Are there other all-in-one platforms?

It reminds me a little of Citadel/UX (https://citadel.org) or software for the Reticulum Network (https://reticulum.network/manual/gettingstartedfast.html#nom...).

I do think it has uses beyond sewing; enlarging art, for example, or perhaps painting stage backgrounds, or maybe laying out patterns for building something out of wood.

My app is called Project&Cut and can be found at https://projectandcut.com.

Once you have a PDF, you can: 1 - print it in poster format across many pages of paper 2 - use a projector aimed down onto your cutting surface and then cut the pieces out or 3 - a few people are fortunate enough to use laser cutters to cut out their fabric.

Speaking more on point 2, projector sewing got way easier this year with the release of automatic calibration software, namely https://projectandcut.com and https://www.patternprojector.com. (The first one is my project). If you want to learn more about it, you might also look at Projectors for Sewing facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/481078582801085) or https://projectorsewing.com or search google or YouTube.

You really can be set up for $100. I also think this could work with some forms of woodworking, or, say, crafting foam armour or decorating cakes.

Is such a thing possible with the Linux market? Can I sell my software through stores? Is IAP a thing?

If the project is open-source, I can just put up a website that people can access and use it. I don't expect the hosting to cost much.

If I'm going for commercial software, things get more complicated quickly (even not accounting for the fact that the relationship with the audience is different; what they might appreciate as a useful tool shared with them would need a lot more polish and testing to be something they are happy to buy.) I see two main approaches: running a SaaS application (ie. where users need a login, and probably pay every month for access) or producing a series of apps for different platforms (probably using Electron and Capacitor) which can be sold through app stores (although may require IAPs, sigh).

For a SaaS-like approach, I'm obviously googling the wrong terms; "Selling web-apps" is particularly bad. There's got to be a solution that deals with billing and knowing if accounts are in good standing that I can integrate. Everyone's got to do this and it seems a bit much to do it from scratch. The big perk of this approach, though, is that a user could use multiple devices with one subscription, including older devices if they support recent enough browser technology.

There is an appeal with the multiple apps in app stores as an approach. Namely, I don't have to worry about how to collect money from people and they don't need to log in to use the app. It just runs. As an additional plus, it makes people feel comforted knowing that their access won't just be turned off, or that it can run offline. The big downsides are that 1) I know people in this niche use "spare" computers (running older operating systems that you can't ship new store apps for), and 2) it is probably not so bad to create apps for major ecosystems and stores, but for lesser ones (where an online web app would just work) it just isn't going to be worth the time. [The pre-app-store approach, of needing a license code, might also be viable, but more effort.]

Let me add a couple of points here. I'm not really interested in running a business. This is more of a side project. If it isn't hard to serve an under-met need and make a little bit of money doing it (the much-talked about "passive income" approach), then that's great. The audience, while niche, is surprisingly large. If I do release a functional open-source version that people can just access through a website, I don't see that anyone would pay for a commercial version. (If they had to set up an `npm` environment and run it, even if I gave clear instructions, I think a commercial alternative would be viable.) I suppose I could put up a "tip jar" but my expectations are pretty low for such a thing. I don't think this is something that would be amenable to selling content via patreon or selling support, although many members in the audience are non-technical.

I'm grateful for any insights.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37768832

Points: 5

# Comments: 4

Interestingly, as I recall, nearly as many people are injured each year from power tools as are injured in vehicular collisions (in the US) and way more people drive than use power tools.

There is a solution, yes, but the problem is not solved.

The last one we got is a Brother MFC-J5945DW. What's really nice is that it has refillable ink tanks (I'm using 3rd party refills to save a ton of money) and it'll print on ledger/tabloid/A3 paper (as well as regular sizes). This is particular nice for printing booklets.

Honestly, as you are in Europe, you should look into the European Hamnet. See https://hamnet.eu/site/community.html and https://www.tapr.org/pdf/DCC2014-TheEuropeanHAMNET-DG8NGN.pd.... They aren't using WiFi, but the goal is the same.

Both of these require licensed amateur radio operators to use normally. (Maybe wartime is a different matter). I do believe I heard that Russia took radio transceivers away from operators in the Ukraine, but don't know much about it.

I've got an old netbook and decided to put back on the OS it originally came with, Windows 7 Starter. I was so surprised when I couldn't run updates; I finally attributed it to having old security certificates, but couldn't figure out how to update them, and some important updates that I installed on other computers (a number of HTTPS sites are impossible to see without the right certs) and copied over would not install. Such a pain.

And here, just like that, Windows 7 SP1 is installing.

To those who made this: Thank you so much!

I wish it was a little more obvious how to search it, or what all the variations mean, but it looks like a valuable resource.

It is worth noting that Kiwix works on multiple OSes and on phones and has a wifi hostspot version (that you might run on an raspberry pi, for example). Internet-in-a-box similarly works as a wifi hostspot for ZOM archives.

Lastly, it is worth mentioning that there are tools for creating your own ZIM files; it looks like the most straightforward way is to take a static website and use a utility to convert it into one self-contained file.