Ethan here, founder of Jump.
Machine shops lose jobs because quoting is slow. A part comes in, someone has to read the drawing, figure out how to make it, and price it, and that can take hours. Many shops also can't put customer drawings in the cloud (ITAR, export control, or just customers who say no).
We're building Jump Quote: AI that reads a shop's drawings and drafts quotes in minutes, running on the shop's own computer. We're starting with a small group of founding CNC shops. Long term, we want anyone to be able to make anything, anywhere.
We're hiring founding engineers first (software/AI and manufacturing), but every role is open. If you're exceptional at something a startup needs, apply.
We care about kindness, honesty, ambition and intelligence. We don't care where you went to school or who you've worked for. We care that you have a winning mindset and can learn and ship fast.
How it works: we start now, remote within the US. In January 2027 we're together in person in Miami, and that's when the $140K\u2013$160K + equity package starts. You need to be authorized to work in the US for at least the next 3 years; we can't sponsor visas.
Apply (10 short questions): https://jumpscientific.com/careers
I read every application myself. Happy to answer questions in this thread."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2026)"}},"_tags":["comment","author_ethanhsands","story_50338728"],"author":"ethanhsands","children":[50342582],"comment_text":"Jump | Founding Engineers (Software/AI, Manufacturing) + all roles | Miami, FL | REMOTE (US) until Jan 2027, then ONSITE | Full-time | $140K\u2013$160K + equity | No visa sponsorship | https://jumpscientific.com/careers
Ethan here, founder of Jump.
Machine shops lose jobs because quoting is slow. A part comes in, someone has to read the drawing, figure out how to make it, and price it, and that can take hours. Many shops also can't put customer drawings in the cloud (ITAR, export control, or just customers who say no).
We're building Jump Quote: AI that reads a shop's drawings and drafts quotes in minutes, running on the shop's own computer. We're starting with a small group of founding CNC shops. Long term, we want anyone to be able to make anything, anywhere.
We're hiring founding engineers first (software/AI and manufacturing), but every role is open. If you're exceptional at something a startup needs, apply.
We care about kindness, honesty, ambition and intelligence. We don't care where you went to school or who you've worked for. We care that you have a winning mindset and can learn and ship fast.
How it works: we start now, remote within the US. In January 2027 we're together in person in Miami, and that's when the $140K\u2013$160K + equity package starts. You need to be authorized to work in the US for at least the next 3 years; we can't sponsor visas.
Apply (10 short questions): https://jumpscientific.com/careers
I read every application myself. Happy to answer questions in this thread.","created_at":"2026-11-02T18:08:36Z","created_at_i":1793642916,"objectID":"50340958","parent_id":50338728,"story_id":50338728,"story_title":"Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2026)","updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:07:29Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"dantesmaghi"},"story_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["machine","shop"],"value":"ISONQ reads PDF, DXF, DWG, and STEP files on the shop's own workstation and produces a priced quote. Nothing leaves the machine.\nThree modules, one job:\n2D Workspace reads the drawing. PDF and DXF/DWG in. Title block, dimensions, tolerances, threads, GD&T out.\n3D Workspace enriches the geometry. STEP-native. Smart Measure, section view, feature detection.\nShop Management turns both into a quote. Auto-populated, priced, sent.\nThe only system that reads the PDF and the STEP side by side \u2014 title block, dimensions, tolerances, and the 3D model in one review.\nStack: Tauri, Rust end-to-end, Ollama for the LLM layer that reconciles 2D drawings against 3D geometry.\nRuns on the shop's own machine. No per-drawing fees. No uploads.\nLive pilot at a Colorado CNC shop, v7.0.3 in production.\nDemo video on the linked page. Happy to answer questions."},"title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["shop","quoting"],"value":"Show HN: Isonq \u2013 PDF/DXF and STEP to shop quoting"},"url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://isonq.com/demo"}},"_tags":["story","author_dantesmaghi","story_48012600","show_hn"],"author":"dantesmaghi","children":[48012659],"created_at":"2026-05-04T18:13:36Z","created_at_i":1777918416,"num_comments":1,"objectID":"48012600","points":2,"story_id":48012600,"story_text":"ISONQ reads PDF, DXF, DWG, and STEP files on the shop's own workstation and produces a priced quote. Nothing leaves the machine.\nThree modules, one job:\n2D Workspace reads the drawing. PDF and DXF/DWG in. Title block, dimensions, tolerances, threads, GD&T out.\n3D Workspace enriches the geometry. STEP-native. Smart Measure, section view, feature detection.\nShop Management turns both into a quote. Auto-populated, priced, sent.\nThe only system that reads the PDF and the STEP side by side \u2014 title block, dimensions, tolerances, and the 3D model in one review.\nStack: Tauri, Rust end-to-end, Ollama for the LLM layer that reconciles 2D drawings against 3D geometry.\nRuns on the shop's own machine. No per-drawing fees. No uploads.\nLive pilot at a Colorado CNC shop, v7.0.3 in production.\nDemo video on the linked page. Happy to answer questions.","title":"Show HN: Isonq \u2013 PDF/DXF and STEP to shop quoting","updated_at":"2026-05-05T04:09:36Z","url":"https://isonq.com/demo"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Assafgeuz"},"story_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Hi HN! It's Assaf and I'm the co-founder of Jiga\n(https://app.jiga3d.com). We make it fast and easy to produce parts for hardware products.
