Hacker News: turtlebits

New comment by turtlebits in "Ask HN: What do you run on a $5 VPS that's worth keeping online 24/7?"

turtlebits — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 21:09:52 +0000

IME The amount of time spent on shopping and managing for a cheapo VM isn't worth it, considering you'll likely only be able to fit one service per server.

Id rather have a single more powerful server and host everything there.

New comment by turtlebits in "Tell HN: GitHub refuses to remove cracked copies of my software after a month"

turtlebits — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 21:31:36 +0000

Piracy is rampant, platform providers aren't going to be able to keep up, especially in this AI age.

IME, the best route is to disincentivize it, make it harder to copy (obfuscation , etc) or just change your product/lower friction.

If people don't want ads, offer a low-cost ad free option. Having auto-play video ads is extremely distracting.

New comment by turtlebits in "Supabase is acquiring Turso"

turtlebits — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:24:01 +0000

If yiu had the resources/time, why wouldn't you challenge or improve status quo?

Sqlite is excellent but I still have many gripes with it, especially around defaults.

New comment by turtlebits in "PS5 Relapse Exploit"

turtlebits — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:26:48 +0000

A pro device is going to be expensive. Non gamers won't buy it, let alone $60+ games.

New comment by turtlebits in "iPhone Duo"

turtlebits — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 19:15:07 +0000

$2k for a new product line isn't rough. It's on par with other competitors.

New comment by turtlebits in "Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-friendly tariff controls"

turtlebits — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:16:11 +0000

Solar water heaters (including evacuated vacuum tube) are great for efficiency, but PV has gotten so cheap and reliable that it's almost never worth a dedicated solar water heater unless you're extremely constrained for space.

New comment by turtlebits in "Hitachi launches CO2 heat pump water heaters with solar-friendly tariff controls"

turtlebits — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 17:13:19 +0000

Chinese brands have all but caught up, they're within a few percentage points in performance, but 3-4x cheaper.

The additional cost barrier being you can't self install or Mitsubishi or get any warranty on a self install, which means you'll likely pay 5-10x when you include install.

New comment by turtlebits in "iPhone Duo"

turtlebits — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:49:30 +0000

Why do people keep asking the same question over and over? It's because of market demand.

I have an S24 ultra and I had an even bigger Sony xperia a while back. I have an old iPhone SE ( the one in the form factor of the iPhone 4) and find it absolutely unusable. Typing is a joke.

New comment by turtlebits in "Decapitating a MacBook (2025)"

turtlebits — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 22:07:35 +0000

Yes it seems absurd optimizing to keep on 12v to save on the inverter overhead, but at the same time are running sealed lead acid batteries.

Switching to LFP would give them 5-6x the capacity for the same weight. Current rate for LFP is around $100/kWh.

New comment by turtlebits in "Decapitating a MacBook (2025)"

turtlebits — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 21:57:10 +0000

Unless there is some space/weight constraint, adding additional battery capacity for idle draw and running an inverter is likely less expensive than trying to find 12v only equipment.

OP is running sealed lead acid batteries, they could have 5-6x the capacity using LFP batteries with the same weight.

New comment by turtlebits in "Htmx 4.0"

turtlebits — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 04:47:07 +0000

Datastar relies way to much on IDs everywhere that it's not ergonomic and turns into a chore. It's also a bit too complicated for its own good trying to solve everything.

New comment by turtlebits in "Bugatti CEO Mate Rimac: The future of supercars is combustion engines"

turtlebits — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 15:02:43 +0000

Supercars aren't the excessively noisy ones. Those are the modified cars. Many have quiet modes that run off battery so you don't wake up your neighbors.

IMHO, pollution is way worse.

I'd rather a tax on gas so high that commuter ICE cars don't exist anymore. Let the enthusiasts who actually enjoy driving burn gas.

New comment by turtlebits in "Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown"

turtlebits — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 23:30:26 +0000

Yeah of course you could DIY this or find your own subs much cheaper, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not that bad.

You get a finished and conditioned room, and it most likely added value to his house.

New comment by turtlebits in "Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown"

turtlebits — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:41:17 +0000

Those are 2x4 studs, so R13, shoving thicker insulation in doesn't change much.

New comment by turtlebits in "Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown"

turtlebits — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:38:34 +0000

Theres a baseline cost for work to be done, the OP decided to build an 8x10, but easily could cost a similar amount or a few thousand more for a shed 4x larger.

New comment by turtlebits in "Building a backyard office, the build and cost breakdown"

turtlebits — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 17:35:25 +0000

HVAC techs are in such high demand, they can charge exorbitant rates to install/service, that its not in their interest to service them, or even install them.

It took me a while to find a company to install a mini split I purchased on my own, and I paid $$ for labor. This was only because I didn't have the time.

That said, mini splits are so cheap (sub $500) that its easier to just purchase a new one than repair.

New comment by turtlebits in "What If America Went Dark?"

turtlebits — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:33:19 +0000

"Someone unlocked this story for you. Log in to read for free."

WTF NYT?

New comment by turtlebits in "Field measurements of neighborhood-scale air temperature impacts of data centers"

turtlebits — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:29:34 +0000

Current administration has gutted the EPA, which means no one cares about going the cheap route and running data centers off fossil fuels and water.

New comment by turtlebits in "Buy Your Friends Batteries"

turtlebits — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 03:23:29 +0000

I hate being a broken record, but batteries are $100/kWh now, sometimes less. Don't buy proprietary. You can get a 3kW inverter and 5kWh of battery for ~800 USD. Want more storage or output? Just add batteries or swap out the inverter.

New comment by turtlebits in "How I over-engineered my book"

turtlebits — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 20:23:34 +0000

I normally don't comment on AI articles, but the TLDR was so obviously AI and a huge turnoff that I closed the tab.