5 ms·

The swarm of negative comments here is both disheartening and unwarranted. How many of you are building ad networks or chat-with-PDF while these folks are worki

The swarm of negative comments here is both disheartening and unwarranted. How many of you are building ad networks or chat-with-PDF while these folks are working on truly difficult problems? Flying supersonic is awesome, actually. Count me in for one at the first opportunity (25% of the cost of a Concorde ticket would really be something) Congratulations for a successful launch to Boom!

Solvency 3y ago
HN lives in a closet world of React/Angular/Docker/Kubernetes/etc and is so thoroughly jaded and burnt by bland, bloated business technology apps that they have zero affinity or understanding of what kind of exciting technology is happening in other sectors.
jerpint 3y ago
I work on chat-with-pdf and still find this awesome!
- justinclift 3y ago
  What the heck is chat-with-pdf? :)
  - kpennell 3y ago
    gpt enabled pdf summarizers
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
FrustratedMonky 3y ago
Agree. In years past the negative comments were because it was 'vapor', just an empty overhyped startup. But It is not just vapor now, they have a flying prototype.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
7e 3y ago
It is most definitely warranted. This idea is horrific for the environment and sonic booms are bad for residents. It solves a "problem" nobody but rich elites have. This company is a zero-interest rate phenomenon. I wish people would work on impactful projects instead.
- cvalka 3y ago
  This is as impactful as it gets.
whyage 3y ago
I totally agree with you, only that Boom's hype-laden announcement doesn't help build confidence.
- zenlikethat 3y ago
  That's the game though. Unfortunately, there's no room for subtlety once you get to a certain audience size, and you need to make as much noise and project as much confidence as possible to stand out. While us HNers might appreciate subtlety and humility, I don't think it translates very well to the average person.
idlewords 3y ago
I don't find giving rich people a way to make loud banging noises in the sky more inspiring than building ad networks. Not all difficult challenges are worthy.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- et2o 3y ago
  Shame on you. We will not have supersonic transport for average people unless outsiders do it first. There are only two meaningfully large manufacturers now, Airbus and Boeing. Boeing and Airbus both cannot financially afford a technologically promising but possible failure now. Boeing built the 737 MAXX because they couldn’t afford a clean sheet update of 70-year old technology despite the savings. Airbus lost almost as much as the entire company was worth on the A380, kept afloat by EU subsidies. All new technology happens for the wealthy first - we would not have smartphones today if Apple was forced to price them at the median price of cell phones in 2004.
  - tw04 3y ago
    > Boeing built the 737 MAXX because they couldn’t afford a clean sheet update of 70-year old technology despite the savings. Boeing ABSOLUTELY could afford a clean sheet replacement of the 737. They chose not to because it would have opened them up to competition and reduced short term profits. Anyone claiming otherwise is blowing smoke.
    - tmiku 3y ago
      I agree with your sentiment, but not the reason - instead of concern about competition/short-term profitability, Boeing has always thrown huge amounts of money into stock buybacks, even while development is running over budget. This article is a great window into the institutional rot at Boeing, and I think it highlights the problems caused by large companies' decisions being dominated by their own stock price: https://newrepublic.com/article/154944/boeing-737-max-investigation-indonesia-lion-air-ethiopian-airlines-managerial-revolution https://newrepublic.com/article/154944/boeing-737-max-invest...
zarzavat 3y ago
Flying supersonic is awesome. Living near people who fly supersonic is awful. Since there are far more people in group B than group A, a ban is warranted. Also, now we have the climate crisis to deal with, commercial supersonic flight should be consigned to the history books where it belongs.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

Solvency 3y ago

HN lives in a closet world of React/Angular/Docker/Kubernetes/etc and is so thoroughly jaded and burnt by bland, bloated business technology apps that they have zero affinity or understanding of what kind of exciting technology is happening in other sectors.

jerpint 3y ago

I work on chat-with-pdf and still find this awesome!

justinclift 3y ago
What the heck is chat-with-pdf? :)
- kpennell 3y ago
  gpt enabled pdf summarizers
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

FrustratedMonky 3y ago

Agree. In years past the negative comments were because it was 'vapor', just an empty overhyped startup. But It is not just vapor now, they have a flying prototype.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

7e 3y ago

It is most definitely warranted. This idea is horrific for the environment and sonic booms are bad for residents. It solves a "problem" nobody but rich elites have. This company is a zero-interest rate phenomenon. I wish people would work on impactful projects instead.

cvalka 3y ago
This is as impactful as it gets.

whyage 3y ago

I totally agree with you, only that Boom's hype-laden announcement doesn't help build confidence.

zenlikethat 3y ago
That's the game though. Unfortunately, there's no room for subtlety once you get to a certain audience size, and you need to make as much noise and project as much confidence as possible to stand out. While us HNers might appreciate subtlety and humility, I don't think it translates very well to the average person.

idlewords 3y ago

I don't find giving rich people a way to make loud banging noises in the sky more inspiring than building ad networks. Not all difficult challenges are worthy.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
et2o 3y ago
Shame on you. We will not have supersonic transport for average people unless outsiders do it first. There are only two meaningfully large manufacturers now, Airbus and Boeing. Boeing and Airbus both cannot financially afford a technologically promising but possible failure now. Boeing built the 737 MAXX because they couldn’t afford a clean sheet update of 70-year old technology despite the savings. Airbus lost almost as much as the entire company was worth on the A380, kept afloat by EU subsidies. All new technology happens for the wealthy first - we would not have smartphones today if Apple was forced to price them at the median price of cell phones in 2004.
- tw04 3y ago
  > Boeing built the 737 MAXX because they couldn’t afford a clean sheet update of 70-year old technology despite the savings. Boeing ABSOLUTELY could afford a clean sheet replacement of the 737. They chose not to because it would have opened them up to competition and reduced short term profits. Anyone claiming otherwise is blowing smoke.
  - tmiku 3y ago
    I agree with your sentiment, but not the reason - instead of concern about competition/short-term profitability, Boeing has always thrown huge amounts of money into stock buybacks, even while development is running over budget. This article is a great window into the institutional rot at Boeing, and I think it highlights the problems caused by large companies' decisions being dominated by their own stock price: https://newrepublic.com/article/154944/boeing-737-max-investigation-indonesia-lion-air-ethiopian-airlines-managerial-revolution https://newrepublic.com/article/154944/boeing-737-max-invest...

zarzavat 3y ago

Flying supersonic is awesome. Living near people who fly supersonic is awful. Since there are far more people in group B than group A, a ban is warranted. Also, now we have the climate crisis to deal with, commercial supersonic flight should be consigned to the history books where it belongs.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]