You can upload a 3D model (such as STL or SLDPRT) file and get a production quote within seconds. We have a vetted network of manufacturers around the world who can produce your part with 3D printing (plastic and metal), CNC machining (plastic and metal), or sheet metal. It's literally 3 clicks: 1. upload your file on https://app.jiga3d.com. 2. select manufacturing process 3. select quote and order.
We built this because we are hardware makers ourselves. I was running a 3D printing manufacturing service before starting Jiga, and we were shocked by how bad an experience it was to get quotes and order parts online, or from machine shops. I spent a significant amount of my time and money on inefficient communication, paperwork, sourcing and quoting.
Ok, so now you're probably asking how we're different from other online manufacturing companies? Well, besides being not as fast, they act as an unnecessary middleman. They cut a huge fee, block hardware builders from talking directly to manufacturers and getting professional feedback (such as making sure they can produce that 0.15mm tolerance exactly on that little hole).
For examples, take some of our customers: an enterprise that builds jets for the US army, a company that builds a device that enables tractors to be autonomous, a hospital that builds 3D printed ventilation machines to tackle Covid-19 (first parts ordered with Jiga!) or a company that builds robotic arms.
These companies start by looking for the right supplier to make their part. They email quote requests with the designs, some suppliers reply after a week, some don\u2019t. They log this data into spreadsheets and folders while making comparisons. Finally after two weeks the supplier is ready to take your order but oh no! They mixed up the email threads and made a mistake - and the wrong part was produced.
Worse, when getting into producing more than just prototypes, they have to manage the supply of many different components and timelines, making sure that that they won\u2019t find themselves delaying over some little component and avoiding any miscommunication about parts or revisions. All this inefficiency is not only frustrating but also costly - makers and companies lose millions every year because of miscommunication and delays. We built Jiga to make this process efficient and painless.
We handle all logistics (always first class/priority shipping) and make sure that customers are 100% happy with every order that they get. Additionally, we let you read supplier reviews, check their certifications and communicate directly with them. Want to make sure that the supplier is aware of that 0.15mm hole? No problem, reach to them over our platform and they will answer promptly.
We make money from commissions on orders based on agreements with suppliers.
I\u2019m looking forward to talking to anyone who builds hardware, and to hearing your feedback and ideas and experiences in this space. If you've ever needed parts for things you were making, I hope you'll give us a spin. Have at it, HN!"},"title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Launch HN: Jiga (YC W21) \u2013 Faster custom parts for hardware products"}},"_tags":["story","author_Assafgeuz","story_26066276","launch_hn"],"author":"Assafgeuz","children":[26066532,26067034,26067346,26067393,26068096,26068741,26068862,26069592,26069596,26069626,26071121,26071596,26073475,26074981,26075618,26075916,26075935,26077395],"created_at":"2021-02-08T16:03:42Z","created_at_i":1612800222,"num_comments":51,"objectID":"26066276","points":111,"story_id":26066276,"story_text":"Hi HN! It's Assaf and I'm the co-founder of Jiga\n(https://app.jiga3d.com). We make it fast and easy to produce parts for hardware products.
You can upload a 3D model (such as STL or SLDPRT) file and get a production quote within seconds. We have a vetted network of manufacturers around the world who can produce your part with 3D printing (plastic and metal), CNC machining (plastic and metal), or sheet metal. It's literally 3 clicks: 1. upload your file on https://app.jiga3d.com. 2. select manufacturing process 3. select quote and order.
We built this because we are hardware makers ourselves. I was running a 3D printing manufacturing service before starting Jiga, and we were shocked by how bad an experience it was to get quotes and order parts online, or from machine shops. I spent a significant amount of my time and money on inefficient communication, paperwork, sourcing and quoting.
Ok, so now you're probably asking how we're different from other online manufacturing companies? Well, besides being not as fast, they act as an unnecessary middleman. They cut a huge fee, block hardware builders from talking directly to manufacturers and getting professional feedback (such as making sure they can produce that 0.15mm tolerance exactly on that little hole).
For examples, take some of our customers: an enterprise that builds jets for the US army, a company that builds a device that enables tractors to be autonomous, a hospital that builds 3D printed ventilation machines to tackle Covid-19 (first parts ordered with Jiga!) or a company that builds robotic arms.
These companies start by looking for the right supplier to make their part. They email quote requests with the designs, some suppliers reply after a week, some don\u2019t. They log this data into spreadsheets and folders while making comparisons. Finally after two weeks the supplier is ready to take your order but oh no! They mixed up the email threads and made a mistake - and the wrong part was produced.
Worse, when getting into producing more than just prototypes, they have to manage the supply of many different components and timelines, making sure that that they won\u2019t find themselves delaying over some little component and avoiding any miscommunication about parts or revisions. All this inefficiency is not only frustrating but also costly - makers and companies lose millions every year because of miscommunication and delays. We built Jiga to make this process efficient and painless.
We handle all logistics (always first class/priority shipping) and make sure that customers are 100% happy with every order that they get. Additionally, we let you read supplier reviews, check their certifications and communicate directly with them. Want to make sure that the supplier is aware of that 0.15mm hole? No problem, reach to them over our platform and they will answer promptly.
We make money from commissions on orders based on agreements with suppliers.
I\u2019m looking forward to talking to anyone who builds hardware, and to hearing your feedback and ideas and experiences in this space. If you've ever needed parts for things you were making, I hope you'll give us a spin. Have at it, HN!","title":"Launch HN: Jiga (YC W21) \u2013 Faster custom parts for hardware products","updated_at":"2024-09-20T07:54:32Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"zelon88"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"I'm not a Big Company person or a Founder. From my perspective, it's the "continue to the next phase" that is the whole problem.
