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Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

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41–47 of 47 posts

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#41

I'd pay/crowdfund a Linux Desktop Environment that is as good as OSX one. Some features I'd beparticularly interested are to easier customise the trackpad, drag n drop, anything that makes a good user interface. Not bells and whistles.

forgot to mention an e-ink laptop/monitor

Like this? https://getfreewrite.com/

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#42

This: http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-time-machine Barring that, even a little 2x3 set of home/end/pgup/pgdn/delete keys with an adhesive backing and Bluetooth connection that I could stick over the power button on a MacBook Pro to quadruple my productivity. Even a year in, I feel like I navigate code at less than half speed trying to use the 2-3 key, 2 hand chords that those basic keys require on a Mac…

You can buy an external Lenovo keyboard https://jet.com/product/detail/46d2f67ba52346b79674d4b60358c...

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#43

- Hearing aids that run off body heat (changing batteries every couple of days is a bitch) - Some sort of system that lets me watch movies and TV shows with captions/subtitles without forcing everyone around me to see them. (The little devices at movie theaters are neat, but clunky and don't work at home.) I'm imagining augmented-reality glasses, but I would take some sort of polarized glasses that only make subtitle…

Polarized glasses, plus an LCD display with the front polarizer removed = display just for you, if there's a good way to route captions to a secondary display?

(getting an appropriate size and shape display to mount under or over the main display is also a challenge)

Edit: An article about removing the front polarizer http://www.gizmag.com/stealth-computer-display-lcd-polarizin... although I had forgotten that you'll end up with an all white screen for people without polarized glasses, that might be distracting too...

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#44
post #31
post #28

I'd pay for a pension fund - which takes my money and, when I retire, uses it pay out fixed income pension every month, based on my life expectancy.

Vanguard has a product similar to what you're looking for: Target Retirement Funds. https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/target-retirement... It does everything you want up to retirement age, but after that I believe you're on your own to pay yourself out of the fund. Of course, that assumes you can accurately predict when you'll retire. :) And it depends on what you mean by "fixed income". Do you mean a specif…

> that I believe you're on your own to pay yourself out of the fund.

I am specifically interested in that part :) If I'm withdrawing the money myself from the fund, then I have to take into account the small possibility of me living until I'm 90-100, and thus split money into portions that will last that long.

A company could pool a lot of people's money and take advantage of the law of big numbers (i.e. the average lifspan of their clients can be predicted with actuarial math) and portion my money as if I'm going to die when the stats predict me to die (sooner than 90-100 years old), making my monthly withdrawals bigger. That's what state pension funds do in a lot of countries at the moment, incl. my country Poland, but I don't trust the government with my money.

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#45
post #44
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vanguard has a product similar to what you're looking for: Target Retirement Funds. https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/target-retirement... It does everything you want up to retirement age, but after that I believe you're on your own to pay yourself out of the fund. Of course, that assumes you can accurately predict when you'll retire. :) And it depends on what you mean by "fixed income". Do you mean a specif…

> that I believe you're on your own to pay yourself out of the fund. I am specifically interested in that part :) If I'm withdrawing the money myself from the fund, then I have to take into account the small possibility of me living until I'm 90-100, and thus split money into portions that will last that long. A company could pool a lot of people's money and take advantage of the law of big numbers (i.e. the average…

Ahh OK, so you want something pretty close to an annuity then. I wonder if Wealthfront or Betterment or something would have a plan that helps you invest while you work and then buys an annuity for you when you retire...

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

basically the same way. the system would still be balkanized and terrible, but you would have a full searchable copy. it would basically be the equiv of itunes. you bring it to all youdt docs and u put your records on it, then they keep them to(like they do now) but you have a program that generates visual correlations. you could also use it to interface with healthkit and fitbit. all data one place. what if you were…

Why does privacy matter? What is it protecting against? Medical record privacy has caused millions if not billions in lost productivity. People are probably dying because of this. Coming from a country that has centralized digital access to medical records (Taiwan), the US obsession with medical record privacy seems insane.

After living a long time and experiencing the medical issues with family that I have experienced. .. I agree with you. The privacy fear is actually related to employmemt.. a fear employers will not hire you if you have medical issues.

Re: Ask HN: What is something that doesn't exist that you would pay for?

#47

This: http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-time-machine Barring that, even a little 2x3 set of home/end/pgup/pgdn/delete keys with an adhesive backing and Bluetooth connection that I could stick over the power button on a MacBook Pro to quadruple my productivity. Even a year in, I feel like I navigate code at less than half speed trying to use the 2-3 key, 2 hand chords that those basic keys require on a Mac…

You can buy an external Lenovo keyboard https://jet.com/product/detail/46d2f67ba52346b79674d4b60358c...

Sadly, that's the new layout chicklet keyboard, with the messed up home/end block. It wouldn't actually address the issue.
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