Ask HN: What tech were you convinced would take the world by storm but didn't?

Post by dabockster » Fri, Nov 17, 2017, 11:02 PM UTC

azeirah wrote: post #370

Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #363

I don't know if this has a name, but... ICQ-like "searchable" instant messaging. Let me explain myself. In the late 90s, there was an IM client called ICQ. For starters, its UI was leaps and bounds ahead of anything to be seen in the next decade, and it had functionality like bots or groups, that has again become widespread a few years ago. But what I'm talking about is the fact that I could look for "female, age bet…

I had some succes with Omegle. They support a feature where you can select a topic you're interested in.

Post by thrown_produce » Fri, Nov 17, 2017, 11:34 PM UTC

dabockster wrote: post #905

starsinspace wrote: post #896

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Peer-to-peer was killed by the advent of home routers doing NAT, making arbitrary inbound connections impossible. Configuring port forwarding was generally too difficult for "normal users", the web-UIs offered by typical home routers didn't make it easy enough. NAT traversal methods exist, but from my experience they are generally unreliable and/or slow. I still remember the days when P2P connections over the interne…

IIRC, consumer wifi routers supposedly support a protocol that allows a computer to request a temporary port forward and release it when its finished using it. Anyone remember what that protocol is called?

Post by sigi45 » Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 12:21 AM UTC

blowski wrote: post #222

sigi45 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thats what i meant with Apple. Android pay exists? Is it useable? Haven't seen that anywhere.

I live in London, and both Apple Pay and Android Pay are almost ubiquitous here. I recently hired a rowboat from a guy at renting them at the side of a river in the countryside - and paid with Apple Pay. Admittedly, I’ve no idea how much either are used, and how widespread they are outside London.

Post by lamby » Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 12:26 AM UTC

johan_larson wrote: post #148

I'm disappointed none of the various constructed "universal" languages (like Esperanto) ever took off. Having a single common language spoken by everyone would be enormously useful. As it is, the closest we have is English, but it's a natural language and therefore complicated and difficult to learn.

Post by bane » Sat, Nov 18, 2017, 12:59 AM UTC

ifdefdebug wrote: post #767

bane wrote: post #631

I thought (and still think) the phone as single computing device is going to replace desktops and laptops via some kind of dock of some sort. There's been a few attempts at it by Dell and Microsoft and a few others, but none really satisfactory. I think the most successful to date is the Nintendo Switch.

I don't think the desktop is going anywhere - only the use case will shift around. Because at the time when smartphones will be able to beat today's desktops in performance, desktops will have evolved as well - it's always possible to pack more performance into a desktop case than into a smartphone case, with the technology available in any given moment.