

WhiteyBoard: An Instant Whiteboard For your Instant Office - jasonwilk
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/25/whiteyboard-an-instant-whiteboard-for-your-instant-office/
Created by YC 2010 Alumni as a side project.
======
imajes
Jason-

You've got a few issues here. I'm only buying it because you're on HN,
otherwise i'd have run away, but:

\- Your paypal integration is busted. I can't complete checkout. \- Your
billing page seems to still display http - i know you're using an iframed
wuform-- but it's not going to cut it. People want to give money. You're not
helping them do it.

makes a billion times more sense to give up on the iframe and direct straight
to wuforms. If you would rather a more integrated e-comm experience, i suggest
shopify or similar.

~~~
jasonwilk
We seem to be processing checkout fine. I understand your concerns with the
http, I thought it would be fine since we are using Wufoo iframe, but I guess
that's not cool for the general public. I really appreciate you pointing that
out.

If you still can't process or feel uncomfortable, email me your paypal address
and I will send you a PayPal request.

My email: jason at tinycomb.com

~~~
xal
If you want to use Shopify I can give you half off the sticker price for a
fellow HNer.

~~~
revorad
Hi xal, can I use Shopify for charging monthly subscriptions for my webapp?

~~~
xal
Sorry you can't. It's something people ask us all the time but it's just not
the battle we picked ( so to speak ).

I haven't got personal experience with them but I'm hearing good things about
chargify.

------
singular
Seems very similar/identical to Magic Whiteboard -
<http://www.magicwhiteboard.co.uk/> \- a UK product that was featured on the
UK version of dragon's den - <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QvguJJNilA> \-
is Whiteyboard a completely separate company or have Magic Whiteboard not yet
got a US patent?

~~~
jasonwilk
This has nothing to do with them. Have a separate patent in the US.

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yankeeracer73
Not to go off topic or anything but is this kind of an unfortunate name?
"Whitey" has pretty negative connotations here in the US anyway.

~~~
jasonwilk
The co-founder is Australian. I couldn't sway him on the name. I agree, it is
questionable and apologies if anyone is offended. Our team is multi-national
and they all voted to move forward with the name.

~~~
rms
I think it's too funny to be offensive.

~~~
jasonwilk
that's what I thought too.

------
yarone
I wonder how well the whiteboard would work on a "standard" (North American)
textured wall.

In the video, the person (obviously a model) sticks the whiteboard on the door
(not the wall). The door is clearly a very smooth surface.

~~~
jasonwilk
Hey guys, we are going to have version 2 ready soon, which will alleviate any
problems with majorly textured walls or brick walls. Currently, this version
works on textured walls. It gets the job done. You can follow us on
twitter.com/whiteyboards to stay updated. I'll be sure to have the team get on
it.

------
jonchui
I really like this idea Jason! & you can't really beat that price point
(especially compared to the INCREDULOUSLY expensive ideapaint)

But, this reminds me of the $28 DIY 4' x 8' whiteboard?

[http://chrismetcalf.net/blog/archives/2007/06/16/how-to-
dirt...](http://chrismetcalf.net/blog/archives/2007/06/16/how-to-dirt-cheap-
wall-sized-whiteboards/)

Anyone ever tried making their own?

~~~
noonespecial
"Showerboard" ghosts excessively and is very hard to clean. I ended up with a
big sheet of clear acrylic from "home depot" instead. It was 36" x 72" (3 feet
by 6 feet) and cost about $48. It worked perfectly, was easy to hang because
its quite rigid and makes a very cool effect when you shine a light on the
edges. (The marker marks light up a little).

