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Convert a Bird Scooter to a personal one with $32 kit
- kaybe 8y agoApparently,you don't need to steal it for this. > There are cities that are selling Bird scooters at police auctions. Planning on picking one up once the eBay parts show up.
- kaybe 8y agoAaand we killed it. > SQL ERROR [ mysqli ] > User birdfo5_phpbb already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connections [1203] > An sql error occurred while fetching this page. Please contact an administrator if this problem persists.
- robax 8y agoLooks like someone could use pgbouncer :)
- cabaalis 8y agoWould be cool if it didn't leak half the authentication setup. Seems like the error handler could scan the text for configured values and mask before echoing it out.
- dannypgh 8y agoBetter yet, the error handler could not print anything back. A generic 500 is the way to go. Log your errors. If you think you'd get worthwhile bug reports / don't want to implement log analysis or whatever, take whatever errors, stack traces, etc. you'd like, encrypt and base64 encode them, and print that. Printing any hints about the nature of errors should be regarded as a security risk.
- cabaalis 8y agoAbsolutely true, and how I implement error handling personally (meaning give a friendly non technical message and track the error internally) I blame a brain collapse after a long day :)
- lurkertroll 8y agoCan't imagine scootertalk.org is attributing a lot of their resources to opsec
- scootertalk 8y agoThe influx of traffic has been a great surprise. I've contacted the host and updated the plan to handle the activity. They informed me the issue will be fixed soon. Sorry for any inconvenience. Thank you for checking out Scooter Talk. Hope you enjoy!
- RKearney 8y agoYou shouldn't need an updated plan to handle this. It seems as though every page load is hitting a database. I can't see the page since it won't load, but I'd imagine the content here can be easily cached.
- ars 8y agoReduce the max users in your http servers. Your max database users should always be a bit less than your max http servers/instances/connections. Http will queue connections if over the limit and everything will just work without errors. You won't even have an overloaded server (although some users may have a long wait).
- ec109685 8y agoIf your database can’t handle the load, your queue will grow indefinitely. So users will have an infinite wait or timeout. Not a panacea.
- shittyadmin 8y agoIf you don't want to pay more or deal with technical details like setting up cache servers, just put it behind CloudFlare or similar temporarily.
- bufferoverflow 8y agoThis is the best answer. Cloudflare free tier CDN is amazing, and is ridiculously easy to set up. They even provide and set up an SSL certificate for you.
- easytiger 8y ago> > User birdfo5_phpbb already has more than 'max_user_connections' active connections [1203] I see not much has changed in web dev since the late '90s
- jstanley 8y agoWhy are the police auctioning them? If they were stolen, shouldn't they be returned to Bird?
- nthitz 8y agoIn some cases police have confiscated them https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/article_bab80638-c738-11e8-93c8-0f78c0cdd186.html https://pilotonline.com/news/local/transportation/article_ba... Sorry for bringing your site down scootertalk!
- tfandango 8y agoBird scooters showed up in my city unexpectedly, literally overnight. We woke up and they were everywhere, like... a swarm of... Birds I guess. Suddenly everyone is zipping everywhere on these things and everyone says how awesome everything is. But then mad people go to Facebook and say that someone once saw a Bird scooter in a crosswalk and the city loses it's mind. They get lawyers to write letters to Bird (to demand... what? We don't know). They hear nothing back. Soon city council is complaining on Facebook too. The police impound them by the dozens, creating a phalanx of Birds in their lot. For a couple of weeks after that you are lucky to see one on the sidewalk. People are sad, but then, unexpectedly, Lime scooters appear, literally overnight, everywhere. Somehow the Birds are now free of their cage and everyone is zipping about town on scooters again. I think they are cool.
- ph0rque 8y ago*flock of Birds
- northwest66 8y agoI must admit I had a little chuckle. I suppose there is a term for it when the correct answer is right there on the tip of your tounge but you just can't quite put pen to paper.
- rmason 8y agoMichigan State confiscated around 100-150 of these scooters, I think primarily Bird's. If they don't reach an agreement with the company I think it's likely they will be auctioned. https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2018/10/02/michigan-state-university-msu-police-east-lansing-bird-scooters/1496726002/ https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2018/10/02/mi...
- ams6110 8y agoIndiana University also. https://www.idsnews.com/article/2018/10/caimpound100318 https://www.idsnews.com/article/2018/10/caimpound100318
- anonytrary 8y agoThis is why hubs are super important. People should be able to host their property as hubs where people can safely leave their scooters, as opposed to just dumping them anywhere they please.
- armenarmen 8y agoPlus it’s a bit more convenient than just hoping that you find one on your way to BART
- LukaD 8y ago> dumping them anywhere they please Like cars? That doesn't seem to bother anyone.
