<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: gwf</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=gwf</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2026 03:51:20 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=gwf" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Microsoft hasn't had a coherent GUI strategy since Petzold"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>An honest accounting of this history has to call out Sinofsky's role, and it's not pretty. He nearly killed the company in pursuit of power, insisting that everything be brought under his control. Who pushed in 2005 that online and search <i>had</i> to be organized under Windows? That was Sinofsky. He forced the engineering team that most needed to move fast onto three‑year product cycles--sheer insanity, and just one of a 1000 bad calls that ultimately contributed to his ouster from Microsoft. And when it came time to plan his own exit from Microsoft, who did Sinofsky turn to? Jeffrey Epstein, of course, because that's what normal people do. Treat everything Sinofsky writes as an attempt to launder his reputation--then add another layer of skepticism on top of that--because Steven Sinofsky does not live in the same moral universe as the people whose careers and products he derailed.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:59:36 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47665269</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47665269</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47665269</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "How many products does Microsoft have named 'Copilot'?"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>It's the new .NET in that it been so overused as to become almost meaningless.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 20:28:33 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47643038</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47643038</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47643038</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "An illustrated guide to automatic sparse differentiation"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Not trying to "Schmidhuber" this or anything, but I think my 1999 NIPS paper gives a cleaner derivation and explanation for working on the Jacobian.  In it, I derive a Jacobian operator that allows you to compute arbitrary products between the Jacobian and any vector, with complexity that is comparable to standard backprop.<p>[*] G.W. Flake & B.A. Pearlmutter, "Differentiating Functions of the Jacobian with Respect to the Weights," <a href="https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper_files/paper/1999/file/b9f94c77652c9a76fc8a442748cd54bd-Paper.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://proceedings.neurips.cc/paper_files/paper/1999/file/b...</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 30 Apr 2025 16:42:51 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43847734</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43847734</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43847734</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Show HN: Fractal Garden – An Exhibition of Mathematical Beauty"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>This is so nice to randomly come across.  Let know if there's something that I can do to help (I am the author of CBofN).  You can reach me at <my first name>@<my last name>.org.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 10 Oct 2022 17:03:54 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33153851</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33153851</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33153851</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Show HN: Fractal Garden – An Exhibition of Mathematical Beauty"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Really nice job and thanks for the shout out to my book.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 10 Oct 2022 17:02:02 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33153827</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33153827</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33153827</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "When Carl Sagan sued Apple twice (2014)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Well said. (cough, cough, Schmidhuber, cough.)</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2022 05:16:42 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32079239</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32079239</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32079239</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "When Carl Sagan sued Apple twice (2014)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I don't think this comparison is fair to LeCun.  He has literally been at the forefront of ML for over 40 years, starting with his PhD thesis and continuing to the present, and his public fame is entirely a byproduct of the awareness of the impact of his work.  (Disclaimer: I've known Yann for decades and worked down the hall from him during his NEC years.)</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 10 Jul 2022 15:08:11 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32045446</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32045446</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32045446</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "I got hacked and Facebook banned me"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I recently learned that someone is seeking to impersonate me on IG.  They've created a new IG profile w/ my name, photo, etc., and now have more followers and friends than I do.  They've even started to friend people within my network, and have sent DMs acting as if they are me.<p>Meta / FB / IG have a reporting form for when identity theft is involved, and it requires that you send supporting documents like your driver's license and a picture of you holding the drivers license.  I did all of that.<p>Here is the entirety of their response:<p>"Hi,<p>We have fewer people available to review your request due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.<p>We’re only able to review requests for the most urgent cases. This means we can’t review your case right now. Please try again at a later date. Thank you for understanding.<p>The Instagram Team"</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2022 16:05:49 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31583954</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31583954</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31583954</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Dall-E 2"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Your second group represents the core "inner loop" of about a thousand revolutionary applications.  Take the basic capability of translating image->text->speech (and the reverse), install it on a wearable device that can "see" an environment, and add domain-specific agents.  From this setup, you're not too far away from having an AI that can whisper guidance into your ear like a co-pilot, enabling scenarios like:<p>1. step-by-step guidance for a blind person navigating the use of a public restroom.<p>2. an EMS AI helping you to save someone's life in an emergency.<p>3. an AI coach that can teach you a new sport or activity.<p>4. an omnipresent domain-expert that can show you how to make a gourmet meal, repair an engine, or perform a traditional tea ceremony.<p>5. a personal assistant that can anticipate your information need (what's that person's name?  where's the exit?  who's the most interesting person here? etc.) and whisper the answer in your ear just as you need it.<p>Now, add all of the above to an AR capability where you can now think or speak of something interesting and complex, and have it visualized right before your eyes.  With this capability, I could augment my imagination with almost super-human capabilities that allow one to solve complex problems almost as if it was an internal mental monologue.<p>All of these scenarios are just a short hop from where were at now, so mark my words: we will have "borgs" like those described above long before we reach anything like general AI.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 06 Apr 2022 15:48:29 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30933529</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30933529</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30933529</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Old towns eager for new blood sell Italy homes for $1"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>> PS: If you have italian ancestors and are interested in getting your citizenship let me know, I'm writing a blog post with my experience so far :)<p>I am very interested in the citizenship process.