Not everything needs to be expanded to it's logical extreme. I've worked in a lot of places, and the ideal employer is probably one who is in the middle, and planning on staying there.
The concept of "grow until you've eaten everybody" is sickening, and tiring. Especially for your non-C-suite employees who don't give a fuck about the logo on their shirt. I'm talking of course about most people the second they are no longer within earshot of their boss.
That "momentum, oomph, pizzazz" is not normal all the time. In the words of Mark Meadows, "if everything is sacred; then nothing is sacred." Meaning if you don't prioritize what is truly important, and simply assume that everything is of equally critical importance, then chances are you will fail at many more things than if you focused on the one most important thing.
But companies don't think that way. They see missed anything as missed opportunity. That is rarely the case.
Here's an example; Imagine a machine shop that has 10 customers and 65% on-time delivery. The top 3 customers drive 75% of the businesses revenue. Now lets assume that they are in negotiations with a potential 11th customer who will be their new 5th largest customer.
The cut-throat capitalist would pull all their strings to get this customer. And then the rest of the customers will notice that their 65% on time delivery decreases to 55% as a result. Now the 3rd largest customer is quoting their parts elsewhere because they need a second supplier to cover how unreliable your deliveries are.
Do you believe that had the business not taken on the additional customer that they would have "missed a revenue opportunity"? Is that big picture stuff, small picture stuff, or just humans who live in a real world stuff?"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Apple shuffles AI executive ranks in bid to turn around Siri"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-shuffles-ai-executive-ranks-162500488.html"}},"_tags":["comment","author_zelon88","story_43431675"],"author":"zelon88","children":[43441675,43441842,43444159],"comment_text":"I'm not a Big Company person or a Founder. From my perspective, it's the "continue to the next phase" that is the whole problem.
Not everything needs to be expanded to it's logical extreme. I've worked in a lot of places, and the ideal employer is probably one who is in the middle, and planning on staying there.
The concept of "grow until you've eaten everybody" is sickening, and tiring. Especially for your non-C-suite employees who don't give a fuck about the logo on their shirt. I'm talking of course about most people the second they are no longer within earshot of their boss.
That "momentum, oomph, pizzazz" is not normal all the time. In the words of Mark Meadows, "if everything is sacred; then nothing is sacred." Meaning if you don't prioritize what is truly important, and simply assume that everything is of equally critical importance, then chances are you will fail at many more things than if you focused on the one most important thing.
But companies don't think that way. They see missed anything as missed opportunity. That is rarely the case.
Here's an example; Imagine a machine shop that has 10 customers and 65% on-time delivery. The top 3 customers drive 75% of the businesses revenue. Now lets assume that they are in negotiations with a potential 11th customer who will be their new 5th largest customer.
The cut-throat capitalist would pull all their strings to get this customer. And then the rest of the customers will notice that their 65% on time delivery decreases to 55% as a result. Now the 3rd largest customer is quoting their parts elsewhere because they need a second supplier to cover how unreliable your deliveries are.
Do you believe that had the business not taken on the additional customer that they would have "missed a revenue opportunity"? Is that big picture stuff, small picture stuff, or just humans who live in a real world stuff?","created_at":"2025-03-21T19:26:58Z","created_at_i":1742585218,"objectID":"43439957","parent_id":43439416,"story_id":43431675,"story_title":"Apple shuffles AI executive ranks in bid to turn around Siri","story_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-shuffles-ai-executive-ranks-162500488.html","updated_at":"2025-12-02T00:20:39Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"johnwalkr"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Yes, tolerances and other things need to be discussed. STEP files can technically convey most of these things, but in practice most MCAD software cannot output these details to STEP files, and most machine shops won't check these details anyway. Both parties tend to revert to 2D PDF drawings to agree on details, and more importantly figure out whose fault it is in case of a mistake in production.
ECAD is way more standardized than MCAD for information sharing and version control, and at least has industry standard best practices. MCAD is still a wild west, with mostly proprietary tools used for version control (several thousand dollars per user per year) with no hope of interoperability. And each vendor that offers automated quoting uses a proprietary system, with a lot of manual inputs.
Granted, mechanical parts can be much more complex and it's easy to make unmanufacturable parts in MCAD, whereas ECAD is basically a stack of 2D layers. But still, as a mechanical engineer I am amazed at how easy it is to order a PCB or even an assembled PCB compared to ordering the simplest machined part."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"CI/CD with KiCad and Gitlab"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://sschueller.github.io/posts/ci-cd-with-kicad-and-gitlab/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_johnwalkr","story_35922207"],"author":"johnwalkr","children":[35927142],"comment_text":"Yes, tolerances and other things need to be discussed. STEP files can technically convey most of these things, but in practice most MCAD software cannot output these details to STEP files, and most machine shops won't check these details anyway. Both parties tend to revert to 2D PDF drawings to agree on details, and more importantly figure out whose fault it is in case of a mistake in production.
ECAD is way more standardized than MCAD for information sharing and version control, and at least has industry standard best practices. MCAD is still a wild west, with mostly proprietary tools used for version control (several thousand dollars per user per year) with no hope of interoperability. And each vendor that offers automated quoting uses a proprietary system, with a lot of manual inputs.
