’s hard to compete with Google on this level when Apple *seems* to be wanting to give users *some* privacy.
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Switching to Android, A Practical Guide
I haven't used an Android device in quite a while, so I don't care to debate which is better — I care to have more experience before making those statements — but this “guide” (Google Plus Plus Minus post) from uncle creepy is ridiculous.
Naturally, let's dive in. The post on how to switch from iPhone to Android involves 14 steps hidden as four steps and some of it must been done on a PC/Mac. Yeah, super duper easy. Let's pull some choice quotes of ridiculousness: ((I think that's an MTV show, right? I haven't seen it, but I'll now assume it stars Schmidt.))
The latest high-end phones from Samsung (Galaxy S4), Motorola (Verizon Droid Ultra) and the Nexus 5 (for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) have better screens, are faster, and have a much more intuitive interface.
Where's the proof on that last statement? Also, better and faster in what aspects? All aspects? Proof…?
c) If you are using AT&T, download the Visual Voicemail app from the Play Store.
Wait, honest question here, visual voicemail isn't just built-in?
At this point, you should see all your Gmail, and be able to use any apps and they should work well. Be sure to verify this.
Marketing tip: never end a statement with another statement questioning how well your software may work. “Press the brake petal to stop the car. Be sure to verify this.”
You will need to sign up for Google Wallet and give your credit card information, but it’s free.
I have this same issue with many services: why should I provide a credit card when the service is free?
For texting either use the Messenger app in earlier releases or the “Hangouts” app in Android 4.4.
Why would I be using an earlier version of Android, you told us to update Android in your “step one”? Don't all Android devices get the latest OS right away?
Be sure to use Chrome, not Safari; its safer and better in so many ways.
Wait, I can get Safari on Android? Sweet!
I can't? Then why mention it?
And didn't I read something about new Android phones not coming with a browser? Maybe what the headline said is: “Android can't surf the web?” (See how easy distorting facts is?)
Let's go back to the top for a moment:
Like the people who moved from PCs to Macs and never switched back, you will switch from iPhone to Android and never switch back as everything will be in the cloud, backed up, and there are so many choices for you. 80% of the world, in the latest surveys, agrees on Android.
Uh huh.
You all know how I feel about this, let's see what Google Plus commenters say about the post:
David Bania
Didn't know about the Visual Voicemail app. Thanks!Jiří Šrámek
I moved from Android to Ios !LOL.
iPan Baal
I have an Android phone (Galaxy S2, about to upgrade it) – but even I know that +Eric Schmidt didn't write this – his media team did.
Why don't you use your G+ profile to actually write yourself, +Eric Schmidt? Instead of just another advertising platform you can attach your quasi-celebrity name to?
People who read this either already have an Android phone, or don't care.Mikal O'Neil
This just made me switch the default search engine on my Mac and iPhone to Yahoo.Perfect.
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What our privacy is worth
Bruce Schneier:
> Google’s 2013 third quarter profits were nearly $15 billion; that profit is the difference between how much our privacy is worth and the cost of the services we receive in exchange for it. -
The Hub
Tim Bajarin on iPhones/smartphones:
It now has become my GPS system, my digital camera, my flashlight, my voice recorder, etc. With the plethora of software and services available on my smartphone, its hub like nature makes it the most important digital screen in my life.
Smart post. Especially given I have been seeing more and more apps promote that the content collected by the app never leaves the app (a response to the NSA spying).
(via SB) -
Bruce Schneier AMA
For your weekend reading list.
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Network Plus Sit/Stand Desk
Looks like a not-ugly version of the Geek Desk. Nice.
(via Moltz) -
‘Meet the Spies Doing the NSA’s Dirty Work’
[Fascinating report from Shane Harris on how the FBI and NSA work together to spy on Americans][1]:
> When the media and members of Congress say the NSA spies on Americans, what they really mean is that the FBI helps the NSA do it, providing a technical and legal infrastructure that permits the NSA, which by law collects foreign intelligence, to operate on U.S. soil. It’s the FBI, a domestic U.S. law enforcement agency, that collects digital information from at least nine American technology companies as part of the NSA’s Prism system. It was the FBI that petitioned the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to order Verizon Business Network Services, one of the United States’ biggest telecom carriers for corporations, to hand over the call records of millions of its customers to the NSA.
And later on in three-pager (DITU is the name of the internal FBI division):
> The NSA is the most frequent requester of the DITU’s services, sources said. There is a direct fiber-optic connection between Quantico and the agency’s headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland; data can be moved there instantly. From the companies’ perspective, it doesn’t much matter where the information ends up, so long as the government shows up with a lawful order to get it.
This is the first time I recall hearing about the FBI involvement — but I have been reading and *not* reading a lot of articles lately.
[1]: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/21/the_obscure_fbi_team_that_does_the_nsa_dirty_work?page=0,0
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Quote of the Day: John Carey
“There is something romantic in bundling up in the cold that I am drawn too.” -
‘That 60W-equivalent LED: What you don’t know’
Ed Rodriguez:
> In other words, totally unlike incandescent and substantially unlike a CFL, reliability and life expectancy go down hill sharply as soon as you install it anywhere that air is restricted. Guess what? A large percentage of places for LED best value is in those place where access is difficult and air is restricted. LEDs do not target a “table-lamp-only” marketplace.
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‘Microsoft Bringing Message Encryption To Office 365’
Alex Wilhelm:
> The system is neat: Once administrators turn it on, emails that are sent are encrypted before they are fired out, meaning that they only leave the house after they put a jacket on. The recipient receives an email that has an encrypted attachment. That’s the message.
> The attachment opens in a browser window, and the recipient authenticates themselves with either their Microsoft or Office 365 account.
It’s a hack, but far easier than PGP/GPG systems, and at the end of the day any encryption is better than none. Coming early 2014 Microsoft says.
The big question: how do we know the NSA hasn’t forced Microsoft to add a back door into this, or otherwise compromise the system? Without assurances on that, why bother?
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‘Things You’re Not Supposed to Do With Google Glass’
A.J. Jacobs:
> The night did make clear that Glass could have a profound impact on dating. Imagine when hackers start releasing facial-recognition software against Google’s will: We might scan the room and figure out who is married, whose company just had an IPO, who got busted for shoplifting when they were nineteen. Imagine being able to come up with retorts worthy of Oscar Wilde because they were written by Oscar Wilde.
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‘No. This is a trap.’
Jason Feifer:
> No. This is a trap. This is saying, “Open-office layouts are great, and if you don’t like them, you must have some problem.” Oh, I have a problem: It’s with open-office layouts. And I have a solution, too: Every workspace should contain nothing but offices. Offices for everyone.Agreed on all accounts.
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Poster Bookmarklets
Speaking of Viticci, I had completely missed this great bookmarklet from him.
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‘Leaving Google Chrome: Why I’ve Returned to Safari’
[Federico Viticci][1]:
> You could argue that other companies whose apps and services I use might have the same data about me: that’s true, but Google has gotten very good at eerily using that data from solid apps and web services against me in ads. Apple has my email, my calendar, my Siri queries, and my browsing history. And yet it’s Google that directly benefits from guiding users through a progressive removal of their online privacy. Twitter and Facebook are based on ads, too, but they don’t make the world’s leading browser, search platform, maps app, video sharing site, and free email service at the same time.
I go back and forth between Instapaper and Reading List just about every month. Safari though, I have been consistently using for years and years. I’ve done stints with Chrome, or FireFox, but they always get in my way.
With Mavericks Safari is finally *good*.
[1]: http://www.macstories.net/stories/leaving-google-chrome-why-ive-returned-to-safari/