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

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

#931

Post by jenscow »

christophilus wrote: post #928
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #640

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreeing with you, mini rant time: Why in the fuck do desktop computers have user-based permission models? Don't answer that, I know why, it's because they inherited them from the server-OS ancestors, but it's retarded. Desktops are personal computers, there is no reason to stop the user from doing what they want because it is their computer. Some might say, "oh, well, we can protect the system from malicious softwar…

There are desktop computers which are in shared environments (computer labs, public libraries, kiosks, teller lines, etc). So user-based permission models make a lot of sense for desktops.

In those environments the same local user account is usually used. Or, a network account and in that case files are usually stored on a server.

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

#932

Post by christophilus »

ckarmann wrote: post #15
tlrobinson wrote: post #2

The converse is possibly even more interesting: what tech were you convinced would fail but took the world by storm?

Twitter

Yeah. All of the tech listed here, but this one especially. When I first heard about it, I thought it was spectacularly stupid.

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

#933

Post by jklein11 »

turc1656 wrote: post #694

Paypal used to have this feature that allowed you to install a browser add-on and you could generate a CC number on the fly that was good for either one time use or recurring use (for subscription services). This feature served two primary purposes: 1) to be able to pay using PayPal on sites that didn't support it 2) to help prevent against fraud which was becoming a massive problem at the time. If the number was sto…

I don't quite see the point in this. If you are paying with a credit card you aren't on the hook for any fraudulent charges anyway.

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

#934

Post by [deleted] »

adrianmsmith wrote: post #548
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…

Right, Skype had a similar interface in 2005-2010, you could set your status to "Skype Me" (in addition to "Available", "Away" etc.) which was the green "available" Skype icon but with a smiley overlaid. You could search for people by age, gender, location, and I think keywords, and "only Skype Me users" (also implying online at that time). I'm not sure if the interest searching was as advanced as you described but t…

[deleted]

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

#935

Post by mycat »

amerkhalid wrote: post #684
grumblestumble wrote: post #108

E-Ink. It is the "correct" choice for display technology, and with enough research money put into it, it could replace these abominable light-emitting displays. But what we already have is "good enough", despite all of the hidden costs, and so we're stuck with it.

I love E-Ink display. Fell in love with it when I bought my first Kindle. I could read all day and my eyes won't be tired at all. Since then I had been waiting for E-Ink based laptop for work. It doesn't need to play videos or even display color. As a backend developer, I can live with grey scale display. It doesn't need high refresh rates either. But now almost 10 years later, it doesn't look like this will ever hap…

I thought recently they made e ink monitor. But not laptop though.. More like a giant tablet http://www.dasung.com/english/

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

#936

Post by mycat »

bsaul wrote: post #263

BeOS . That was the best os at the time by far, stellar performance, fantastic C++ api usable by a newbie, i still haven’t found a GUI as responsive as this one. DVD-audio. Great multi channel, high rate, high resolution audio. But it required the whole production chain to upgrade as well as new consumer equipement, and they competed with sony own format ( which was also a failure)... But it would have given the reco…

BeOS has extreme task scheduling to give smooth UI, for example if you run too many programs at once, BeOS network connection has noticeable stutter even if your UI seems slick enough

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

#937

Post by [deleted] »

Terretta wrote: post #816
drcongo wrote: post #729

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think it would work well for someone who sketches for a living? My wife is a fashion designer and her minimum setup of a MacBook Pro + Wacom is pretty unminimum. [edit: Reviews I read said that the drawings are scalable vectors, but two posts below talk about poor resolution, so maybe not the right device for her]

I'd consider the latest iPad Pro better for sketching, thanks to high frame rate and no lag, pressure sensitivity control, pencil "angle" control, and iPad-native software options have BnL surpassed desktop. // Digital ink junkie since the Newton, currently own and use latest models of Wacom Cintiq, Surface, iPad, and Remarkable.

[deleted]

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

#938

Post by mycat »

SteveMoody73 wrote: post #429
Andrenid wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love an e-ink dashboard in my car so it's not so glary, e-ink tablet that does a bit more than a Kindle but isn't a full media player (super thin super light with basic browser for wiki, news, rss, and email), ~20" e-ink screen on the inside of my apartment door with calendar and notifications and todolist, there's so many cool things we could do with the tech if we could produce it cheaper and bigger. Not everyt…

Have you seen reMarkable? Doesn't seem to have a browser from what I can see but more capable than a kindle. https://remarkable.com/

How does it compare with Sony's e ink tablet with stylus? Seems too similar except it is made by startup

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

#940

Post by [deleted] »

ekanes wrote: post #753
turc1656 wrote: post #694

Paypal used to have this feature that allowed you to install a browser add-on and you could generate a CC number on the fly that was good for either one time use or recurring use (for subscription services). This feature served two primary purposes: 1) to be able to pay using PayPal on sites that didn't support it 2) to help prevent against fraud which was becoming a massive problem at the time. If the number was sto…

This tech is available and extremely well-implemented via Final Card. I use it and have numbers stored for probably 50 sites/services/etc. Anything where I put a card in online. So next time my card gets compromised because I used it in a restaurant (seems to happen regularly) then none of those have to be reset. Just get a new "physical" card and go on my merry way. Many hours saved. https://getfinal.com/

[deleted]
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