Granted, mechanical parts can be much more complex and it's easy to make unmanufacturable parts in MCAD, whereas ECAD is basically a stack of 2D layers. But still, as a mechanical engineer I am amazed at how easy it is to order a PCB or even an assembled PCB compared to ordering the simplest machined part.","created_at":"2023-05-13T00:08:28Z","created_at_i":1683936508,"objectID":"35924060","parent_id":35923539,"story_id":35922207,"story_title":"CI/CD with KiCad and Gitlab","story_url":"https://sschueller.github.io/posts/ci-cd-with-kicad-and-gitlab/","updated_at":"2024-09-20T13:59:45Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"paperlesscolin"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Paperless Parts | Boston, MA | FULL-TIME | HYBRID/REMOTE | U.S. CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED
SaaS company is taking on the responsibility to help machine shops gain access to the new digital tools our team is developing to help with quoting and other pain points in the current manufacturing ecosystem. Our team has spent time in hundreds of manufacturing operations: from the smallest one-person job shop to high volume production operations making $100M contracts. We\u2019ve spoken with thousands of owners and operators, analyzed millions of parts files, and supported hundreds of millions of dollars in orders.
Having finished our Series B funding we are ready to expand and are looking to add great members to a growing team of engineers.
Senior Developer Operations Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/qjERjVQZ0l/Senio... \nSenior Front End Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/7Rr6ziaUfs/Senio...\nFront End Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/n4HQHGykgs/Front...\nSenior Integrations Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/dujZfUmhXm/Senio...\nSenior UX/UI Designer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/TmyGFKsT4g/Senio...\nSolutions Architect: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/LhBgvLoPta/Solut..."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2022)"}},"_tags":["comment","author_paperlesscolin","story_30515750"],"author":"paperlesscolin","comment_text":"Paperless Parts | Boston, MA | FULL-TIME | HYBRID/REMOTE | U.S. CITIZENSHIP REQUIRED
SaaS company is taking on the responsibility to help machine shops gain access to the new digital tools our team is developing to help with quoting and other pain points in the current manufacturing ecosystem. Our team has spent time in hundreds of manufacturing operations: from the smallest one-person job shop to high volume production operations making $100M contracts. We\u2019ve spoken with thousands of owners and operators, analyzed millions of parts files, and supported hundreds of millions of dollars in orders.
Having finished our Series B funding we are ready to expand and are looking to add great members to a growing team of engineers.
Senior Developer Operations Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/qjERjVQZ0l/Senio... \nSenior Front End Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/7Rr6ziaUfs/Senio...\nFront End Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/n4HQHGykgs/Front...\nSenior Integrations Engineer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/dujZfUmhXm/Senio...\nSenior UX/UI Designer: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/TmyGFKsT4g/Senio...\nSolutions Architect: https://paperlessparts.applytojob.com/apply/LhBgvLoPta/Solut...","created_at":"2022-03-01T17:23:20Z","created_at_i":1646155400,"objectID":"30516952","parent_id":30515750,"story_id":30515750,"story_title":"Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2022)","updated_at":"2024-09-20T10:34:09Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"hop"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Industrial designer/mechanical engineer here too. For fairly complicated or complexly surfaced plastic injection plastic products, machined and fabricated metal, composite parts... I recommend designing it in SolidWorks and finding a freelancer off Craigslist to draw it up. They can render it photo-realistically, create manufacture drawings, and have CAD files you can send out for quoting.
And if you are just starting or have low-medium volumes, have it done locally. There are hundreds of injection molders, tool makers, machine shops, fabricators, etc... in every metropolitan area in America. I can't tell you haw many fuck ups, quality issues, extra expenses, importation problems, wrong/bad material used, corners cut, longer than promised lead times... I have had to manage. Rule of thumb - they will say yes to anything you ask for even if they can't. That said, if you have a good relationship, you can save a lot of money."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Offer HN: Design, Prototyping, and Manufacturing of Physical Products Guide"}},"_tags":["comment","author_hop","story_1840896"],"author":"hop","comment_text":"Industrial designer/mechanical engineer here too. For fairly complicated or complexly surfaced plastic injection plastic products, machined and fabricated metal, composite parts... I recommend designing it in SolidWorks and finding a freelancer off Craigslist to draw it up. They can render it photo-realistically, create manufacture drawings, and have CAD files you can send out for quoting.
And if you are just starting or have low-medium volumes, have it done locally. There are hundreds of injection molders, tool makers, machine shops, fabricators, etc... in every metropolitan area in America. I can't tell you haw many fuck ups, quality issues, extra expenses, importation problems, wrong/bad material used, corners cut, longer than promised lead times... I have had to manage. Rule of thumb - they will say yes to anything you ask for even if they can't. That said, if you have a good relationship, you can save a lot of money.","created_at":"2010-10-28T09:40:12Z","created_at_i":1288258812,"objectID":"1842321","parent_id":1840896,"points":null,"story_id":1840896,"story_title":"Offer HN: Design, Prototyping, and Manufacturing of Physical Products Guide","updated_at":"2023-09-06T20:13:05Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"smsm42"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Just for an example, this is what happens when people need to make guns on the cheap in field conditions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sten
Quoting: "the most basic model, the Mark III, could be produced from five man-hours of work". In any machine shop having as advanced technology as welding and metalworking."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"A Landmark Legal Shift Opens Pandora's Box for DIY Guns"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://www.wired.com/story/a-landmark-legal-shift-opens-pandoras-box-for-diy-guns/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_smsm42","story_17500860"],"author":"smsm42","comment_text":"Just for an example, this is what happens when people need to make guns on the cheap in field conditions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sten
Quoting: "the most basic model, the Mark III, could be produced from five man-hours of work". In any machine shop having as advanced technology as welding and metalworking.","created_at":"2018-07-11T21:17:30Z","created_at_i":1531343850,"objectID":"17510364","parent_id":17503976,"story_id":17500860,"story_title":"A Landmark Legal Shift Opens Pandora's Box for DIY Guns","story_url":"https://www.wired.com/story/a-landmark-legal-shift-opens-pandoras-box-for-diy-guns/","updated_at":"2024-09-20T02:42:58Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"pugworthy"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"If you really want to start from the beginning, get \u201cBuild Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap\u201d by David Gingery.
