4 ms·

Show HN: Start to ambitious #1, addon to Google faster

14 points by devinrhode2 14y ago

jlarocco 14y ago
I'm not really seeing what's going on here. What is the app doing?
- ernestipark 14y ago
  It's a split pane Google with the results on the left and the page on the right.
  - devgutt 14y ago
    This would be good for HN as well
    - devinrhode2 14y ago
      I need to open source the smartframe stuff, to save us all from tabs! It would be good for a lot of things.
      - devgutt 14y ago
        Not a big deal for big monitors, but for small ones and IPad this would be nice.
    - jaredsohn 14y ago
      Like this? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245271 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245271
      - devgutt 14y ago
        Very cool, thanks.
jat850 14y ago
You likely are already aware of this, and maybe your selected domain name is not your permanent long-term choice for the project, but "scoutapp.com" (also named Scout) is a rather popular analytics package. It may lead to some branding confusion, even though the product goals are clearly different.
- devinrhode2 14y ago
  yeah... it was a hasty decision. spending time thinking about names just feels unproductive I guess
streptomycin 14y ago
So they reinvented this? http://www-archive.mozilla.org/projects/search/sidebar.jpg http://www-archive.mozilla.org/projects/search/sidebar.jpg
- devinrhode2 14y ago
  No, this is entirely different than anything I can tell is happening here. Scout creates a 'smartframe' (a fixed iframe - sorta like a virtual tab. any site can be framed, and you're authenticated on the page too) Basically, the whole page is viewable, you can interact with it, and it looks great too!
  - streptomycin 14y ago
    No, you just described the old Mozilla sidebar. You could put anything there and interact with it. If you weren't around for that era, just look at this: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=993&bih=551&q=mozilla+sidebar&gbv=2&oq=mozilla+sidebar&aq=f&aqi=g-S1&aql=&gs_l=img.3..0i24.1441.3016.0.3120.15.9.0.6.6.0.76.499.9.9.0...0.0.3dFxAGLiAQA https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=...
Killswitch 14y ago
There's nothing about your page at first glance that tells me what you're doing, most people will click the link, see something trying to install, and discard/close the window. Might want to fix that.
- devinrhode2 14y ago
  Point blank, you hit the nail on it's head. :(
alanh 14y ago
"Show HN: Start to ambitious #1, addon to Google faster" is a nonsense title. "Start to ambitious" does not parse as English and adding "#1" does not help; "addon" is also not a verb, and if we substitute "add on", the phrase "add on to Google faster" still does not mean anything. Is this petty? I don’t know. It bothers me to have a completely inscrutable title on the home page. Edit After looking at the page, it would seem this is, indeed, an incredibly lazy submission title: It gets its name from PG’s essay on ambitious start-ups; replacing Google is ambitious idea #1, and apparently building Yahoo! Axis on Google counts as insanely ambitious. "Addon to Google faster" is supposed to convey "extension (?) for faster Googling." On the linked page, you will find the odd choice of Myriad — Apple’s constant ad-copy font — and Jobsian phrasing (“insanely great”). Apple has nothing to do with this. Then you’ll note the poorly-chosen phrase “searching Google” — no, you’re searching the Internet with Google. Results are not limited to Google. I suppose one could say I am being cruel, but there are maybe 20 words here and most of them are erroneous or poorly chosen. I don’t think it’s “just” a language barrier; PG’s essay was in English, and yet even the phrase lifted from there managed to corrupt all the words!
- devinrhode2 14y ago
  Great writing is not my forte at all. I'd love suggestions though!
  - alanh 14y ago
    You know, I took a quick peek at your comments on HN just now, and they are all comprehensible and generally well-formed. This one is no exception. I would suggest putting yourself in a reader’s shoes. What do they know? What should they? What might they mis-interpret? Be as unambiguous as you can.
- jaredsohn 14y ago
  add-on-->"extension (?)" Add-on is a term used by most browsers that includes both plug-ins (such as Flash, QuickTime, Adobe Reader, etc. that are included in a webpage via object or embed tags) and extensions (Adblock Plus, FlashBlock, Ghostery, etc. which alter the UI and/or inject JavaScript). The term doesn't seem exactly right here, though, since I don't think Google uses the term at all for Chrome. Edit: Originally was going to write that it was a Firefox term (at least with respect to browsers), but wanted to publish and hoped I could research the other browsers before someone responded. After a little more searching it seems like Opera uses the term add-on (http://www.opera.com/addons/ http://www.opera.com/addons/) as well, although I don't think it includes plug-ins. Regardless, the use of the term in most cases is likely due to Firefox.
jaredsohn 14y ago
Here's the author's description of the site from a meetup group page (I remembered seeing this there recently.): http://www.meetup.com/Startup-Grind/members/15953101/ http://www.meetup.com/Startup-Grind/members/15953101/ "It helps you get answers much faster with Google. The Chrome Extension immediately opens the first result when you search, and places your search results on the left in a sidebar. You can view 5 results in just 5 clicks, as opposed to 10 with regular google." Just adding this text to the page (ideally right now while it is on the front page of Hacker News) would go a long way toward making it clear what the extension does.
- devinrhode2 14y ago
  Thank you. I'm so insistent on getting short copy, I shoot myself in the foot, as others have pointed out. The next thing I plan on doing is taking the screenshot, and making is a auto-play as a screencast, just like path (http://path.com http://path.com)
steve8918 14y ago
Sorry, but it doesn't show me what this actually does, and there is zero chance I'm just going to allow an extension to be installed on my browser. Also, "insanely great" is a Steve Jobs trademark phrase in spirit, although probably not legally. Regardless, stealing his catch phrase for this mundane app sticks out like a sore thumb, and I would change that if I were you.
carlsfinch 14y ago
Wow, guys don't be so harsh. Remember what Y Combinator is about. Sharing great ideas, being ambitious and chasing that dream of becoming a valuable asset. First, how many even looked passed the title and downloaded this and tried it out? Sure, we can say it's a completely erroneous ambitious title, but c'mon look at the idea behind it, and the possibility before you go retorting and slamming down someone's dream. I tried out this app, and I know this person behind the app, and I have to say honestly minus the years of experience that the developer obviously lacks he could potentially become an extremely valuable asset in the valley. Why? Because not only is he ambitious, and has a vision for what he wants, but he continuous to work at it, continuous to learn despite the nay Sayers and is constantly asking for the advice on how to make his app better. Sure, it's obvious he's no Jobs, Zuck, or Gates but you don't need to be a genius with years of experience and the terminology of an Oxford English Professor, and the calculations of an MIT Professor. You need a dream and the willing to not give up no matter what people say or throw at you, and more importantly be able to quickly adapt to change. Let's be frank, this is not even beta ready and is probably released way too early, but for what it could potentially become. It'll eventually be a top extension many people would download if the developer put in the right time, resources and people behind it.
irrationalfab 14y ago
Thank you for making this. I like it and I will give it a try, nonetheless the first impression is good. As the other comments point out the copy is very bad. I think that you should improve it and that HN commenters should check things out before writing. To be honest I've only tried because of the backslash (I don't like to install extensions from non authoritative sources). Finally, this is a nice extension... but if a frame is your concept of ambition, you should reread PG's essay. --- This is an extension that replaces google with a sidebar loading immediately the first page that you search. It allows to browse among the search results quickly.

