5 ms·

Related anecdote: My 12yo son didn't like the speed cubing online timer he was using because it kept crashing the browser and interrupted him with ads. Instead

by sieste 7mo ago

Related anecdote: My 12yo son didn't like the speed cubing online timer he was using because it kept crashing the browser and interrupted him with ads. Instead of googling a better alternative we sat down with claude code and put together the version of the website that behaved and looked exactly as he wanted. He got it working all by himself in under an hour with less than 10 prompts, I only helped a bit putting it online with github pages so he can use it from anywhere.

WarmWash 7mo ago
I don't think people are grasping yet that this is the future of software, if by no metric other than "most software used is created by the user".
- qsera 7mo ago
  >most software used is created by the user You really believe that?
  - zahlman 7mo ago
    That wasn't being claimed, just proposed as the direction we're headed.
    - qsera 7mo ago
      Another user had already written what I had in mind when I responded to your comment.. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47387570 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47387570
  - WarmWash 7mo ago
    Yes, because the current software paradigm (a shed/barn/warehouse full of tools to suite every possible users every possible need) doesn't make sense when LLMs can turn plain English into a software tool in the matter of minutes.
    - qsera 7mo ago
      >LLMs can turn plain English into a software tool in the matter of minutes. Unless LLMs can read minds, no one will bother to specify, even in plain english with the required level of detail. And that is assuming the user has the details in mind, which is also something pretty improbable...
      - Gareth321 7mo ago
        You need to think outside the box a little. They're not going to need to write a requirements doc from scratch. They'll tell it to copy a piece of software which is already established and make some customisations or improvements based on their needs. This is a few sentences.
        qsera 7mo ago
        But if most software is created by user, then where does this reference piece come from?
        Gareth321 7mo ago
        The same place all creative reference comes from: someone or something else. We have a nearly unlimited well of creative and technical reference now.
- nly 7mo ago
  Wont happen. The average user just has no interest in building things.
  - WarmWash 7mo ago
    Which is why they will use AI to do the building...
  - sieste 7mo ago
    Many parents are extremely interested in quickly building digital tools for their kids (education and entertainment) that they know are free from advertising, social media integration, user monitoring etc.
    - GeoAtreides 7mo ago
      I'm saying this with all my love and respect: you are living in a very small bubble
      - sieste 7mo ago
        That may be true. But you also have to give the average parent more credit by assuming they don't want tech companies spying on their children and forcing their toxic platforms on them. There are well attended parent evenings in our school on that topic. Thinking about it, we should turn these into vibe coding hackathons where we replace all the ad-ridden little games, learning tools, messengers we don't like with healthy alternatives.
        deleted 7mo ago
        [deleted]
- marcosdumay 7mo ago
  So... The future is like the past? That would be good news, but I doubt most people will do things like that.
- AstroBen 7mo ago
  The average user doesn't even know what a file is
  - sieste 7mo ago
    Turns out that knowing what a plain text file is will be the criterion that distinguishes users who are digitally free from those locked into proprietary platforms.
- SlinkyOnStairs 7mo ago
  > I don't think people are grasping yet that this is the future of software What about this is new? Sitting down with a child to teach them the very basics of javascript in an hour? Trivial. Needing Claude to do it is kind of embarassing, if anything.
- mattmanser 7mo ago
  Outside of small niches, no-one wants to maintain and host their own software. This is not the future of software.
zahlman 7mo ago
... So at no point in this did anyone even question why it should be a website?
- AstroBen 7mo ago
  Because now that website is fully cross-platform and sandboxed with no practical downside
- sieste 7mo ago
  "use it from anywhere" was important, and I don't think there's an easier way than a freely hosted static website.
kaffekaka 7mo ago
Out of curiosity, did you also implement scramble support? Or just the timing stuff?
- sieste 7mo ago
  yes. claude added a suggested random scramble (if that's what you mean?), also running average of 5/12/100, local storage of past times on first iteration, my son told it to also add a button for +2s penalties and touch screen support.
  - kaffekaka 7mo ago
    Ok cool! I have not done any cubing related coding so I don't know how complicated it gets but making sure suggested scrambles are solvable etc seems like it could be non-trivial?
    - sieste 7mo ago
      You just get a sequence of random moves to go from solved to scrambled, it's quite trivial. See here if you're interested: stefansiegert.net/cube-timer Let me know if you adapt it in any way, my son would be delighted to see open source work its magic :)
      - kaffekaka 7mo ago
        Ah of course, thank you. Defining the moves to get to the scramble makes sure it is solvable.

