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DXL

338 karma · joined October 7, 2007

email me: danieldl (gmail) http://www.hackernewsers.com/users/DXL.html
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DXL··on Amazon introduces new service: Simple Notification Service
They could, but I assume SendGrid has more checks in place to prevent their users from sending unwanted emails. That way SendGrid has little risk of getting blacklisted, whereas a presumably uncontrolled service like Amazon's would.
DXL··on Alfred App
Launchy is a similar app for Windows and Linux. It's not super great for finding and opening files, but it's a great timesaver for opening websites and applications, especially if you use your keyboard more than your muse (as I presume most hackers do).

http://www.launchy.net/

DXL··on Ask PG/HN: Is there something changed in the rank/sorting algorithm of HN?
I believe I read sometime that all posts without a URL (i.e. "self" posts) get a discount of about 40%.
DXL··on Ask HN: Fastest way to make $300-400 a month online?
Build a comparison site or two: look for a market where affiliate programs are ubiquitous, structure the data and write a small application that helps customers decide. Get traffic using some basic SEO. Then pocket the commission from sales.

I did this for the personal savings market and "sim-only" mobile telephony subscriptions market in the Netherlands. It brings in a couple of hundred euros a month with only 1-2 hours of maintenance.

DXL··on How to become rich even if nobody is following you on Twitter
I wrote a script sometime ago, which sells about 4 copies a month for $25 each. The only way I marketed was by adding it to directories such as HotScripts. That will you give you some traffic if you're providing a solution in a field that's not highly competitive (a niche). You could try that.
DXL··on Money making dreams and the reality
Would you mind writing up a piece about your offline affiliate marketing experience, since it seems to be the most successful thing you've done?
DXL··on Google Chrome 4 now natively supports Greasemonkey user scripts
You're right, I totally missed that announcement. That pretty much invalidates my whole point, sorry.
DXL··on Google Chrome 4 now natively supports Greasemonkey user scripts
I always thought Google had a browser for the masses in mind with Chrome. Something that is easy to use, stable and fast: a good alternative for IE.

User scripts are something for power users, who will always prefer Firefox. Won't this create the risk that average users will accept installing all kinds of scripts without much regard for security implications? User scripts are a powerful yet low-threshold tool which could easily lend itself to purposes such as identity theft.

DXL··on I will make 100 redesigns because I'm sick of startups
The redesigns look great, way to go ;)

If this gains a little traction, you might find your inbox full of requests for your services. (Edit: I missed the dark gray bar at the top of the page and now see that you're aiming for that. Good luck!)

DXL··on Brain Hack: turn your Loss Aversion Bias on its head
Try the paper(s) named (Cumulative) Prospect Theory.
DXL··on Brain Hack: turn your Loss Aversion Bias on its head
Additionally - I am not certain about the mentioned scientists' exact definition of loss - you might argue that since the damage was already done (Joe had already been charged), the 11 dollars was a gain rather than an adverted loss.
DXL··on Personal Productivity Checklist
While "20% of the activity is responsible for 80% of the problem," I doubt if "dialing the wrong number," "opening the wrong document" and "making spelling mistakes" are the kind of problems you should be spending lots of attention on.

Introspection and self-improvement can both be powerful tools, but it is best used against much larger problems, many of which will not become apparent by keeping track of writing down every little stupid mistake.

DXL··on Ask HN: review my app - a minimalist's to-do organizer
Maybe I'm dumb, but I can't quite figure out what the "Review" label means. What does it mean?
DXL··on [dead]
Hearing this, I changed my password and opened a ticket to have my account closed. About 15 minutes later, I got an email asking this:

May I have your username along with the first and third character of your password?

DXL··on Ask HN: What APIs do you wish existed?
An API for a service that prints and snail mails documents cheaply and professionally in the Netherlands. That would let me build a cool online billing app.
DXL··on Priceline.com get $1000+ CPM for deceptive links in the checkout process
That is pretty much how the dominant payment system in the Neterlands works (iDEAL):

1. The merchant shows a list of banks that support iDEAL (all major banks, currently 8)

2. You pick yours, the merchant sends you to your online banking environment

3. You log into to your bank account (with your username and password)

4. You review the proposed transaction

5. A transaction code is sent to your mobile phone which you have to enter (alternatively, a list with numbered transaction codes is sent to you using snail mail in advance, the website gives you the transaction code it wants which you'll have to offer; transaction codes are used only one time)

6. The transaction is made instantly and confirmed with the merchant. To the merchant's advantage, the transaction is irreversible.