14 points by devinrhode2 14y ago

jlarocco 14y ago

I'm not really seeing what's going on here. What is the app doing?

ernestipark 14y ago
It's a split pane Google with the results on the left and the page on the right.
- devgutt 14y ago
  This would be good for HN as well
  - devinrhode2 14y ago
    I need to open source the smartframe stuff, to save us all from tabs! It would be good for a lot of things.
    - devgutt 14y ago
      Not a big deal for big monitors, but for small ones and IPad this would be nice.
  - jaredsohn 14y ago
    Like this? http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245271 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2245271
    - devgutt 14y ago
      Very cool, thanks.

jat850 14y ago

You likely are already aware of this, and maybe your selected domain name is not your permanent long-term choice for the project, but "scoutapp.com" (also named Scout) is a rather popular analytics package. It may lead to some branding confusion, even though the product goals are clearly different.

devinrhode2 14y ago
yeah... it was a hasty decision. spending time thinking about names just feels unproductive I guess

streptomycin 14y ago

So they reinvented this? http://www-archive.mozilla.org/projects/search/sidebar.jpg http://www-archive.mozilla.org/projects/search/sidebar.jpg

devinrhode2 14y ago
No, this is entirely different than anything I can tell is happening here. Scout creates a 'smartframe' (a fixed iframe - sorta like a virtual tab. any site can be framed, and you're authenticated on the page too) Basically, the whole page is viewable, you can interact with it, and it looks great too!
- streptomycin 14y ago
  No, you just described the old Mozilla sidebar. You could put anything there and interact with it. If you weren't around for that era, just look at this: https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=993&bih=551&q=mozilla+sidebar&gbv=2&oq=mozilla+sidebar&aq=f&aqi=g-S1&aql=&gs_l=img.3..0i24.1441.3016.0.3120.15.9.0.6.6.0.76.499.9.9.0...0.0.3dFxAGLiAQA https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=...

