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Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

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Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#361

Post by jimnotgym »

n4r9 wrote: post #279
jimnotgym wrote: post #271

I see in this one of the competetive advantages of the US at work. I don't believe any patch of land that size, that you could build on in the UK is available for $105k, or about £78k. Let alone one with a partially functioning business installed

You can buy land in Northern England or Wales at £10k per acre. Even a large bowling centre wouldn't need more than a few acres. But you're right in general. Looks like this former bowling centre in Inverness is asking for £1.5m: https://uk.businessesforsale.com/uk/for-sale-leisure-develop...

You can buy farm land for that price yes. But you can't build on it

Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#362

Post by jjkaczor »

MrBuddyCasino wrote: post #231
jjkaczor wrote: post #20

Heh - do you have a "blog" (ala jwz's DNA Lounge)? (This is the kind of retiring from IT tale that I love to read and follow the trials and tribulations of over the years - good luck, thanks for open-sourcing your work!)

That one was perhaps more of a cautionary tale, given the economics.

Heh - that's where I was going with the "tribulations" aspect of my comment - which is why I like to read honest blogs - those dreams of "someday I might do 'X'", only to find someone who has - and then read all the challenges that had/have to be overcome. (which is not to say that hard-work and following a dream/passion-project are not worth doing - it's just nice to have more understanding of the risks/rewards and issues)

Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#364

Post by TylerE »

RichardHesketh wrote: post #360
TylerE wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds quite hazardous to anyone who happens to be epileptic.

Dunno where you live, but according to this ( https://www.epilepsy.com/stories/shedding-light-photosensiti... ) from a US charity: About 3 to 5 percent of the 2.7 million Americans with epilepsy (approximately 100,000 individuals) are photosensitive. That's a lot, but the chances of one walking in to that bowling alley are likely negligible. Photosensitive epileptics are highly likely to be aware of their condition a…

Why make a recreational activity "risky" when it has zero reason to be?

Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#365

Post by pwillia7 »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #337
pwillia7 wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah feels like you can only target end consumers or hobby business people as any real business would just reinvest capital in equipment that is modern and can compete or get rid of the business if it's not worth the $$$

I think you might be surprised to find out how many "real businesses" can't "just reinvest capital" and have to keep struggling on with what they have.

that's fair

Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#367

Post by Copenjin »

section33 wrote: post #286
Copenjin wrote: post #213

[dead]

Sorry, I'll have a blog up soon. Wasn't sure there'd be any interest! That link is so weird... it's definitely referencing this HN post, but those codeblocks in there... That's an interesting piece. Looks like their blog generator vibe-coded what it thought my firmware would look like.

It's the first time I see something like this then, interesting.

There are a lot of site that are republishing your show HN but this one is the only one that actually extended it...

Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#368

Post by sleepybrett »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #60
sleepybrett wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is interesting, i built similar for retail environments, oneoffs for events or windows or whatnot. I'm sure you could probably get away with a few terrible webcams per lane for ball tracking it's pretty much a perfect environment. A totally flat level lit are with very little noise with one circular blob moving through it. Might be an issue if you do the ever popular blacklight lanes night bowl thing, maybe just…

Have you ever written online about your projects? This stuff is endlessly fascinating to me. And your suggestion about a webcam makes me think about a problem a client and I had a couple of years ago that was never solved. It would be a completely controlled visual environment, so an ESP-cam just be the ticket if he's still interested.

clients used to have stuff on their sites, i used to keep a private portfolio, but its been years and i do platform stuff now. Hobby shit like this on the side for my own amusement, when i can find the time.

Re: Show HN: I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s

#369

Post by baranul »

jimnotgym wrote: post #261
baranul wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is arguably a dangerous fallacy, particularly for anything critical. When the person doesn't know programming, it becomes harder to guide agents and do reviews, leading to overlooking issues and accepting mistakes. This gets amplified for any creative solutions or fixing future problems, where it is something the LLM was not trained on or has limited data about the subject. Plus add how much money spent on token…

Better still, the llms are easier to get on with than real developers. You explain to a real developer what you want, after a few weeks you find every word you said has been understood in the frankly weirdest way possible and every grey area, instead of asking, has gone way off piste. The same goes for the LLM, but it replies in minutes and costs next to nothing, so you can correct it quickly, and you don't even have…

That's questionable, in terms of both outcome and cost. LLMs can misunderstand intent, hallucinate, or produce unwanted results too. As you noticed. But, among the advantages in favor of real programmers is outside of the context understanding of what the customer may want and fixing their request or solving the problem in unforeseen ways, despite the expected result not being properly stated.

True, LLMs can spit things out faster, but often in context to needing greater specificity and giving cookie cutter results. In regards to that, humans can copy and paste too. The time saved on the front end, can be lost by needing to come up with tighter specifications or the need for human review, to ensure quality.

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