Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams • Hacker News Board

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#201

Post by henearkr » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:04 PM UTC

bronson wrote: post #168

henearkr wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of them use a mechanical assist, with springs (I'm not speaking about the compressed air versions, just springs). In those cases, you do not feel any weight.

No matter how easy it is, if it takes 30 sec of cranking to switch heights I’d do it way less often. This also goes for those irritating slow electric versions where you need to hold a button down for 30 sec.

The model I used had no crank at all, just levers to unlock hooks, and then you would move it to the desired height with the help of spring assistance. It was a Varidesk Pro Plus.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#202

Post by ck2 » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:06 PM UTC

Speaking of which, there could be a serious opportunity for a startup to create an actually decent webcam stream service with low lag and low/no artifacts because I have no idea why the national media has such horrible connections in 2020, makes zero sense to me, it's like watching 2001 tech.

Sound correction for dead rooms or echo-y rooms would be nice too. If AI can magically "fix" video with almost no pixels and poor sound a hundred years old, they should be able to apply it to webcam broadcasts.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#203

Post by NikolaNovak » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:06 PM UTC

I got SparkoCam and use my DSLRs as webcam, as I just couldn't handle the quality of laptop or regular webcam :(

A bit pricey software, but now I can put transparent images or greenscreen the output, which gives daily amusement to the team :).

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#204

Post by sbrother » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:06 PM UTC

buro9 wrote: post #63

I bought an Elgato CamLink instead... hooked it up to a DSLR I already owned, and it makes for a stunningly crisp and clear, high quality, webcam. Of course, using a 42.4 Megapixel sensor and a Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens it would. https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/cam-link-4k Turns a HDMI input into a USB web cam.

This looks incredible but as other posters have noted, is sold out everywhere. Any recommendations for similar products that might be available?

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#205

Post by mcescalante » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:07 PM UTC

mellosouls wrote: post #105

It's irritating that some historical price comparison sites (e.g. CamelCamelCamel - at least in the EU) are being leaned on by Amazon to cease their activity. Where items are available, I actually would like to know who's profiteering before sending them my money.

If anyone's curious about this from 3 camels standpoint they made a blog post about this. I was curious what the non-Amazon opinion would be so I went looking: https://camelcamelcamel.com/blog/amazon-eu-covid-19

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#206

Post by frosted-flakes » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:07 PM UTC

MrGilbert wrote: post #136

lima-lima wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps useful for others: I had this thought as well (that my handy camera is already a high quality webcam) and had great performance on Linux with the app DroidCam [1], which includes the V4Lloopback module when you install the desktop program and presents the android camera as a webcam at /dev/video#. Connected to my computer via USB (ADB) it shows no noticeable latency. This is a bit different to all the IP webc…

On a side note: I guess it's still "mobile" in english - "handy" is pretty german. ;) Not sure if it's still valid, but "handy" has a different meaning in slang: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=handy Again, a native speaker might consider different, but as a german the usage of "handy" immediatley caught my eye. :D

OP's usage is correct. Handy means "at hand", or convenient.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#207

Post by wayoutthere » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:09 PM UTC

summm wrote: post #124

michaelt wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It had never occurred to me that, during a shortage, the most expensive products would sell out last. It makes sense now I've seen it happen, but I've always associated food shortages with austerity - instead I'm suddenly buying premium organic free range duck eggs.

This is because this is not an actual shortage. This is people panic-buying things they don't really need, and then of course they can't justify spending that much...

It's not even panic buying; the demand mix literally shifted overnight across the entire economy. Instead of eating out every meal, I've been cooking just to give myself something to do. That means my food is coming from a grocery store rather than 50 lb bags from Sysco.

The more expensive options are just another form of demand lever: some people will be unwilling to buy a $5 carton of eggs even if it means walking away with no eggs. I suspect a lot of people are just buying the expensive eggs -- which is likely a huge boon for "premium" food vendors as they typically have to account for a larger % of unsold product loss.

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#208

Post by ivankirigin » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:12 PM UTC

Why shouldn’t the price increase with a supply chain disruption and demand boom?

Would you prefer a shortage with no incentive to increase production?

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#209

Post by wayoutthere » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:12 PM UTC

wegs wrote: post #191

summm wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is because this is not an actual shortage. This is people panic-buying things they don't really need, and then of course they can't justify spending that much...

And the coronavirus was just a flu. And there's pent-up demand in out economy which will just explode when we get out of this. No. This is not panic-buying or hoarding. There are actual supply chain disruptions, shifting demands, fewer workers going to work, and things just aren't keeping up with major disruptions to economic structures based on low margins, having just enough capacity, and doing everything just-in-t…

> As far as I can tell, no one actually keeps an eye on these things either.

Our current political system is invested in manipulating the truth to poke your political rivals in the eye; and there's no way you can keep an eye on things if you fire everyone who doesn't tell you what you want to hear...

Re: Tell HN: Toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and now web cams

#210

Post by kube-system » Wed, Apr 08, 2020, 3:14 PM UTC

dan-robertson wrote: post #138

cesarb wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You will also need a USB a-a cable that I didn't know existed or was legal. They exist, but are not allowed by the USB standard. The basic premise of the classic USB standard is that the A side provides the 5V power, while the B side consumes that 5V power. With an A to A cable, you are shorting both power supplies together. (USB-C changes that to resistors; IIRC, the side with the pull-up resistors will initially…

I’m slightly confused by this. At first you seem to be using A and B to describe whether the connector is male/female but in the next paragraph you use the letter C to refer to the shape of the connector. I assume in the first paragraph you mean a usb A cable with plugs on both ends

The USB standard has a lot of connectors

https://itsolutionindia.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/usb-tuto...