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Ask HN: Idea Sunday

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431–440 of 523 posts

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#431

Post by seanwalker08 »

martinaglv wrote: post #263

tl;dr Independent store for bookmarkable HTML5 mobile apps This is an idea that I had recently, but for which unfortunately I have no time. I hope that some of you folks can make it happen. The idea is that with the recent release of Chrome for Android's "Add to Home Screen" feature, there is now a way to bookmark websites to the home screen of every mobile os. Mobile sites can add a meta tag to hide the browser chro…

I am working on a user submitted solution to html5 apps now and had a question for you. Is your idea to host the apps instead of just linking to them like a typical user submitted site does? If you wanted to chat a little about it, my contact info is in my profile here.

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#432

Post by avalaunch »

whichdan wrote: post #210
avalaunch wrote: post #174

A major pain point in my life is house maintenance and repair. I really miss having a (good) landlord. That's what I want - a single point of contact to manage the upkeep of and fix any issues related to my home. There's so much friction in the process of finding the various contractors needed to keep a home in good order. First you have to search on craigslist, angieslist, or google for contractors that service your…

I really like this idea. It would be great for renters, too, if the services could be opted for a-la carte at a slightly higher rate. For instance, in Boston, I needed someone to help bring over an in-window air conditioner from a friend's apartment and install it properly in a window. I had to spend the better part of an hour vetting different Yelp-style contractor sites, several actual contractors, and calling a fe…

I agree that with some modifications it could work for renters too, perhaps by simply offering things a la carte.

That being said, did you consider Task Rabbit? It seems like they might have been able to help you with your air conditioner install. Or perhaps not if it required a more skilled professional.

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#434

Post by avalaunch »

thiagoperes wrote: post #279
avalaunch wrote: post #174

A major pain point in my life is house maintenance and repair. I really miss having a (good) landlord. That's what I want - a single point of contact to manage the upkeep of and fix any issues related to my home. There's so much friction in the process of finding the various contractors needed to keep a home in good order. First you have to search on craigslist, angieslist, or google for contractors that service your…

In Brazil this is offered by insurance companies (it's called home insurance) for a long time. Besides covering stuff like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, theft, etc. they give you free home services like the ones you mentioned (hanging pictures, changing lightbulbs) and offer "emergency" services like locksmith, electrician and glazier. It's way cheaper than your 500-1k range. Here's one of the companies that do thi…

That's really interesting. Do you know if they cover the big costs such as when you need to replace a roof or a driveway?

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#435

Post by avalaunch »

icefox wrote: post #188
avalaunch wrote: post #174

A major pain point in my life is house maintenance and repair. I really miss having a (good) landlord. That's what I want - a single point of contact to manage the upkeep of and fix any issues related to my home. There's so much friction in the process of finding the various contractors needed to keep a home in good order. First you have to search on craigslist, angieslist, or google for contractors that service your…

Sounds like you really want a part time personal assistant?

I actually hired a personal assistant a few years back and this was one of the tasks I set them. The problem is that they didn't know any better than I who to hire for each task. That's why a service dedicating to solving this problem would be better. The service would either employee their own qualified service people or they would have a go to list of reputable contractors they could sub-contract out to.

Also, I like the idea of having a company that is invested in maintaining my home because they're on the hook for any issues that arise. They would be incentivized to perform all the regular maintenance tasks that I might neglect.

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#436

Post by pappyo »

ryandrake wrote: post #313
avalaunch wrote: post #174

A major pain point in my life is house maintenance and repair. I really miss having a (good) landlord. That's what I want - a single point of contact to manage the upkeep of and fix any issues related to my home. There's so much friction in the process of finding the various contractors needed to keep a home in good order. First you have to search on craigslist, angieslist, or google for contractors that service your…

It's neat, but I'd be worried about market size. This is a problem that not a lot of people have. Sorry, but for most people, it's not a big deal to call a plumber, and the vast, vast majority of people (at least in the US) clean their own homes. EDITing my comment to be more constructive: There could be money in a cloud- or app-based Personal Assistant, but you would really have to focus razor sharp on your target m…

Age is more important than economic class when we're talking about potential markets for this idea.

Empty Nesters in their 50's and 60's is where this product needs to be focused. These people usually still work, tend to have more house than they need, have fewer monthly expenses, and aren't able to do run-o-the-mill house maintenance (even if they have the time). They could range anywhere between middle class and upwards.

My parents are firmly middle class, and I could see them wanting something like this.

Empty Nesters are your customers. And it's a growing market (in the US at least).

EDIT: Spelling and grammar.

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#437

Post by alejoriveralara »

frankpinto wrote: post #414

A site where you sign up for coffee / tea / lunch with a stranger in your workplaces area. Context: - I'm currently in Guatemala City and nobody talks here. A lot of people go to their office, bring their lunch, go home. You hang out with your high school / college buddies some evenings / weekends. I should know who works in the building next to mine. - Haven't read the book but the concept of "Never Eat Alone" has b…

Si!

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#438

Post by hemantv »

keithwarren wrote: post #186
avalaunch wrote: post #174

A major pain point in my life is house maintenance and repair. I really miss having a (good) landlord. That's what I want - a single point of contact to manage the upkeep of and fix any issues related to my home. There's so much friction in the process of finding the various contractors needed to keep a home in good order. First you have to search on craigslist, angieslist, or google for contractors that service your…

I love this because bootstrapping the concept is far simpler than an infrastructure build out, this is a super-service which can start out by sub-contracting all the individual services. I am game, when do we start! update: Some further thoughts on cost. Looking at what I pay for my home (some of these I use, some I have had quoted; I also factored a monthly cost out of some of these which are quarterly). My home is…

How about it being more of deductible. You would pay a flat fee for each visit of professional except the regular checkups.

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#439

Post by cylinder »

wting wrote: post #91

There's a lot of parallel conversations on Reddit / HN / etc. for various articles. Would about pulling high rated, top-level conversations from multiple sources for a quick digest? Sort of like Google News for commentary.

Sometimes I'll follow a Google News link to a good article, then hit "Back" and look forward to reading the reddit/HN comments only to realize I was led there by Google News and there are no comments.

Re: Ask HN: Idea Sunday

#440

Post by Jemaclus »

Google Glass app that streams subtitles from Netflix, Hulu, or even cable TV. I rely heavily on subtitles to watch TV (I'm very hard-of-hearing), but I've found that my [hearing] friends don't like subtitles very much. It would make my life 10 million times easier if I could watch TV with subtitles or closed captioning without having to subject my friends to that as well.

I don't know jack shit about Google Glass, but this is so high on my list of wants that I'd drop $1500 for a Google Glass just for this app, assuming it worked well and as advertised.

Someone make this happen.

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