Hacker News: CaptainZapp

New comment by CaptainZapp in "More than 10 firms pay up to $100k a month for access to Truth Social posts"

CaptainZapp — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:37:07 +0000

> The second the next president is in office every other country will adapt to working with them, just as been happening every 4-8 years.

That may well be, with one big difference.

Nobody and no country will trust the US or their commitments ever again.

Larry Ellison Bet It All on the A.I. Boom. Will He Be the Face of the AI Bubble?

CaptainZapp — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:06:43 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/magazine/larry-ellison-ai-oracle.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49121220

Points: 43

# Comments: 19

Zuckerberg Urges Meta to Explore Working with Polymarket and Kalshi

CaptainZapp — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 03:16:06 +0000

Article URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/technology/zuckerberg-meta-polymarket-kalshi.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48728115

Points: 10

# Comments: 3

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Zuckerberg's war on whistleblowers"

CaptainZapp — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 14:02:13 +0000

I just paid CHF 15.90 for the e-book version of Careless People.

Congratulations Assholes!

New comment by CaptainZapp in "An Ohio Valley 100k-watt FM signal is severed in broad daylight"

CaptainZapp — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:38:52 +0000

Sure, art is subjective to some extent. But reducing the value of a Henry Moore piece to the value of the material is, well, not very insightful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Moore

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Oracle slashes 30k jobs"

CaptainZapp — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:13:05 +0000

The split must have happened in the mid nineties (I think) with SQL Server 6 and Sybase 10. The next version after 4.9.

It's notable that 10 was the worst Sybase version, ever.

Source: I worked for Sybase Professional Services from 95 - 99.

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Oracle slashes 30k jobs"

CaptainZapp — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:52:00 +0000

SQL Server was Sybase until (I think) version 4.9, just rebranded as Microsoft SQL Server.

Then the two versions split and I don't think that any of the Sybase source code remains in what is SQL Server today.

That said, a lot of the concepts (like a significant number of system stored procedures) and also TSQL remain almost the same, with small differences (except for system functions, which SQL Server has a lot more functionality).

When you come from the Sybase world getting a start on SQL Server is quite straight forward when it comes to handling the database.

Internals and other low level nuts and bolts differ nowadays, of course.

A Technology for a Low-Trust Society

CaptainZapp — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:09:28 +0000

Article URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/03/central-lie-prediction-markets/686250/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47270766

Points: 11

# Comments: 2

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Bet on German Train Delays"

CaptainZapp — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:41:42 +0000

> In defense of Deutsche Bahn, countries with comparable infrastructure but more reliable transport have put in about twice as much money per capita for the last 30 years at least.

Why is that "in defense?"

When you let your infrastructure rot away since the 90s of the last century for something as complex as a train network by brutally underinvesting.

Then you seriously fucked up. There's nothing to defend here.

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Dyson settles forced labour suit in landmark UK case"

CaptainZapp — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:59:57 +0000

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenVMS

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Skip the Tips: A game to select "No Tip" but dark patterns try to stop you"

CaptainZapp — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:51:49 +0000

That's a matter of taste.

I, for one, can't stand this fake chumminess you often experience in American restaurants.

New comment by CaptainZapp in "We mourn our craft"

CaptainZapp — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:14:03 +0000

AI can’t do your job

But an AI salesman can convince your boss to fire you and replace you with a chatbot that can’t do your job.

Cory Doctorow

Switzerland's Extraordinary Medieval Library

CaptainZapp — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:14:58 +0000

Article URL: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260202-inside-switzerlands-extraordinary-medieval-library

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46913062

Points: 28

# Comments: 2

New comment by CaptainZapp in "AI on Australian travel company website sent tourists to nonexistent hot springs"

CaptainZapp — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 13:51:37 +0000

It doesn't always work out, though

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/air-canada-cha...

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Canada Announces Divorce from America"

CaptainZapp — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:11:30 +0000

Davos? Lefty elites?

I rest my case.

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Google removes AI health summaries"

CaptainZapp — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:55:40 +0000

An online course, even if offered by a reputable medical institution, hardly backs your argument.

'Yamagata is ramen': Japan's city of noodle fiends revels in 'capital' status

CaptainZapp — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 05:33:52 +0000

Article URL: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/07/yamagata-ramen-japan-noodles

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46522967

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by CaptainZapp in "HSBC blocks its app due to F-Droid-installed Bitwarden"

CaptainZapp — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 12:16:47 +0000

> People in Switzerland and the EU are being de-banked by local banks because of US pressure allowing them to force any bank that wants to use USD

That's not quit accurate.

American citizens will indeed have a very hard time to open a bank account in Switzerland. But the reason is not so much free speech than FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) [0] [1]

The requirements to host bank accounts for Americans are so onerous that banks rather forgo business with such clients than having to deal with the legal mess it incurs.

Another reason for a bank not wanting to deal with customers are if they are on a sanctions list. People winding up on such lists usually don't do so, because they said something nasty about Mr. Trump.

This, alas, may change if you look who got sanctioned in recent times just for raising the ire of the president (such as EC commissioners or ICC judges).

[0] https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/tax-policy/foreign-a... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance...

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn"

CaptainZapp — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:31:03 +0000

Trains are still great. Especially the newer generation ICEs are beautiful trains and very comfortable.

Just don't count on them that they bring you to your destination in a timely manner.

New comment by CaptainZapp in "Kidnapped by Deutsche Bahn"

CaptainZapp — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:29:31 +0000

> we look at Germany trains (and Switzerland trains) as always on time

When taking an international train from Germany to Switzerland, don't count on it that it will run through to the final destination.

SBB (Swiss National Railways) started to block German trains if their delay is more than 15 minutes (so, basically every DB train) and won't allow the train on their network.

This is only peripherically educational. Constantly delayed DB trains completely fouled up the scheduling on the extremely dense Swiss network. So they just won't allow it anymore.

On a sidenote: In 2024 SBB trains were 93.2% punctual. Connectivity punctuality (where you have to catch a connecting train) was 98.7%. A train is counted as punctual if the delay is less than 3 minutes (half the German figure).