scorciapino

Born on September 15, 2009•37 Karma

on March 8, 2010

•on: First iPad Commercial Released - what do you think...

The sad thing is that this is supposed to be Hacker news, not Apple fan-boy news.

on March 8, 2010

Some can't admit Apple's drawbacks, some can't admit their strengths. Let's just call them all close-minded instead of "fanboys", then we don't have to come up with a 2nd lame insult only meant to dismiss someone without having to actually think about what they are saying.

scorciapino•

on March 8, 2010

•on: First iPad Commercial Released - what do you think...

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the iPad. Could anybody clarify?

Is it just a regular tablet? What OS does it run? Is it free? Can I change it to GNU?

Huppie•

on March 8, 2010

Could anybody clarify?

You can find quite a bit of information about it here: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/29/apple-ipad-the-definitive...

Is it just a regular tablet?

It's an iPhone with a huge screen, on steroids ;-)

What OS does it run?

As far as information like this is available before launch, it will probably run a custom version of the iPhone OS.

Is it free?

As you might understand, the iPad itself isn't free. The software on it is (very) probably propietary.

Can I change it to GNU?

In time, it will probably be possible to run a *nix distribution on the iPad, just as you can run these on playstations, xboxes, wifi routers etc.

Groxx•

on March 8, 2010

No. Its. No. Gno.

scorciapino•

on March 8, 2010

•on: What Successful Bodybuilders And Successful Entrep...

After reading a dozen or so entrepreneur stories, I've come to the conclusion that luck and connections were the most important factors in their success [citation needed], and bodybuilders don't need any of them.

philk•

on March 8, 2010

Luck boils down to hard work ultimately as the more you work on something the more chances you have to get a lucky break.

Connections, similarly, are related to how hard you're working; the fact that you're working really hard is unusual enough that people are likely to see some value in connecting you, and the more you're doing stuff and putting yourself out there the more people you encounter, some of whom will be worthwhile connections.

shaunus•

on March 8, 2010

Spot on!

scorciapino•

on March 7, 2010

•on: Sites built using the StackOverflow platform

I simply can't believe so many people are paying that exorbitant price tag ($1600 to $16000 an year) to have zero-profit niche Q&A website.

It doesn't make sense financially, and they could sponsor free software development of the already mentioned clones.

bugs•

on March 7, 2010

I'm pretty sure it is because it is in beta and free: http://stackexchange.com/pricing

amock•

on March 7, 2010

Someone mentioned in another HN thread or a comment somewhere else that none of those sites are actually paying anything yet, so maybe they're hoping that by the time they have to start paying they'll be making enough money to make it worthwhile.

kylec•

on March 7, 2010

A few site owners have indicated that they will be paying for StackExchange, but I suspect you're right that most won't.

http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4118/will-you-pay-fo...

scorciapino•

on March 7, 2010

•on: Japan: It's Not Funny Anymore

> if a guy doesn't want to go to a party and get terribly drunk with everyone else in the company, then he obviously has some element of his outside life — a girlfriend, a hobby, et cetera — that is more important to him than the company

god...

scorciapino•

on March 7, 2010

•on: Your international web app gets ethnicity wrong

As a Brazilian, I consider very offensive the american difference between Hispanic and White. Were iberian europeans somehow lesser than north europeans?

No matter the answer, non-hispanic whites are ignored and the term is now used to designate people from latin countries - I, myself, being the product of german and italian "whites", have been called hispanic more than once.

tokenadult•

on March 7, 2010

I consider very offensive the american difference between Hispanic and White.

Reading the official United States federal definitions

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/85867...

carefully will show that the Hispanic category is an "ethnicity" category, the only ethnicity category in the federal classification scheme, and "People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race" by the federal definitions. (In the federal definitions, Brazilian people are not included in the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity category anyway.)

xiaoma•

on March 7, 2010

I consider very offensive the american difference between Hispanic and White.

You're not alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08VCkyG_C2s#t=01m10s

scorciapino•

on March 7, 2010

•on: Advice for new writers: Live somewhere cheap

Ah, the typical and noble starving artist, who sacrifices material well-being in order to focus on its artwork.

mturmon•

on March 7, 2010

That is quite literally how it works, although most emerging artists (who are serious about their career, and who have a real chance at regional or national prominence) would probably not describe what they're doing as "noble", more like "crazy", but in the understanding that that's also the only path that works for them.

