It's easier and faster to pirate an e-book, than it is to buy it
572 by leoff | 464 comments on Hacker News.
The end of the year is coming, and I have some funds left from my company learning budget. I wanted to give it back to some of the authors that still help me in my developer journey, by buying some of their work online and hopefully contributing to their income, but the following happened: 1. I went to Amazon, since I have a kindle and didn't want to buy physical books. Amazon doesn't have a shopping card for kindle books, so I started buying them one by one. My company uses Spendesk for managing funds, so for each of the purchase I created a new virtual card and bought them. After a few minutes my Amazon account is blocked for suspicious activity, and ALL my kindle library is wiped, and the funds are returned to my company. 2. Not wanting to give up, I go to a different online store, Thalia, to buy the books again. After buying them, I download the files, which are in an .acsm format, and can only be opened on the Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) software. Once opened, an .epub file is downloaded, and even though I can't transfer the files to my kindle on ADE, I download Calibre to transfer them. Once I try opening them on Calibre, I get an error message saying the files are protected by DRM. Funnily enough, it's possible to remove this DRM protection, but it's also not something completely legal, and makes me question why did I decide to legally buy the e-books in the first place. After spending hours trying to buy e-books, having my Amazon account blocked, and downloading files that can't be transferred to my Kindle, the only conclusion I come to, is that I'm never buying e-books again.
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New best story on Hacker News: Tell HN: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Tell HN: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
530 by graderjs | 109 comments on Hacker News.
Hope your 2023’s great. I’m sorry for all of you that were laid off or affected by the virus or lockdowns. Next year will be better! Keep the faith!
530 by graderjs | 109 comments on Hacker News.
Hope your 2023’s great. I’m sorry for all of you that were laid off or affected by the virus or lockdowns. Next year will be better! Keep the faith!
New best story on Hacker News: I am done. I give up
I am done. I give up
737 by wakana | 450 comments on Hacker News.
I'm writing this post because I'm done. I can't do this anymore. After three failed attempts at building a successful startup and spending time institutionalized, I'm giving up on my entrepreneurship dreams. I tried everything - building an audience, making sure my product actually solved a problem, getting paying customers, and writing high-quality content and contributing to the community. But no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get anywhere. My efforts were fruitless and I'm tired of trying. I barely had 20 followers, my substack and product blogs didn't get any signups, and while I did get a few upvotes (8) on Product Hunt once, I never had a paid customer. It was as if the world was against me and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any progress. I remember trying to interact and hype up my fellow indiehackers on Twitter, regularly engaging with their content, but no one ever paid any attention to me or followed me back. It was like I didn't even exist in the world of entrepreneurship. And even when I did get some attention, it was short-lived and never led to anything substantial. But it's not just the lack of success that's getting me down. It's also the constant stream of digital nomad influencers on Twitter who sell extremely distorted, rosy, and often times false dreams to indie entrepreneurs like myself. They make it seem like building a successful startup is easy and anyone can do it with the right mindset and a few key tips. But the reality is that it's not that simple. It's fucking hard and it takes more than just a positive attitude to make it. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. There are so many other indie entrepreneurs out there who are struggling and feeling like they'll never make it. If you're one of them, I want you to know that you're not alone. It's okay to feel defeated and to want to give up. But please don't give up. Keep pushing forward and don't let the failures define you. There's always a chance for success, no matter how small it may seem. But for me, I can't take it anymore. I've hit rock bottom and I have nothing left to give. To all the indie hackers, hacker news, and Reddit readers out there, please don't be fooled by the false promises of digital nomad influencers. Building a startup is hard work and it takes time. It's not as easy as they make it seem and it's not for everyone. Don't let your dreams consume you like they did for me, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AT ALL COST! Don't make the same mistakes I did and realize that entrepreneurship may not be the path for you. It's okay to admit defeat and move on to something else.
737 by wakana | 450 comments on Hacker News.