- thecatspaw 8y agoif you're not on a parking spot, then yes it bothers people, and you can get fines for it.
- sokoloff 8y agoOr towed to an impound lot and eventually sold at auction if not claimed.
- johnbatch 8y agoHere is an auction for $25 1 bird scooter and two random bikes. https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=68&acctid=8085 https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=68&ac...
- n0ric 8y agoThat looks to be the Segway model they also use, but I wouldn't be surprised that there is/will be a way to debird these scooters aswell.
- pfisch 8y agoIf someone leaves a couch on the curb and you take it is that stealing? A lot of these bird drops don’t seem regulated at all. I’m not even sure they are really bird’s property anymore. Incidentally when someone just dumps a couch on the curb it isn’t full of hard to dispose hazardous materials, unlike these scooters.
- koboll 8y agoI wish the downvoters would explain why you're wrong instead. Under what legal theory can Bird file charges against someone who takes what they've left unsecured sitting on a sidewalk?
- pfisch 8y agoI’m sort of surprised none of these pissed off city councils have gone after them for illegally dumping hazardous materials. I guess most people here infer that I hate these scooters, but I actually think they are mostly a public good. Just like uber is. Doesn’t mean it is legal though.
- shaki-dora 8y agoDownvoter here! You're arguing against about 2000 years of legal history. Theft is defined as the taking of another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. Note how nothing in that definition requires the property to be secured. You also don't get to hit people over the head with a hammer only because they have turned away from you. In general, law abhors your principle of "might is right". In fact, law and morality are entirely unnecessary in the cases where an otherwise unlawful action is successfully prevented by protections. I guess all the moral gymnastics to justify copyright infringement are now having spillover effects. It's one way to get back to a coherent moral code, I give you that. But I hope you can afford bodyguards to accompany at all times of day, and no enemy of yours ever becomes rich enough to pay more muscle than you can.
- koboll 8y ago
- b0bby_tabl3s 8y agoWhy would one be at a police auction? Does Bird care that little about their property?
- HillaryBriss 8y agothere ought to be a business where, instead of shelling out $32, you just rent the conversion kit by the hour
- TrainedMonkey 8y agoThere are several. The products even come with attached scooter, so you don't have to search for one.
- jm_l 8y agoThen maybe someone could make a kit to turn a rented kit into a personal one.
- samstave 8y agoWhen people get tired of riding their personal ones - you can buy them all up off craigslist, then rent them out and make a killing.
- zygotic12 8y agoObviously you could use a blockchain to tokenise the ownership as well. EDIT: Crap. Now got a brain bug.
- HillaryBriss 8y agofrickin' genius
- jordsta 8y agoGoogle cache of the page, since we've given the site the hug of death: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://scootertalk.org/viewtopic.php?p%3D1643 http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https:/...
- quickthrower2 8y agoTLDR; = I ordered this off eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/for-Xiaomi-MIJIA-M365-BIRD-Scooter-Circuit-Board-Dashboard-Cover-Replacement-JT/253942419471?epid=9022713001&hash=item3b2025d00f:g:KdIAAOSw1CBbxwHh:rk:1:pf:0 https://www.ebay.com/itm/for-Xiaomi-MIJIA-M365-BIRD-Scooter-...
- fencepost 8y ago"Taken apart from original M365 scooter." What are the chances these are coming from someplace doing the conversions for Bird and now they're coming full circle?
- mikeash 8y agoThe listing claims to be selling a brand new part still in its original packaging, so that wouldn't fit, although it certainly wouldn't be the first time that an eBay seller lied.
- siruncledrew 8y agoIt ships from China, so it’s possible it’s from the same manufacturer.
- yoloswagins 8y agoThe conversion kit is on ebay, https://www.ebay.com/itm/for-Xiaomi-MIJIA-M365-BIRD-Scooter-Circuit-Board-Dashboard-Cover-Replacement-JT/253942419471?epid=9022713001&hash=item3b2025d00f:g:KdIAAOSw1CBbxwHh:rk:1:pf:0 https://www.ebay.com/itm/for-Xiaomi-MIJIA-M365-BIRD-Scooter-...
- excalibur 8y agoBackground for anyone else who has not heard about this particular Bird: https://www.bird.co/ https://www.bird.co/
- gattilorenz 8y agoThanks for linking this, I have never heard of Bird before. Also, the website does a horrible job of explaining what it is in the home page.
- closetohome 8y agoJesus, you're right. It looks like a site I'd design if the client had given me no copy and only a vague description of what they do.
- cwkoss 8y agoLooks like the site is down, here is a tweet with a screenshot: https://twitter.com/nickabouzeid/status/1070036774871650304 https://twitter.com/nickabouzeid/status/1070036774871650304
- yazr 8y agoIsnt vandalism a problem with dock-less scooters ? I can imagine someone passing by, picking up one of these and dumping it into a garbage can. Maybe the margins are so high they can just effort to replace them ?
