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Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

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Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#51

Post by rimantas »

psadauskas wrote: post #39

A stack for building web applications in the browser. HTML and CSS are pretty good for documents, but terrible for in-browser GUI apps that we're all building, its just piles of hacks upon hacks. I want someone, probably Google since they own both a major browser and some of the most popular web applications, to re-invent the entire stack. Steal ideas from GUI-focused languages and toolkits, like QML, Swift, AppKit,…

What if in the last 20 years we've learned that browser is not the proper place for applications?

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#53

Post by psadauskas »

hgf888 wrote: post #49
psadauskas wrote: post #39

A stack for building web applications in the browser. HTML and CSS are pretty good for documents, but terrible for in-browser GUI apps that we're all building, its just piles of hacks upon hacks. I want someone, probably Google since they own both a major browser and some of the most popular web applications, to re-invent the entire stack. Steal ideas from GUI-focused languages and toolkits, like QML, Swift, AppKit,…

How about Dart + Polymer?

HTML+CSS+JS being the "assembly language of the web" is a terrible build target, I want a better foundation to build upon.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#54

Post by ww520 »

ashbrahma wrote: post #7

A gmail application that would parse through your email (old and new) and collect all contact information without having to do this manually. Especially helpful if this can be done for older backed up email.

This can be useful. Connecting to Pop3/Imap to collect the data is not too bad.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#55

Post by psadauskas »

rimantas wrote: post #51
psadauskas wrote: post #39

A stack for building web applications in the browser. HTML and CSS are pretty good for documents, but terrible for in-browser GUI apps that we're all building, its just piles of hacks upon hacks. I want someone, probably Google since they own both a major browser and some of the most popular web applications, to re-invent the entire stack. Steal ideas from GUI-focused languages and toolkits, like QML, Swift, AppKit,…

What if in the last 20 years we've learned that browser is not the proper place for applications?

I disagree with that very strongly. I don't want to have to install 100+ desktop apps (and hope they're available for my OS, and up-to-date) to be able to use every service I interact with. If GMail, GCalendar, HN, GitHub, CircleCI, Google Docs, Slack, and every other web application I use every day were not in a browser, the world would be a much worse place. But all of those applications are built upon that pile of hacks, and much harder to write an maintain than they should be.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#56

Post by skraelingjar »

x0x0 wrote: post #3

A gmail clone with privacy monetized via charging me $50 or so a year. I'm currently a fastmail subscriber, and it is nowhere near as good as gmail. Fastmail specifically is deficient in several ways: * gmail conversations. it is threads done correctly. Fastmail half-does this but the seams peek through all over the place. Eg you don't have labels, you have actual folders and those two aren't the same at all. * fastm…

Have you looked into Proton Mail? I use the android app and have had no issues post-beta. I also haven't gotten any spam whatsoever.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#57

Post by jkroso »

psadauskas wrote: post #39

A stack for building web applications in the browser. HTML and CSS are pretty good for documents, but terrible for in-browser GUI apps that we're all building, its just piles of hacks upon hacks. I want someone, probably Google since they own both a major browser and some of the most popular web applications, to re-invent the entire stack. Steal ideas from GUI-focused languages and toolkits, like QML, Swift, AppKit,…

An OS based on IPFS would give you the best of both worlds.

AFAIK browsers are popular because they load apps quickly and without an install step. While native apps let you choose your stack. An OS based on IPFS would load big apps quickly thanks to caching, the install step would go away because there is no difference between remote files and local ones and its still an OS so the app can be written in C or any other language built on top of it.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#58

Post by ge96 »

extrapickles wrote: post #31
ge96 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Build it, Arduino micro, servo, Bluetooth module. What about the battery though.

Can do something even simpler for cars with rear window wipers. Take bike brake line, attach one end to the rear window wiper, and route the other end down to where the camera is and use that motion to run smaller wiper over the camera lens. Probably set you back For cars without it, use a 555 timer in one-shot configuration+mosfet/relay to drive a small 12v DC motor that is all powered off the reversing lights, so i…

Nice this guy with the real specs, me it's just pseudo knowledge.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#59

Post by ge96 »

lj3 wrote: post #29
ge96 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what this would look like. Just a bunch of tiles butted against each other with their respective logos/color schemes?

All in all, it's the same information. Could have different colored tiles for different services, so you can use the avatar icons from the accounts themselves. Then it's just text or image or video. Click to make the tile full screen to show the full post information and all the relevent actions you can take for that service. Could also show the full conversation and/or comments, depending on the service. Or instead…

I thought about these tiles that move (scroll forever) their lifespan is the length of the screen. So you'd have to workout a ratio or something to be similar on all devices.

Each time can be a gateway to a real chat. I don't know what it would be for. But each tile can have a photo, video, text, ads, etc...

Just a continuous stream of content that only ends if no one clicks on it. Max life time (idle) of say 10min.

Re: Ask HN: What do you wish someone would build?

#60

Post by jacknews »

MrZongle2 wrote: post #47

Simple, user-serviceable appliances. Not a fridge with an UHD screen, not a washer with Bluetooth support, not a toaster that talks to the cloud. Just functional appliances with a level of efficiency that existed 25-30 years ago and can be repaired, rather than thrown away because subcomponents are sealed black boxes with little regard to durability. And after that, the really hard work: doing the same with printers.

I agree about simpler, durable, repairable appliances. Eg, http://www.jamesdysonaward.org/projects/lincrevable/

One important aspect is to ditch the electronic interface (buttons, LCD, etc), since it's often the weak point, both for durability and usability.

But IMHO you still need electronic control, for function/efficiency (timers, complex wash cycles, PID temperature control, dirt sensors, etc, etc), as well as usability.

However the UI should be replaced with a single on/off button, and bluetooth; the complex interface becomes a smartphone app or web page, which can be upgraded, hacked, and is in any case much more usable than LCDs, buttons and poorly designed constricted UI. And if there were a few cheap (super-mass-produced) general-purpose standard controller boards in use, rather than each manufacturer/model having a custom board, then repair/replacement of the electronics would be easy too.

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