Hacker News Reader

Comment by nailer | Hacker News Reader

I do like the idea, but here is my first experience: I added "Launch MyProjectName website" (using the real name) and here's what it generated as sub tasks:

- Open a web browser

- Type "MyProjectName website" into the search bar

- Press "Enter"

- Locate the official MyProjectName website link in the search results

- Click on the link to access the website

- Wait for the page to load

------

EDIT:

Rate limited, so to reply: I think most people understand there is a difference between launching a website and viewing a website.

If the AI wanted to know more about my role - whether I am a programmer, a designer, or someone that would use a high level Wix/Squarespace type tool - it should ask me.

View on HN

I tried 'Clean home' and it gave me:

Gather cleaning supplies (broom, mop, vacuum, cleaning solutions, cloths)

Declutter each room by picking up items that don’t belong

Dust surfaces such as shelves, tables, and electronics

Wipe down surfaces with appropriate cleaning solutions

Clean glass surfaces and mirrors

Sweep or vacuum all floors

Mop hard floor surfaces

Clean carpets (vacuum or spot clean if necessary)

Freshen up the bathroom (clean toilet, sink, and shower)

Organize items back to their designated places

Take out the trash and recycling

Final walk-through to ensure everything is tidy

Seems perfectly reasonable, given the prompt.

I think most people would consider that launching a website is a separate task from viewing a website.

Most computer people, perhaps. For the average user the difference between an app and a website (especially an app-like website) is much fuzzier, and “launching” an app sounds more technical (and thus more appropriate for an operation that they don’t entirely understand) than “opening” it, so that’s the word they use.

I expect an LLM to be smarter than that, particularly for an audience that frequently works in the technology industry.

Biasing the tool for a developer audience would hurt it's usefulness to more general audiences. I did not get the impression the tools were meant only for developers.

In the 1990s, we frequently used the phrase "launch a website" to mean "navigate to the website", so your prompt could have been clearer than just three words.

“Launching” an application (browser) has been a common phrase for as long as I can remember.

You are the only person discussing “launching an application” in this thread.

How else would you view a website? You've never heard anyone say, "bring up google.com" or "launch google.com"? I've heard those phrases and similar all the time. It's common parlance.

I mean, yeah, that makes sense given that you used a 3 word prompt. It doesn't use real magic, despite having "magic" in the name. You should probably give it some more context.

I typed in "get a haircut" and it worked great.

In reply to your edit:

>I think most people understand there is a difference between launching a website and viewing a website.

I don't think so, at all. Non-tech people at my work come to me and say "I couldn't launch Outlook this morning", or "Google won't launch". They don't mean that they are building an email client or search engine. Most people use "launch" in the non-entrepreneurial way.

I suspect this tool is probably tuned to help with “14-step coffee days”[1] rather than big projects; the list you got is genuinely the more plausibly helpful one for that situation.

[1] https://crafty-butch.tumblr.com/post/638122754578726912/by-w...

Try "ask a question unambiguously", haha!

> I think most people understand there is a difference between launching a website and viewing a website.

No. Only if these people work in IT or somewhat interested. Most people will be pretty confused actually, they understand "starting\launching a business".

Many people are sure that you can create a website just by going into Gmail menus and doing some "techy magic".

I mean this could've happened with a human counterpart too (although, I know, less likely, but still). You probably gotta be at least a little more descriptive and specific about the task.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com