by sieste 7mo ago

WarmWash 7mo ago

I don't think people are grasping yet that this is the future of software, if by no metric other than "most software used is created by the user".

qsera 7mo ago
>most software used is created by the user You really believe that?
- zahlman 7mo ago
  That wasn't being claimed, just proposed as the direction we're headed.
  - qsera 7mo ago
    Another user had already written what I had in mind when I responded to your comment.. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47387570 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47387570
- WarmWash 7mo ago
  Yes, because the current software paradigm (a shed/barn/warehouse full of tools to suite every possible users every possible need) doesn't make sense when LLMs can turn plain English into a software tool in the matter of minutes.
  - qsera 7mo ago
    >LLMs can turn plain English into a software tool in the matter of minutes. Unless LLMs can read minds, no one will bother to specify, even in plain english with the required level of detail. And that is assuming the user has the details in mind, which is also something pretty improbable...
    - Gareth321 7mo ago
      You need to think outside the box a little. They're not going to need to write a requirements doc from scratch. They'll tell it to copy a piece of software which is already established and make some customisations or improvements based on their needs. This is a few sentences.
      - qsera 7mo ago
        But if most software is created by user, then where does this reference piece come from?
        Gareth321 7mo ago
        The same place all creative reference comes from: someone or something else. We have a nearly unlimited well of creative and technical reference now.
nly 7mo ago
Wont happen. The average user just has no interest in building things.
- WarmWash 7mo ago
  Which is why they will use AI to do the building...
- sieste 7mo ago
  Many parents are extremely interested in quickly building digital tools for their kids (education and entertainment) that they know are free from advertising, social media integration, user monitoring etc.
  - GeoAtreides 7mo ago
    I'm saying this with all my love and respect: you are living in a very small bubble
    - sieste 7mo ago
      That may be true. But you also have to give the average parent more credit by assuming they don't want tech companies spying on their children and forcing their toxic platforms on them. There are well attended parent evenings in our school on that topic. Thinking about it, we should turn these into vibe coding hackathons where we replace all the ad-ridden little games, learning tools, messengers we don't like with healthy alternatives.
      - deleted 7mo ago
        [deleted]
marcosdumay 7mo ago
So... The future is like the past? That would be good news, but I doubt most people will do things like that.
AstroBen 7mo ago
The average user doesn't even know what a file is
- sieste 7mo ago
  Turns out that knowing what a plain text file is will be the criterion that distinguishes users who are digitally free from those locked into proprietary platforms.
SlinkyOnStairs 7mo ago
> I don't think people are grasping yet that this is the future of software What about this is new? Sitting down with a child to teach them the very basics of javascript in an hour? Trivial. Needing Claude to do it is kind of embarassing, if anything.
mattmanser 7mo ago
Outside of small niches, no-one wants to maintain and host their own software. This is not the future of software.

zahlman 7mo ago

... So at no point in this did anyone even question why it should be a website?

AstroBen 7mo ago
Because now that website is fully cross-platform and sandboxed with no practical downside
sieste 7mo ago
"use it from anywhere" was important, and I don't think there's an easier way than a freely hosted static website.

kaffekaka 7mo ago

Out of curiosity, did you also implement scramble support? Or just the timing stuff?

sieste 7mo ago
yes. claude added a suggested random scramble (if that's what you mean?), also running average of 5/12/100, local storage of past times on first iteration, my son told it to also add a button for +2s penalties and touch screen support.
- kaffekaka 7mo ago
  Ok cool! I have not done any cubing related coding so I don't know how complicated it gets but making sure suggested scrambles are solvable etc seems like it could be non-trivial?
  - sieste 7mo ago
    You just get a sequence of random moves to go from solved to scrambled, it's quite trivial. See here if you're interested: stefansiegert.net/cube-timer Let me know if you adapt it in any way, my son would be delighted to see open source work its magic :)
    - kaffekaka 7mo ago
      Ah of course, thank you. Defining the moves to get to the scramble makes sure it is solvable.