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Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

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Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#551

Post by gfxgirl »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #28

Real news and true unbiased, truth seeking, fact checking journalism.

I'd argue this is basically impossible. Choosing what to report and how to report it. Which facts, how they are presented, etc. Listening to mostly left leaning shows, even when they think they're just reporting the facts I hear in their voice, their choice of questions, how they ask the questions, how they respond to the answers, which ideas they agree with and which they don't and in essence which ideas they want you to believe and which they don't.

PS: if that wasn't clear I don't listen to many if any right leaning shows. I listen to radiolab, this american life, flash forward, no stupid questions, etc....

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#552

Post by gfxgirl »

jdsalaro wrote: post #434
aaron695 wrote: post #157

Text to speech. It's the next billion industry. I wish people would stop wasting time on AI and speech recognition and work on that, it's the next step. ( AI obviously might be needed for 'deep fakes' of good speech output, we need focus on AI that gives us achievable returns, in steps )

What, specifically, are you lacking wrt text to speech?

I'll consider text to speech done when I can give it a novel and have it sound like the best voice actor audiobook performance.

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#553

Post by majewsky »

gfxgirl wrote: post #481
imgabe wrote: post #284

The phone system. It seems like it's an unholy mess. I moved from the US to Hong Kong this year. I have a US number that I want to keep, and of course I need a local Hong Kong number. So, the US number is on my Google Fi account that I pay to keep active and I get a prepaid SIM card for Hong Kong. I can switch the SIM cards if I travel back. But why? We have two semi-independent networks, one for voice and one for da…

I would add to this, why even have "phone service" anymore. I call my family via Facebook Messenger or Zoom etc... I'm surprised that more more companies don't let me call them via these services or that some new startup hasn't starting selling the intergration so a customer can click "connect via Whatsapp" to our customer service. I'm also somewhat surprised there isn't a standard for this (maybe one is being worked…

> I would add to this, why even have "phone service" anymore. I call my family via Facebook Messenger or Zoom etc.

Emergency services. You can't call an ambulance via Zoom. Even if 911 supported Zoom, Zoom probably won't support 911 because they don't want to be held liable if people die because of a Zoom outage.

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#554

Post by marcinzm »

vinhboy wrote: post #530
jbay808 wrote: post #414

Standardized interchangeable packaging for consumer goods. Ever been to a book store in Japan? Practically every book is the same size. As a result, bookshelves also are designed to be the right size to optimally fit books. This allows people to fit more books in small homes. It makes books easier to transport in book-sized boxes and book-sized bags too. You can get perfectly-fitting reusable cloth covers to protect…

Spot on. Why don't we have milk crates for Amazon deliveries?

Right now, no one wants to pick up things from potential COVID plague bearers. Previously, probably how many wouldn't get reused and just get thrown away. Paper getting thrown away is eco friendly (renewable source, biodegradable, etc.), plastic is not.

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#555

Post by gjsman-1000 »

reitzensteinm wrote: post #549
Klonoar wrote: post #379

Premium-feeling laptops that aren't Apple machines. Yes yes, I get the economical barriers. I'm past caring. It is so incredibly frustrating to look outside the Apple ecosystem and feel like the entire PC industry is content to sell the bare minimum of quality (outside of Gamer hardware, which looks obscene - but I get that it's subjective). It's a horrible business idea on the numbers and nobody would do this, but i…

My Zenbook Pro didn't seem all that different to my 16" Macbook Pro which it clones. The MacBook Pro has cooling issues, an awful keyboard and feels flimsy. The Zenbook had only a pseudo 4k display, a massive charger and a large bezel, although I believe that's gone on newer models. I wouldn't call one premium and the other not. They were both kind of underwhelming.

The M1 Macs (and the Intel generation before it) no longer use Butterfly keyboards, but instead use the earlier "Magic Keyboard" which was well-loved. And the M1 Macs have, let's just say, better thermal management than most laptops now.

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#556

Post by gjsman-1000 »

turtlebits wrote: post #442
gfxgirl wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No logo? So the Apple logo is ok? My 2017 14" 1060 Razer seemed exactly like a black Macbook Pro (which I also owned at the same time). Metal case, Razer logo where the Apple logo was. HD-DPI display.

Razer has serious quality/longevity issues. Would not trust one of their machines to last more than 1 year.

Even Linus of Linus Tech Tips fame loved his Razer and recommended it, but had to make a somewhat awkward video when it completely died after barely a year on him.

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#557

Post by agf »

walleeee wrote: post #500

Sustainable agriculture. Ag is the material basis of human society. We have to stop destroying soil. We have to stop poisoning ecosystems. We have to minimize artificial fertilizer inputs. We have to stop emitting and start sequestering atmospheric carbon to mitigate climate instability. If we don't do this we will likely see widespread crop failures and food shortages within 50 years. Land use practices must be refo…

Any thoughts on the automated vertical farms that are starting to see good results?

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#558

Post by asperous »

gullywhumper wrote: post #543

Car-free or significantly car-limited communities. Cars that are safer for pedestrians (not just for occupants in cars). Better traffic safety enforcement. Automobiles kill ~6k pedestrians and almost 140k are sent to the ER in the US - many of which will have life-altering injuries. https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/pedestrian_safety/i...

There is https://culdesac.com/

But I think the market has basically spoken on automobiles, people are more then willing to take the safety risk for convenience and many are willing to live far far outside the city for one extra bedroom.

Re: Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

#559

Post by cgh »

yosamino wrote: post #196

Geothermal Energy. Extremely simplified, all you need to do is drill a hole deep enough for a high temperature difference. Then stick in two pipes, on for sending water down, one for steam to come up. Run a turbine, add a valve to regulate how much water you want to converted into steam to be able to regulate output, enjoy your first mover advantage and price the competition out of the market. ... It's not that I do…

You are correct, and this is exactly what’s happening in Alberta, eg https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/eavor-loop-geothermal...
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