5 ms·

Rethinking the Whiteboard

34 points by pavs 16y ago

paylesworth 16y ago
Has anyone tried this? I've been thinking of getting one but am curious to how well it erases or if it succumbs to a "ghosting" effect over time.
- mtsmith85 16y ago
  Mine has not really had any issues with erasing, though I just purchased it. Thus far a quick rub down with an eraser and everything disappears. Not sure about long term (like leaving something on the board over a couple days/weeks.)
mtsmith85 16y ago
I have "Bertha" (4x6) and love it. I'm patiently waiting for 2x3's to get back in stock to buy another smaller one. Oddly, though the process to buy was problematic. I never received an emailed receipt or shipping information, it just showed up one day. No receipt in the box. Also, at one point the SSL on the site was bad. All of this to say that the product is amazing, but they are still working out the kinks... the kinks mainly (to me, at least) being customer service related. I'm sure that is just a growth issue, though, and will be taken care of in time.
- mattw 16y ago
  Did you put it on textured walls? From their video, it looked like the material was very thin, so I wonder how well it works on any but the smoothest walls.
  - whimsy 16y ago
    The material is paper thin.
  - mahipal 16y ago
    I have my "Bertha" on a textured wall. It works fine, although you can still feel a bit of the texture through it. (The texture is "damped," if you will.) I don't think it would be a problem for anyone except the most OCD of users.
kgrin 16y ago
This isn't deeply relevant to the profiled product, but I found the following characterization of YC rather odd: "Y Combinator is the early stage investment fund that uses a biannual, weekend-long pitch and demonstration competition to find investment-worthy companies." Isn't it more or less the other way around? (Demo Day is a "result", not the source, of YC companies)
- mustpax 16y ago
  The reporter is clearly confused about what Y Combinator is. On the other hand, that YC is described as a bi-annual award program speaks to a growing problem that I'm sure PG and Co have to face: admission into YC becomes something to covet for its own sake. I can imagine that people who are in it for the resume padding wouldn't be motivated enough to see their startup through.
lotharbot 16y ago
A question I asked when these first came out: how hard would it be to print a faint graphic on one of these? I glued a metal whiteboard to a utility table for gaming; the 1" grid dots are pretty important for the games we play. If I could get a Bertha with pre-printed grid dots I'd be all over it. Alternatively, how opaque/translucent are these? If I drew grid dots directly onto the table surface and then placed Bertha over the top, how much would the dots show?
- whimsy 16y ago
  They're fairly opaque. If they showed at all, they would be very faint. If you had a lightbox underneath, that would be a different story.
njharman 16y ago
I thought everyone knew $10 4x8' sheets of shower board from home depot was the shoestring budget whiteboard solution. $250 framed whiteboards are for the "Enterprise".
- njl 16y ago
  I've been pondering hanging sheets of glass on my walls. I've been taking notes on my bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker for a while. The ability to get out real cleaning products and get the writing surface really, really clean is compelling.
  - aarongough 16y ago
    This is actually what I just did. I got a big sheet of glass and spray-painted the back of it white with epoxy paint. Total cost ~$180 for a 28x68" whiteboard, and it looks amazing! As a quick tip, if you're looking for big, inexpensive sheets of glass talk to your local glazier and ask if they have tempered glass mis-cuts. Lots of people order tempered glass in the wrong size, and seeing as they can't re-cut it often you'll pick it up for cost...
- dugmartin 16y ago
  It also makes a great desk cover - you can write quick notes all over your desk using a fine tipped Sharpie. The best way to clean them I've found is 90% isopropyl alcohol. The bad side effect is your office will smell like a doctor's office for a while.
  - bmelton 16y ago
    You might also consider whiteboard paint. Paint a wall surface and voila, instant whiteboard. That said, the one guy I know who did it ended up covering it with glass panels, so YMMV.
zmmz 16y ago
Reminds me of http://www.ideapaint.com http://www.ideapaint.com Different solution to the same problem: special paint that acts as a whiteboard when dry. Has the advantage that you can paint over it if you get the "ghosting" effect and it comes in a variety of colors. Downside seems to be that its probably harder to get it off and that it has to be on a wall, unlike the stickers that you can just put anywhere.
MotorMouths 16y ago
Does anyone else think that "WhiteyBoard" is a problematic name? I initially thought it was a Chris-Rock-style joke.
- kscaldef 16y ago
  Yup, my first thought was "that's an unfortunate name".
- patrickgzill 16y ago
  It doesn't bother me for the same reason that reading a kid a storybook about the dread pirate Blackhearted Bart doesn't. An open source package I am aware of, once had a request from a government or non-profit agency, to remove any references to the software's use of "master / slave" in both the code and documentation, as it was found offensive.
awad 16y ago
We tried using a stick-on whiteboard and had dismal results. The writing surface was not smooth, since the thin material was going over our (bumpy) painted wall. Also, the adhesive would come off after a while, making us tape the whole thing down. Replaced it with a more traditional whiteboard.
tszming 16y ago
It is cheaper to buy a real white broad than whiteyboard in China.
ahoyhere 16y ago
OK, not exactly the same thing, but for my money you can't beat the giant 3M sticky flip charts. Unlike a whiteboard or whiteboard-like thing, you can write on it, then stick it somewhere else… forever. You never have to experience the pain of erasing! They are very hardy, too; I rolled some up and took them on a transatlantic flight and stuck em up again at my new location. Pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiffariffic/4738936107/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiffariffic/4738936107/ I'm thinking at the new office, we'll go with the glass. I like cheap but I hate the fact that all cheap whiteboard alternatives (and cheap whiteboards) look filthy after a few months. At the Truphone office in London, practically every surface is glass or melamine, it's just one giant whiteboard - that's what I want.

