Hacker News: madradavid

1979: Will Word-Processors start a home revolution?

madradavid — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6URa-PTqfA

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48368346

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by madradavid in "Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda"

madradavid — Sat, 23 May 2026 06:28:52 +0000

I am Ugandan.

I've shipped electronics and Laptops for Work quite a bit, and OP is right, the system is broken, it stays this way because a lot of corrupt individuals benefit from this mess. However, OP showed a degree of Hubris here, a mistake lots of us make when dealing with foreign countries, just because it works this way here, so it should work that way in XYZ.

OP would have saved themselves lots of time and money if they'd asked Django what the best way to get that laptop shipped to them was. Lots of Ugandans in Austria ship things back daily; they just do it differently, simply hand it to someone travelling back home, there are people travelling back daily, willing to help or just pay a shipping agency a small amount and they'll handle everything.

This is a good act of charity and I applaud OP for that; however, the first mistake they made was Google "How to send a laptop overseas" , a message to Django, asking the best way to get them the laptop would have saved them time and money.

We all fall into this trap of giving people in need what we think they need instead of asking them how best we can help. Local knowledge goes a long way.

All in all, I applaud OP, not many of us would have done this.

New comment by madradavid in "Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda"

madradavid — Sat, 23 May 2026 06:06:14 +0000

I am Ugandan, that $200 could have gone a long way buying used locally , case in point https://jiji.ug/central-division/computers-and-laptops/lapto... , a used Macbook pro with some change to spare.

New comment by madradavid in "Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment"

madradavid — Wed, 20 May 2026 14:24:08 +0000

Actually you can send money (cross border payments ) to another country that also has mobile money, I can send money to a Kenyan, Tanzanian etc all I need is their Phone number. I am not sure what you mean by “holding both sides of the transaction “, when you send me money it appears in my balance (which I can check via a USSD query), it’s essentially a bank account but on USSD and sms. A lot of cross border payments are now settled via USSD. Hell I can now get a Visa/Mastercard by just dailing a code and I will have payment details with my name and address.

New comment by madradavid in "Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment"

madradavid — Wed, 20 May 2026 13:55:49 +0000

Interestingly in a number of African Countries (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania etc) , we have “Mobile Money”, Payments are instant, via USSD, no internet required, I can even pay online using USSD push.This is a classical example of humans using what they have to build what they need , no fancy internet enabled smart phones required. I can send money anytime instantly to my grandma deep in the village. She can withdraw from or top up her account in the numerous mobile money stalls that are everywhere. You pay school dues, medical bills , groceries via mobile money. I don’t remember the last time I visited a bank, hell I can even get an instant loan by just dailing *165# on my no internet feature phone.

New comment by madradavid in "Launch HN: Kampala (YC W26) – Reverse-Engineer Apps into APIs"

madradavid — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:19:36 +0000

Congratulations on the launch.

Totally unrelated, I am just curious about why you chose the name, as someone who is Ugandan and was born in raised in Kampala (which is the Capital City of Uganda BTW).

Congratulations again.

New comment by madradavid in "YouTube users get option to set their Shorts time limit to zero minutes"

madradavid — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 05:12:02 +0000

I am still trying to figure out why YouTube/Google is willing to die on this hill ? Surely they’ve gotten feedback or seen it in their analytics that there is a significant group of people who don’t like these “shorts”.

Them implementing this “zero minutes” thing already tells you that they have realized there is some pushback.

Why not just add an on/off toggle?

This short form , TikTok style endless scroll stuff has a junk food feeling to it , as a paying customer why can’t you just give me the option to turn this off ?

New comment by madradavid in "Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead"

madradavid — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:33:56 +0000

I did read that article; it is just a generic article about how funerals are expensive, you could replace Kampala with New York, and it would still hold.

My point is that the Author has picked a practice by a couple of tribes on a Continent so diverse and large you could fit the states, the UK, and still have space for 30 or so more countries, and passed it off as the norm.

Funerals can be expensive, anywhere. I don't want you going away with the impression that all these poor Africans are using up all their hard-earned savings to throw these outlandish burial ceremonies.

New comment by madradavid in "Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead"

madradavid — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 03:37:30 +0000

I am Ugandan. These kind of burials are unheard of in my country. The Author is labeling this an “African” thing which is just the usual daft nonsense. A number of Ghanaian and Nigerian tribes bury their dead like this , it is more a celebration of life. This is like taking something a small town in Louisiana does and declaring it an “American” tradition.

I Analyzed 512,000 Lines of Leaked Code.it Shows What's Coming for Your AI Tools [video]

madradavid — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:52:55 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro5jpbi5uYc

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47693795

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

You're Building AI Agents on Layers That Won't Exist in 18 Months [video]

madradavid — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:11:05 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HP1jFJ9W1c

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664655

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

The Chip War, explained in 54 minutes – Chris Miller [video]

madradavid — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:51:21 +0000

Article URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdJ04Bt6W-Q

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47121670

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Alibaba launches new AI model, says it outperforms DeepSeek

madradavid — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:25:38 +0000

Article URL: https://www.capitalbrief.com/briefing/alibaba-launches-new-ai-model-says-it-outperforms-deepseek-2ebc0d9e-9e52-4119-8114-d73eec15d512/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42867040

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by madradavid in "Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail"

madradavid — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:31:37 +0000

Total noob question here and I apologize in advance. Are these the “actual” pictures or are they “touched up” by an artist ? If they the real pictures then this is truly impressive …

The Kenyans who are helping the world to cheat

madradavid — Thu, 09 Sep 2021 12:47:32 +0000

Article URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-58465189

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28469073

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

New comment by madradavid in "No, your cryptocurrency cannot work"

madradavid — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:47:29 +0000

The person who created the gist has this on their website "Available payment methods include PayPal, Bitcoin, and SEPA transfers." http://cryto.net/~joepie91/

The summer Intel fell behind

madradavid — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 13:37:45 +0000

Article URL: https://www.theverge.com/22597713/intel-7nm-delay-summer-2020-apple-arm-switch-roadmap-gelsinger-ceo

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28007801

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

Free Software Foundation and RMS issue statements on Stallman’s return

madradavid — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 13:36:48 +0000

Article URL: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/free-software-foundation-and-rms-issue-statements-on-stallmans-return/

Hacker News: madradavid

1979: Will Word-Processors start a home revolution?

New comment by madradavid in "Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda"

New comment by madradavid in "Shipping a laptop to a refugee camp in Uganda"

New comment by madradavid in "Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment"

New comment by madradavid in "Goodbye Visa and Mastercard: 130M Europeans switching to sovereign payment"

New comment by madradavid in "Launch HN: Kampala (YC W26) – Reverse-Engineer Apps into APIs"

New comment by madradavid in "YouTube users get option to set their Shorts time limit to zero minutes"

New comment by madradavid in "Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead"

New comment by madradavid in "Many African families spend fortunes burying their dead"

I Analyzed 512,000 Lines of Leaked Code.it Shows What's Coming for Your AI Tools [video]

You're Building AI Agents on Layers That Won't Exist in 18 Months [video]

The Chip War, explained in 54 minutes – Chris Miller [video]

Alibaba launches new AI model, says it outperforms DeepSeek

New comment by madradavid in "Webb captures iconic Horsehead Nebula in unprecedented detail"

The Kenyans who are helping the world to cheat

New comment by madradavid in "No, your cryptocurrency cannot work"

The summer Intel fell behind

Free Software Foundation and RMS issue statements on Stallman’s return

New comment by madradavid in "Signal Fork with WhatsApp Migration"

Robert Tappan Morris