The best Hacker News stories from Show from the past week
Latest posts:
Show HN: Hummingbard – decentralized communities built on Matrix
Show HN: Redbean – Single-file distributable web server
Show HN: Redbean – Single-file distributable web server
Show HN: QEMU front end for M1 and Intel Macs
Show HN: Can’t afford Bloomberg Terminal? No prob, I built the next best thing
Show HN: I wrote a book about using data science to solve “everyday” problems
Launch HN: Wyndly (YC W21) – Allergy relief through at-home oral drops
Hi HN,<p>I’m Aakash, and I’m a long time HN reader. My cousin Manan and I are excited to share our startup Wyndly (<a href="https://www.wyndly.com" rel="nofollow">https://www.wyndly.com</a>) with HN today.<p>Wyndly is focused on making long-term allergy relief convenient through at-home allergy immunotherapy drops and telemedicine. These personalized oral drops train your immune systems to stop reacting to allergy triggers like pollen, pets, or dust.<p>Manan is an ear-nose-and-throat surgeon and allergy doctor, and in his physical practice, he’s treated thousands of patients with at-home allergy drops, a form of allergy immunotherapy. During allergy immunotherapy, you gradually introduce your immune system to your allergy triggers. Over time, your immune system learns to tolerate these allergy triggers and stops reacting to them. For patients, this means greatly reduced allergy symptoms and long-term relief [1] without any other medicine for years after patients finish their immunotherapy.<p>While allergy drops are 80% of allergy immunotherapy in some European countries, in the United States, allergy drops are just 5.9% of allergy immunotherapy prescriptions [2] and are really only available in university hospitals like Johns Hopkins, University of Pittsburgh, and West Virginia University [3] [4] [5].<p>Part of the reason for their limited availability is physician training, and another part is the health insurance system’s incentives. Most allergy doctors were trained on allergy shots, and prescribe what they are most experienced with. Additionally, health insurance programs incentivize prescribing allergy shots.<p>In his medical training, Manan trained on both allergy drops and shots. When Manan gave his patients the choice between at-home allergy drops and allergy shots, his patients always chose drops, which are safer, convenient, and don’t require needles [6].<p>When Covid-19 hit Denver in March 2020, Manan switched all of his allergy drop patients to online care to continue treatment. After shelter-in-place was lifted, his patients continued online care due to the convenience, which told us one thing—patients preferred and were comfortable with telemedicine for allergy care. And that's why we started Wyndly.<p>We’re trying to make allergy immunotherapy convenient and affordable, so that any one of the 60 million people in America suffering from allergies has the opportunity to get lifelong relief—just like braces straighten your teeth and Lasik fixes your vision.<p>We’ve done our best to make our patient experience as easy as possible. First, we learn more about you and your allergy history. Then, our medical team creates a personalized treatment plan with treatment sent straight to your door. Most patients notice benefits at 6 months, and some patients have reported allergy symptom relief as early as 6 weeks [7]. Patients lock-in lifelong allergy relief after a few years [1]. Throughout this time, we stay in touch with the patient to work with them towards allergy relief.<p>Please let us know if you have more questions or feedback. We love talking about the science behind allergy immunotherapy, our treatment model, and what we’re doing. We're happy to answer any questions!<p>[1] Long-lasting effects of sublingual immunotherapy according to its duration: a 15-year prospective study <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20934206/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20934206/</a><p>[2] Comparison of allergen immunotherapy practice patterns in the United States and Europe <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20084837/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20084837/</a><p>[3] Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) for Allergy Treatment: Johns Hopkins | Q&A <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpWomI4iPLY" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpWomI4iPLY</a><p>[4] Benefits of Sublingual Immunotherapy | UPMC <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpP41WQ6pBc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpP41WQ6pBc</a><p>[5] Sublingual Immunotherapy: An Alternative to Allergy Shots <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THszgnYNM1I" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THszgnYNM1I</a><p>[6] Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous and Sublingual Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis and Asthma <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28964530/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28964530/</a><p>[7] Clinical improvement after escalation for sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT)
<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21938688/" rel="nofollow">https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21938688/</a>
Launch HN: GreaseBoss (YC W21) – Real-time system to manage industrial greasing
We are Steve, Tim and Pete, the cofounders of GreaseBoss (<a href="https://www.greaseboss.io" rel="nofollow">https://www.greaseboss.io</a>). GreaseBoss is a hardware and software system that verifies that the greasing of industrial equipment is completed on time and according to specification.<p>Greasing, you say? Yup, you heard that right. Incorrect greasing is the number one cause for machinery failure on industrial sites. Industrial machinery failure costs the global economy $21B a year. Greasing is a big deal!<p>We know this is an unsexy part of the economy, so we won’t judge you if you have never heard of a zerk (grease point) before. Some of our favourite places you can find zerks include super yachts - 200 zerks, private planes - 80 zerks, breweries - 2000 zerks, theme parks - 1500 zerks. Other places with lots of zerks include factories, mines, utilities, farm equipment, trucks and military vehicles.<p>The idea for GreaseBoss came when Steve and Tim saw frequent machine breakdowns due to incorrect greasing while supporting mine sites in Outback Australia. This problem costs Australian mine sites hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity every year - disrupted production, spending on parts and labour for repairs. We built and tested our prototypes during the pandemic lockdowns on the back deck, over Zoom calls. We have now developed our MVP and have quit our jobs to chase GreaseBoss full time.<p>On the hardware side: we put RFID tags that fit like washers under each zerk. These are read by a head unit that is retrofittable to existing grease guns, which includes a custom RFID reader integrated into the nozzle. It also includes a flow meter and supporting electronics. Our device has 4G, Wifi and LoRa for comms, but also operates in an offline mode for customers in remote locations. Our hardware is rugged, dust proof, and water proof for some of the toughest operational environments (and operators..)<p>On the software side, we record each greasing in the cloud, right as the worker greases the zerk. Since most industry is still tracking this using paperwork, you can imagine how much more efficient this is. Our customers get back to production much faster.<p>We are building a HaaS (Hardware as a Service - is that a thing?) business model: we charge customers upfront for the hardware and then a software subscription fee. We are experimenting with per zerk, per machine and per site pricing. We haven’t found the sweet spot yet.<p>We have GreaseBoss installed at a large coal mine, a quarry and on excavators at the dump in Queensland, Australia. We also have a South African greasing contractor using our system.<p>We will be online for the rest of the day answering your questions (we are in AEST timezone). We are very excited to receive your ideas, experiences and feedback!
Launch HN: H3X (YC W21) – High power density electric aircraft motors
Hey HN!<p>I’m Jason, one of the co-founders at H3X (<a href="https://www.h3x.tech" rel="nofollow">https://www.h3x.tech</a>). We are building the lightest electric propulsion systems in the world. Our first product is a 250kW (330HP) integrated motor drive in a 18kg (40lb) package. It combines the electric motor, inverter, and gearbox into a single unit, resulting in an ultra-high-power density solution for electric aircraft (and other mass sensitive applications).<p>In terms of electrification, we believe the aircraft industry is where automotive was ten years ago. There are many companies working on eVTOL and single-seaters, but very few are working on large commercial single-aisle electric aircraft such as a 737. This class of aircraft is absolutely critical to electrify as it accounts for the most passenger-miles [1] and is the biggest slice of the pie in terms of aviation emissions. Beyond the environmental impact, there are huge potential cost savings from both fuel (or lack thereof) and reduced maintenance for airlines.<p>Aircraft are very mass sensitive so there are two main technology challenges that need to be solved to enable this class of electric aviation –<p>(1) High energy density and efficient energy storage (batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, etc.)<p>(2) Light, efficient, and high-power density electric propulsion systems (electric motors, power electronics, gearbox)<p>There are many people working on (1) and great strides are being made [2][3]. We are focused on solving (2). A study done by the DOE determined that for a 737 to complete a five-hour flight, the propulsion system must be >12 kW/kg [4]. Today, best-in-class systems have a power density of 3-4 kW/kg. With our first product, we are targeting 13 kW/kg, making it an attractive solution for near-term Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) applications as well as an enabling technology for the aviation industry to enter the next stage of electrification.<p>There are some cool things we are doing with the electromagnetics, power electronics, and the integration between the systems to get to the 13 kW/kg. There is not a single magic bullet, but rather a combination of multiple technological advances - 3D printed copper stator coils, high frequency SiC power electronics, and a synergistic cooling system to name a few.<p>Our origins in electrification stem back to our college days where we built Formula-style electric racecars (s/o to Wisconsin Racing FSAE!). During year 1 of the program, we got so fed up with our COTS motors and inverters, we decided to go clean slate and build our own from the ground up the following year. Those were super happy fun times. Lots of dead IGBTs and all-nighters in the shop, but in the end, we got everything working and delivered! It was a true test of resilience and taught us how to GSD. Great preparation for starting a company. This led us to grad school and it became apparent during this time that the electric aircraft industry was a sleeping giant ready to be woken. We felt uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, so after about a year in industry, we left our full-time jobs and went all in.