News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by RantyDave on Wednesday August 17, 2016 @10:10PM (#12309974)
It turns out that councils (i.e. a city council) don't actually know where their pipes run and in particular don't know where their storm water drains are. This makes flood planning very difficult. So there's money in driving around a la streetview and finding where the drains are. One could possibly license the actual streetview images and mine them, too.
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by pajop on Thursday August 18, 2016 @12:33AM (#12310440)
I was just reading this http://qz.com/759177/major-chinese-cities-cant-seem-to-figur... and then I saw your post. Looks like Chinese cities would have very good use of what your startup has to offer!
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by jeffmould on Wednesday August 17, 2016 @10:50PM (#12310113)
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by randomnumber314 on Thursday August 18, 2016 @10:17AM (#12312627)
FYI - most links the menus lead to 404
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by jeffmould on Sunday August 21, 2016 @05:18PM (#12332783)
Oops, looks like they went out of business. They had some pretty interesting LIDAR technology for mapping cities. Not sure what happened.
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by almostkorean on Thursday August 18, 2016 @08:41AM (#12312009)
Ever moved a couch into an apartment with a small and/or winding staircase? It's a huge pain in the ass, and a couple years ago when I moved 3 times in a short period I really wanted to find a better way.

My idea is to use 3d scanning to help you move, using something like Google's project Tango. You scan your couch, bed, or table and the area you want need to move it through. Then it could algorithmically find the easiest path to move it and it shows you directions, so you and your moving partner know exactly how/when to rotate, turn, etc.

I'm sure it's possible because my mechanical engineering friends have software to do something similar for their robotic arms on the assembly line. I think this idea is really cool and hard to make profitable :)

Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by ganeshkrishnan on Thursday August 18, 2016 @06:00AM (#12311357)
I have one of the largest database of camping sites and hostels globally at http://www.wikibackpacker.com/ I get pretty decent organic footfalls and it's stressing out my hosting bills.

I tried to get some media coverage & some funding for it but it's getting impossible from Australia.

It's stuck in a limbo for now until I decide what to do with it.

Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by randomnumber314 on Thursday August 18, 2016 @10:28AM (#12312716)
Describe someone who is using this service, and how they use it.
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by merchang on Friday August 19, 2016 @02:46AM (#12318347)
Subscription boxes for very specific fetishes. The market is there, and willing to pay. Problems are: a) Margins don't justify time required for a worthwhile product b) The state of payment processing for anything "adult" is offensive
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by samblr on Thursday August 18, 2016 @11:04AM (#12313000)
..like improving education, democracy, gun violence!
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by nickthemagicman on Wednesday August 17, 2016 @10:08PM (#12309968)
Yes. Share your secrets with me!
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by swcoders on Thursday August 18, 2016 @06:19AM (#12311417)
I want to build drone startup.
Re:Ask HN: What are your startup ideas that you aren't pursu... by zbuf on Thursday August 18, 2016 @04:22AM (#12311054)
Nice try! :)