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 31 Oct 2021 18:31:50 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29059149</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29059149</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29059149</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Cynthia Rudin wins the 2021 AAAI Squirrel AI Award"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I was also one of Cynthia's Ph.D. advisors when she was a graduate student at Princeton, some twenty years ago.  It was obvious to me then that she would go on to do great things, so it's delightful to read this news this morning.<p>My fondest memory of Cynthia, however, has nothing to do with science, and everything to do with just being a kind person.  We were at the NEC Research Institute's company picnic where they had an inflatable dragon for the kids to jump around within its interior.  Me, Cynthia, and my wife went inside without any kids and jumped around like idiots for a while.  Cynthia and my wife got bored, so I stayed behind for One More Big Bounce.  With the epic bounce, I also succeeded in cracking a vertebra, nearly passing out on the spot from the pain.  Eventually, I would crawl out, an ambulance was called, and I was brought to the Princeton ER.<p>I would have a full recovery, but I was in the ER for several hours that night.  Cynthia came with us to the ER, and when she saw how uncomfortable I was on the gurney, she went back to her dorm to retrieve her favorite blanket, so that I would have even a small comfort.  I am not sure how long she stayed, but I know that she was there with me longer than anyone else except my wife.<p>Anyhow, she's a lovely human being and I am honored and proud to have known her and witnessed the origins of her career.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 12 Oct 2021 16:26:53 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28841645</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28841645</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28841645</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Sir Clive Sinclair has died"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>As a 14 year old in 1981, I bought a Timex Sinclair from Sears with money that I had been saving up for a over a year.  Best.  Purchase.  Ever.  What I learned on that $99 machine would change the course of my life.<p>Thank you, Sir Clive, for helping me to find my calling.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 17 Sep 2021 00:58:40 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28559811</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28559811</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28559811</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "How many real numbers exist? New proof moves closer to an answer"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p><p><pre><code>  for a in range(1, Infinity):
      for b in range(a):
          print(a-b, "/" , b+1)
</code></pre>
Will print out:<p><pre><code>      1/1, 2/1, 1/2, 3/1, 2/2, 1/3, 4/1, 3/2, 2/3, 1/4, ...
</code></pre>
Hence, we've just mapped all rationals (with duplicates) to a single linear list.  Since any linear list can always be mapped to the naturals (1, 2, 3, ...), they have the same cardinality.<p>QED</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 17 Jul 2021 21:24:31 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27868974</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27868974</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27868974</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Human-monkey chimera embryos created in lab"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>1996, Jose Cibelli implanted his own DNA into a cow egg, then let it divide into 32 chimeric stem cells before destroying it.  I heard about the news in 1998 and was blown away by how little anyone seemed to care.<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/12/us/researchers-claim-embryonic-cell-mix-of-human-and-cow.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/12/us/researchers-claim-embr...</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 23 Apr 2021 23:26:57 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26920461</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26920461</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26920461</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Tunguska: Ternary Computer Emulator (2008)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Yep, which is exactly what I did here:<p><a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82751815.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82751815.pdf</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2021 19:34:47 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636697</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636697</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636697</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Tunguska: Ternary Computer Emulator (2008)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>None.  The point of the paper was the proof technique, which was later extended to include a large family of constrained motion planning problems (i.e., problems that previously were of an unknown computational complexity could be easily mapped to the framework, thereby proving that they were PSPACE-complete).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2021 19:34:08 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636683</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636683</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25636683</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Tunguska: Ternary Computer Emulator (2008)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Agreed, not with this particular design.  However, you can absolutely do this just ternary numbers.  You loose the ability to encode 3^n states (and are stuck w/ just 2^n), but the middle state can then be repurposed to indicate if the computation is complete (or not) as of yet.<p>I basically used this sort of design in a dual-rail logic framework which had 4 line-states per "data" line pair, two of which were real data bits, a third indicated unknown vs. unknown, and the fourth was unused.<p>See <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82751815.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82751815.pdf</a>, but beware that even though it doesn't look at all like ternary numbers in use, it absolute is.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 03 Jan 2021 06:17:44 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25619937</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25619937</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25619937</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Tunguska: Ternary Computer Emulator (2008)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Looking at the documentation, it reads as if the architecture has a proper clock that synchronizes all computation.  Furthermore, an emulator would naturally have a global notion of time, synchronously updating all internal states in a linear sweep.<p>However, in hardware this model could be made clockless / asynchronous, such that computations go as fast as they can.  The extra state of "unknown" can be interpreted as "not all required inputs are ready yet".  Some care would be needed to buffer loops in a recurrent circuit, but that's about the only extra complication.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 02 Jan 2021 23:20:17 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25617619</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25617619</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25617619</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Building computers out of sliding block puzzles [pdf]"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I don't think that you'd ever want to literally have sliding mechanics.  However, the dual rail logic used is a type of reversible computation.  Thus, thermodynamically it is theoretically much more efficient than standard (irreversible) computation because bits are never erased (which accounts for most of the energy loss).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2020 23:41:38 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24937426</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24937426</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24937426</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by gwf in "Building computers out of sliding block puzzles [pdf]"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Not-so-humble-brag: I am the first author in the first paper referenced in the linked PDF.  I came up with the original PSPACE-completeness proof as well as the model of computation from which this is all based.  So, yeah, it's kind of awesome to read this 22 years later while browsing HN.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 29 Oct 2020 23:38:53 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24937409</link><dc:creator>gwf</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24937409</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24937409</guid></item></channel></rss>