Hacker News: wollsmoth

New comment by wollsmoth in "Ask HN: Will Google ever launch a successful new product again?"

wollsmoth — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:10:37 +0000

I'm pretty happy with Youtube TV, which I think is relatively new.

I think with the size they don't have a lot of interest in running "small" businesses even if they have some traction. Something like Stadia was maybe just wholly unprofitable but maybe had some benefits if they developed remote gameplay tech that might be re-used in another product someday or offered as apart of their cloud offerings.

I guess they'll eventually jump in on the upcoming AR war, but it might be hard to beat the offerings from Meta and Apple. Maybe they'll have the Android of AR?

New comment by wollsmoth in "Exec who cleaned up Enron calls FTX mess 'unprecedented'"

wollsmoth — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 18:24:24 +0000

I think they have an excellent chance of being the last one standing. Unless we learn that they have also been operating a scam. If all they do is run a reliable exchange and don't get hacked, as other exchanges fall they'll probably get more business.

But I think if public interest wanes, and crypto sort of becomes this amway for nerds thing, then they'll probably flounder unless they prune back their costs significantly.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Exec who cleaned up Enron calls FTX mess 'unprecedented'"

wollsmoth — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 18:07:55 +0000

Just looking at the stock perf. They have high trading fees and still lose quite a bit every quarter. They need to figure out their business plan when trading activity is lower, or figure out some way to drive trading activity.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Ohio vandals release 10k carnivorous mink into the wild"

wollsmoth — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 15:27:23 +0000

It's probably still the best/cheapest way to produce that kind of quality coat, and the input is just whatever you feed them.

I don't want a mink coat but it doesn't surprise me the market is out there. I still have a down coat.

New comment by wollsmoth in "The FBI alleges TikTok poses national security concerns"

wollsmoth — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 14:49:20 +0000

I wasn't necessarily opposed to his call for that. But the whole idea of somehow segmenting the app in a way that would somehow make tiktok better for us seemed kinda impractical. Just ban it or don't. If we ban it someone will make a clone in the west, or IG reels will just take over.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Air Force, FBI raid homes in probe of Area 51 website"

wollsmoth — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 14:29:42 +0000

If you're talking about what happened in the article, we don't know exactly what the probe is about. If the guy truly hasn't done anything illegal then I don't know why they'd bother. I think they are rewarded for convictions.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Is this the end of crypto?"

wollsmoth — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:50:33 +0000

Probably most of the ones exchanging fiat for cryptocurrency. But you can use defi if you want to swap crypto for crypto, and you can always send direct to buy something, although most merchants probably immediately convert to fiat using an exchange.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Air Force, FBI raid homes in probe of Area 51 website"

wollsmoth — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:47:21 +0000

Maybe they don't do anything super secret there anymore, but the site is still useful as misdirection.

New comment by wollsmoth in "The FTX First Day Declaration"

wollsmoth — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 15:57:35 +0000

Yeah. It may just be the best on/off ramp for crypto but but without any real compelling applications for it idk what that's really going to accomplish. You'll still be able to pull crypto out and spend it.

If they are the last ones standing and find a way to run a profitable business, then we may just see more competitors crop up that aren't actually scams. Or maybe existing banks will jump in. Who knows.

New comment by wollsmoth in "The FTX First Day Declaration"

wollsmoth — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 14:59:53 +0000

Coinbase seems like they are doing everything right? They might be the last one standing if they're actually being boring and following the rules.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 21:42:08 +0000

different legal system. Also check the other reply to you.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 21:33:29 +0000

Yeah, life isn't fair. I have a wfh job software engineering in my PJs while some people need to spend their lives doing hard labor in the sun.

Holmes is probably going to prison. Idk what's going to happen with SBF, but to prosecute you need evidence and there's a process.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Sam Bankman-Fried tries to explain himself"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 21:15:42 +0000

Holmes is getting sentenced this week. It took years to get there. This isn't going to happen overnight.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Amazon confirms corporate staff cuts that could hit 10k employees"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 19:21:59 +0000

Uh, they definitely ask you a bunch of questions and you basically need to speak to their leadership principles. Being good at leetcode alone can't get you in, or that's the impression I've gotten from friends who work there. But I suppose it depends.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Peacetime CEO / Wartime CEO (2011)"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 17:07:43 +0000

I just think there's a limit to how far optimizing the code and cutting costs is going to get him. I heard twitter was making a push to be more worldwide in its reach which could maybe work I guess. As it is though I don't know how much more he can drive usage of this product. I don't have any real product ideas for them myself. But they either need to drive ad revenue or come up with a compelling paid option. Maybe they can build on tweetdeck and make that a premium $$ feature? Maybe they start charging for api access.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Genesis' Crypto-Lending Unit Is Suspending Withdrawals in Wake of FTX Collapse"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 16:34:01 +0000

That's a big if at this point. But I agree best to hold your coin yourself until you want to convert. Or maybe the future will bring wide btc adoption.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Peacetime CEO / Wartime CEO (2011)"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 16:00:02 +0000

I think Twitter can continue to operate and even be profitable. But without completely adding a new product offering it's hard for me to imagine it growing to be worth a lot more than what Elon paid for it.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Companies ran an experiment: Pay workers their full salary to work fewer days"

wollsmoth — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 15:29:18 +0000

I'm at least online 40 hours. Actively doing effort is harder but it's easier if I'm doing something interesting. I try to not beat myself up if I'm having trouble focusing some days. Some days it just ain't happening. Get a coffee read a magazine and try again a little later.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Ask HN: How can I report a financial fraud ring?"

wollsmoth — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 17:30:22 +0000

yeah feds might be interested if he's a legit ring of card harvesters but I bet they charge you some tuition, and just don't actually ever have a session with you.

Not worth LEO time, you'll have to take the L and learn.

New comment by wollsmoth in "Ask HN: How can I report a financial fraud ring?"

wollsmoth — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 16:14:13 +0000

Yeah this was my first thought.