Quoting the description from Amazon (link below)\u2026
\u201c[It] is a progressive series of seven projects. Beginning with a simple charcoal fired foundry, you produce the castings for building the machine tools to equip your shop. Initially the castings are finished by simple hand methods, but it is not long before the developing machines are doing much of the work to produce their own parts.\u201d
https://a.co/d/cIqbQCD"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Scientists built their own Stone Age tools to figure out how they were used"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/these-scientists-built-their-own-stone-age-tools-to-figure-out-how-they-were-used/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_pugworthy","story_39654538"],"author":"pugworthy","comment_text":"If you really want to start from the beginning, get \u201cBuild Your Own Metal Working Shop From Scrap\u201d by David Gingery.
Quoting the description from Amazon (link below)\u2026
\u201c[It] is a progressive series of seven projects. Beginning with a simple charcoal fired foundry, you produce the castings for building the machine tools to equip your shop. Initially the castings are finished by simple hand methods, but it is not long before the developing machines are doing much of the work to produce their own parts.\u201d
https://a.co/d/cIqbQCD","created_at":"2024-03-10T01:19:03Z","created_at_i":1710033543,"objectID":"39655990","parent_id":39655666,"story_id":39654538,"story_title":"Scientists built their own Stone Age tools to figure out how they were used","story_url":"https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/03/these-scientists-built-their-own-stone-age-tools-to-figure-out-how-they-were-used/","updated_at":"2024-09-20T16:38:14Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"throwaboat"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"I used to work as a service advisor - or as the article says, receptionist. This system will not work as described for several reasons.
1. Unless you have a recent job that matches the exact same repair/service, you have incorrectly estimated the cost of the repair. In some states, this matters a lot and will cost the shop money. Unless your LLM only quotes for labor in sane amounts for diagnostic and nothing else, you\u2019re only adding noise. This is a disservice to the client and the shop owner. The client now has an inaccurate quote for work and the shop will get a reputation for being inaccurate in quoting work.
2. Let\u2019s say that you manage to get the exact same job twice. Your machine now needs to source parts. Parts may have been in stock yesterday. The might be out of stock now. If they are in stock, you need to retotal the price since prices are dynamic. Did you teach the agent how to source parts? What rules does it have for sourcing used parts?
3. New jobs can\u2019t be quoted. Even if you taught the machine how to calculate book time and margins, it still has to find the right parts. If your shop does high end work, you know how much of a pain in the ass this is. Also remember that some work requires nonobvious parts - like fluids if you need to remove a part in the way of your goal.
4. The only area I see this being useful in is pickup. The shop can mark a car as done and the LLM can call to inform the client that they can come at a preset, unchanging time to get the vehicle. If the vehicle is staying overnight, the LLM can call with a progress update.
Finally, I\u2019d like to note that this sort of dev work goes beyond hubris. It\u2019s dangerous. The more we assume we know without verifying, the greater the risk. In this case, the dev is risking someone else\u2019s livelihood."},"story_title":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["shop"],"value":"I built an AI receptionist for a mechanic shop"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://www.itsthatlady.dev/blog/building-an-ai-receptionist-for-my-brother/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_throwaboat","story_47487536"],"author":"throwaboat","children":[47495389,47495404,47495446,47495907,47496863,47497184,47497482,47497636,47498053,47498099,47498898,47500057,47501468,47501668,47512274],"comment_text":"I used to work as a service advisor - or as the article says, receptionist. This system will not work as described for several reasons.
1. Unless you have a recent job that matches the exact same repair/service, you have incorrectly estimated the cost of the repair. In some states, this matters a lot and will cost the shop money. Unless your LLM only quotes for labor in sane amounts for diagnostic and nothing else, you\u2019re only adding noise. This is a disservice to the client and the shop owner. The client now has an inaccurate quote for work and the shop will get a reputation for being inaccurate in quoting work.
2. Let\u2019s say that you manage to get the exact same job twice. Your machine now needs to source parts. Parts may have been in stock yesterday. The might be out of stock now. If they are in stock, you need to retotal the price since prices are dynamic. Did you teach the agent how to source parts? What rules does it have for sourcing used parts?
3. New jobs can\u2019t be quoted. Even if you taught the machine how to calculate book time and margins, it still has to find the right parts. If your shop does high end work, you know how much of a pain in the ass this is. Also remember that some work requires nonobvious parts - like fluids if you need to remove a part in the way of your goal.
4. The only area I see this being useful in is pickup. The shop can mark a car as done and the LLM can call to inform the client that they can come at a preset, unchanging time to get the vehicle. If the vehicle is staying overnight, the LLM can call with a progress update.