- dragonwriter 8y ago> Isnt vandalism a problem with dock-less scooters ? Yes. http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/electric-scooters-accused-of-being-a-nuisance-on-la-streets-are-now-being-destroyed-in-creative-ways http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/electric-scooters-accus...
- bennettfeely 8y agoAnd https://www.instagram.com/birdgraveyard/ https://www.instagram.com/birdgraveyard/
- rorykoehler 8y agoThis is one of the most depressing things I've seen in a while.
- kabacha 8y agoBut why do people do that? to look like complete tools while doing it? Because then it's a resounding success! Ugh, I feel bad for poor thing and people who have to clean this mess up. If you don't like the scooters petition your gonverment to regulate it.
- mikeash 8y agoI suspect the margins are high enough. These things are cheap, and it doesn't take a whole lot of rides to pay for themselves. If they last a few months on average before being trashed, that's probably good enough. It's also possible that these companies are taking the loss to gain market penetration, hoping to find a solution to the vandalism problem before the VC money dries up.
- jacknews 8y agoIsn't a big part of the advantage of ride-share is that the vehicle is just there for your journey, you don't need to take care of it outside of that? These companies companies seems to have exploded in valuation, driven I guess by VC money. I wonder how much of the rider-growth fueling that is just people trying out an electric scooter for the first time.
- bbeekley 8y ago> Isn't a big part of the advantage of ride-share is that the vehicle is just there for your journey, you don't need to take care of it outside of that? That's what I use it for. They're great for situations where I want to get somewhere that's 1-3 mi away and don't want to be responsible for the object I used for transportation once I get there (be it car, bike or scooter).
- adrianmonk 8y agoThat's the advantage of ride share, yes, but ride share isn't the only application of electric scooters. If you live 2 or 3 miles from work, it might be good for commutes.
- fyfy18 8y ago> I wonder how much of the rider-growth fueling that is just people trying out an electric scooter for the first time I saw they have Lime in Madrid and a few other Spanish cities, and that was my impression for their usage here. For a 10 minute ride the cost is comparable to what you would pay for car-sharing scheme like Car2Go - but that's for a car where you can fit a passenger and shopping. It's also priced in USD here, which suggests it's not aimed at the local market. If they had pricing similar to bicycle sharing schemes (X minutes free, then pay per minute + daily/yearly subscription fee) I could see them being a lot more popular with commuters, but as it is now, my impression is it's too expensive for the European market.
- kevmo314 8y agoI wonder how much a kit costs to convert one of those Lime ebikes I've been seeing around...
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoThose bikes are heavy and under-powered. They're not worth using exclusively.
- kevmo314 8y agoPulling the motor off and putting it on a lighter bike would make it worth it though.
- siruncledrew 8y agoSo all that's needed to enter the scooter business is a van, a Faraday cage, and a conversion kit. Perfect!
- icedchai 8y agoWhy bother with the Faraday cage? Where's your sense of adventure?
- shaki-dora 8y agoPlus a lawyer, and a severe lack of decency and morality. Perfect!
- noobermin 8y agoWhy don't hackers develop a $32 kit for hijacking leafs or other hybrid cars SV hackers drive and publish it publicly.
- justtopost 8y agoThere are. Sdr code for opening many cars, replay attacks (featured today on HN), and can-bus interfaces are all available inexpensively. Dealer style keyfob copiers and obd2 port hacking products are about 200 and up online. The scooters haven't been around as long.
- CrazyCatDog 8y agoSomeone at u of Michigan stole my personal use m365 (bird) handlebars and brain so that they could steal a bird for personal use—and to think I felt so clever using a u-lock to lock the frame up....
- justtopost 8y agoSounds depressingly fqmiliar. I thought I was clever with a lock thru each wheel at u of m, but came back to just 2 wheels, sans frame. Curse you quick release, and things worse than curses to whomever stole our bikes.
- marsRoverDev 8y agoDoes anyone have a source for confiscated Bird scooters in europe? I would definitely buy a Xiaomi M365 from a government/police auction and do this mod if possible; for now, it seems like they are being welcomed with open arms though.
- techaddict009 8y agoBit off topic: I had got to know about the scooter boom in USA via youtube video. It says anyone can put scooter anywhere in the city and can pick up any other scooter anytime they want from anywhere? Is this really true?
- par 8y agoyup
- heliophobicdude 8y agoCorrect. It's been a headache to cities and some citizens. The scooter companies hire somewhat of bounty hunters to charge them. They are paid roughly $3 to 8 per scooter.
- techaddict009 8y agoWhat kind of troubles do they give you exactly?