Hacker News: ipcress_file

New comment by ipcress_file in "21,864 Yugoslavian .yu domains"

ipcress_file — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 22:31:13 +0000

There's a good podcast called "Remembering Yugoslavia."

New comment by ipcress_file in "GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone without requiring personal information"

ipcress_file — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:47:32 +0000

The bill to watch on age verification is S-209 (the "S" because it originates in the Senate). Section 12(2) includes the requirements for potential verification methods. https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/bill/S-209/first-...

Keep an eye on michaelgeist.ca. If there are petitions to sign to oppose it, you'll probably find out there.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

ipcress_file — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:59:09 +0000

This -- and you might just learn how to conduct some research along the way.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

ipcress_file — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:56:40 +0000

Avoid the theory-heavy disciplines. You won't be told what to think (as often) if you take History and Geography rather than Sociology and Gender Studies.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

ipcress_file — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:52:41 +0000

Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out for this!

New comment by ipcress_file in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

ipcress_file — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:50:53 +0000

Do you have any evidence to back this up or is it speculative?

My institution subscribes to TurnItIn's AI detector. The documentation is quite clear that the system is tuned in a manner that produces a significant number of false negatives and minimizes false positives. They also state that they don't report anything under "20% AI-generated" content.

So the marketing I've seen is intended to reassure skittish administrators that the software is not going to generate false accusations.

That being said, I have no idea whether the marketing claims are true. The software is a black box.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Training students to prove they're not robots is pushing them to use more AI"

ipcress_file — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 21:33:50 +0000

This assumes that the assignments and the exam cover the same material. That's not always the case.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Closure of the Weatheradio service in Canada"

ipcress_file — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 01:49:28 +0000

So I'm guessing that this is what those stylish wood grain Weatheradio cubes in the Radio Shack catalog were for?

New comment by ipcress_file in "There are many ways to read Hacker News"

ipcress_file — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 03:06:15 +0000

It's missing one:

gopher://hngopher.com/1

New comment by ipcress_file in "Leaving Google has actively improved my life"

ipcress_file — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:58:53 +0000

You might be better off with duckduckstart.com instead. It's the best of both worlds: you get Google results via startpage by default and can use duckduckgo !bangs when necessary.

New comment by ipcress_file in "A Chinese official’s use of ChatGPT revealed an intimidation operation"

ipcress_file — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 02:52:59 +0000

Good point. Perhaps that's what's happened here.

New comment by ipcress_file in "A Chinese official’s use of ChatGPT revealed an intimidation operation"

ipcress_file — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:56:37 +0000

Why did they ban the user rather than informing American intelligence and continuing to monitor the user?

They just gave up a source that could have provided info for years.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Nova Launcher added Facebook and Google Ads tracking"

ipcress_file — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 03:32:04 +0000

I've been using Nova Launcher to mimic webOS for almost 10 years. I might be slightly too resistant to change!

New comment by ipcress_file in "Nova Launcher added Facebook and Google Ads tracking"

ipcress_file — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 03:24:39 +0000

I'm still using an old version with the network access blocked. I'll use it until it stops working.

If anyone knows of another launcher with app drawer tabs, let me know.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Who invented the transistor?"

ipcress_file — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 22:22:10 +0000

My house once had knob and tube wiring. Over the past 15 years I have replaced most of what I assume is the second-generation cloth-covered wiring (which dates back to the 40s, 50s, and 60s). Every once in a while, I come across the insulators from an older electrical system, but most of the wire that went with those insulators was pulled out long ago. The only remains are short bits of wire that were wrapped around the insulators.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2026?"

ipcress_file — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 15:48:08 +0000

I am also not a professional programmer, but learned enough C to do some programming on hobby projects a few years back. I started with Ashley Mills' videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCNJWVn9MJuPtPyljb-he...

If you've already programmed in Python you'll know enough to recognize that he makes a few logical leaps in the later videos (where you have to read up on topics to fill in the gaps), but overall I thought they were really good.

I also liked NASA's "The Power of 10: Rules for Developing Safety-Critical Code" and their C style guide from 1994, both of which helped me achieve the simplicity and clarity I was after.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Leak confirms OpenAI is preparing ads on ChatGPT for public roll out"

ipcress_file — Sat, 29 Nov 2025 13:59:18 +0000

I love this. Now I'll be able to read student papers with ads in the middle. "Are you enjoying our exploration of state Shinto in late nineteenth century Japan? Visit Kyoto with Japan Airlines this summer! Use the code 'JAL26' for special savings!"

New comment by ipcress_file in "Canadian military will rely on public servants to boost its ranks by 300k"

ipcress_file — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:52:50 +0000

I believe this is a crafty method of reviving "Participaction" without Hal and Joanne.

Well played, Mr. Carney!

New comment by ipcress_file in "Canadian military will rely on public servants to boost its ranks by 300k"

ipcress_file — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 03:48:06 +0000

Not quite. Late in the war, the British Navy landed British troops who burned the White House.

About 85% of all Canadian militiamen remained at home when called up in 1812. In 1812 and 1813, British regulars and Indigenous warriors (from both the U.S. and Canada) invaded Michigan and Ohio, but didn't get any further than that before the U.S. counter-attacked.

New comment by ipcress_file in "Vancouver Stock Exchange: Scam capital of the world (1989) [pdf]"

ipcress_file — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 19:29:31 +0000

It dates back to the construction of Kingston Penitentiary. They needed a rule to determine who would serve their time in local prisons and who would be sent to the Pen.