Killswitch 14y ago

There's nothing about your page at first glance that tells me what you're doing, most people will click the link, see something trying to install, and discard/close the window. Might want to fix that.

devinrhode2 14y ago
Point blank, you hit the nail on it's head. :(

alanh 14y ago

"Show HN: Start to ambitious #1, addon to Google faster" is a nonsense title. "Start to ambitious" does not parse as English and adding "#1" does not help; "addon" is also not a verb, and if we substitute "add on", the phrase "add on to Google faster" still does not mean anything. Is this petty? I don’t know. It bothers me to have a completely inscrutable title on the home page. Edit After looking at the page, it would seem this is, indeed, an incredibly lazy submission title: It gets its name from PG’s essay on ambitious start-ups; replacing Google is ambitious idea #1, and apparently building Yahoo! Axis on Google counts as insanely ambitious. "Addon to Google faster" is supposed to convey "extension (?) for faster Googling." On the linked page, you will find the odd choice of Myriad — Apple’s constant ad-copy font — and Jobsian phrasing (“insanely great”). Apple has nothing to do with this. Then you’ll note the poorly-chosen phrase “searching Google” — no, you’re searching the Internet with Google. Results are not limited to Google. I suppose one could say I am being cruel, but there are maybe 20 words here and most of them are erroneous or poorly chosen. I don’t think it’s “just” a language barrier; PG’s essay was in English, and yet even the phrase lifted from there managed to corrupt all the words!

devinrhode2 14y ago
Great writing is not my forte at all. I'd love suggestions though!
- alanh 14y ago
  You know, I took a quick peek at your comments on HN just now, and they are all comprehensible and generally well-formed. This one is no exception. I would suggest putting yourself in a reader’s shoes. What do they know? What should they? What might they mis-interpret? Be as unambiguous as you can.
jaredsohn 14y ago
add-on-->"extension (?)" Add-on is a term used by most browsers that includes both plug-ins (such as Flash, QuickTime, Adobe Reader, etc. that are included in a webpage via object or embed tags) and extensions (Adblock Plus, FlashBlock, Ghostery, etc. which alter the UI and/or inject JavaScript). The term doesn't seem exactly right here, though, since I don't think Google uses the term at all for Chrome. Edit: Originally was going to write that it was a Firefox term (at least with respect to browsers), but wanted to publish and hoped I could research the other browsers before someone responded. After a little more searching it seems like Opera uses the term add-on (http://www.opera.com/addons/ http://www.opera.com/addons/) as well, although I don't think it includes plug-ins. Regardless, the use of the term in most cases is likely due to Firefox.

jaredsohn 14y ago

Here's the author's description of the site from a meetup group page (I remembered seeing this there recently.): http://www.meetup.com/Startup-Grind/members/15953101/ http://www.meetup.com/Startup-Grind/members/15953101/ "It helps you get answers much faster with Google. The Chrome Extension immediately opens the first result when you search, and places your search results on the left in a sidebar. You can view 5 results in just 5 clicks, as opposed to 10 with regular google." Just adding this text to the page (ideally right now while it is on the front page of Hacker News) would go a long way toward making it clear what the extension does.

devinrhode2 14y ago
Thank you. I'm so insistent on getting short copy, I shoot myself in the foot, as others have pointed out. The next thing I plan on doing is taking the screenshot, and making is a auto-play as a screencast, just like path (http://path.com http://path.com)

steve8918 14y ago

Sorry, but it doesn't show me what this actually does, and there is zero chance I'm just going to allow an extension to be installed on my browser. Also, "insanely great" is a Steve Jobs trademark phrase in spirit, although probably not legally. Regardless, stealing his catch phrase for this mundane app sticks out like a sore thumb, and I would change that if I were you.

carlsfinch 14y ago

Wow, guys don't be so harsh. Remember what Y Combinator is about. Sharing great ideas, being ambitious and chasing that dream of becoming a valuable asset. First, how many even looked passed the title and downloaded this and tried it out? Sure, we can say it's a completely erroneous ambitious title, but c'mon look at the idea behind it, and the possibility before you go retorting and slamming down someone's dream. I tried out this app, and I know this person behind the app, and I have to say honestly minus the years of experience that the developer obviously lacks he could potentially become an extremely valuable asset in the valley. Why? Because not only is he ambitious, and has a vision for what he wants, but he continuous to work at it, continuous to learn despite the nay Sayers and is constantly asking for the advice on how to make his app better. Sure, it's obvious he's no Jobs, Zuck, or Gates but you don't need to be a genius with years of experience and the terminology of an Oxford English Professor, and the calculations of an MIT Professor. You need a dream and the willing to not give up no matter what people say or throw at you, and more importantly be able to quickly adapt to change. Let's be frank, this is not even beta ready and is probably released way too early, but for what it could potentially become. It'll eventually be a top extension many people would download if the developer put in the right time, resources and people behind it.

irrationalfab 14y ago

Thank you for making this. I like it and I will give it a try, nonetheless the first impression is good. As the other comments point out the copy is very bad. I think that you should improve it and that HN commenters should check things out before writing. To be honest I've only tried because of the backslash (I don't like to install extensions from non authoritative sources). Finally, this is a nice extension... but if a frame is your concept of ambition, you should reread PG's essay. --- This is an extension that replaces google with a sidebar loading immediately the first page that you search. It allows to browse among the search results quickly.