Finally, I\u2019d like to note that this sort of dev work goes beyond hubris. It\u2019s dangerous. The more we assume we know without verifying, the greater the risk. In this case, the dev is risking someone else\u2019s livelihood.","created_at":"2026-03-23T21:12:59Z","created_at_i":1774300379,"objectID":"47495187","parent_id":47487536,"story_id":47487536,"story_title":"I built an AI receptionist for a mechanic shop","story_url":"https://www.itsthatlady.dev/blog/building-an-ai-receptionist-for-my-brother/","updated_at":"2026-04-12T15:33:46Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"barbinbrad"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"ahh, it does -- but there's a slight hair to split.
on sales, carbon supports quoting, sales orders, invoicing, configurator, etc -- but it does not attempt to create a website for you where you can list your products and their configurations. the idea is that you have a site, the site sends info to carbon through the API (whether it's a quote or an order), and then things begin from there.
similarly with production except that the shop floor is pulling intstead of pushing. carbon manages the schedule, the jobs, the capacity planning, etc. and provides a UI for guys on the shop floor to record their time and materials. but if you want to interface with a machine, you'd be pulling information out of carbon through the API, and relaying it to the machine."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Show HN: I've been building an ERP for manufacturing for the last 3 years"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://github.com/crbnos/carbon"}},"_tags":["comment","author_barbinbrad","story_44792005"],"author":"barbinbrad","children":[44793945],"comment_text":"ahh, it does -- but there's a slight hair to split.
on sales, carbon supports quoting, sales orders, invoicing, configurator, etc -- but it does not attempt to create a website for you where you can list your products and their configurations. the idea is that you have a site, the site sends info to carbon through the API (whether it's a quote or an order), and then things begin from there.
similarly with production except that the shop floor is pulling intstead of pushing. carbon manages the schedule, the jobs, the capacity planning, etc. and provides a UI for guys on the shop floor to record their time and materials. but if you want to interface with a machine, you'd be pulling information out of carbon through the API, and relaying it to the machine.","created_at":"2025-08-05T02:46:20Z","created_at_i":1754361980,"objectID":"44793802","parent_id":44793775,"story_id":44792005,"story_title":"Show HN: I've been building an ERP for manufacturing for the last 3 years","story_url":"https://github.com/crbnos/carbon","updated_at":"2025-08-10T01:32:05Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"eesmith"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"The existing government mandates - aka "laws" - exist as a compromise. They prohibit a company like Amazon from engaging in certain practices, and in exchange, some union practices are prohibited.
I'm fine with dismantling all laws limiting corporate interactions SO LONG AS all laws limiting unions are similarly lifted.
Get rid of Taft-Hartley, and bring back "jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns." (quoting Wikipedia).
Commonwealth v. Hunt shows unions don't require enabling laws. The economic power of the Boston Journeymen Bootmaker's Society came from the ability to quit - collectively.
> these tactics by Amazon are extremely benign.
I'll counter when a decidedly not benign - the Ludlow massacre, where companies worked with the government to attack striking coal workers, including firing MACHINE GUNS at them and their families.
That's literally the origin of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
The law that you seem so much against.
> blatant violations of its contract liberty
The Wikipedia entry for the NLRA specifically points out how it's meant to support contract liberty.
] Under section 1 (29 U.S.C. \u00a7 151) of the Act, the key principles and policy findings on which the Act was based are explained. The Act aims to correct the "inequality of bargaining power between employees who, according to the Act's proponents, do not possess full freedom of association or actual liberty of contract and employers who are organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association"."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Amazon worker chat app to ban words such as \u201cunion\u201d, \u201cpay raise\u201d, \u201cslave labor\u201d"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://theintercept.com/2022/04/04/amazon-union-living-wage-restrooms-chat-app/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_eesmith","story_30911297"],"author":"eesmith","children":[30916262],"comment_text":"The existing government mandates - aka "laws" - exist as a compromise. They prohibit a company like Amazon from engaging in certain practices, and in exchange, some union practices are prohibited.
I'm fine with dismantling all laws limiting corporate interactions SO LONG AS all laws limiting unions are similarly lifted.
Get rid of Taft-Hartley, and bring back "jurisdictional strikes, wildcat strikes, solidarity or political strikes, secondary boycotts, secondary and mass picketing, closed shops, and monetary donations by unions to federal political campaigns." (quoting Wikipedia).
Commonwealth v. Hunt shows unions don't require enabling laws. The economic power of the Boston Journeymen Bootmaker's Society came from the ability to quit - collectively.
> these tactics by Amazon are extremely benign.
I'll counter when a decidedly not benign - the Ludlow massacre, where companies worked with the government to attack striking coal workers, including firing MACHINE GUNS at them and their families.
That's literally the origin of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935.
The law that you seem so much against.
> blatant violations of its contract liberty
The Wikipedia entry for the NLRA specifically points out how it's meant to support contract liberty.
] Under section 1 (29 U.S.C. \u00a7 151) of the Act, the key principles and policy findings on which the Act was based are explained. The Act aims to correct the "inequality of bargaining power between employees who, according to the Act's proponents, do not possess full freedom of association or actual liberty of contract and employers who are organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association".","created_at":"2022-04-05T06:57:14Z","created_at_i":1649141834,"objectID":"30916075","parent_id":30915790,"story_id":30911297,"story_title":"Amazon worker chat app to ban words such as \u201cunion\u201d, \u201cpay raise\u201d, \u201cslave labor\u201d","story_url":"https://theintercept.com/2022/04/04/amazon-union-living-wage-restrooms-chat-app/","updated_at":"2024-09-20T10:49:56Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"beat"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"His generalization that modern culture has become completely machine-driven and dehumanizing. Quoting the article quoting him...
\u201cthe primary, if not the only, goal of human labor and thought is efficiency\u201d
\u201ctechnical calculation is in all respects superior to human judgment\u201d
\u201chuman judgment cannot be trusted because it is plagued by laxity, ambiguity, and unnecessary complexity\u201d
\u201csubjectivity is an obstacle to clear thinking\u201d
\u201cwhat cannot be measured either does not exist or is of no value\u201d
\u201cthe affairs of citizens are best guided and conducted by experts.\u201d
Now, I'll join Postman in criticizing Fredrick Taylor and scientific management all day, but Postman is utterly reductionist in his argument, turning a valuable and important point into a mere strawman.