<p>We’ve got a long road ahead - aviation is tough, there’s no denying that. In addition to the engineering challenges, there are also major certification barriers. However, CO2 is a serious problem and right now the major aviation players don’t have a compelling plan to meet the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. Innovation needs to come from the outside and that’s what we’re doing at H3X.<p>I’d love to hear your guys thoughts and would be happy to answer any questions you have.<p>Sources:<p>[1] <a href="https://www.transtats.bts.gov/tables.asp?DB_ID=130" rel="nofollow">https://www.transtats.bts.gov/tables.asp?DB_ID=130</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/22/21449238/tesla-electric-car-battery-tabless-cells-day-elon-musk" rel="nofollow">https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/22/21449238/tesla-electric-c...</a><p>[3] <a href="https://hypoint.com/" rel="nofollow">https://hypoint.com/</a>, <a href="https://www.plugpower.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.plugpower.com/</a><p>[4] ASCEND DE-FOA-0002238
Show HN: Call a Dev – Pay Stack Overflow users $1/min for live programming help
Show HN: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp
Show HN: M1 Chart – The stock market adjusted for the US-dollar money supply
Show HN: Khan-dl – Khan Academy Course Downloader
Show HN: Search inside YouTube videos using natural language queries
Launch HN: Wasp (YC W21) – DSL for building full-stack web apps
Hi HN!<p>We are Martin and Matija, twin brothers and creators of Wasp (<a href="https://wasp-lang.dev" rel="nofollow">https://wasp-lang.dev</a>). Wasp is a declarative language that makes it really easy to build full-stack web apps while still using the latest technologies such as React, Node.js and Prisma.<p>Martin and I both studied computer science where we mostly focused on algorithms for bioinformatics. Afterwards we led engineering teams in several SaaS companies, on the way gaining plenty of experience in building web apps.<p>Moving from one project to another, we used various technologies:
JQuery -> Backbone -> Angular -> React, own scripts / makefile -> Grunt -> Gulp -> Webpack, PHP -> Java -> Node.js, … , and we always felt that things are harder than they should be. We were spending a lot of time adopting the latest tech stack and figuring out the best practices: how to make the web app performant, scalable, economical and secure and also how to connect all the pieces of the stack together.<p>While the tech stack kept advancing rapidly, the core requirements of the apps we were building changed very little (auth, routing, data model CRUD, ACL, …). That is why about 1.5 years ago we started thinking about separating web app specification (what it should do) from its implementation (how it should do it).<p>This led us to the idea of extracting common web app features and concepts into a special specification language from which we could generate code in the currently popular technologies. We don’t think it is feasible to replace everything with a single language so that is why we went with a DSL which integrates with the modern stack (right now React, NodeJS, Prisma).<p>Wasp lets you define high-level aspects of your web app (auth, routing, ACL, data models, CRUD) via a simple specification language and then write your specific logic in React and Node.js. The majority of the code is still being written in React and Node.js, with Wasp serving as the backbone of your whole application. To see some examples of what the language looks like in practice, take a look here: <a href="https://github.com/wasp-lang/wasp/blob/master/examples/tutorials/TodoApp/main.wasp" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/wasp-lang/wasp/blob/master/examples/tutor...</a><p>The main difference between Wasp and frameworks (e.g. Meteor, Blitz, Redwood) is that Wasp is a language, not a library. One benefit of that is a simpler and cleaner, declarative syntax, focused on the requirements and detached from the implementation details.<p>Another benefit of a DSL is that it allows Wasp to understand the web app’s requirements during the build time and reason about it before generating the final code. For example, when generating code to be deployed to production, it could pick the most appropriate architecture based on its understanding of the web app and deploy it to serverless or another type of architecture (or even a combination). Another example would be reusing your data model logic through all the parts of the stack while defining it just once in Wasp. DSL opens the potential for optimisations, static analysis and extensibility.<p>Wasp’s compiler is built in Haskell and it compiles the source code in Wasp + React/Node.js into the target code in just React and Node.js (currently in Javascript, but we plan to move to Typescript soon). The generated code is human readable and can easily be inspected and even ejected if Wasp becomes too limiting.<p>We are currently in Alpha and many features are still rough or missing, but you can try it out and build and deploy web apps! There are things we haven’t solved yet and others that will probably change as we progress.<p>You can check out our repo at <a href="https://github.com/wasp-lang/wasp" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/wasp-lang/wasp</a> and give it a try at <a href="https://wasp-lang.dev/docs/" rel="nofollow">https://wasp-lang.dev/docs/</a>.<p>Thank you for reading! We would love to get your feedback and also hear about your experiences building web apps - what has worked for you and where do you see the opportunities for improvement?
