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timbowhiteon Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

Thanks for the suggestion! That makes a lot of sense. You're right, most publishers are very particular about format of their content in these generated videos. Focusing on a single client would help nail down at least one use case, and bring in some much needed cash flow :)

The text-to-speech software was ~$1500, and it's been running on a $100/month dedicated server since February.

timbowhiteon Ask HN: What's a side project you built to make money that hasn't?

https://vidgen.io

It's a web app that generates summary videos of online articles/content.

I launched it in February and it hasn't made a dime. I was charging ~$3 per generated video, but since it's had zero traction, the videos can now be downloaded for free.

The main feature it's lacking is a way to customize the generated videos. Once I get this implemented I will try promoting it again.

Spent about 3 months building it and over $2k in hosting + licensing.

timbowhiteon The Slow Criminalization of Peer-To-Peer Transfers

Do you think people like Rosa Parks should have started their own nation? [0]

What an incredibly frightening way of thinking.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks

timbowhiteon Root Zone Database

Same list with filtering and retail pricing from ~50 registrars: https://tld-list.com

Disclosure: I made tld-list.com, so this comment is a shameless plug.

timbowhiteon Show HN: Commento: Lightweight, open source, tracking-free alternative to Disqus

What's the best way to import existing comment data from Disqus into Commento?

timbowhiteon Blunt. As Fuck

I'd like to make a blunt suggestion: don't hijack browser scrolling.

timbowhiteon Introducing Token

> It's not a novel concept. Bitcoin is a linear web of trust, applied to transactions instead of identities. Webs of trust are as old as PGP. Block C is valid against Block B is valid against Block A, which we both trust.

It's more than just a basic "web of trust". It wouldn't work if it was. Primarily, Bitcoin was the first system to implement proof-of-work to prevent double spending, establish consensus, and distribute the units of account fairly.

EDIT: PGP's web of trust is kind of a poor comparison here, because it requires trusting people, whereas blockchains require trusting math/algos.

> Believing that people only criticize bitcoin because their minds are too small to accept the concept of decentralized money is blatantly closed-minded.

I'm just trying to understand the reasons behind HN's vitriol, always open to hearing other suggestions. (Though there seems to be far less vitriol lately.)

timbowhiteon BitTorrent Inventor Bram Cohen Will Start His Own Cryptocurrency

> why so many people consider cryptocurrencies to be such a big deal.

Sending value anywhere in the world in a very short amount of time without having to trust a middleman.

timbowhiteon Introducing Token

> it's a little excessive to assign such heady altruistic qualities to Satoshi as if he/she/they knew ahead of time what bitcoin would become.

> It'd be a shame if we elevated the experimentation of one intelligent person to be elevated into religion...

Just giving credit where credit is due. If you invented a new open source technology that yielded a market that went from $0 ---> $19B+ in 8 years, then I'd think you'd deserve to be financially rewarded for it, and I may even have some nice things to say about you too.

> I really respect bitcoin's implementation as a thought experiment

Cool. But Bitcoin would still be a BFD even if no one used it. It's an elegant technological implementation of a decentralized immutable ledger and currency system that doesn't require you to trust someone else with your money when you want to spend it. It still puzzles me how many posters on HN (a forum of creators, engineers, and inventors) disregard its technological achievement. Perhaps the idea that "real money" doesn't have to come from some authority figure is simply too offensive?

> I think its use as a permanent basis for a real-world currency and/or a storage/execution platform for programs is misguided.

And therein lies one of its best advantages over traditional currency: it's opt-in only, so you don't have to use it if you prefer not to.

timbowhiteon Introducing Token

> a system that would immensely benefit whoever came up with that particular currency

In Bitcoin's case, Satoshi created the world's first trustless, global digital payment system and distributed it as open source.

Maybe it's just me, but that seems like a pretty big deal. Especially when the software was not patented, and free for anyone to use and build with.

Could Satoshi hold a bunch of BTC worth over a billion USD? Yup, and I hope he/they do. IMHO the creator(s) deserves all that wealth.

> whoever invested early if it ever took off.

Is that not the nature of anything that is capable of being an investment?

timbowhiteon Show HN: Amazon Price Monitor (weekend project)

I had the exact same experience with a price comparison site for a specific type of product. Got the same rejection + reason even after I spent time writing original overviews and articles about the products in question.

timbowhiteon I spent three months working full time to get a job

My advice to job seekers who are asked to complete a "homework assignment" by a potential employer:

Ask to see the company's employment agreements or contracts in writing first.

I was once given a 10 hour assignment, which indeed took that long to complete. Afterwards, the company expressed interest in bringing me on, and sent me a work agreement to sign, which included many unsavory terms such as being paid for completed work 90 days out.

Since their terms were shit, I didn't take the job, and lost 10+ hours of my life.

timbowhiteon Show HN: Vidgen – Generate Summary Videos of HTML Content

This is a project I've been working on/off for the last few months. It makes basic slideshow videos with music, subtitles, and TTS narration using the submitted HTML content.

It's running on a single OVH dedicated host with 8 cores/16 threads and puts out 100 videos in about ~30 minutes (target duration for videos is 45 seconds and are rendered using ffmpeg). If it gets any traction, I plan on setting up a rendering cluster, any tips in that department are appreciated.

If you generate a decent video of your content and want it for free, contact hello@vidgen.io with the video's url. I'll enable it to be downloaded. I just ask that you put it on youtube or vimeo and send me the embed link so I can add it to the site's example gallery. (* today only)

timbowhiteon Runners’ brains may be more connected, research shows

Sure. The other thing I've noticed is that I tend to be more aggressive during strenuous runs. For instance, if a car doesn't yield to me at a crosswalk I'll probably yell out something, whereas I normally would ignore it.

