Wrote del.icio.us and invented tagging. Echoes of my original design are still around (notably account urls being web.site/userid)
Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
301–310 of 759 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#302First job out of college, I was at a consulting firm doing software development for DHS (Homeland Security). I got a lot of flack from my friends and family for "working for the devil", but the work was actually objectively good for society - basically there was a big data problem where when an immigrant trying to illegally cross into the US was apprehended, and if they were sick, their custody would be transferred f…
Sadly true and relatable. Thanks for fighting that good fight.
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#303As a pandemic project, I started a kids stories podcast with my then 5 year old son. Two years later, it has over 5.5 million downloads and I get letters from parents telling me how the podcast has impacted their kids lives. I actually haven't posted an episode in over a year, and need to get back to it!
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#304It's not something I built necessarily but my stack overflow account, which I've only posted on about 100-200 times, says my answers have been viewed by 5.4 million people. Anyone with a stackoverflow account can check this in their profile I believe (for me it is in top right and says 5.4m which I presume is million pageviews on q&a pages I've posted), q&a is incredibly impactful.
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#305Over the last 4 years I built a label design and print app using Electron/React. It has 5000+ desktop users and will reach 7 figures in revenue in the next year. I recently launched a new thermal label printer brand named mydpi. Right now I'm selling a 300 DPI direct-thermal version to compete with DYMO and low-end Zebra. In a month I'll launch a thermal-transfer version with bundled ribbon/labels. I never thought I'd play in the "label printer" niche, because honestly, I hate printing labels... but my app makes it possible to easily achieve impressive results. I'm also working on a cloud-based renderer that will make user's designs available as an API that accepts variables for inside the label and returns a rasterized image or the specific-printer-language to print the result.
My life's work...
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#306Customizable, feature packed read mode that is used by a lot of teachers and people with disabilities: https://justread.link/
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#307sharedsolar.org Back in 2010, I built the software systems to manage solar-powered microgrids providing prepaid electricity in remote, rural offgrid communities with no internet connectivity. People could pay for the electricity service when they wanted and could, with no minimum amounts required; aside from the tech, we wanted to demonstrate a viable, sustainable business model for scaling so free electricity was no…
Amazing!
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#308Impactful? Designed and deployed credit card readers used in gas pumps back in 1979. (Sold to Gasboy) Wrote a fine tuner to allow communication between satellites (precursor to TDRSS days). Still used to this day. Failover of IP in ATM switches (VVRP, PXE, secondary DHCP, secondary DNS, secondary LDAP, secondary NFS). While not invented here, it is still used today as this is a Common setup to this day. Printer drive…
How did you find all these product market fits? Have you made more than a typical SWE?
It was actually a wandering hyperactive/ADHD mind that often said "why isn't there one" and follows through doggedly to the very end.
It is one of those traits where a mind clicks and said "this is it and how" and surprisingly gets into the most illusive hyperfocus/high-energy mode (without using any drug).
Slow-path network processing (arguably me) was commercially made in Ascom Timeplex in 1982 and someone else leaked it to Cisco (or ripping AT's patent off). I got that from observing how different river bends (re)connect year-after-year while doing trout fishing trips.
Money-wise, I am disabled, got abled, disabled again in different way, re-enabled, now just coasting with my own ideas: JavaScript Host-Based Intrusion Detection/Protection System, being one of them. And an portable AirPod detector (for home/auto/travel) is another idea. And DNSSEC for within private enterprise is almost done.
Money is not my thing but it does help greatly in the pursuit of my ideals (so many hardwares, so many test equips).
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#309I built a WordPress plugin that helps you to generate free SSL certificate using Lets Encrypt. At it’s peak, it was being actively used by 50,000+
Re: Ask HN: What is the most impactful thing you've built?
#310I was the creative co-founder of The Mysterious Package Company (mysteriouspackage.com) and we - gasp - sold mysterious packages. It was a wild idea pitched by my cofounder, to which I was a hesitant buy-in, but the impact we had on people is astonishing.
Rich stories, physical things (letters, puzzles, hair..), and a customized elements are still extremely rare to find in a product offer.
I'm no longer involved (and I didn't get rich), but I'm still proud of the experiences we created for the human bonding that occurred after delivery.
To this day there are people who come up to me saying "You!! I couldn't sleep for a week!" or "You!! My father and I went over your aged documents with a fine tooth comb and they were _REAL_." I'm so proud to have given these people a moment of awe and wonder.