Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool • Hacker News Board

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#51

Post by mhb » Sun, May 10, 2009, 10:58 PM UTC

alex_c wrote: post #20

Set up inexpensive wireless cameras pointed at all street parking spots in the city. (doesn't have to be wireless cameras - pick any method or device that can reliably detect whether a parking spot is empty, cameras are the most flexible). Feed that data to a server, then dish it out to mobile devices (iPhone, etc.) combined with GPS to find the nearest street parking spot. Bonus points for intelligent behavior like…

Additional bonus points for predicting when a spot or one of a group of spots is likely to become empty.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#52

Post by dryicerx » Sun, May 10, 2009, 10:59 PM UTC

A compartment inside a car's engine to keep food warm while travelling.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#53

Post by mhb » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:00 PM UTC

diego wrote: post #17

A search engine for your house. Tag every object that you care about with a tiny electronic label (could be an rfid chip). Some objects could come pre-tagged and added to your library the first time they cross your door. When you can't find something, find the object on your computer and start walking around the house with a wand that beeps louder as you get closer to the object. Would also work when you lose somethi…

Instead of tagging, have cameras in all the rooms. You show it all your objects and it visually tracks them throughout the house.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#54

Post by dryicerx » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:03 PM UTC

A DBUS like system for the internet (for message passing and multi casting events to registered handlers). It's like twitter, except for application to application/people communication.

You first visit the site and create a data structure and register it at the X service website. Then a application can send messages in that data structure to the X service. Other services/applications/websites/people can register (like following on twitter) various handlers on the X service. Any time the main application publishes a event to the X service, it's pushed out to all the listening handlers...

I guess when I write it down, doesn't so outlandish. Anyway, up for grabs.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#55

Post by mhb » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:05 PM UTC

timdorr wrote: post #34

alexkearns wrote: post #8

Plastic bags that are not a pain to open.

Or those hard plastic cases that don't involve cutting with scissors or a knife and possibly slicing off a finger.

That's called cardboard.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#56

Post by kleevr » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:06 PM UTC

amichail wrote: post #50

Zev wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens if someone's OCD ends up turning into taking pictures to make sure that they did something?

It's better than having continuous anxiety or returning to your house to check whether the door is locked for example.

as an every-guy, who only at various times has "suffered" mild OCD fits: I can see the value to be had by the clinically compulsive.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#57

Post by Remake » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:07 PM UTC

markessien wrote: post #4

Movie Software that provides stock footage of fixed sets (homes, gardens, etc) and places you in those settings perfectly. Also same with cars and so on - the software should be at a level where you could make a full movie without ever leaving your home.

Great idea, I need this software right now. But I think it should be combination of Software, video cameras and green screen. Would pay a good money for that.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#58

Post by alex_c » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:11 PM UTC

mhb wrote: post #55

timdorr wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or those hard plastic cases that don't involve cutting with scissors or a knife and possibly slicing off a finger.

That's called cardboard.

So, what we want is transparent cardboard.

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#59

Post by kajecounterhack » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:12 PM UTC

diego wrote: post #37

deutronium wrote: post #27

Nuclear powered laptop never needs recharging

Fat-powered laptop (iphone, etc) plugs into your stomach and makes you lose weight.

A screen-less laptop that projects images into the mind so as not to make us all blind

That rhymed!

Re: Brainstorm HN: Outlandish Startup Ideas Pool

#60

Post by staunch » Sun, May 10, 2009, 11:15 PM UTC

catch23 wrote: post #43

anigbrowl wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Already exists. These are the norm in Europe, I have no idea why they're not popular in the US. We Europeans enjoy mocking antiquated American home appliances and can't believe you still use stovetop kettles and blenders from the 1950s. http://www.gelighting.com/apo/products/appliances/clothes_ca... It looks like a regular washing machine, you just put your clothes in the front, set the buttons, and 2 hours later the…

I owned one of these when I lived in a studio in Avalon Apartments in SF. They're not very good at drying though (or at least my model didn't work so well).

I've used at least a dozen different ones. They all suck compared with dedicated washer/dryers. Besides that, it seriously slows you down if you want to wash a lot of stuff.