Oh, the list is long, really long. So many left for dead programs that were just ahead of their time.
A universal installer/package manager for Github.
I have two folders on my computer filled with BIFM (build it for me) projects that are now several years old because I don't code and cant vibe code. Not everyone who sees a gap should necessarily be the one who codes a solution.
Frustrating. Someday, I'd like to see headlines that focus on news publishers working on reasonable payment systems for article access. Like bulk buys ( X articles for $) via giftcard or whatever. Instead, every single time this comes up, it always ends with less access, more siloing...less connections made, more cruft to shift. Innovation requires access to info, but if you never see it...it's hard to make connections that count or that could be helpful. Same problem that appears in Science research...if only on a smaller scale.
Ok, I want to do this..it's past time for me to have a web home, but I am leery because I'm so non-techie. I've made note of most of the stuff I want to use, but I am hoping you can answer a really stupid question about size.
How big does the mini pc have to be to simply run a static site and newsletter?
I know I'm going to get all-sorts of comments and recently had a terrible experience with a tech bro, so please go easy on me...
> So if a merchant keeps trying to charge you, it will automatically decline.
I learned this the hard way with the New York Times doing this, but merchants can “force settle” a transaction if they want and it’ll override the decline they get. This is a violation of the merchant agreement but companies do it anyway (like NYT did to me). Privacy isn’t as bullet-proof as you would think.
It's an authorized recurring charge. Disabling the card only really works for sure on new charges. The only 'real' way to deauthorize it is to convince the merchant to do it for you. Every other method is just creating enough friction that you hope it will be too expensive for the merchant to fight back.
Yes, Capital One offers a similar virtual card service and when I read into the fine details it wasn't as useful as a thought. There were seemingly exceptions that could override spending limits for subscriptions and the control was mostly an illusion.
Then it just gets sent to collections, and worsens your credit score, so your next car loan or mortgage has a higher interest rate.
You have to actually resolve the issue with the company charging you, and do a chargeback if necessary which requires submitting evidence. It sucks, but virtual numbers don't make your bills go away.
I think it was 30 years ago now, but I could be off by a few. My mother "insisted" on me signing up for an infomercial product for her...I offered to buy it outright (it was in stores for less than the deal they were offering and deliver it personally) she declined and kept insisting. I did so and signed up for 1 shipment. They charged me for months afterwards and put my checking account, to which the card was tied into overdraft and refused to refund. I was lucky because I was at a small bank which still had personal bankers and she was kind and reasonable. She reversed the charges for me and got me my money back. That company stole my grocery money and didn't blink an eye.
Again: this was at least 30 years ago. Nothing was changed. The companies that take advantage are still taking advantage and the government is facilitating theft, fraud and tons of stress on those who can ill afford it. It is a major issue also for seniors who constantly get trapped in this crap. They tie people up with confusing forms and jargon and make it impossible. They have no shame. Check Rip-off Reports, if they are still allowed to exist, or webarchive...the stories are awful. It's past time for people to be able to stop this thru their cards or tactical action.
The cost to pay a lawyer to fight this kind of crap also falls on the person who files-think travel if they are out of state...most of these companies are based miles away and know that people can't afford to fight them.
unless the value is quite high it's unlikely the bill will actually get sent to collections. even if it does, you can negotiate fairly easily with the collection company to pay less than the original amount.
Privacy.com is a fintech platform offering virtual debit cards to secure online transactions. Based in Iceland and partnered with FDIC-insured banks, the service allows users to control card usage through pausing, unpausing, or closing. Privacy.com prioritizes security through firewalls, encryption, and PCI DSS compliance.
Revolut along with quite a few other modern EU banks let you manage recurring billing directly - in Revolut I can pick any transaction in the app, click "Block future payments" and that vendor won't be able to bill my card again until I unblock them. That's separate from virtual/disposable cards - you can use your normal card and still block individual vendors.
Honestly this seems like a pretty obvious core banking feature nowadays, I'm surprised it's not more widespread (even in the US - reliable cancellation features across all recurring card payments would surely make people more comfortable with subscriptions). Under the hood all banks (AFAIK) are handle recurring payments by issuing an authorization token at first purchase, and validating it on later transactions. Allowing customers to see the list of active tokens that were recently used and then revoke them explicitly seems like a no brainer.
Revolut has a disposable card feature. I'm sure there's some regular old school banks that have this as well, ING in the Netherlands does as far as I remember.
revolut and others still try to charge you, even if you cancel the VIRTUAL card. when you ask them, why and how they you do that, they say you have some sort of agreement for the subs. service and you need to end it on your own via them. Bank can't do that?? they said something like that to me. So they literally support the dark pattent side, not on your side obv.