34 points by pavs 16y ago

Has anyone tried this? I've been thinking of getting one but am curious to how well it erases or if it succumbs to a "ghosting" effect over time.

mtsmith85 16y ago
Mine has not really had any issues with erasing, though I just purchased it. Thus far a quick rub down with an eraser and everything disappears. Not sure about long term (like leaving something on the board over a couple days/weeks.)

mtsmith85 16y ago

I have "Bertha" (4x6) and love it. I'm patiently waiting for 2x3's to get back in stock to buy another smaller one. Oddly, though the process to buy was problematic. I never received an emailed receipt or shipping information, it just showed up one day. No receipt in the box. Also, at one point the SSL on the site was bad. All of this to say that the product is amazing, but they are still working out the kinks... the kinks mainly (to me, at least) being customer service related. I'm sure that is just a growth issue, though, and will be taken care of in time.

mattw 16y ago
Did you put it on textured walls? From their video, it looked like the material was very thin, so I wonder how well it works on any but the smoothest walls.
- whimsy 16y ago
  The material is paper thin.
- mahipal 16y ago
  I have my "Bertha" on a textured wall. It works fine, although you can still feel a bit of the texture through it. (The texture is "damped," if you will.) I don't think it would be a problem for anyone except the most OCD of users.

kgrin 16y ago

This isn't deeply relevant to the profiled product, but I found the following characterization of YC rather odd: "Y Combinator is the early stage investment fund that uses a biannual, weekend-long pitch and demonstration competition to find investment-worthy companies." Isn't it more or less the other way around? (Demo Day is a "result", not the source, of YC companies)

mustpax 16y ago
The reporter is clearly confused about what Y Combinator is. On the other hand, that YC is described as a bi-annual award program speaks to a growing problem that I'm sure PG and Co have to face: admission into YC becomes something to covet for its own sake. I can imagine that people who are in it for the resume padding wouldn't be motivated enough to see their startup through.

lotharbot 16y ago

A question I asked when these first came out: how hard would it be to print a faint graphic on one of these? I glued a metal whiteboard to a utility table for gaming; the 1" grid dots are pretty important for the games we play. If I could get a Bertha with pre-printed grid dots I'd be all over it. Alternatively, how opaque/translucent are these? If I drew grid dots directly onto the table surface and then placed Bertha over the top, how much would the dots show?

whimsy 16y ago
They're fairly opaque. If they showed at all, they would be very faint. If you had a lightbox underneath, that would be a different story.

njharman 16y ago

I thought everyone knew $10 4x8' sheets of shower board from home depot was the shoestring budget whiteboard solution. $250 framed whiteboards are for the "Enterprise".

njl 16y ago
I've been pondering hanging sheets of glass on my walls. I've been taking notes on my bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker for a while. The ability to get out real cleaning products and get the writing surface really, really clean is compelling.
- aarongough 16y ago
  This is actually what I just did. I got a big sheet of glass and spray-painted the back of it white with epoxy paint. Total cost ~$180 for a 28x68" whiteboard, and it looks amazing! As a quick tip, if you're looking for big, inexpensive sheets of glass talk to your local glazier and ask if they have tempered glass mis-cuts. Lots of people order tempered glass in the wrong size, and seeing as they can't re-cut it often you'll pick it up for cost...
dugmartin 16y ago
It also makes a great desk cover - you can write quick notes all over your desk using a fine tipped Sharpie. The best way to clean them I've found is 90% isopropyl alcohol. The bad side effect is your office will smell like a doctor's office for a while.
- bmelton 16y ago
  You might also consider whiteboard paint. Paint a wall surface and voila, instant whiteboard. That said, the one guy I know who did it ended up covering it with glass panels, so YMMV.

zmmz 16y ago

Reminds me of http://www.ideapaint.com http://www.ideapaint.com Different solution to the same problem: special paint that acts as a whiteboard when dry. Has the advantage that you can paint over it if you get the "ghosting" effect and it comes in a variety of colors. Downside seems to be that its probably harder to get it off and that it has to be on a wall, unlike the stickers that you can just put anywhere.

MotorMouths 16y ago

Does anyone else think that "WhiteyBoard" is a problematic name? I initially thought it was a Chris-Rock-style joke.

kscaldef 16y ago
Yup, my first thought was "that's an unfortunate name".
patrickgzill 16y ago
It doesn't bother me for the same reason that reading a kid a storybook about the dread pirate Blackhearted Bart doesn't. An open source package I am aware of, once had a request from a government or non-profit agency, to remove any references to the software's use of "master / slave" in both the code and documentation, as it was found offensive.

awad 16y ago

We tried using a stick-on whiteboard and had dismal results. The writing surface was not smooth, since the thin material was going over our (bumpy) painted wall. Also, the adhesive would come off after a while, making us tape the whole thing down. Replaced it with a more traditional whiteboard.

tszming 16y ago

It is cheaper to buy a real white broad than whiteyboard in China.

ahoyhere 16y ago

OK, not exactly the same thing, but for my money you can't beat the giant 3M sticky flip charts. Unlike a whiteboard or whiteboard-like thing, you can write on it, then stick it somewhere else… forever. You never have to experience the pain of erasing! They are very hardy, too; I rolled some up and took them on a transatlantic flight and stuck em up again at my new location. Pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiffariffic/4738936107/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiffariffic/4738936107/ I'm thinking at the new office, we'll go with the glass. I like cheap but I hate the fact that all cheap whiteboard alternatives (and cheap whiteboards) look filthy after a few months. At the Truphone office in London, practically every surface is glass or melamine, it's just one giant whiteboard - that's what I want.