Show HN: I wrote an entire book to build a mouseless dev environment
Launch HN: SigNoz (YC W21) – Open-source alternative to DataDog
Hi HN,<p>Pranay and Ankit here. We’re founders of SigNoz ( <a href="https://signoz.io" rel="nofollow">https://signoz.io</a> ), an open source observability platform. We are building an open-core alternative to DataDog for companies that are security and privacy conscious, and are concerned about huge bills they need to pay to SaaS observability vendors.<p>Observability means being able to monitor your application components - from mobile and web front-ends to infrastructure, and being able to ask questions about their states. Things like latency, error rates, RPS, etc. Better observability helps developers find the cause of issues in their deployed software and solve them quickly.<p>Ankit was leading an engineering team, where we became aware of the importance of observability in a microservices system where each service depended on the health of multiple other services. And we saw that this problem was getting more and more important, esp. in today’s world of distributed systems.<p>The journey of SigNoz started with our own pain point. I was working in a startup in India. We didn’t use application monitoring (APM) tools like DataDog/NewRelic as it was very costly, though we badly needed it. We had many customers complaining about broken APIs or a payment not processing - and we had to get into war room mode to solve it. Having a good observability system would have allowed us to solve these issues much more quickly.<p>Not having any solution which met our needs, we set out to do something about this.<p>In our initial exploration, we tried setting up RED (Rate, Error and Duration) and infra metrics using Prometheus. But we soon realized that metrics can only give you an aggregate overview of systems. You need to debug why these metrics went haywire. This led us to explore Jaeger, an open source distributed tracing system.<p>Key issues with Jaeger were that there was no concept of metrics in Jaegers, and datastores supported by Jaeger lacked aggregation capabilities. For example, if you had tags of “customer_type: premium” for your premium customers, you couldn’t find p99 latency experienced by them through Jaeger.<p>We found that though there are many backend products - an open source product with UI custom-built for observability, which integrates metrics & traces, was missing.<p>Also, some folks we talked to expressed concern about sending data outside of boundaries - and we felt that with increasing privacy regulations, this would become more critical. We thought there was scope for an open source solution that addresses these points.<p>We think that currently there is a huge gap between the state of SaaS APM products and OSS products. There is a scope for open core products which is open source but also supports enterprise scale and comes with support and advanced features.<p>Some of our key features - (1) Seamless UI to track metrics and traces (2) Ability to get metrics for business-relevant queries, e.g. latency faced by premium customers (3) Aggregates on filtered traces, etc.<p>We plan to focus next on building native alert managers, support for custom metrics and then logs ( waiting for open telemetry logs to mature more in this). More details about our roadmap here ( <a href="https://signoz.io/docs/roadmap" rel="nofollow">https://signoz.io/docs/roadmap</a> )<p>We are based on Golang & React. The design of SigNoz is inspired by streaming data architecture. Data is ingested to Kafka and relevant info & meta-data is extracted by stream processing. Any number of processors can be built as per business needs. Processed data is ingested to real-time analytics datastore, Apache Druid, which powers aggregates on slicing and dicing of high dimensional data. In the initial benchmarks we did for self-hosting SigNoz, we found that it would be 10x more cost-effective than SaaS vendors ( <a href="https://signoz.io/blog/signoz-benchmarks/" rel="nofollow">https://signoz.io/blog/signoz-benchmarks/</a> )<p>We’ve launched this repo under MIT license so any developer can use the tool. The goal is to not charge individual developers & small teams. We eventually plan on making a licensed version where we charge for features that large companies care about like advanced security, single sign-on, advanced integrations and support.<p>You can check out our repo at <a href="https://github.com/SigNoz/signoz" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/SigNoz/signoz</a> We have a ton of features in mind and would love you to try it and let us know your feedback!
Show HN: Clerk – all of user management as-a-service, not just authentication
Show HN: Stamp turns a folder into a plain text file and a file into a folder
Show HN: LibreTranslate – Open-source neural machine translation API