I'm writing this post because I'm done. I can't do this anymore. After three failed attempts at building a successful startup and spending time institutionalized, I'm giving up on my entrepreneurship dreams. I tried everything - building an audience, making sure my product actually solved a problem, getting paying customers, and writing high-quality content and contributing to the community. But no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get anywhere. My efforts were fruitless and I'm tired of trying. I barely had 20 followers, my substack and product blogs didn't get any signups, and while I did get a few upvotes (8) on Product Hunt once, I never had a paid customer. It was as if the world was against me and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make any progress. I remember trying to interact and hype up my fellow indiehackers on Twitter, regularly engaging with their content, but no one ever paid any attention to me or followed me back. It was like I didn't even exist in the world of entrepreneurship. And even when I did get some attention, it was short-lived and never led to anything substantial. But it's not just the lack of success that's getting me down. It's also the constant stream of digital nomad influencers on Twitter who sell extremely distorted, rosy, and often times false dreams to indie entrepreneurs like myself. They make it seem like building a successful startup is easy and anyone can do it with the right mindset and a few key tips. But the reality is that it's not that simple. It's fucking hard and it takes more than just a positive attitude to make it. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way. There are so many other indie entrepreneurs out there who are struggling and feeling like they'll never make it. If you're one of them, I want you to know that you're not alone. It's okay to feel defeated and to want to give up. But please don't give up. Keep pushing forward and don't let the failures define you. There's always a chance for success, no matter how small it may seem. But for me, I can't take it anymore. I've hit rock bottom and I have nothing left to give. To all the indie hackers, hacker news, and Reddit readers out there, please don't be fooled by the false promises of digital nomad influencers. Building a startup is hard work and it takes time. It's not as easy as they make it seem and it's not for everyone. Don't let your dreams consume you like they did for me, and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AT ALL COST! Don't make the same mistakes I did and realize that entrepreneurship may not be the path for you. It's okay to admit defeat and move on to something else.
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Has anyone here turned around their life in their 40s?
Ask HN: Has anyone here turned around their life in their 40s?
720 by Deutscher | 440 comments on Hacker News.
I know the best of my life is behind me, but I need help salvaging what's left of it. I've been meaning to ask for help for a couple of years now, but only now got around to it after being scared by my first real suicidal ideation a few nights ago. HN is probably not a suitable platform for this, but /r/advice seems to be not very active and I can't post on /adv/ due to some IP range ban. There are no mental health facilities in the small town where I live. I let my professional network decay and die, and there is literally nowhere else I can get any kind of useful, actionable advice. I'm a 43-years-old single guy, NEET for the past decade. I got my Master's in the US in the late 2000s and was gainfully employed there for a few years (NOT in my field of education; long story) until I had to return to my home country to take care of my ailing father. He passed on within a year of my return, leaving my family with a financial mess, and his death took a lot out of me. I still obviously miss him, but in wallowing in depression and self-pity, I let the prime of my life pass me by. As I stand, I have no current skills related to either my education (MEng) or my previous work experience (BI Reporting/Analytics). I don't have ideas/skills/network for entrepreneurship. I had all the desires of a regular guy: a wife, kids, a house, meaningful work, etc. I mean I still do, but I guess I'm too late for the first few. Every night I promise myself to do/be better tomorrow and somehow get myself to sleep. I was once looked up to, now I'm a pity case and an example case of how not to throw one's life away. With every passing day, I am becoming more bitter, angry and disillusioned. I don't want to live like this anymore, but I don't know how to even _start_ thinking of ways to get myself out of this hole. Ideally, I would prefer to go back to the US; not only for the dollars (they're nice), but also because I actually was happy there. I'd do all the things that I didn't do enough of because I was focused on saving money and because I thought that there would always be time for them when I was more stable/settled. The good: No diseases AFAIK, no vices at all other than severe procrastination and a masterful ability to lie to myself. I have ~US$25k-equivalent in salary savings from a decade ago. Sorry if the above text is rambling and not very cohesive. I've probably also skipped over some useful information I should have provided. Please do ask. I'll take some time reflecting on your replies and then respond. Thank you.
720 by Deutscher | 440 comments on Hacker News.