The total cost can be as low as 45 cents for the merchant, with no fixed or upfront costs.

DXL··on OSS (pre-CIA) Simple Sabotage Field Manual
For people like me, who get a Firefox security error message, try the links without the s in https:

http://svn.cacert.org/CAcert/CAcert_Inc/Board/oss/oss_sabota...

DXL··on Ask HN: Why does a url use ://?
Tim Berners Lee, the creator of the Web and of URLs, wrote some time ago that he regretted the double slash in URLs, saying that one would suffice.
DXL··on Ask HN: My HN has vanished
When my IP was blocked I could connect but the HTTP server wouldn't respond. The ban was caused by a userscript posted here a couple of days ago that was poorly scripted and would thus trigger anti-DDOS/anti-scraping protection. I emailed PG about it and he unbanned me. The same thing happened to at least one other person.

See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=781918

DXL··on Ask HN/PG: Is my IP banned?
"Have you tried your same PC/browser but going through a proxy? Have you tried your same account on the same PC in a different browser? Tried logging in from a free/unsecured wifi somewhere? Tried deleting cookies in your browser? Tried a different PC (library, friend, other family member, etc.)."

I used a web proxy to post this and as I noted in my original post (see paragraph 2) I tried Google Chrome as well as curl. I have also tried accessing the site using a different computer on the same network/IP. I did not mention this in my original post and in hindsight I see that I should have.

Perhaps this question should have been just addressed to PG (and an email would have been sufficient), but on the other hand when I realized that the userscript might have been the cause a few minutes after posting, ashleyw's and jacquesm's comments were valuable.

So please excuse me if I wasted your or anyone else's time.

DXL··on Ask HN/PG: Is my IP banned?
Thanks. I emailed him yesterday and asked the same thing, now I'm just waiting for a response.
DXL··on Ask HN/PG: Is my IP banned?
I did install this userscript recently:

http://github.com/brainkarma/hnreputation/tree/master

Might that have triggered an automatic anti-scraping/anti-dos ban or something?

DXL··on Ogg codecs dropped from HTML5
"I considered requiring Ogg Theora support in the spec, since we do have three implementations that are willing to implement it, but it wouldn't help get us true interoperabiliy, since the people who are willing to implement it are willing to do so regardless of the spec, and the people who aren't are not going to be swayed by what the spec says. "

That appears to be the permanent fate of the World Wide Web Consortium and its specs, unfortunately.

DXL··on Ask HN: Books on getting rich?
I think reality has catched up with a lot of what RDPD is about, namely buying real estate properties and then letting others rent them, when the housing and credit markets crashed. The one good lesson from the book now seems to be that you cannot expect high returns without high risks.
DXL··on Ask HN: How to bulk transfer ~50 domains? (+ Registrar suggestions?)
DynaDot.com supports bulk transfer. Pricing is not highly competitive ($9.25 a year for .com) but I have had no problems so far with 5 domains hosted. It has all the usual stuff (DNS, own name servers, etc.)
DXL··on [dead]
Can someone explain the purpose or joke of this site to me?
DXL··on [dead]
Kind of like how very religious people see images of the Virgin Mary in rotten pieces of cheese.
DXL··on The only time you're ever allowed to start music on a home page
This is a very dynamic start-up. Two weeks ago they announced they changed their brand from thesixtyone to thesixtynine, because they thought it would be more memorable. (See http://thesixtyone.tumblr.com/post/91817637/reinventing-the-...) It looked kinda odd, having a "69" icon in my bookmarks toolbar.

Anyway, they appeared to have returned to the old brand now. Great site, though :)

DXL··on Ask HN: Please review my webapp: Da Button Factory - create shiny buttons
Really nice, but I'd suggest adding a color picker to the color fields. Not everybody can calculate hex values from the top of their head.
DXL··on "There's no reason only poor people should have the experience" - TED video of Bill Gates
In 2001, 1.1 billion people had consumption levels below $1 a day and 2.7 billion lived on less than $2 a day. When you're living with such an income, you're probably starving and hoping you make it through another week. Even if it were possible for someone to save the amount needed, there may still not be a shop around where you can buy one, especially in rural areas.
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