Ziptr to Discontinue Services • Hacker News Board

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#21

Post by tptacek » Tue, Sep 24, 2013, 11:53 PM UTC

notwhyships wrote: post #19

tptacek wrote: post #17

“It is with great regret that I am writing to inform you of the closing of Ziptr, Inc. and the discontinuation of all Ziptr products,” said Bhathena. “Your sense of innovation and willingness to believe in a solution that offered both security and ease of use was a source of energy and inspiration for our company. For that, we are immensely grateful.” Bhathena and other Ziptr staff did not immediately respond to requ…

"You need to export all of your data from your Ziptr account by 12:00 noon Eastern on Friday, September 27, 2013. After this time, we cannot guarantee access to your data." http://www.ziptr.com/ziptr-closing-92713 That though from Ziptr's 9/24 blog post is unusual: both the ridiculously short time period of 3 days, and the phrase "cannot guarantee." Also, I find it hard to believe that such a serious serial entrepren…

That's also what you'd write if your enterprise software company was betting on last minute hail-marys to keep the lights on, didn't want to admit the bind they were in, and literally ran completely out of money.

Also, if they were concerned about complying with an NSL, why would they offer even 3 days? During those three days, their users would all be surveilled as they pulled their data off the site.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#22

Post by X4 » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:07 AM UTC

krapp wrote: post #20

pekk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When in doubt, assume it was the NSA. That's a safe assumption to make any time you have no knowledge at all.

I'm going to start blaming them for the weather. I've got no evidence that they're controlling the weather, but it seems like something they would do if they could.

actually it's provable that the weather is partly controlled, at least in Germany. http://www.br.de/themen/wissen/wetter-meteorologie-rosenheim... No need to be a conspiracy-theorist, it's simply true. They use that to avoid hail damaging the crops.

They clearly can manipulate the weather, the question is to what degree and when do they do it and with what aim: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_modification

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#23

Post by X4 » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:11 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #17

“It is with great regret that I am writing to inform you of the closing of Ziptr, Inc. and the discontinuation of all Ziptr products,” said Bhathena. “Your sense of innovation and willingness to believe in a solution that offered both security and ease of use was a source of energy and inspiration for our company. For that, we are immensely grateful.” Bhathena and other Ziptr staff did not immediately respond to requ…

Do any of you guys have infos on what crypto they used and how? I've never heard about Ziptr.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#24

Post by notwhyships » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:17 AM UTC

X4 wrote: post #23

tptacek wrote: post #17

“It is with great regret that I am writing to inform you of the closing of Ziptr, Inc. and the discontinuation of all Ziptr products,” said Bhathena. “Your sense of innovation and willingness to believe in a solution that offered both security and ease of use was a source of energy and inspiration for our company. For that, we are immensely grateful.” Bhathena and other Ziptr staff did not immediately respond to requ…

Do any of you guys have infos on what crypto they used and how? I've never heard about Ziptr.

Pretty cursory:

http://www.ziptr.com/security-and-compliance

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#25

Post by dsl » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:27 AM UTC

runn1ng wrote: post #8

rdl wrote: post #4

I wonder if this is governmental pressure or merely "ran out of money"/normal commercial concerns.

"ran out of money" wouldn't have this "we can't say anything, we are closing it now" odor.

Current "encryption" related concerns provide save-face cover for ran of money quite nicely.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#26

Post by ars » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:32 AM UTC

tikhonj wrote: post #10

pdknsk wrote: post #2

HN upvoting can be a mystery sometimes. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6440367

It's not entirely mysterious: because of the way votes are weighted, the timing of the first two or three really matters. If you manage to get them while you're still on the new page, you have a good chance of getting on the front page which is the only way to get much exposure. If you fall off the new page without that, your article is essentially forgotten. This means the success of your article falls down to the w…

Or have friends. The first few votes matter a LOT. So as soon as you submit you ask 3 friends to vote it up (make sure they vote within a few minutes of each other).

That gives a chance. If the community doesn't like it it won't stay up, but it gives you at least a chance.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#27

Post by notwhyships » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:32 AM UTC

dsl wrote: post #25

runn1ng wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"ran out of money" wouldn't have this "we can't say anything, we are closing it now" odor.

Current "encryption" related concerns provide save-face cover for ran of money quite nicely.

True, but there's also arguably more demand for encryption now than ever. An experienced entrepreneur like Ziptr's CEO should have been able to play this to the company's advantage with customers, investors, etc. Unless of course they got shut down.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#28

Post by nness » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 12:49 AM UTC

rdl wrote: post #4

I wonder if this is governmental pressure or merely "ran out of money"/normal commercial concerns.

I would wager that the chance of closure through financial pressures is supremely more common and likely than sneaky government intervention.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#29

Post by eli » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 1:25 AM UTC

runn1ng wrote: post #8

rdl wrote: post #4

I wonder if this is governmental pressure or merely "ran out of money"/normal commercial concerns.

"ran out of money" wouldn't have this "we can't say anything, we are closing it now" odor.

Nonsense. There are many reasons to shut down a service suddenly and almost none of them are things you'd want to brag about. Nobody wants to admit they failed as an entrepreneur.

Re: Ziptr to Discontinue Services

#30

Post by sillysaurus2 » Wed, Sep 25, 2013, 1:26 AM UTC

ars wrote: post #26

tikhonj wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not entirely mysterious: because of the way votes are weighted, the timing of the first two or three really matters. If you manage to get them while you're still on the new page, you have a good chance of getting on the front page which is the only way to get much exposure. If you fall off the new page without that, your article is essentially forgotten. This means the success of your article falls down to the w…

Or have friends. The first few votes matter a LOT. So as soon as you submit you ask 3 friends to vote it up (make sure they vote within a few minutes of each other). That gives a chance. If the community doesn't like it it won't stay up, but it gives you at least a chance.

Actually, you're describing a voting ring, which is against the rules and is bannable. Luckily the software is intelligent enough that it detects people who do such things and automatically nullifies the effect of those votes.