Hacker News: achow

Strange article. Blanket statement that most Indians don't read since English books are not sold in large numbers. The 'Jaipur book festival' that the article refers to published the following stats..

Indian languages together accounted for roughly ~80% of titles published, with English making up a smaller share.

The Indian publishing industry is one of the most prominent publishing industries across the globe. Indian publishing industry at the second spot in the world (English publications) with approximately 19,000 publishing houses across the country publishing approximately 90,000 titles per year according to 2020-21 stats (Mallaya, 2016).

The EIBF International Bookselling Markets Report 2023 (EIBF Report, 2024) affirms that India is the sixth-largest book market in the world, and currently the second-largest market for books in English, right behind the United States. It also figures India’s current growth rate at 7%.

https://jaipurbookmark.org/key-statistics

Apple's Xcode Now Supports the Claude Agent SDK

achow — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 06:37:50 +0000

Article URL: https://www.anthropic.com/news/apple-xcode-claude-agent-sdk

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46882278

Points: 3

# Comments: 2

CATL unveils first mass-production sodium-ion battery for vehicles

achow — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 06:07:36 +0000

Article URL: https://carnewschina.com/2026/01/22/catl-unveils-worlds-first-mass-production-sodium-ion-battery-for-commercial-vehicles/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46806399

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by achow in "Over 36,500 killed in Iran's deadliest massacre, documents reveal"

achow — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 08:26:43 +0000

Towards the end it says..

Amiry-Moghaddam of Iran Human Rights said the death toll could be higher than 20,000, based on evidence reviewed by his organization.

New comment by achow in "TSMC Risk"

achow — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 04:52:20 +0000

> I'm almost certain that you'll hear in the upcoming earnings reports that big tech sent ..billions in advance payment to secure memory supply years from now.

And this would be no different than investing billions in R&D (Ex. Meta and AR) for future payouts.

Or, Apple buying 10000 advance CNC machines for their manufacturer. In this case timeline for future payout is perhaps much shorter but the pertinent point will be Apple invested in Capex upfront.

New comment by achow in "The next two years of software engineering"

achow — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:11:16 +0000

One indicator is intern hiring. I have seen the intern budgets getting slashed by 60-70% (4 interns in 2025 vs 14 interns in 2024).

New comment by achow in "They graduated from Stanford. Due to AI, they can't find a job"

achow — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 10:16:56 +0000

https://archive.is/yPBtl

They graduated from Stanford. Due to AI, they can't find a job

achow — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 10:16:17 +0000

Article URL: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-12-19/they-graduated-from-stanford-due-to-ai-they-cant-find-job

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46409989

Points: 7

# Comments: 4

Leaker Who Apple Is Suing Says 'Screw It,' Here's the Foldable iPhone Early

achow — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 18:00:47 +0000

Article URL: https://gizmodo.com/leaker-who-apple-is-suing-says-screw-it-heres-the-foldable-iphone-early-2000703449

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46394451

Points: 9

# Comments: 2

New comment by achow in "From devastation to wonder as Kangaroo Island bushfires lead to cave discoveries"

achow — Sun, 21 Dec 2025 07:08:18 +0000

Curious about the bushfire and recovery there after, found this from Lonely Planet (2023)..

A dangerous mix of hot weather, highly flammable eucalyptus oils in the air and strong winds meant that flames quickly scorched their way through the vegetation, burning almost half of the land in the process.

Australia’s native flora and fauna regenerates and even thrives after burns; in fact, some seeds will only germinate after a fire.

Kangaroo Island has turned out to be astonishingly resilient. Just 48 hours after the flames died down, a rock-like fungus started growing on the ash.

As the fungus digested the ash, it changed the pH levels of the soil, allowing other microorganisms and eventually plants to take root. Some of the plants, says McKelvey, hadn’t been seen for decades. Unlike on the Australian mainland, there were no rabbits to eat the new growth – meaning there was nothing to hold back the regeneration.

It helped that donations flooded in from all over the world after the fires. This money helped to eliminate some of the feral pigs and cats that had been damaging the local ecosystem and killing endangered wildlife.

Three years on, Flinders Chase National Park is as lush as ever, with thick undergrowth providing shelter for the island’s camera-shy wallabies.

The only reminder of the fires that ravaged this land? The blackened branches of eucalyptus trees poking out from the greenery below, giving the landscape an eerie, post-apocalyptic air.

Providing a nesting ground for birds and habitat for insects, even these uncomfortable reminders will disappear in a couple of years, as they get swallowed up by the island’s resilient vegetation.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/kangaroo-island-south-aust...