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Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

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31–40 of 74 posts

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#31
post #26

Ever since google killed sharing within google reader itself (they meshed it into Google+) there is no way for 1st tier content junkies (i.e. people who have a ton of RSS feeds) to share good reads with each other. Twitter has horrible S/N, no one is on Google+ and if they were it would have same problem as twitter. Sharing within Google Reader was perfect b/c the majority of people who used Reader were other content…

Check out NewsBlur. 3/4 of the GReader junkies I know moved there. (including me)

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#32
post #27
post #13

I'd love to have an easier way to get involved in some open source project for improving my skills, enhancing my CV, etc. My main challenge is being overwhelmed with information and I can't seem to find a good place to get started on any project.

That makes 2 of us! ;)

I know that feeling. One of the best ways is to just ask one of the developers on a project you like. There's always something to do.

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#33
I get lots of email from cron jobs. I probably spend 5-10 minutes every day clicking through them and making sure that there's nothing "odd" in them which needs my attention.

I would love to have some software which reads my cronmail, figures out what's "normal", and warns me when something isn't normal.

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#35

I pay $X for clothing (I haven't calculated it, but assume it's relatively average for a man who doesn't wear suites). I'll pay $2X if you can make me well dressed. Key point: I need to trust that your decisions are correct. What I want to pay for is not thinking about this and knowing that it's handled.

Sounds like what this guy was trying to solve for I think: http://sharktankclips.com/season-4-episode-2-alpha-m/

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#36
The focus on finding problems to fix is a bit shortsighted. Focus on building what is missing. Somehow, hackers seem to forget this important detail. A problem that is fixed is no longer a problem. But building something that was missing is now a tool used my many.

Facebook does not fix a problem. It built something that was missing (a good social network). Google did not fix the search problem. Is built something that was missing (a better way to search back then). AirBnB does not fix a problem. It built something that was missing (a platform for temporary private housing rentals). Twitter did not fix the blogging problem. It built something that was missing (a way for people to communicate quickly without much friction).

Look around. What is missing? Go build it.

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#37

I get lots of email from cron jobs. I probably spend 5-10 minutes every day clicking through them and making sure that there's nothing "odd" in them which needs my attention. I would love to have some software which reads my cronmail, figures out what's "normal", and warns me when something isn't normal.

Is there no way for you to create filters to solve this right now? Or is it too complex the way the reporting comes out?

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#38

I have a major frustration with payment providers — even contemporary players like Stripe — that can't offer a 3rd party payments system. That is, anything resembling a "marketplace" where you sell things on behalf of someone else, take a cut and pass on the rest to the content creator requires the integrator to come up with a half-assed payout pipeline. This often results in sending cheques and/or making PayPal paym…

I think both Amazon Flexible Payments and PayPal Adaptive Payments support everything you're asking for. They're separate products from Amazon Simple Payments and PayPal Website Standard / PayPal Pro which, as you know, can't be used for that kind of business.

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#39

I pay $X for clothing (I haven't calculated it, but assume it's relatively average for a man who doesn't wear suites). I'll pay $2X if you can make me well dressed. Key point: I need to trust that your decisions are correct. What I want to pay for is not thinking about this and knowing that it's handled.

Thread (https://www.thread.com/) is a startup aimed exactly at trying to solve this problem. It matches you to professional stylists for free. (I'm not particularly certain what it's monetization strategy is, I suspect it has something to do with a cut of your online clothes purchases or advertising or something.)

Re: Ask HN: So, what is your problem?

#40

I get lots of email from cron jobs. I probably spend 5-10 minutes every day clicking through them and making sure that there's nothing "odd" in them which needs my attention. I would love to have some software which reads my cronmail, figures out what's "normal", and warns me when something isn't normal.

Use passive nagios alerts. Or something like Cronologger.
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