For a much more subtle and cogent critique, read Matthew Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft"."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Neil Postman, Technopoly, and Technological Theology"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://thefrailestthing.com/2011/07/25/neil-postman-technopoly-and-technological-theology/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_beat","story_19171555"],"author":"beat","comment_text":"His generalization that modern culture has become completely machine-driven and dehumanizing. Quoting the article quoting him...
\u201cthe primary, if not the only, goal of human labor and thought is efficiency\u201d
\u201ctechnical calculation is in all respects superior to human judgment\u201d
\u201chuman judgment cannot be trusted because it is plagued by laxity, ambiguity, and unnecessary complexity\u201d
\u201csubjectivity is an obstacle to clear thinking\u201d
\u201cwhat cannot be measured either does not exist or is of no value\u201d
\u201cthe affairs of citizens are best guided and conducted by experts.\u201d
Now, I'll join Postman in criticizing Fredrick Taylor and scientific management all day, but Postman is utterly reductionist in his argument, turning a valuable and important point into a mere strawman.
For a much more subtle and cogent critique, read Matthew Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft".","created_at":"2019-02-18T16:21:12Z","created_at_i":1550506872,"objectID":"19191759","parent_id":19174257,"story_id":19171555,"story_title":"Neil Postman, Technopoly, and Technological Theology","story_url":"https://thefrailestthing.com/2011/07/25/neil-postman-technopoly-and-technological-theology/","updated_at":"2024-09-20T03:48:10Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"jdreaver"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"I have a BS and MS in mechanical engineering. I started working on simulation software, and now I work in edtech.
This is an interesting thread, but my advice is to never take comments on the internet as any sort of representative sample. It is unlikely someone happy with their job would comment on a thread about quitting, because it makes for a boring addition to the thread.
I sometimes wonder what my work life would be like if I switched back to mechanical engineering, but I'm very happy working purely in software. Engineering requires a ton of capital and fairly large teams to do cool things. With software, a single person or a small team on a shoestring budget can build pretty neat things. I also work 100% remote, which I'm not sure would be possible with a mech eng job.
I do wish I spent more time in the machine shop at school though. Many of my neighbors in my HOA are either "real engineers" or retired blue collar workers, and they can fix things much better than I can. I can help reset their router though! :)"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"I no longer build software"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://github.com/docker/cli/issues/267#issuecomment-695149477"}},"_tags":["comment","author_jdreaver","story_24541964"],"author":"jdreaver","comment_text":"I have a BS and MS in mechanical engineering. I started working on simulation software, and now I work in edtech.
This is an interesting thread, but my advice is to never take comments on the internet as any sort of representative sample. It is unlikely someone happy with their job would comment on a thread about quitting, because it makes for a boring addition to the thread.
I sometimes wonder what my work life would be like if I switched back to mechanical engineering, but I'm very happy working purely in software. Engineering requires a ton of capital and fairly large teams to do cool things. With software, a single person or a small team on a shoestring budget can build pretty neat things. I also work 100% remote, which I'm not sure would be possible with a mech eng job.
I do wish I spent more time in the machine shop at school though. Many of my neighbors in my HOA are either "real engineers" or retired blue collar workers, and they can fix things much better than I can. I can help reset their router though! :)","created_at":"2020-09-21T15:53:52Z","created_at_i":1600703632,"objectID":"24544821","parent_id":24542675,"story_id":24541964,"story_title":"I no longer build software","story_url":"https://github.com/docker/cli/issues/267#issuecomment-695149477","updated_at":"2024-09-20T06:57:45Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"devonkim"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"I don't necessarily see the situation as inflated egos as much as lack of resources to do it better. I have rarely met developers that are excited to do operations work like defining and implementing system security policies, change control, and orchestration. It's a chore that's as exciting for them as doing their laundry.
I'm being very conservative with what "modern" means (within the past 20 years is about right). Traditional shops are still racking and stacking machines and maybe deploying VMs by hand using ITIL stuff trying desperately to slow down system changes to deal with demand rather than to speed things up like most shops have done. Where I am now, the "traditional" IT side of the house takes roughly 5 months to provision a new server (I lead operations on anything bleeding edge, which is now standard for most start-ups).
Going from using maybe kickstart files to API calls is not as big of a deal as the fact that you can even get something on demand in any way instead of going, finding another job, quitting that job, coming back in shame, and realizing that the server you asked for is finally up."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Debops (2014)"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"http://enricozini.org/2014/debian/debops/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_devonkim","story_9953633"],"author":"devonkim","children":[9959662],"comment_text":"I don't necessarily see the situation as inflated egos as much as lack of resources to do it better. I have rarely met developers that are excited to do operations work like defining and implementing system security policies, change control, and orchestration. It's a chore that's as exciting for them as doing their laundry.
I'm being very conservative with what "modern" means (within the past 20 years is about right). Traditional shops are still racking and stacking machines and maybe deploying VMs by hand using ITIL stuff trying desperately to slow down system changes to deal with demand rather than to speed things up like most shops have done. Where I am now, the "traditional" IT side of the house takes roughly 5 months to provision a new server (I lead operations on anything bleeding edge, which is now standard for most start-ups).