Might be due to both the mental anguish and the "heightened acuity in preparation for the kill" you mentioned :)

timbowhiteon Runners’ brains may be more connected, research shows

Yeah hard runs make me feel great, but it's more of a state of pleasant mental numbness. Mental focus and the ability to do any complex thinking stuff (coding, chess, etc) is entirely diminished.

timbowhiteon Runners’ brains may be more connected, research shows

> I notice how much more clearly I can think after.

If the run is more strenuous, do you still see the same effect?

For me, a 3 miler at a relaxed pace definitely helps me be more focused afterwards.

But if I'm going full tilt up and down hills, or running longer distances, I find myself mentally exhausted afterwards. My theory is that this is due to my mind constantly battling itself on these kind of runs ("THIS HURTS PLEASE STOP NOW" vs. "PUSH PUSH PUSH").

EDIT: I should say both types of runs are relaxing afterwards.

timbowhiteon [dead]

This is very cool. Do you have any plans to add additional providers?

One suggestion: might be nice to have a sortable table of the providers & results so visitors could visually compare them at once.

timbowhiteon Sharing National Security Letters with the Public

> we have been freed of nondisclosure obligations.

> the Act restricts the use of indefinite gag restrictions that prevent providers from ever notifying customers

Did Google say anywhere in that blog post that they've notified the users the NSLs were targeted at?

EDIT: no, but from the TC article[1]

> A Google spokesperson said the usernames were redacted to protect user privacy and that the targeted individuals had been notified.

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/google-national-security-l...

timbowhiteon Ask HN: What was your best passive income in 2016?

TLD List - https://tld-list.com

It's a price comparison website for top-level domains. Gross on average is $600/month through affiliate sales and data download subscriptions. Requires maybe 10-20 hours of work per month for maintenance and new features.

The most difficult part is tracking registrar affiliate earnings, and then actually getting paid by the registrar. Many require you to manually request a payout once you've reached the minimum payout threshold, others simply ignore your payout requests.

timbowhiteon AdultFriendFinder was hacked

Chase's online banking login is case insensitive (for both username and password). Frightening that a bank cares less about security than letting people in.

timbowhiteon Two years spent spamming spammers back

Hmm different strokes I suppose, but I'd definitely interpret that behavior as aggression.

Out of curiosity, if they weren't trying to sell you anything, but were behaving like that (hissing/kissing/blocking your path), do you think getting angry would then be an appropriate response?

timbowhiteon Two years spent spamming spammers back

Are you being serious?

> I wonder what these people think about you

If they're acting at all as GP described, then it's obvious they see you as another mark to aggressively try to extract money from.

Caring about what some bothersome strangers think about you and where you're from takes a distant backseat to standing up to aggression.

timbowhiteon Indie Hackers: Learn how developers are making money

Great site, considering sharing some of my projects.

> Learn how developers are writing their own paychecks.

Would love to see a forum dedicated solely to "indie hacking" for developers. ie. threads related to all the ins-and-outs of independent product development, idea validation, market research, dealing with customers, marketing strategies, founder Q&A, etc.

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

The fact that it happened at all (and without McLellan being proven guilty of anything!) is indicative of a severe security flaw in the banking system.

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

Couldn't agree more. Bitcoin is not for everyone.

Just like using a bank account in the real world involves not divulging your account #, bank website passowrd, SSN, birthday, etc.

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

I think you're conflating Bitcoin (the system) with Bitcoin opsec skills.

Yes, I agree: Bitcoin is probably easier to steal from people who don't know what they're doing. (And yes there is probably is smaller chance of the thief being caught).

But as of now, properly secured Bitcoin can't be stolen by any criminal, government, or bank. Even if they have physical access to the owner's shit!

The same cannot be said for any modern national/fiat electronic monetary system.

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

Sorry I guess I wasn't specific enough. I was referring to the cryptography that makes bitcoins untouchable to anyone except the person with the private key... not some guy's crappy opsec.

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

> Nearly all of which was later recovered.

Citation needed.

> Those are political problems, not problems with the banking system. If the government decides to fuck with you, then you're fucked no matter what the banking system looks like.

I disagree. Has any government shut down a Bitcoin address for "structuring", or publishing pornography?

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

> Unless you are also auditing all the code you use for software that objects with Bitcoin yourself

As I mentioned in another reply, compared to existing electronic monetary systems, an open source one will always be more trustworthy than a closed source one.

>Bitcoin involves trust in the mining community

To be a part of Bitcoin, miners need to follow a publicly known protocol that is easily verifiable by anyone using math. Additionally, miners never have direct control of your money: they can't spend it on your behalf.

I think the only point you have there is that you must trust someone somewhere to mine Bitcoin. And as long as there's a profit to be made, someone probably will.

timbowhiteon Living Only on Bitcoins

> Trying to pull a fast one is risky, and that prevents most people from trying.

Well not these guys: $81M was stolen from the Bangladesh Bank via the SWIFT network in February https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Bangladesh_Bank_heist

> And second, there are humans in the loop

There sure are!

The IRS Seized $107,000 From Store owner for "structuring" http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/12/nc-store-owner-on...

MasterCard Cuts Off Wikileaks, Assange's Bank Account Frozen http://gawker.com/5707851/mastercard-cuts-off-wikileaks-assa...

DOJ's 'Operation Choke Point' May Be Root of Porn Star Bank Account Closings http://reason.com/blog/2014/04/28/doj-operation-chokepoint-a...