Your bank might offer this already, just to check in case you haven't already. I think all banks I've had in Spain and Sweden has offered this feature within their web portal.
FYI: found this while searching for dtp programs that maybe didn't suck...and it seems wonderful. I'm still searching for a book topic, but I thought I would share it here if it helps anyone
All kinds including tech. People not wanting to allow someone to read a book because the person is "in trouble with the law." What does their breaking the law have to do with their explanations of how a technology works? Nothing...and the removal of a book says more about the vendors than it does about the supposed criminal. Generally censorship as practiced in this country is more about politics (ie: someone not liking someone else) than it is about accuracy.
Ok, now go do this for newspapers...and then convince everybody else that this. is. the. way. Please?
I am so sick of having to sign up for a monthly charge when I only need one article...and then forgetting to cancel and getting another ding in the next billing cycle. It sucks. If newspapers would just sell credits or a package of articles that never expire, it would be great. I've had to hold onto research I've been working on so I can do them all at once and it is always some ridiculous number like #127 articles that I had bookmarked from BI over the course of a few years. So then you are left with the Herculean task of trying to print #127 articles in a 30 day period.
The one time a company did this here it was beautiful. Loopnet was set up this way in the beginning. So if you only needed one report, you could just buy that one and not have to worry about recurring charges or unused time. The alternative is to never sign up for anything and watch as promising, potentially useful stuff dies on the vine. That's been my approach lately as the other way is too much hassle for a small scale, single-user. If all of SaaS is only meant for corps with 50 seats or more...it's going to get nasty out there because people aren't forming companies like they used to..and lean teams are the future.
I am trying. Closest I've got to is the Boston Globe. They took it (semi)-seriously , but ended up not going through.
It is a huge issue. Newspapers give everyone 90% off for a whole year in hopes of conversion (or customers forgetting to cancel), but they do not see this as an issue.
I don't think they'll do very well in the future if they refuse to change.
Another company that I know about who successfully sold/partnered with big news companies told me that it's almost impossible. The execs refuse to change and the only reason they got those partnerships were because of their advisors who were ex-media execs.
It's going to be an uphill battle, but I'm not writing it off just yet.
They don't officially have a future. And this is from a wannabe reporter..who once won a placement in a special edition of The Boston Globe. They gave up everything they are supposed to stand for and shot their supposed integrity in the face. The Buzzfeed/Gawker years finished them off. They should have paid for a mercenary team to rescue Daniel Pearl...instead the World watched his execution and expressed their sadness and shock PFFt!!!
Instead of investing in Timberland and ink factories-did you know ink sells for over $1k an ounce?-and whatever was growing laterally, they dug their heels in and now they are dead in all but name. Most of the "stories" they print are nothing more than ads and even the WSJ gutted itself after Murdoch bought them. The Personal finance section was one of the best with the best copywritten sales letter ever. They cut that too. But occasionally, I need a story and having to pile them up for several months to make the buy worthwhile is exceedingly annoying.
Think of mad libs for the rest of my comment and we might actually reach some form of understanding.
I used to spend <hours> every month getting ready to go work. A half hour before every shift just to make sure that what I was wearing wasn't "too ghetto" in someone's mind before I walked out my front door. Why? So I wouldn't attract unwanted attention. Not from police officers, store clerks, or random Karens intent on trouble. If I could get that time back, oooh boy!
I used to speak overly properly to certain people so that they knew my education wasn't the "poor, public school variety" and therefore wouldn't give me extra grief my asking unanswerable questions or putting blockades in my way "just because". It doesn't mean they didn't, it just means it felt easier to me. Maybe it worked, but probably not. They probably just thought I was showing off...
I worked on giving up swearing for years. I did it solely to appear more like the people I was interacting with on a daily basis. Ultimately, we all make minor, but impactful, changes to ourselves for the sole purpose of improving outcomes. How many times have you adjusted your resume to accommodate changes in hiring policies or procedures?
This is no different;the modus operandi is simply more analogue. Buy a handbag, get an interview. Adjust your brochure, (get a sale or) a job in this case.
Refactor Better Open With.
Oh, the list is long, really long. So many left for dead programs that were just ahead of their time.
A universal installer/package manager for Github.
I have two folders on my computer filled with BIFM (build it for me) projects that are now several years old because I don't code and cant vibe code. Not everyone who sees a gap should necessarily be the one who codes a solution.