I know the best of my life is behind me, but I need help salvaging what's left of it. I've been meaning to ask for help for a couple of years now, but only now got around to it after being scared by my first real suicidal ideation a few nights ago. HN is probably not a suitable platform for this, but /r/advice seems to be not very active and I can't post on /adv/ due to some IP range ban. There are no mental health facilities in the small town where I live. I let my professional network decay and die, and there is literally nowhere else I can get any kind of useful, actionable advice. I'm a 43-years-old single guy, NEET for the past decade. I got my Master's in the US in the late 2000s and was gainfully employed there for a few years (NOT in my field of education; long story) until I had to return to my home country to take care of my ailing father. He passed on within a year of my return, leaving my family with a financial mess, and his death took a lot out of me. I still obviously miss him, but in wallowing in depression and self-pity, I let the prime of my life pass me by. As I stand, I have no current skills related to either my education (MEng) or my previous work experience (BI Reporting/Analytics). I don't have ideas/skills/network for entrepreneurship. I had all the desires of a regular guy: a wife, kids, a house, meaningful work, etc. I mean I still do, but I guess I'm too late for the first few. Every night I promise myself to do/be better tomorrow and somehow get myself to sleep. I was once looked up to, now I'm a pity case and an example case of how not to throw one's life away. With every passing day, I am becoming more bitter, angry and disillusioned. I don't want to live like this anymore, but I don't know how to even _start_ thinking of ways to get myself out of this hole. Ideally, I would prefer to go back to the US; not only for the dollars (they're nice), but also because I actually was happy there. I'd do all the things that I didn't do enough of because I was focused on saving money and because I thought that there would always be time for them when I was more stable/settled. The good: No diseases AFAIK, no vices at all other than severe procrastination and a masterful ability to lie to myself. I have ~US$25k-equivalent in salary savings from a decade ago. Sorry if the above text is rambling and not very cohesive. I've probably also skipped over some useful information I should have provided. Please do ask. I'll take some time reflecting on your replies and then respond. Thank you.
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?
Ask HN: Anyone tired of everything being a subscription now?
602 by CM30 | 420 comments on Hacker News.
Not newspapers or media services (though those can be annoying too), but products in general? It feels like it's getting harder and harder to just buy something in the tech world, especially when it comes to running programs on my home computer. Want a password manager? It's a SaaS now. Note taking app? SaaS. Image editor or office suite? SaaS (thanks Adobe...) This is especially annoying given I generally refuse to rent anything in life, and will go out of my way to buy something upfront simply so there's no risk of losing it if finances get worse in future (or the wrong billionaire buys the company). Yet it seems like it's getting harder to do so, especially when open source products don't exist for that domain. So yeah, why is that? And is anyone else tired of the constant barrage of subscriptions for things that should be one off purchases?
602 by CM30 | 420 comments on Hacker News.
Not newspapers or media services (though those can be annoying too), but products in general? It feels like it's getting harder and harder to just buy something in the tech world, especially when it comes to running programs on my home computer. Want a password manager? It's a SaaS now. Note taking app? SaaS. Image editor or office suite? SaaS (thanks Adobe...) This is especially annoying given I generally refuse to rent anything in life, and will go out of my way to buy something upfront simply so there's no risk of losing it if finances get worse in future (or the wrong billionaire buys the company). Yet it seems like it's getting harder to do so, especially when open source products don't exist for that domain. So yeah, why is that? And is anyone else tired of the constant barrage of subscriptions for things that should be one off purchases?
New best story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Developer abused “sign in with GitHub” and users are being punished
Ask HN: Developer abused “sign in with GitHub” and users are being punished
581 by 2Gkashmiri | 313 comments on Hacker News.
