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Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

danluu.com

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Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#531

Post by CRConrad »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #294
syntheweave wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the issues with how it was handled was the handwavy and contradictory information that many governments and public health czars circulated: that handwashing is most important, that masks are effective or not effective or only some kinds are, that the lockdown will be "two weeks to slow the spread" and so forth. It was the public health equivalent of "take two asprin and call in the morning". While there were s…

A lot of that came right from the top. In the UK we had a prime minister who said he was shaking peoples hands in hospital and attending his mothers birthday party to nearly dying within a couple of weeks.

Yeah, that was too bad.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#532

Post by CRConrad »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #295
bombcar wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a difference between “plumbing” software and “user” software. If photoshop or autocad become crap something will replace them (the pressure Dan talks about). But most enterprise software is plumbing - that you figure out how to use “well enough” and mostly leave it alone to do its thing. That software has little pressure and often ends up being basically bypassed.

The users of enterprise software are captive, they can't choose another solution or supplier without changing jobs. Mostly they hate it and IT in general which I think is at least partially the reason for the success of SaaS.

Dunno which it's more of, tragic or hilarious -- probably both, about fifty-fifty -- how they usually don't realise that they're just as stuck with their SaaS supplier.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#533

Post by CRConrad »

omegote wrote: post #333

Good luck reading an article with lines that span the entire 2560px of the width of my screen.

1) Reader Mode

2) Most OSes nowadays have resizable windows. Drag the borders of your browser window in from the edges of your screen.

3) One of the few advantages of reading HN (and therefore the sites it links to) on a phone.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#534

Post by CRConrad »

crabmusket wrote: post #297

> It's considered normal to have unattended property stolen in public spaces and not in private spaces, but that's more of a cultural distinction than a technical distinction. Surely it's also a legal distinction? In Australia at least, I believe there can be significant jail time given for breaking and entering.

So it's legal in Australia to steal stuff just because it's unattended?

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#535

Post by CRConrad »

phist_mcgee wrote: post #266

Sparing the contents of the article and the great discussion around it, as an aside: who in this day and age has website text that spans 100% width of the viewport? On my 32 inch monitor it's completely unreadable. I get the low/no style aesthetic, but the wall of text is quite unreadable to me.

If you can't get a browser with a reading mode, try an OS with resizable windows.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#536

Post by CRConrad »

ouid wrote: post #483

Weird that this article makes no mention of the law of lemons. Information asymmetry between buyer and seller is well studied.

I think it does mention that. At least it talks about "lemon markets" and how the term "lemon" comes from the car market, and IIRC it links to the Wikipedia article on lemon market theory.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#537

Post by CRConrad »

Uptrenda wrote: post #317

>black micro-text blocks of tl; dr spanning the entire width of the page 0/10 web design, didn't read.

> 0/10 web design, didn't read.

Didn't press F9 for reading mode.

Didn't resize browser window to comfortable proportions.

0/10 online media consumption skills, didn't deserve to read.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#538

Post by CRConrad »

jotm wrote: post #32
zabzonk wrote: post #8

> Why is it hard to buy things that work well? Asks someone that posts a giant wall of unreadable text.

Haha, yeah, but actually it reminded me of old Web pages. Just text, format it however you want (make the product good yourself!), nothing in the way, just the content. I'm surprised how much I've gotten used to fancy websites, colors and formatting.

> I'm surprised how much I've gotten used to fancy websites, colors and formatting.

I'm more dismayed.

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#539

Post by CRConrad »

SquibblesRedux wrote: post #23
zabzonk wrote: post #8

> Why is it hard to buy things that work well? Asks someone that posts a giant wall of unreadable text.

With Chrome Desktop, and a fairly wide browser window (1475px in my case, required by many web applications), the text is small with minimal margins, and practically illegible. If I shrink the browser width considerably (to a minimum width) then the text does look good, like an ebook. Typesetting matters.

> the text is small

[Ctrl]-[+]|:

> If I shrink the browser width considerably (to a minimum width) then the text does look good

Pro tip: So do that, then.

> Typesetting matters.

WTF is this, Hacker News or Artsy-Fartsy Designer News? (Lawn, off, etc.)

Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?

#540

Post by lifeplusplus »

adhesive_wombat wrote: post #284
lifeplusplus wrote: post #254

My grandma had old stuff that was built like a tank.. AC that worked for 40 years, bulbs that still work, Fridge that has been working for 50 years, sewing machine also 50+, TV (huge bulky) still working, fans, etc..... I bought a coffee grinder from Amazon few days ago, it broke on the first try, like completely obliterated.

From an energy perspective, a 50 year old fridge is likely not great and probably a new one at some point would have paid for itself (and it's carbon footprint). There was a story[1] about a guy who kept the same heating boiler for nearly 50 years. Can you imagine how much more he spent on fuel in that thing for 50 years compared to changing to a combi at some point? Condensing boilers are 90+% efficient, who knows w…

true, but reliability is undeniable
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