Hacker News: Cockbrand

New comment by Cockbrand in "If your product is Great, it doesn't need to be Good (2010)"

Cockbrand — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:33:40 +0000

Probably hundreds of millions, maybe even billions of people still suffer from this truth each and every day.

New comment by Cockbrand in "The AirPods Effect"

Cockbrand — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 10:57:51 +0000

This may not always be an option for the somewhat more than 8 billion people who don't live in areas served by Waymo.

New comment by Cockbrand in "I Love the Computer"

Cockbrand — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 07:42:11 +0000

*Every* time I try to be smart on HN, there's ~someone who outsmarts me~ an opportunity to learn - and that's one of the reasons why I keep coming back. Thank you :)

New comment by Cockbrand in "I Love the Computer"

Cockbrand — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 05:04:21 +0000

If you're referring to the mag covers, they're Norwegian in fact. (Bokmål or Nynorsk, you ask? Idk)

New comment by Cockbrand in "Vacuum-Form Signage"

Cockbrand — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 06:29:33 +0000

I'm fairly certain that the YouTube logo, especially the original one, is meant to symbolize a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) TV like this one: https://spencertified.com/cdn/shop/collections/Sears-Solid-S... (random example from image search). In times of linear TV, you'd ask whether anything was on the tube when you were wondering whether you'd want to watch something.

New comment by Cockbrand in "Tribute to Jiro Yamada, Automotive Artist (1960-2025) [video]"

Cockbrand — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:36:08 +0000

As a kid I loved these illustrations that made it so transparent (pun semi-intended) how a particular car is constructed, and how all the individual components work together. I never learned the name of the artist until I stumbled upon this post, though.

New comment by Cockbrand in "The Pirate Bay Remains Resilient, 20 Years After the Raid"

Cockbrand — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:02:16 +0000

It's been thepiratebay.org for ages now (or so I heard, not that I'd ever go there ever, of course).

New comment by Cockbrand in "Chuwi Minibook X"

Cockbrand — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 08:38:29 +0000

Seems like this discussion creates a lot of interest in the Minibook X - researching the device on Google shows lower prices than on the actual pages behind the search results, so they must have become higher very recently.

New comment by Cockbrand in "Mysteries of the Griffin iMate"

Cockbrand — Sun, 31 May 2026 11:10:44 +0000

That I didn't know, thanks!

New comment by Cockbrand in "Mysteries of the Griffin iMate"

Cockbrand — Sun, 31 May 2026 09:48:15 +0000

As someone has pointed out in the post's comments, there's the Wombat ADB-USB converter as an alternative. Doesn't look as good, but requires no battery or other power supply. IIRC, it does distinguish between left and right Shift/Command/Option keys. Quickly looking at the product page I realize that it even converts both ways, so you can also use it to attach your USB keyboard to your ADB Mac or NeXT.

New comment by Cockbrand in "I found a seashell in the middle of the desert"

Cockbrand — Sat, 30 May 2026 20:51:27 +0000

She sells seashells in the Sahara was my first association, but then the article clearly states that we're talking about a different desert.

New comment by Cockbrand in "It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12"

Cockbrand — Sat, 30 May 2026 13:40:18 +0000

I in contrast highly doubt that Apple would release a potentially super popular product that doesn't create a profit. My personal assumption is that the profit margin for the MB Neo is quite low, but it still exists.

Their advantage is that they have long running, very tight contracts with their suppliers, and extremely high vertical integration. They don't have to share a part of the profit margin with Intel or Microsoft. Also, they have a simple product range with comparatively few SKUs, and produce an extremely high volume of units, taking advantage of the economies of scale.

New comment by Cockbrand in "What Is a Dickover?"

Cockbrand — Sat, 30 May 2026 01:37:32 +0000

> "Remove this popup" or "Remove this dickover"

> Be honest.

The latter definitely is the more honest answer.

New comment by Cockbrand in "An Obsessive Focus on UX: Pilot's Pressure-Regulating Kire-Na Highlighter"

Cockbrand — Fri, 29 May 2026 13:12:21 +0000

Japanese overdesign is not only about removing inconveniences, it's also about bringing a bit (or even a lot) of joy into using seemingly mundane products - just like this highlighter. Just knowing that a lot of thought went into the product to make it as good as it can be without making it a luxury item is something that elates me whenever I use something like this.

Another good example is Japanese cling wrap, which is just so much better than everything I've seen in western supermarkets.

New comment by Cockbrand in "Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (2006)"

Cockbrand — Tue, 26 May 2026 20:40:03 +0000

Parent is the only correct answer in this thread.

New comment by Cockbrand in "Jira Is Turing-Complete"

Cockbrand — Mon, 25 May 2026 08:38:53 +0000

My day job doesn't require using Jira or similar tools any more, so from a perspective of genuine curiosity: what's the consensus among entire project teams (not just the nerds) for a better alternative?

New comment by Cockbrand in "Show HN: Rocksky – Music scrobbling and discovery on the AT Protocol"

Cockbrand — Sun, 17 May 2026 10:41:57 +0000

Same here, and I was somewhere between puzzled and intrigued.

New comment by Cockbrand in "Linux gaming is faster because Windows APIs are becoming Linux kernel features"

Cockbrand — Thu, 14 May 2026 15:41:22 +0000

I guess this was a quote from this iPad ad: http://youtu.be/Ixy2ql7g3-I

New comment by Cockbrand in "Griffin PowerMate driver for modern macOS"

Cockbrand — Tue, 12 May 2026 08:09:33 +0000

I was wondering whether BetterTouchTool would support the PowerMate, and I sure didn't get disappointed: https://community.folivora.ai/t/griffin-powermate/30169

Disclosure: I have no idea whether this would still work, and I have no way to find out.

New comment by Cockbrand in "The greatest shot in television: James Burke had one chance to nail this scene (2024)"

Cockbrand — Mon, 11 May 2026 13:32:27 +0000

I never understood it any different, but the effect still superb IMHO.