The offending website "nopecha.com", which unfortunately i found about a week ago on HN itself appeared to be another captcha service but one that was offering "1 Sec" solve speed for text captchas. i was interested and by the looks of it, a lot of people. their webisite only had "sign in with google" so i didnt bother. The day before i check the website out of boredom and saw "sign in with github". i logged in, clicked through a bunch of pages because its the same drill everytime. i found out that i had "automatically starred their repos". by the looks of it, around 500 "stars", the last i saw. suddenly i am unable to log in to my github and the page just says "account suspended." contacted their support and the last response i got from them was "your ban should stay as you engaged in improper behavior of stars farming" or some other BS. Here is my problem. I am not a part of nopecha. I just used their website once using "sign in with github" button. That is the extent of my involvement. How can github allow the developer to use "sign in with" button to create a situation that they could LATER consider abusive but then go ahead and ban all the victims also? i did not voluntarily want to join their abusive practice, i just wanted a log into the website. (There was no explicit mention of the stars farming practice on the website) Why is github allowing the developer to abuse their Oath in the first place? If this is going to be a norm going forward, i do not see any hope of "sign in with" buttons for any service because then you could be banned from one service and suddenly everything connected to your account is also banned. I honestly expect the "sign in with x" button to provide a frictionless access to a website, thats it. how could the developer abuse that process and the website, instead of acting on the developer alone, are causing trouble to unsuspecting victims? edit: to add a bit more context, here is the first reply i got from github on my support request "Your account has restrictions imposed because it appears to have been used for the purpose of artificially inflating the popularity of GitHub accounts or repositories. This activity isn't in keeping with our Terms of Service. We'll need to leave the restrictions in place." I knowingly or unknowingly accepted to allow the app to access my stars action or whatever. i did not engage in this practice myself, their automated system did. i even had "forkhub" android app and i did see "stars" and i remember unstarring 4/5 of their repos myself so its not like i did not try to undo their actions. the problem here is. 1. if github is allowing developers to include their permissions alongwith the SSO workflow 2. github is allowing apps write action to stars from the users accounts which can be legitimate or not. 3. user is not responsible for automated actions taken without their consent or even if consent was there, user is not aware of the "actual scope" meaning app could say "you allow us stars access" but not "you allow us stars access with the knowledge that such permission can be a banable offense, you are warned" 4. unless the user is a sockpuppet account created for the sole purpose (by checking age/activity of user), is it reasonable to throw the banhammer so quickly on everyone involved? 5. why did github not ban the original dev, stop the users from starring for a "cooling period" or "undid their stars" ? why was a ban necessary?
581 by 2Gkashmiri | 313 comments on Hacker News.
The offending website "nopecha.com", which unfortunately i found about a week ago on HN itself appeared to be another captcha service but one that was offering "1 Sec" solve speed for text captchas. i was interested and by the looks of it, a lot of people. their webisite only had "sign in with google" so i didnt bother. The day before i check the website out of boredom and saw "sign in with github". i logged in, clicked through a bunch of pages because its the same drill everytime. i found out that i had "automatically starred their repos". by the looks of it, around 500 "stars", the last i saw. suddenly i am unable to log in to my github and the page just says "account suspended." contacted their support and the last response i got from them was "your ban should stay as you engaged in improper behavior of stars farming" or some other BS. Here is my problem. I am not a part of nopecha. I just used their website once using "sign in with github" button. That is the extent of my involvement. How can github allow the developer to use "sign in with" button to create a situation that they could LATER consider abusive but then go ahead and ban all the victims also? i did not voluntarily want to join their abusive practice, i just wanted a log into the website. (There was no explicit mention of the stars farming practice on the website) Why is github allowing the developer to abuse their Oath in the first place? If this is going to be a norm going forward, i do not see any hope of "sign in with" buttons for any service because then you could be banned from one service and suddenly everything connected to your account is also banned. I honestly expect the "sign in with x" button to provide a frictionless access to a website, thats it. how could the developer abuse that process and the website, instead of acting on the developer alone, are causing trouble to unsuspecting victims? edit: to add a bit more context, here is the first reply i got from github on my support request "Your account has restrictions imposed because it appears to have been used for the purpose of artificially inflating the popularity of GitHub accounts or repositories. This activity isn't in keeping with our Terms of Service. We'll need to leave the restrictions in place." I knowingly or unknowingly accepted to allow the app to access my stars action or whatever. i did not engage in this practice myself, their automated system did. i even had "forkhub" android app and i did see "stars" and i remember unstarring 4/5 of their repos myself so its not like i did not try to undo their actions. the problem here is. 1. if github is allowing developers to include their permissions alongwith the SSO workflow 2. github is allowing apps write action to stars from the users accounts which can be legitimate or not. 3. user is not responsible for automated actions taken without their consent or even if consent was there, user is not aware of the "actual scope" meaning app could say "you allow us stars access" but not "you allow us stars access with the knowledge that such permission can be a banable offense, you are warned" 4. unless the user is a sockpuppet account created for the sole purpose (by checking age/activity of user), is it reasonable to throw the banhammer so quickly on everyone involved? 5. why did github not ban the original dev, stop the users from starring for a "cooling period" or "undid their stars" ? why was a ban necessary?
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