news.ycombinator.com
Online Computer Science BS Degree?https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2599618Does anyone know of a good online undergraduate Computer Science program? My girlfriend is almost done her Masters of Science in Nursing online at Vanderbilt. All her courses are online, she does clinicals at local hospitals and private practices, and flies to Nashville for a long weekend every couple of months. I've been looking for something similar for Computer Science, but can only seem to find programs at scam schools. If it's possible to get the credentials which will give you the ability to suture and prescribe narcotics online, shouldn't computer science be handled similarly?Yes, I am aware of the social implications (e.g. college is a great place to meet people, develop as a person, etc...). I did attend a traditional college, and have about 85 credits. The difficulty is, my business started making money, so I'm too busy to attend scheduled courses. The university wouldn't work with me, at all, so I stopped going. I see value in having a degree, and would like to finish, but iMay 30, 2011 3:28 PM
news.ycombinator.com
Offer HN: Advice from PhD on NLP, machine learning, and data monetizationhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1839611Do you have questions about machine learning, natural language processing, or data monetization in general?In particular, I'll field questions on:* recommender systems* profit optimization in ecommerce sites* autotagging* creative ways that NLP + ML can add value to your product and give you a competitive advantage* whatever else you like.If you have a specific technical question about ML or NLP, please post it on the MetaOptimize Q+A site (http://metaoptimize.com/qa/) and post a link here as a comment. I'll give you the detailed answer over there, since the Q+A there is designed to be archival and is more searchable. Other sorts of questions (like "How do I turn this data into money?") can go in this thread directly. If it seems like a longer discussion, email me at joseph at metaoptimize dot com and we can talk about setting up a Skype chat.p.s. I'm also hiring people for remote project work, if you are kick-ass at ML or NLP, or you simply can ship correct code really fast. Email me Oct 27, 2010 5:37 PM
news.ycombinator.com
Ask HN: What is Gravity?https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1629794While watching a documentary that mentioned gravity (forgive me the particulars escape me at the moment) my 8yo son reached across my lap and tapped the space-bar pausing the video. He then turned toward me and asked, ‘what is gravity?’Now, in our house we require explanations for actions because we are becoming, sadly too late in life, convinced that being on purpose is paramount. Because it is our opinion that if you do not understand, even at the most base level (epistemological questions aside), why you are doing something then you will never have any power over what you do. When any of us does something that results in negative consequences we try to be in the habit of either tracing down the root of our reasoning or admitting that we had none.To this end we have made much of the distinction between description and explanation. Briefly; all explanations include description but not the reverse. When we ask one another for an explanation and instead receive only description it has bAug 24, 2010 2:04 PM
borntechie.com
Recoupe your Windows PC after a major virus attackhttp://www.borntechie.com/entry/recoupe-your-windows-pc-after-a-major-virus-attack/A computer virus attack on your system can render it crippled in many functional areas, leaving you helpless with glitches galore. It can change your registry entries, change security settings, delete/modify Windows files/Start-up items or run processes in the background. This can affect the performance of your Windows PC, which makes it vulnerable to even more virus attacks and unsuspected problems.Feb 11, 2010 5:18 AM
bing.com
Ganpatipule: Idyllic beach havenhttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a8bf5dd9c874bee9e1b401457ae62b7&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbangaloremirror.indiatimes.com%2Fganpatipule-idyllic-beach-haven%2Farticleshow%2F22144200.cms&c=15023226423207133577&mkt=en-usA quaint little town along the Konkan Coast of Maharashtra, Ganpatipule is a popular beach haven. Legend has it that Lord Ganapati (a Hindu God), on being offended by a native lady, changed his ...May 14, 2009 7:04 AM
news.ycombinator.com
Ask HN: Testing Out of College?https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=573504Has anybody reading done it? What's the experience been like?I'm not referring to just doing a lot of tests so that you can put them towards credit, but to getting a university degree without ever attending a lecture, and proven one's knowledge by getting tested on it.I had been mulling this over after Eliezer linked to Excelsior College Exams but I let it slide because I didn't see any examinations that seemed to be at a high enough level that I actually believed a degree would be granted, even if you did technically have enough credits. I learned differently courtesy of www.testingoutofcollege.com (one of the ugliest, most poorly designed websites ever)I'm asking out of curiousity, and a desire to acquire the credentialling/signalling benefits in the minimum time. Or B.A. = Easier VisasApr 22, 2009 4:10 AM
news.ycombinator.com
On Buying Silicon Valleyhttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=500785Silicon Valley 2If one wishes to replicate the Valley's success and status as a startup hub one needs to mimic the ecosystem and support structures that have grown up around it, the angels, VC funds, (money) legal expertise, financial infrastructure (enabling infrastructure) and entrepreneurial culture (residual). The money and enabling infrastructure will accrete around the residual if it exists, quickly or slowly. Paul Graham has proposed that for US$30m-$100m this could probably be achieved in any US city fulfilling certain criteria, with greater or lesser likelihood of success dependent on the degree to which it fulfils them.The money can realistically come from three types of sources, governments of whatever level, private individuals, or corporate bodies, profit-oriented or not, or some combination of the three, acting in concert. Given the electoral dynamics they labour under it is unlikely that any politician or party in serious danger of being out of power 10 years after the fMar 2, 2009 11:29 PM
iht.com
