Hacker News: GFischer

New comment by GFischer in "Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV"

GFischer — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:07:10 +0000

It makes 100% sense for a Mexican commute, or in other parts of South America.

I live in Uruguay and one of the best selling cars here is pretty similar, a friend has it and it's great for the daily commute:

https://bawauto.com/pony/

The best sellers are BYD models, which are a bit larger but still tiny by US standards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BYD_Seagull

EVs have displaced ICE cars in Uruguay, and we usually are ahead of the trends, so I expect that to be the case in Europe and other places in coming years.

New comment by GFischer in "Mexican government unveils a prototype for a new homegrown, ultra-affordable EV"

GFischer — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:00:54 +0000

I wanted to buy a Tata Nano but unfortunately didn't make it to my country at an affordable price.

I think the demand was there, the supply wasn't.

My country, Uruguay, leads in EV adoption, and some small EVs are absolutely selling like hotcakes, a friend has the BAW Pony and I'd buy it if I had a place to charge it (there's issues with chargers inside condos due to fire risks).

170 km is plenty for city and suburban driving.

https://bawauto.com/pony/

New comment by GFischer in "Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning"

GFischer — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:36:34 +0000

My grandparents were German and they always said all of that, TIL not all of it might be correct.

New comment by GFischer in "Extreme Heat conference cancelled due to extreme heat warning"

GFischer — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 14:25:58 +0000

TIL. I see that in my country (Uruguay) the Dew point in summer is usually above 20ºc and some peaks above 26ºc (when temperature is above 30ºc with high humidity), no wonder it feels hot and oppressive (it's always humid, too).

New comment by GFischer in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (April 2026)"

GFischer — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:59:21 +0000

Pretty cool... I dabbled into the idea of having a super simple tablet on a frame with a one-touch call function to family members - obviously with a camera and much different, but also revolving about the photo frame idea.

New comment by GFischer in "I wish people were more public"

GFischer — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:34:01 +0000

Discord feels like this generation's forums (and Reddit).

New comment by GFischer in "I wish people were more public"

GFischer — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 18:33:23 +0000

My father lived through the Uruguay dictatorship in the 1970s and avoids all social media whenever possible.

I was an infant at the beginning of democracy, so I haven't taken that much care.

Now, it seems he'll be vindicated once again, I do plan on visiting the USA and I'm hoping my social media won't be an obstacle (fortunately I don't think I have anything, but who knows, maybe I liked a meme or something).

New comment by GFischer in "I can't upgrade to Windows 11, now leave me alone"

GFischer — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:11:48 +0000

It's thanks to Valve that I'm considering switching to Linux (I'll probably still need a Windows machine around for various reasons).

They really did a good job.

New comment by GFischer in "If AI replaces workers, should it also pay taxes?"

GFischer — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 13:55:53 +0000

I don't understand why socialists or communists don't tax the means of production accordingly, if they don't have money, take partial ownership (or complete ownership and turn it into a co-op or something).

Owners of capital and means of production have succesfully gamed the system and most of the tax burden falls on us middle class idiots that pay taxes on our work.

New comment by GFischer in "Show HN: Gemini Pro 3 imagines the HN front page 10 years from now"

GFischer — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 15:43:14 +0000

This is great.

New comment by GFischer in "US airlines are pushing to remove protections for passengers and add more fees"

GFischer — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 19:09:56 +0000

Meanwhile I had a terrible experience with DB (Deutsche Bahn) during the European summer two years ago, although it was partly out of their control (weather related delays and cancellations), I had to take awful detours, had paid for 1st class on ICE and ended up on regional trains up and down and lost one day of my holidays. No compensation whatsoever, although maybe I had to fill some online form for that.

New comment by GFischer in "The $25k car is going extinct?"

GFischer — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:53:05 +0000

The used car pricing in the USA used to be bizarrely cheap, it's now corrected or overcorrected.

New comment by GFischer in "WhatsApp introduces ads in its app"

GFischer — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:12:15 +0000

Why? Isn't it a closed, non interoperable platform?

Android has 88% market share in Brazil, so it sounds like terrible advice.

New comment by GFischer in "WhatsApp introduces ads in its app"

GFischer — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:11:02 +0000

But it gained way more traction in other parts of the world, it's the default messaging platform in South America for EVERYTHING.

I have never seen an iMessage.

New comment by GFischer in "A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen"

GFischer — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 18:42:31 +0000

They're selling ridiculous numbers in Brazil and Uruguay and are opening a factory there.

I think they're the number one brand by sales some months in Uruguay.

New comment by GFischer in "Should more of us be moving to live near friends?"

GFischer — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 18:43:50 +0000

Not everyone, I was given the option to go to the US legally (L1 visa) and passed on it, the person that chose to go instead regretted it and came back.

I am from Uruguay though, which is the best Latin American country, so YMMV, if I was from Venezuela I'd move to the US 100%.

New comment by GFischer in "'I Don't Want to Die.' He needed mental health care. He found a ghost network"

GFischer — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 15:22:04 +0000

It was one of the biggest considerations that made me decide against moving to the USA.

One of my coworkers took advantage of the L1 Visa (which I can still qualify for) and she ended up moving back to my home country Uruguay even though she made 50% higher salary in USA.

She did live some of the worst stuff in USA like Texas electricity failures, 20.000 dollar healthcare bills, etc.

New comment by GFischer in "Just use fucking paper, man"

GFischer — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 19:59:32 +0000

You have somehow reinvented the USENET organization method :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet#Organization

New comment by GFischer in "Panasonic Toughbook 40"

GFischer — Thu, 29 Aug 2024 17:12:48 +0000

A family member has a Toughbook for sailing. There are no repair shops at sea.

New comment by GFischer in "If we want a shift to walking, we need to prioritize dignity"

GFischer — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 13:58:18 +0000

Humidity is the worst part, when it's hot but not so humid it's OK.

And at least here in Montevideo we're literally by the beach. I am two blocks away from being able to swim :)

I do complain a lot about the heat+humidity combination and I use A/C a lot.