The other option is to have rich parents. Sounds snarky, but it's true. In that case, you also get contacts and an understanding of the social class of most collectors.

(My wife got her MFA from UCLA and shows around LA.)

jrockway•

on March 7, 2010

Yes. You seem to have a problem with that?

mtts•

on March 7, 2010

The sentiment is understandable. The myth of the starving artist suffering for his art was already (mostly) nonsense when it was dreamed up in the romantic era and it's high time, I think, that after two hundred years we start thinking about putting it to rest once and for all.

_delirium•

on March 7, 2010

I'm not sure how much suffering was done, but as far as artists maintaining cheap living arrangements so they can focus on their art without having to earn much income, that's not exactly a myth. From French Impressionist painters living in garrets, to 80s punk rockers living in cheap lofts, it's a pretty common way of self-funding art production...

mtts•

on March 7, 2010

Yeah, but note I said it was a myth dreamed up in the romantic era, which would be around 1800 or so. People have been making art since way, way before that, and some of it is really quite good, despite the creators thinking of themselves primarily as craftsmen rather than as purveyors of a higher cause for which one should be suffering.

nir•

on March 7, 2010

Next time you're at a nice restaurant (or Starbucks) ask your server what their real passion is. Not starving or suffering, but many people still do take low paying work while trying to start a career in writing/acting/etc.

scorciapino•

on March 7, 2010

•on: Gendercide: The worldwide war on baby girls

Meh, this is a war against MEN.

In a society with such a gender imbalance, women can be more picky and some men are left without hope of getting a partner. Without a partner, what are they going to focus on life, if not work? And who is gonna get their money when they die?

Communists may be evil, but they aren't stupid, so it's unlikely they haven't foreseen this.

lionhearted•

on March 7, 2010

> Communists may be evil, but they aren't stupid, so it's unlikely they haven't foreseen this.

I'm in Cambodia right now. Communists are, in fact, quite stupid in addition to being evil. However, that doesn't really pertain to the infanticide thing, which is more a characteristic of very poor areas than communism.

orborde•

on March 7, 2010

It's only great for the women who aren't murdered at birth. I'm not sure there's a clear winner in this gender war interpretation of yours.

EDIT: Did the math and concluded that for a normal sex ratio of ~103 to turn into one of 120, you'd have you be losing 14 of every 100 females through either prenatal abortion or unreported killing at birth.

hga•

on March 7, 2010

Actually, things tend to get really ugly for girls in a society where they become a scarce and valuable resource for their families. E.g. their value is in what can be extracted in the marriage market (note the comments on how this is skewing savings in the PRC), not in what they intrinsically are.

All in all I'd have to say this helps explain why the PRC is ramping up their police state (e.g. see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870424050457458...)

scorciapino•

on March 5, 2010

•on: 2012 Olympics: Police to enter private homes to re...

And the news website reports this abuse as if it was an acceptable and respectable decision! Is there any doubt that mass media's role is just social control?

chaosmachine•

on March 5, 2010

"The atmosphere at the Olympics is gonna be great, a big party, just like Vancouver. Oh, did we mention the police will be enforcing Corporate Fascism? And there will be a really neat stadium, too!"

danudey•

on March 5, 2010

Well in a sense the security at events in Vancouver were supposed to enforce that. They did, with a thankfully human touch (you could persuade them to let you bring in things like chocolate bars, etc., but nothing overt like a bottle of Dr. Pepper).

At most (non-sporting) events in Vancouver, you didn't even get a pat down. Dump your change in a bin, go through a metal detector, get your stuff and leave. Anything non-ferrous in your pockets went unnoticed.

I somehow doubt the UK will be similar.

scorciapino•

on March 4, 2010

•on: Whatever happened to programming?

"For me, there is a sort of metallic flavour to most raw tuna;" - yes, it is called Mercury

gamble•

on March 4, 2010

If you can taste the mercury, you're in trouble.

scorciapino•

on March 4, 2010

That was the point! :)