From books, Obama found his voicehttp://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/19/arts/19read.php?page=1Obama has said that he wrote "very bad poetry" in college and his biographer David Mendell suggests that he once "harbored some thoughts of writing fiction as an avocation." For that matter, "Dreams From My Father" evinces an instinctive storytelling talent (which would later serve the author well on the campaign trail) and that odd combination of empathy and detachment gifted novelists possess. In that memoir, Obama seamlessly managed to convey points of view different from his own (a harbinger, perhaps, of his promises to bridge partisan divides and his ability to channel voters' hopes and dreams) while conjuring the many places he lived during his peripatetic childhood. He is at once the solitary outsider who learns to stop pressing his nose to the glass and the coolly omniscient observer providing us with a choral view of his past.Jan 20, 2009 9:04 AM
news.ycombinator.com
Trader Joe's Is Not Your Average Business (2002)https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=340188One day a few years ago, a guy at a Boston financial firm called up Trader Joe's headquarters and said he'd like to tour a store with a group of visiting Japanese investors. The brass at Trader Joe's was blunt: "You can't come." Not "We'd rather you didn't," or "Please don't." The visit was officially forbidden.This led to a predictable go-round about it being a free country and all, and Trader Joe's finally said okay, okay, you can come, but you don't get a tour. And as the investment company guy tells it, the tension in the air during the visit was thick enough to cut with a machete.Well, you probably can't blame the folk at Trader Joe's. They've got a phenomenal thing going, and don't want to give it all away. Some observers think that sales per square foot at Trader Joe's are hovering at about $1,000 -- twice the level of typical supermarkets. And with between about 70% to 85% of its products being private label (depending on who you ask), Trader Joe's has reached a benchmark otherOct 22, 2008 4:19 PM
news.ycombinator.com
Ask YC: How can I guide my brother towards success in school/life?https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=258688For certain reasons of family dysfunction I have a greater than usual parental role with my youngest brother. I want to ask YC for advice to help my brother become successful in school and life in general.Some background information is necessary. I am the eldest sibling and was the typical high achiever in school and university. He was also successful in school at an early age, and used to joke about beating my own achievements. I encouraged this friendly rivalry, but over the last few years he seems to have withdrawn. I think he is somewhat ashamed of this which makes him afraid to be honest with me. This makes it difficult for me to know if I am helping him or if he even wants my help.He was one of the top students at the local public school and just managed to get in the best public school in the state. Entrance to this school is based only upon academic merit, not money. He's been there two years and since has seemed to become disillusioned with academic achievement. This might be Jul 28, 2008 3:40 AM
torrentspy.com
Torrentspy shutdownhttp://www.torrentspy.com/Friends of TorrentSpy,We have decided on our own, not due to any court order or agreement, to bring the Torrentspy.com search engine to an end and thus we permanently closed down worldwide on March 24, 2008.The legal climate in the USA for copyright, privacy of search requests, and links to torrent files in search results is simply too hostile. We spent the last two years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, defending the rights of our users and ourselves.Ultimately the Court demanded actions that in our view were inconsistent with our privacy policy, traditional court rules, and International law; therefore, we now feel compelled to provide the ultimate method of privacy protection for our users - permanent shutdown.It was a wild ride,The TorrentSpy Team"Big Brother in the form of an increasingly powerful government and in an increasingly powerful private sector will pile the records high with reasons why privacy should give way to national security, to law and order [...] and the lMar 29, 2008 11:35 PM
bing.com
Skybus: The trade-offs of no-frills, low-cost flightshttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a8974bd3c44472498d6b18535888b61&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Ftravel%2Fla-trw-skybus-sandiego-flight-20aug07-story.html&c=11407112256609561755&mkt=en-usMidway between San Diego and Columbus, Ohio, on Skybus Flight 241, attendant Olivia Champ had had enough of “the $10 question.” Yes, there were people who had paid only $10 for a seat on the July 16 ...Aug 20, 2007 12:00 AM
bing.com
Memories of Matsukohttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a89b72d27514179a8dfbd665224e973&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2006%2Ftv%2Freviews%2Fmemories-of-matsuko-1200512629%2F&c=12447128366527753971&mkt=en-usGenres and CGI technology collide in a musical parody of Japanese melodramas about fallen women in the sleek but soulless "Memories of Matsuko." An adventurous distrib could reap surprise dividends, ...Oct 15, 2006 12:49 PM
bing.com
Rejuvenate in Ganapatipulehttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a8bf5dd9c874bee9e1b401457ae62b7&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rediff.com%2Fgetahead%2Freport%2Frest%2F20060622.htm&c=15245681020806502909&mkt=en-usLove to travel? We continue our reader-driven getaway series. Sunita Kamath, a software professional from Pune, recommends Ganpatipule for a rejuvenating experience. I grabbed this opportunity and set ...Jun 22, 2006 3:56 AM
bing.com
Combinatorial solid-state chemistry of inorganic materialshttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a8966850fe441d1bd3dac9de7200c08&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fnmat1157&c=9984681213134851209&mkt=en-usThroughout history, scientists and engineers have relied on the slow and serendipitous trial-and-error process for discovering and developing new materials. In ...Jun 30, 2004 5:00 PM
bing.com
Bevacizumab plus Irinotecan, Fluorouracil, and Leucovorin for Metastatic Colorectal Cancerhttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a8a420d188441ceaa002ce24cd58ffc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nejm.org%2Fdoi%2Ffull%2F10.1056%2Fnejmoa032691&c=399101393201561151&mkt=en-usBevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor, has shown promising preclinical and clinical activity against metastatic colorectal cancer, particularly in combination ...Jun 2, 2004 5:00 PM
bing.com
ZBrush painting-modeling now Mac OS X compatiblehttp://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=6a899ca29e0f4592ab00260285e0aca5&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.macworld.com%2Farticle%2F157775%2Fzbrush-2.html&c=6806554994682135642&mkt=en-usPixologic has released ZBrush 1.55b, an update to their 2D, 2.5D and 3D painting and modeling tool. ZBrush is an image creation and processing tool, powered by a real-time rendering engine. Based on ...Jan 30, 2003 4:00 PM
