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Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

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Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#141

Post by kfreds »

mox1 wrote: post #122
kfreds wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mullvad: I know it for a fact, because I'm one of the founders. IVPN: I don't know it, but I've met Nick Pestell (the founder) several times, and he's told me they don't pay for reviews. I trust him.

Ahh, this is why one must be careful when responding to seemingly random people on hacker news, there's a pretty good chance the CEO, head researcher , worlds fore-most expert on the topic, etc. is actually here reading the article. :)

To be fair I think is_true's question is excellent. If anything I should have clarified where I was coming from in my first post. Ultimately I opted for keeping it shorter.

I agree though, it is a real joy to lurk a HN thread on J. Random topic and be treated to high-signal conversations. :)

Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#142

Post by ksec »

kfreds wrote: post #67
is_true wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think they didn't get money from them?

Mullvad: I know it for a fact, because I'm one of the founders. IVPN: I don't know it, but I've met Nick Pestell (the founder) several times, and he's told me they don't pay for reviews. I trust him.

>Mullvad: I know it for a fact, because I'm one of the founders.

I cant stop laughing :)

Forgive me if I have asked this before. Have you ever considered a Pay as you Go model with minimum top up fees? $50 for 50GB with no expiry you can use it for life?

Or is that model that generally dont work because it seems all PAYG VPN services go bust.

Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#143

Post by kfreds »

ksec wrote: post #142
kfreds wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mullvad: I know it for a fact, because I'm one of the founders. IVPN: I don't know it, but I've met Nick Pestell (the founder) several times, and he's told me they don't pay for reviews. I trust him.

>Mullvad: I know it for a fact, because I'm one of the founders. I cant stop laughing :) Forgive me if I have asked this before. Have you ever considered a Pay as you Go model with minimum top up fees? $50 for 50GB with no expiry you can use it for life? Or is that model that generally dont work because it seems all PAYG VPN services go bust.

> Forgive me if I have asked this before. Have you ever considered a Pay as you Go model with minimum top up fees? $50 for 50GB with no expiry you can use it for life?

Yes, but I can't recall the reasons we discarded the idea. Something like this perhaps:

In general I like the idea of VPN as a utility - anonymous internet on tap. Utility-like services in functioning markets compete on price to the benefit of the consumer. On the other hand, things that look like one-dimensional utilities to the consumer isn't always. A service category where there's plenty of innovation potential left shouldn't pretend to be a utility. Especially players who aim to improve state-of-the-art. A pay-as-you-go model encourages consumers to compare quantities of something that is quite disconnected from the quality of what they get.

Paying per month makes more sense to me for another reason as well - It's similar to what we do with our suppliers.

Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#144

Post by ksec »

kfreds wrote: post #143
ksec wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Mullvad: I know it for a fact, because I'm one of the founders. I cant stop laughing :) Forgive me if I have asked this before. Have you ever considered a Pay as you Go model with minimum top up fees? $50 for 50GB with no expiry you can use it for life? Or is that model that generally dont work because it seems all PAYG VPN services go bust.

> Forgive me if I have asked this before. Have you ever considered a Pay as you Go model with minimum top up fees? $50 for 50GB with no expiry you can use it for life? Yes, but I can't recall the reasons we discarded the idea. Something like this perhaps: In general I like the idea of VPN as a utility - anonymous internet on tap. Utility-like services in functioning markets compete on price to the benefit of the cons…

> A pay-as-you-go model encourages consumers to compare quantities of something that is quite disconnected from the quality of what they get.

Thanks, that make sense. The reason I asked is because I only need a VPN once every few months for 10-20 min. Currently I am basically setting up my own VPN Server every time I need one. It is just quite a bit of hassle.

Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#145

Post by gommm »

asdff wrote: post #92
gommm wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having tested the DIY option versus some other air purifiers (xiaomi not levoit though), I do think that there are other considerations to take into account. A box fan with a HEPA filter bungee is loud and is very annoying to have at home. An air filter that is much less loud for the same result, can be controlled via home assistant (I have an ESP32 connected to a VOC sensor and a decent particle sensor that I use to…

How much did you spend all in for your air purifier and sensor setup? Looking to do something similar but I don't know where to start.

I'm based in HK so prices are definitely lower since I can order directly from taobao. The purifier was around 350 usd, it's the Mijia Air Purifier MAX Enhanced Edition.

For the sensor, I used an ESP32 with a small eink screen (from lilygo) with a sensirion SPS30 sensor for detecting particles (see this very good teardown https://www.mistywest.com/posts/teardown-sensirion-particle-...), a sensirion SGP30 sensor for detecting VOCs and a BME280 to measure temperature, humidity and air pressure. I think total cost is roughly 60 usd. ESPHome makes it relatively easy, see this guide for a similar setup https://neon.ninja/2021/11/breathe-better-with-this-indoor-a...

Hope that helps, it's a fun project to figure things out (it was my first project with ESP32).

Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#146

Post by vb6sp6 »

f0e4c2f7 wrote: post #46
solarkraft wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh shit. I used to consider them to be one of the most reputable sources.

Oh no! I did as well. Who is the current honest broker of product reviews?

googling "$product_name sucks" or similar

Re: Wirecutter strike and boycott Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday

#147

Post by solarkraft »

ethbr0 wrote: post #113
ev1 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anything that contains affiliate, referral, or commission links I do not trust.

What monetization models do you trust more?

I trust publications with product-independent ads and paid articles. Generally these publication shouldn’t profit from promoting a particular product. That can include free samples and any dependence on a manufacturer’s good will.

An example for relatively trustworthy reviews would be (German) Stiftung Warentest (“Product Review Foundation”)’s https://test.de, you can subscribe to all articles for a monthly fee or buy them individually.

No clickbait, no pop-ups, just no-bullshit, user respecting, fairly objective tests.

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