4 ms·

Honestly, what's really missing from my life is a way to plug something into a USB port on my mac, plug something into a USB port on my friend's Windows compute

Honestly, what's really missing from my life is a way to plug something into a USB port on my mac, plug something into a USB port on my friend's Windows computer, and give him 20 GB of pirated video. I would pay for that.

trotsky 15y ago
you mean like a usb transfer cable?
- 1880 15y ago
  Or a cheap Ethernet cable. Windows Shared Folders are more or less crossplatform nowadays.
  - sudonim 15y ago
    I used to have a crossover cable which is basically a single ethernet cable where the two connectors are reversed. You eliminate a switch / hub and it is a ridiculously fast way to transfer between two machines.
    - kooshball 15y ago
      With most new network equipments, you dont need a crossover cable anymore. A regular cable will work just fine.
    - gmac 15y ago
      And if one or both machines is a recent Mac or has gigabit Ethernet (or otherwise supports auto-MDIX) you don't even need a crossover cable.
      - seiji 15y ago
        *recent = 2001 PowerBook G4 or above
      - dfc 15y ago
        Or any thinkpad since the beginning of time.
fuzzythinker 15y ago
A pair of wireless adhoc wifi usb transceivers is probably what he is trying to describe.
patio11 15y ago
give him 20 GB of pirated video. I would pay for that. There seems to be a wee bit of an adverse selection problem with the people who are likely to be customers for this.
- enko 15y ago
  You reckon? I think there is quite a large market of people who are 1) totally price insensitive up to say $100/yr and 2) could not give a shit about copyright, they just want to be able to share things they like with friends. PS. Can I ask you to stop using country-specific slang like "a wee bit" on HN?
  - chc 15y ago
    A business model based around people who have difficulty agreeing to pay more than eight bucks a month for something is probably not a hugely profitable proposition. And as Patrick said, people who "could not give a shit about copyright" by definition will not have any qualms about flat-out stealing your product if they get half a chance. Such a high-risk market tends to drive prices up, which will just drive copyright infringers to try harder to steal your product. And it's not really relevant, but since it's probably the part you're getting downvoted for, I figure I should explain: Your objection to "a wee bit" seems really weird. It's not particularly region-specific anymore — my mom from Mississippi uses it — and even if it were, it's not hard to grasp the meaning. I can't think of any good reason to avoid it.
    - 27182818284 15y ago
      Netflix proved this idea incorrect. People pay for movie access they could still torrent because of the access and peace of mind. As for the parent above, if an easy USB-USB device that was easy and existed, I'd buy it. It isn't just movies anymore, it is also about giving grandma the HD video of her granddaughter's dance recital as easy and quickly as possible.
      - chc 15y ago
jroes 15y ago
Why would anyone invest time selling things to people who regularly steal things? Seems like a safer bet to go after a demographic that you know typically pays for things.
- neutronicus 15y ago
  http://www.google.com/search?q=seedbox http://www.google.com/search?q=seedbox
- gommm 15y ago
  Isn't this what rackspace, megaupload and all the other bazillion filesharing service are doing? They seem to be doing quite all right financially...
- latortuga 15y ago
  The pirated content portion of his proposal is a red herring.
- jroes 15y ago
  Interesting that a similar comment was made by patio11 and there was intelligent discussion about it.
  - EliAndrewC 15y ago
    My guess is that the downvotes are from people objecting to the use of the word "steal" to describe piracy.
alanh 15y ago
In your case, an OS X Public folder + have your friend download Bonjour for Windows = pretty much there

trotsky 15y ago

you mean like a usb transfer cable?

1880 15y ago
Or a cheap Ethernet cable. Windows Shared Folders are more or less crossplatform nowadays.
- sudonim 15y ago
  I used to have a crossover cable which is basically a single ethernet cable where the two connectors are reversed. You eliminate a switch / hub and it is a ridiculously fast way to transfer between two machines.
  - kooshball 15y ago
    With most new network equipments, you dont need a crossover cable anymore. A regular cable will work just fine.
  - gmac 15y ago
    And if one or both machines is a recent Mac or has gigabit Ethernet (or otherwise supports auto-MDIX) you don't even need a crossover cable.
    - seiji 15y ago
      *recent = 2001 PowerBook G4 or above
    - dfc 15y ago
      Or any thinkpad since the beginning of time.

fuzzythinker 15y ago

A pair of wireless adhoc wifi usb transceivers is probably what he is trying to describe.

patio11 15y ago

give him 20 GB of pirated video. I would pay for that. There seems to be a wee bit of an adverse selection problem with the people who are likely to be customers for this.

enko 15y ago
You reckon? I think there is quite a large market of people who are 1) totally price insensitive up to say $100/yr and 2) could not give a shit about copyright, they just want to be able to share things they like with friends. PS. Can I ask you to stop using country-specific slang like "a wee bit" on HN?
- chc 15y ago
  A business model based around people who have difficulty agreeing to pay more than eight bucks a month for something is probably not a hugely profitable proposition. And as Patrick said, people who "could not give a shit about copyright" by definition will not have any qualms about flat-out stealing your product if they get half a chance. Such a high-risk market tends to drive prices up, which will just drive copyright infringers to try harder to steal your product. And it's not really relevant, but since it's probably the part you're getting downvoted for, I figure I should explain: Your objection to "a wee bit" seems really weird. It's not particularly region-specific anymore — my mom from Mississippi uses it — and even if it were, it's not hard to grasp the meaning. I can't think of any good reason to avoid it.
  - 27182818284 15y ago
    Netflix proved this idea incorrect. People pay for movie access they could still torrent because of the access and peace of mind. As for the parent above, if an easy USB-USB device that was easy and existed, I'd buy it. It isn't just movies anymore, it is also about giving grandma the HD video of her granddaughter's dance recital as easy and quickly as possible.
    - chc 15y ago

jroes 15y ago

Why would anyone invest time selling things to people who regularly steal things? Seems like a safer bet to go after a demographic that you know typically pays for things.

neutronicus 15y ago
http://www.google.com/search?q=seedbox http://www.google.com/search?q=seedbox
gommm 15y ago
Isn't this what rackspace, megaupload and all the other bazillion filesharing service are doing? They seem to be doing quite all right financially...
latortuga 15y ago
The pirated content portion of his proposal is a red herring.
jroes 15y ago
Interesting that a similar comment was made by patio11 and there was intelligent discussion about it.
- EliAndrewC 15y ago
  My guess is that the downvotes are from people objecting to the use of the word "steal" to describe piracy.

alanh 15y ago

In your case, an OS X Public folder + have your friend download Bonjour for Windows = pretty much there