blntechie's favorites

		cercatrova on May 26, 2022 \| parent \| context \| on: Original Pong did not have any code or even a micr... I'm going to sound like one of those fanboys but Rust really is a breath of fresh air. Lots of people now are starting to make actually fast and performant applications due to the ergonomics of the language being more high level than something like C or C++. It's actually my favorite ML type language, I've use OCaml to a large extent before but with Rust, the DX is still pretty nice, even if you have to contend with the borrow checker.
		cmsefton on Aug 10, 2021 \| parent \| context \| on: How to Hack APIs in 2021 One of the best resources out there to learn about API hacking has to be OWASP Juice Shop https://owasp.org/www-project-juice-shop/ We ran it as an exercise at work to learn about security vulnerabilities, and it was great fun and highly educational. Really recommend it.
		recursivedoubts on April 5, 2021 \| parent \| context \| on: Ask HN: What novel tools are you using to write we... I am working on two alternative tools for building web apps: https://htmx.org - uses HTML attributes and HTML-over-the-wire for AJAX/Web Socket/SSE interactions https://hyperscript.org - an experimental front end programming language derived from HyperTalk that is event-oriented and that removes the distinction between synchronous and asynchronous code. Both tools are HTML-oriented and are designed to be embedded directly in your HTML, rather than along side it. I am trying to popularize the term "Locality of Behaviour" for this idea: https://htmx.org/essays/locality-of-behaviour/ There are a few tools that are moving people this direction these days, notably AlpineJS and Tailwinds.
		tjbiddle on March 11, 2021 \| parent \| context \| on: Zapier reached a $5B valuation with $1.3M of fundi... I love Zapier and wish them the best. Been using them the past couple years to automate many things in my e-commerce business. That being said, I come from a software background (As many here at HN do), and I recently found "Integromat" and have completely switched over all my Zapier automations to them. Their price point is much cheaper (Zapier was beginning to charge a few hundred a month for me - and now I'm down to $29/mo with Integromat which could be $9/mo if I wasn't impatient and wanted 1 minute intervals) - but the kicker for me was their UI and just the "programming" mindset that came along with it - I can do many more complex operations. Just a happy customer - and hoping they have more success to continue improving their product. Zapier is definitely a better fit for non-tech people, and more simple tasks though.
		franciscassel on Sept 28, 2020 \| parent \| context \| on: The SaaS website content you need to close sales I analyzed the online searches of thousands of SaaS buyers to uncover exactly what information they want when considering a SaaS purchase. These are the top five highlights from what I learned: 1. The most sought-after (and often 1st) piece of info sought by SaaS buyers is pricing -- by a large margin. Have a pricing page! If you can't share exact pricing for some reason, try one of these alternative approaches (created by an acquaintance of mine): https://businesscasualcopywriting.com/show-pricing-on-websit... 2. '[brand] alternatives' is the 2nd most-frequent search pattern. It seems obvious to have a page on your website targeting '[your_brand] alternatives] that positions your offering against your competitors. But only 2 of the 50 biggest SaaS companies do this! Ex: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/comparison 3. SaaS buyers literally search for 'why [brand]'. This is another under-leveraged opportunity. Buyers want someone to spell out for them why they should spend money on your solution. Make it easy for them! Ex: https://www.hubspot.com/why-go-hubspot 4. Security is a big concern for SaaS buyers. They want to know how you're going to protect them from loss and litigation. They're even checking out your privacy policy and GDPR terms! (Keep those things up-to-date.) 5. Your 'About Us' page matters. Startups fail all the time. It’s not a secret. Buyers want to know that the effort they put forth–convincing management, setting up and integrating your solution, convincing employees to use it–is going to be worth it in the long run. Does your company have meaningful funding? Well-known investors? Is it profitable and self-sustaining? Does it have experienced leadership? In your company’s About Us page, make sure you convey anything that can reassure buyers that the company is robust and set up to thrive.