Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#881

Post by format997 » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:21 PM UTC

tvanantwerp wrote: post #780

Come next March, I'm going to be missing Google Inbox. Completely changed how I use email for the better. I'm dreading going back to the tradition email workflow and hope to God that somebody builds something to replace Inbox in my life. I also miss StumebleUpon from years ago. I don't even know if the site still exists, but for me it died when it forced me to pick interests. The great thing about that site was that…

I just made the switch off recently. It actually is a lot more seamless than you'd expect. You can still snooze emails, and then "archive" (mark as done) everything that is taken care of/replied to/no longer needs your attention. Those are probably the two biggest pieces of the Inbox workflow that are pretty much identical in Gmail.

It's not quite as integrated, but all of the pieces are still there. For using reminders, you'll have to use google Keep. And for tasks without reminders, you can use Google Tasks.

On the plus side, it feels like Google stopped maintaining Inbox a while ago and it was getting horribly slow for me. The new gmail is amazingly responsive in comparison. I'm actually glad I made the switch for that reason alone (I had to make the switch before march because the Android Inbox App stopped working - it would crash within second after I opened it every time).

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#882

Post by noir_lord » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:27 PM UTC

pacuna wrote: post #723

noir_lord wrote: post #644

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My recommendation would be a ThinkPad with Fedora. I have 32GB of RAM in mine and they are easy to open, service and upgrade :). I use both and the last year has been the single best year I've had with Linux in terms of 'it just works', before that I used Ubuntu and while it was generally fine I prefer Fedora. The cinnamon spin is superb and it makes windows 10 feel clunky by comparison on the daily usability.

How much money did you spend on it? I've looking for a Lenovo with 32GB for a while but always find just customized versions by third-party sellers

I paid £1368 for the T470P with the i7-7700HQ,2560x1440 screen, nvme ssd and 16Gb RAM and put the other 16Gb in myself.

It's a little monster of a machine.

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#883

Post by wlesieutre » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:27 PM UTC

androidgirl wrote: post #768

wlesieutre wrote: post #748

Not tech related, but I could go for some Altoids Sours. On the tech side, I switched from a Pebble Time to an Apple Watch. I like all the fitness stuff, but I think I would've liked a Pebble Time 2 with fitness stuff better.

Glad I'm not the only one who though of Altoids Sours

THEY WERE DELICIOUS. And apparently not popular enough, for reasons I'll never understand.

Related, if they could put back lime Skittles instead of this green apple nonsense, that'd be great. What do people have against citrusy candy?

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#884

Post by schappim » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:28 PM UTC

jcdreads wrote: post #48

I miss DabbleDB greatly. I once made a real meals-and-visits schedule signup sheet app for a sick relative (dozens of folks signing up for slots over days, etc.) in about 20 minutes, including learning a bunch about the tool. Ultimately it "just" made CRUD apps, but it made the process amazingly fast. The equivalent of updating a Django model and view was usually a click or two with no waiting, and the only typing wa…

Yes! It was amazing. It makes me want to learn Smalltalk (the language which it was written in).

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#885

Post by geekbird » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:30 PM UTC

latchkey wrote: post #589

function_seven wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has ditched so many cool things in the MacBook line. 1) MagSafe. I know they really want to go all in on USB-C, but the original MagSafe connector was awesome. Even the weaker 2.0 version was nice. There were two instances where that connector saved my laptop. 2) The laser-drilled power indicator. That was so cool. It looked like the light magically appeared through the aluminum. Now there's no indication whats…

There are hacks for the magsafe desire... https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/7/12/15960594/m... I just switched to a new 2018 macbook pro. The missing esc key isn't so bad. Thought I would hate it, but like everything else, including new FB redesigns, you get used to it and move on.

No esc key? They just crippled vi/vim users. For a piece of hardware that was the preferred laptop for Linux admins, that's stupid.

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#886

Post by utopcell » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:31 PM UTC

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #351

Skype before Microsoft got their hands on it.

What's wrong with skype now ? I think they've done a good job with it, plus it's a nice platform to test their experimental bot stuff on.

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#887

Post by ConceptJunkie » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:33 PM UTC

stamps wrote: post #850

ConceptJunkie wrote: post #795

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I loved playing Age of Empires on my PocketPC. I can't find anything like it for Android.

What PocketPC do you use? Do you just use it for Age of Empires? Have you heard of the Pyra[0]? It's nearing completion, hardware should be final at this point. Just need the software to get a good run up. [0] https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/

I used it for a number of things, around 2002 or so. I don't recall the specific model, but I used until it stopped working.

I hadn't heard of the Pyra, but as with all these custom-designed open devices... they are cool, but the cost is always so much higher than any comparable commercial product you could buy. I guess RMS can afford one, but I can't.

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#888

Post by utopcell » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:34 PM UTC

The Spectrum ZX from Sinclair. I miss the immediacy of a blinking cursor, just waiting there for you next command. Simple and elegant.

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#889

Post by sevensor » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:36 PM UTC

The whole digital audio player / MP3 player product category, before the middle-end got hollowed out. As far as I can tell, the choice is now between dodgy sub-$30 knockoffs and gold-plated audiophile gear. Since the buttons fell off my Yepp, I'm much less able to carry around my music collection than I was ten years ago. I used to get 30 hours of playback from a unit that was only slightly bigger than its double-A battery. (So what if I could only carry 10 hours of music? It had an FM radio!)

Re: Ask HN: What discontinued company/product do you wish was still around?

#890

Post by pavel_lishin » Tue, Oct 16, 2018, 5:37 PM UTC

santoshmaharshi wrote: post #843

I remember... Google Reader - Dont even have to explain why :-) Kuro5hin - Site similar to slashdot Windows Phone UI - The phone didn't work but has changed mobile interfaces a lot. Specially remember the black UI and readability, which is now known as Night mode. Nokia Phones - Now back, bright colors and good camera. I have accidentally drop tested it many times, once from a 2nd floor, which landed on pebbled surfa…

Surprised more people haven't named Google Reader - I wonder if it's because we wouldn't choose to use it again, after having been burned before.