You can find the stuff in sheets of many sizes by the window and glass repair
stuff.

~~~
nitrogen
Waxing the showerboard helps. I'd suggest experimenting with different brands
of automotive wax to see which one is easiest to clean without resisting the
markers. My middle school geometry teacher used waxed showerboard (over 10
years ago) and it worked quite well. Thanks for the idea of using the acrylic.
I may have to try that; maybe I can combine it with a FTIR multitouch system
or something.

------
fnid2
When I click on the play button, a new window opens, but it's blank... Put up
some photos maybe?

I'm on FF 3.5.8

------
lotharbot
How hard/expensive would it be to get a simple pattern printed on this, say,
small faint dots forming a 1" grid? I currently use a pair of metal
whiteboards with pre-printed grids (glued to a folding table) for my D&D
setup. I'd be really interested in using this as a replacement, but I'd rather
not have to draw in the grid by hand.

Even better: if I supplied a black and white, vector-graphic image, could I
get it faintly printed on one of these sheets?

~~~
jasonwilk
this will be on version 2. Coming soon. Follow us on Twitter.com/whiteyboards
for those updates. DM us for any other requests, I like the feedback from HN.

~~~
prawn
Offer some preprinted with browser chrome for web developers. I'd buy that. Or
underlines (for to-do lists).

~~~
wmblaettler
How about 'static stickers' (static cling film) with various overlays, browser
chrome, iphone template, grids, lines, etc. Can stick to the board wherever
you want and write over them as well.

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thehodge
Seems they put the price up $10 because of the techcrunch feature, wonder if
that will bite them on the arse.

Would be interesting to see the ghosting / soaking reviews, does it leak into
the wall, how hard is it to clean.

~~~
jasonwilk
That was seriously a mistake. It was never supposed to cost $15. We launched
the website last night and had a mix up. If you do a wayback query, you will
see the homepage has always said $25.

~~~
thehodge
Okay cool, any chance of UK delivery if I pay shipping (I also work with a UK
sticker company if your after a UK distributer)

~~~
jasonwilk
Follow us on Twitter.com/whiteyboards to stay up on international shipments.
We will start accepting them next week sometime.

------
ableal
What I would like to know is where to buy 3M VHB double-sided stickers.
They're much better than the crap 3M and others sell in supermarkets, which
can't hold an asthenic gnat.

Judging from the peel-off paper I saved, that's the stuff our local highway-
toll radio-pay company uses to hold the transceivers to the windscreen. One
nearly needs a crowbar to pry them off the glass.

------
johnohara
Anybody using IdeaPaint? --> <http://www.ideapaint.com>

Rust-Oleum sells a product too. -->
<http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=128>

~~~
kellogs
ideapaint is expensive!

~~~
rbranson
... but worth it. The cheap stuff stinks. Trust me.

~~~
jasonwilk
IdeaPaint is very expensive. If you don't want to paint and just want
something up that is functional, this is perfect.

------
profgubler
Just a note. You are already using gmail so why not sign up for google apps so
you can have an email that isn't gmail. It looks a lot more professional and
it won't cost you anything as long as you don't have more than I think 3 users
on it.

------
krishna2
Go to the nearby Lowe's and ask for Tile Board. You get a 4' x 8' for $13-and-
change. Just glue it to your wall. I have it at my home (in fact, I got them
cut in smaller sizes so my three year old can put one on the floor and draw on
it).

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gchucky
Any word on how easy it is to remove? I'm planning on moving in a few months
and I wouldn't want to leave it stuck to the wall in my current apartment.

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kitcar
Just bought one. Going to attach it to my draftsman table I picked up at a
thrift shop - should make quite a useful work surface...

------
seanmcdonnell
Jason, are you running a micro retail business and a seed stage growth venture
at the same time?

Any advice for someone aspiring to do the same?

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miesl
How easy is it take off the wall and put back on repeatedly or is this meant
for a one time application?

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lacker
We need one of these!

~~~
jasonwilk
I know you do Kevin.

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fhirzall
I'm not sure why, but the video doesn't load in Chrome.

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juvenn
Hi Json, I'd hope I could buy one here, from China!

------
miesl
can this work as a projector screen you think? can you make it in 10 foot
wide?

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lsc
how are you doing distribution? by hand or is that outsourced?