Going from using maybe kickstart files to API calls is not as big of a deal as the fact that you can even get something on demand in any way instead of going, finding another job, quitting that job, coming back in shame, and realizing that the server you asked for is finally up.","created_at":"2015-07-27T18:53:06Z","created_at_i":1438023186,"objectID":"9957211","parent_id":9956300,"points":null,"story_id":9953633,"story_title":"Debops (2014)","story_url":"http://enricozini.org/2014/debian/debops/","updated_at":"2023-09-07T03:18:31Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"fullyHighlighted":true,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["quoting"],"value":"Quothling"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"partial","matchedWords":["machine","shop"],"value":"We're experimenting with Copilot Code these days and if you're logged into your az cli in any form of shell it can use that session with the same user privileges you have.
In terms of compliance in the EU in a microsoft heavy shop, this is the closest thing we get to a "safe" coding agent and it isn't safe at all. It can run cloud only, but then it kind of sucks. I think the cloud only stuff is going to need to work better or we're going to need dedicated machines to run agents on where the device itself has very limited access. In those contexts I'm not too worried about them. Well, at least not about them being a supplychain risk, but they'd still be a risk to others if they had internet access (and since they're run by us, we'd be liable.)"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"What I run on my $10 USD OpenStick homelab"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://blog.bosscher.ch/posts/openstick/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_Quothling","story_50406670"],"author":"Quothling","children":[50411651],"comment_text":"We're experimenting with Copilot Code these days and if you're logged into your az cli in any form of shell it can use that session with the same user privileges you have.
In terms of compliance in the EU in a microsoft heavy shop, this is the closest thing we get to a "safe" coding agent and it isn't safe at all. It can run cloud only, but then it kind of sucks. I think the cloud only stuff is going to need to work better or we're going to need dedicated machines to run agents on where the device itself has very limited access. In those contexts I'm not too worried about them. Well, at least not about them being a supplychain risk, but they'd still be a risk to others if they had internet access (and since they're run by us, we'd be liable.)","created_at":"2026-11-08T09:07:46Z","created_at_i":1794128866,"objectID":"50411585","parent_id":50408551,"story_id":50406670,"story_title":"What I run on my $10 USD OpenStick homelab","story_url":"https://blog.bosscher.ch/posts/openstick/","updated_at":"2026-11-08T09:22:32Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"noeticpenguin"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Hey Hacker News,\nTL;DR: Made a menu bar app that auto-launches or quits apps based on what USB devices you plug in or what WiFi you're connected to. Called it Lean Running and honestly I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
The Problem That Started This\nSo here's the deal. I love my Stream Deck. Great little tool for productivity stuff. But something about it drove me absolutely nuts:\nThe Stream Deck app has to be running for the hardware to work.\nThat app? Not light. On my work machine where memory is... precious is one way to put it... having Stream Deck running all the time when the device is only actually plugged in maybe 30% of the time? Felt dumb.\nI kept manually quitting the app when I unplugged it. Then forgetting to open it again when I plugged it back in. Then sitting there confused wondering why my buttons weren't doing anything. Over and over.\nThere had to be a better way.
What Lean Running Does\nWatches for triggers. Runs automations. That's basically it.\nUSB Triggers
Plug something in \u2192 launch an app, run a Shortcut, execute a script\nUnplug it \u2192 quit an app, run a different Shortcut, whatever
For my Stream Deck thing: device plugs in, app launches. Device unplugs, app quits. I don't have to think about it anymore.\nWiFi Triggers
Connect to home network \u2192 open your personal stuff\nConnect to work network \u2192 launch Slack, kill your game launchers\nConnect to coffee shop WiFi \u2192 fire up a VPN
What It Can Actually Do
Launch apps\nQuit apps\nRun Shortcuts (the Apple Shortcuts app - honestly the possibilities here are kind of endless)
Use Cases I've Thought About\nBeyond my whole Stream Deck situation:
Audio interfaces - Open your DAW when your Focusrite plugs in
Drawing tablets - Fire up Photoshop when your Wacom connects\nExternal drives - Launch backup software when your Time Machine drive shows up\nWebcams - Start OBS when your streaming setup connects\nWork vs Home - Different apps depending on what WiFi you're on\nDocking stations - Full "work mode" when you dock your laptop\nGaming peripherals - Open Steam when your controller connects
The Philosophy\nI wanted something that:
Sits in the menu bar and stays out of your face\nDoesn't phone home or need an account\nJust works - set it up once, forget about it\nActually respects your resources - would be pretty ironic if an app meant to save RAM was itself a memory hog right?
Pricing (No Subscription!)\nAlright let's talk money:
Regular price: $14.99\nIntro price: $9.99 (until January 31st, 2026)
Here's the important part though: One-time purchase per major version.\nNot a subscription. Not "pay forever to keep using the thing you already paid for." You buy v1, you own v1. Forever. If/when v2 comes out with big new features, that'd be a separate purchase (with a discount for v1 folks) - but v1 keeps working regardless.\nI know subscription fatigue is real. I'm tired of it too.
Links\nWebsite & Purchase: https://ignotietquasiocculti.com
I Want Your Feedback!\nThis is v1 and I'm actively working on it. Would love to hear:
What other triggers would be useful? Bluetooth devices? Time of day? Calendar events? When mercury goes into retrograde?\nWhat actions do you wish it had? Shell scripts? AppleScript? System settings toggles? How much should I be protecting users from themselves here?\nWhat's confusing? What could be clearer in the UI or docs? I'm not a UX designer so like... all feedback welcome.\nBugs? Please tell me if something's broken! help@ignotietquasiocculti.com is the best way to reach me.
Drop a comment, send a DM, whatever. Genuinely trying to make this useful.
Thanks for actually reading all this! