
Ask HN: Tell me your biggest pain and I will try to solve it - jw2013
I would love to run this experiment. Tell me what your biggest pain is and if I can I will try to solve it (e.g. through software, etc.). If I can&#x27;t, probably someone else on here would love to help you.<p>Thanks!
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Red_Tarsius
I don't expect you to solve it, but since you're looking for problems... I'm
kind of a perfectionist (not in a good way) and whenever I want to learn
something new, I spend days and days beforehand just searching for the
_p.e.r.f.e.c.t._ books, video lectures and what not. For example, I'd like to
get back into physics, especially quantum mechanics. A website that, given any
scientific field, gives me a list of the most important books and papers per
difficulty level would save me a lot of time. However, this service should
only list the _best of the best_. I don't know if this is a common problem or
how you could monetize such service...

~~~
PublicEnemy111
Open source courses would be cool. Not open source like mit's ocw or coursera,
but a platform where everyone collectively decides on the material. So, for an
algorithms course, maybe MIT's hashing lectures are second to none, but some
guy on YouTube has better explanations for divide and conquer algorithms. The
idea would be to find the best material for each lecture and compile it into a
class

~~~
avinassh
How it can be resolved if there is a conflict? Like, for hashing, some are
suggesting for Video A and some for Video B. So you ask them to vote? And then
who is eligible to vote?

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crawfordcomeaux
I have a cycle of habits that revolves around reading the internet. It goes
like this:

Have an idea -> google for its existence

If idea is novel -> Google to answer questions about implementation; Else ->
come up with new spin on idea or stop

Confirm findings or test idea -> have a new idea or new questions

I also have ADHD & can sometimes (ok...often) hyperfocus when I catch this
cycle. I can lose hours upon hours in it. But that's not the main problem...

There are numerous ways to enter this cycle (ie. Triggers for any of the
habits) & they occur so frequently that they disrupt the development of new
habits. The standard triggers are having/encountering a new idea, a question
without an answer, or an answer that needs confirming. I can also jump into it
accidentally through procrastination means (eg. reading HN) or just as a
result of everyday work (eg. searching for something on stack overflow).

I'm a programmer without a support system to enable me to disrupt these habits
without unplugging for months, which I can't afford to do.

~~~
revorad
I've experienced that same thing (who on HN hasn't? ;). Tips and tricks to cut
down on info-addiction can help a bit.

But the only thing that really works for me is when I focus on a positive goal
I want to achieve, _instead of spending energy on avoiding the bad habits_.

Now, I'm focused on building my business. It doesn't mean I have stopped
getting lots of shiny new ideas. But now I don't have to fight with myself. I
just don't have the time or energy for these new ideas. Too focused on the
current idea.

~~~
crawfordcomeaux
Were that all it takes for me, I wouldn't be posting here.

~~~
revorad
Sorry I think I misunderstood you. If you have a medical condition, then
ignore whatever I said.

~~~
crawfordcomeaux
I'm not sure if the issue is that when some people refer to their "info
addiction," it actually isn't an addiction (eg. "OMG! I am SOOO ADD
sometimes!" says some person without ADD who needs a loving dose of
perspective or strangulation) or if there are other things specific to me that
mix with the info addiction such that having a positive goal I'm focusing on
isn't enough.

Sorry for the previous curt response. This is essentially the only thing I'm
trying to deal with right now because it leads to failure in all the things.
And progress is slow because getting people to invest time in someone who has
no money is seemingly impossible.

~~~
revorad
I did read your "I have ADHD" in the casual way that most people say it. I
certainly don't have ADHD (not that I'm aware of, anyway). The only thing I
can think to suggest is to seek professional help, if you haven't already.

------
DougN7
I have a business problem. My business sells B2B software. We can use Google
Analytics, etc to see how people get to our site and whether they download the
free trial (desktop/server software).

When it comes time to purchase, every once in a while the same person that
downloaded comes to our online purchase page and we're able to attribute the
sale back to the channel/ad/blog it came from.

Most of the time though, someone else (the boss, a purchasing person, etc) on
a different PC comes to our online order page and pays. From Analytics point
of view they came from nowhere. Or worse, they fax/email a purchase order.

I would love a way to accurately track the source of our sales without
introducing painful process (requiring some sort of download ID for example)
to the purchase process.

~~~
revorad
The simplest solution is to require your customers to register before
downloading a free trial. I can't think of a good reason why you can't do this
for B2B software.

And if you're worried about conversion rates dropping, I have seen many
companies report that their switch from "no signup required" to "signup
required" resulted in _no difference_ in conversions. It's certainly worth a
test.

~~~
DougN7
We do request they signup. But we allow the download without it. I'd guess 60%
give us an email address. Mapping the purchase to the email domain shouldn't
be too hard. Then we need to track the email signup to the original source
(doable in Google Analytics???)

~~~
revorad
Don't request, require it. Ask for name, email, business name, phone number
(optional).

Less fun than a clever analytics hack but it will work. Try it for a week or
two.

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daw___
I cannot measure my tinnitus. Some nights it gets sensibly louder, yet I have
no clues on how to "calculate" its loudness since the ringing I hear doesn't
actually exist.

~~~
bramgg
Not sure if your problem is your tinnitus or your inability to calculate it's
loudness. If it's the former invest in a fan and leave it on near you when you
go to sleep.

~~~
daw___
Ah, good point. I would not have the problem of inability to calculate
tinnitus' loudness if I had no tinnitus in the first place, but let's say that
now -- after ~3 years since its appearance -- I resigned to idea of suffering
from tinnitus, so it's some how not a problem anymore, I now don't even need a
fan or any other noise source to fall asleep.

------
throw393
Trying to have some minimal version of a normal life after struggling to
function and stick around for 2 out of 3 decades.

A software-defined time machine would probably be helpful :) But really,
software to spot patterns and correlations I wouldn't otherwise notice (based
on life "microevents" of all kinds, food intake, feelings, interactions with
others, environment factors...) would probably help a lot, literally life
changing perhaps. A good AI to talk to as though it were just a close friend
would make a perfect user interface for such a thing.

Domain specific AI to talk to would help on its own though, long term
isolation itself is quite damaging.

------
anonymousDan
My wifi is ridiculously annoying - I live in an apartment block where there
are literally 30 other wifi routers interfering with my own router. I pay
through the nose for superfast broadband but it's completely redundant!

~~~
chill1
I've had this problem before. Try changing the "channel" for your wifi signal.
You can do this via the admin interface for your router. If that doesn't help,
the cause might be EM interference from other electronic devices physically
near the router. Try moving other electronics (power supplies, cable modem,
etc.) away from the router (at least 1 or 2 feet distance should do it).

Hope that helps!

------
mostafaberg
I'm never satisfied with my multi computer setup / multi screen setup, i
always ending with not knowing which one to use for what, or if i even need
more than one, also i can never find that perfect keyboard...

~~~
oigursh
BTC 6100, 6200, 6300

[http://www.btc.com.tw/english/2-7-25keyboard.htm](http://www.btc.com.tw/english/2-7-25keyboard.htm)

~~~
mostafaberg
looks nice, but forgot to mention i'm a mac user and have a KBC Poker II with
Cherry MX blues, do you have any mechanical equivalent ?

------
worldsayshi
Our impact on the environment continue to escalate - we can't agree on
policies for avoiding it and we might not invent our way through the problem
fast enough.

------
portlander52232
The economic system as it now stands makes it impossible for me to sustain my
life through work that is meaningful and helpful to others.

~~~
revorad
That sounds like a tough situation. I believe there is plenty of meaningful
work out there. So I'm curious to know what your profession is.

------
adrianwaj
An Electrum Doge wallet that actually works (ie has been adapted to AuxPOW)
and has servers working to enable it.

There was one a few months ago but it has since been abandoned
[http://electrum-doge.com/](http://electrum-doge.com/), yet there is still
large demand for it. One exists for bitcoin that is working though.

It's fast on startup, non-Java and a headers-only wallet with a deterministic
backup (1-time phrase based.) I read that the Core wallet might get a
deterministic backup in the future.

Such a wallet would be great for newbies. ED also has plugin potential unlike
the core wallet.

If you get it going, you could charge for its usage (eg a fee to connect with
the servers,) and it may become popular on mobile devices if you could do a
version for it (ie small footprint.) You could also do versions for other
coins.

Full blockchain wallets are gradually becoming cumbersome as the blockchain
size grows (that might be the true pain point.)

------
YuriNiyazov
Having my and my family's rent, food and health insurance paid for without
having to hire myself out for it.

------
RollAHardSix
I have no income. I don't want much income, or rather I don't want much income
in the long-term, just enough to pay the mortgage off and then I won't feel so
completely stressed. I could take a low-key job or work on my own projects
full-time (music, writing, and acting, and software lol), or ideally, open a
martial arts school.

That's my biggest pain point, that I have to work to pay the mortgage instead
of pursuing my passions and living my life. I'm lucky, my mortgage should be
paid off by the time I'm around 35, but I don't want to lose the next ten
years to working...I've already been working for ten years, I want the next
ten years to be a combination of passion, hard-work, and chasing MY dreams.

------
not_a_test_user
I know HTML/(S)CSS like the back of my hand. I know enough JS for most use
cases and I'm starting to explore React and other frameworks to expand my
knowledge. In the backend side of things I can code in PHP without any problem
and I have hacked a bit in Ruby and Python, currently trying to expand what I
know in Ruby in my free time.

The local market sucks so I'm unable to escape from my agency job. I feel
trapped making disposable marketing websites that will disappear in a month or
two. I have applied to remote jobs but most don't want someone that is not
from the US.

I have no idea what to do. I feel like my current job is killing my drive for
web development even though I love it.

Sorry for venting here.

~~~
revorad
With your skills, you should be able to get well-paying remote work. But you
have to get out of this mindset of being stuck in your local market.

 _I have applied to remote jobs but most don 't want someone that is not from
the US._

That must be the case if you only apply to remote jobs at companies based in
the US. Apply for jobs outside the US.

Make a good professional profile online.

Post your profile and apply for jobs on the monthly hiring threads on HN -
[https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring](https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=whoishiring)

------
olalonde
I wrote a list of startup/project ideas here a few days ago, some of which
were inspired by personal pains: [http://syskall.com/crazy-and-not-so-crazy-
startup-ideas-2015...](http://syskall.com/crazy-and-not-so-crazy-startup-
ideas-2015-edition/) (too big to paste here unfortunately)

------
avinassh
Not really biggest pain, but I would appreciate your help on this. I am
learning Swift and iOS Dev. What kind of apps I should have in my portfolio,
so that I can apply for jobs? I have built basic to-do apps etc. and I am not
getting any new ideas which I can implement. Either I find them too easy or
too complicated for me.

------
Yaa101
My biggest pain is not solvable through software? It is my back that hurts
badly...

~~~
enigami
There could be more than one reason for your back pain. First try to
understand what causes your problem for example: do you have all day sitting
in desk job, do you lift weight frequently, your sleeping position etc.,

I had this issue couple of months back; i had severe pain which shoots down
till my toes from hip. I knew it has something do to with the Nerve. I visited
an Ortho and took an MRI and we found out I had a Slip Disc problem. (FYI..I
am in a software job and I sit all day, also due to my height and my incorrect
seating posture this problem developed). While my doctor suggested an
Operation, I was shitty scared and was researching in internet about the
problem. One of my friend suggested an alternative treatment "YOGA". I thought
why not give it a try, I found an institute where they specialize in treating
body pain through yoga, I had to stay there for couple of weeks and do the
routine. At the end of the second week, I wasn't feeling any better, but the
people in the institute asked me to keep faith and asked me continue the
exercise.

I continued for a month and suddenly like a magic my pain got disappeared and
never had again till today. So, the point is try to find out what is causing
you pain and try to do some research and find the best physio or exercise.
Happy to help you, if you need more information about my problem and how I got
rid of it. All the best!!

------
johnebgd
I need a CTO willing to work for equity that can help me finish my
Django/Python application so I can bring it to market.

It's presold to 129 customers as a subscription before it's even done.

~~~
revorad
Too many people looking for a CTO. If you have that many customers, you should
be able to hire a contractor.

~~~
johnebgd
Capital compensation for the product won't flow through the doors until we
launch. We had a CTO start the product but he had to move into an advisory
position due to health concerns.

Hiring an outside firm would also put the knowledge of the platform and the
product into their hands. It'll make it more difficult for us to iterate and
grow beyond just the MVP concept into a full business. That's why we want an
equity partner. Someone who believes in the product and wants to see it grow
with the rest of the team.

~~~
revorad
If your customers won't pre-pay, then I'm not sure you can count them as pre-
sold. Do you have any sort of formal commitment?

If you're just assuming they won't pre-pay, then it might be a costly mistake.
At least ask them - offer a discount or some sweet deal for taking a chance on
you - at least a few of them might pay.

You're right that hiring a firm might get complicated, but hiring a solo
developer could work.

Unless you are offering something other than equity - a chance to work with a
team with a great track record, backing from investors, some unique ground-
breaking technology - I'm not sure why anyone would want to work for free.

------
yastrum
I don't know how to place an order for a user on Walmart.com, without ever
visiting Walmart.com (i.e. programmatically as a third party).

Are there already services out there for this?

------
mariogintili
I'm a junior/mid-level developer. I wanna know how will I know that I'm ready
to be a contractor, also the dos/donts about being one.

~~~
leepowers
Find your market. Suss out the places online and IRL where people with your
skill set congregate, and where buyers for your skills are looking for talent.
Start a portfolio web site right away, and optionally a blog. Put yourself on
the market right now.

If you get a good offer (on-contract, upfront deposit) consider taking the
plunge. Have 3-6 months of cash for a fallback - in case you fail and decide
to re-enter the traditional job market. Or more likely, when you encounter an
extended dry spell as you learn to build and maintain cash flow.

Prepare yourself mentally for a greater level of uncertainty. Your next
paycheck is not guaranteed. Not only do you have to do the work to get a
paycheck, you also have the additional work of _getting to_ the next paycheck:
keeping a full pipeline of good-paying gigs. Always be marketing and selling
yourself.

Not all customers/clients are created equally. Know what you're selling, set
your price and stick to it. You're probably not in a position to work for
equity. (Since most startups fail "working for equity" is the same as "working
for free"). Be prepared to say "no". Be willing to gracefully exit a
relationship with a troublesome client.

Stay away from odesk, elance, freelancer.com, etc. These are highly regulated,
tightly controlled markets with enormous pressure to push timelines and costs
down to the lowest common denominator. Unless you're in a country where
bidding for $500 fixed price jobs and $20/hr contracts can make you a good
living.

------
masonlong
Visualizing the relationships between my thoughts.

~~~
ZeroFries
DMT or 5g Mushrooms

------
pksunkara
Better golang package management.

~~~
osense
Better erlang package management? (:

------
motiw
How to find a marketing partner?

~~~
revorad
It depends on your specific marketing needs.

You should hang out on [https://growthhackers.com](https://growthhackers.com)
and [http://inbound.org](http://inbound.org). Some of the best marketers hang
out there. Even if you don't find a partner, you'll definitely learn some
useful stuff.

------
internDC
No one in DC wants to hire a high school student as a summer programming
intern.

------
hijiri
I can't fly unassisted

------
ozirus
I hate 0-day exploits while defending my IT infrastructure.

~~~
agwa
Are you actually targeted with undisclosed vulnerabilities, or are you just
concerned about quickly patching your infrastructure after a vulnerability is
disclosed? If it's the latter, I'd love to hear more about your pain points as
it's an area in which I've been kicking around ideas for a while.

------
nmbdesign
Vladimir Putin

~~~
rational-future
How come?

------
oigursh
Tinnitus

~~~
Mz
FYI: Some people find that magnesium helps with this. It may not resolve it,
but it may make it more bearable.

------
blackle
the last time someone said this to me they offered me weed

------
svisser
Porting to Python 3.

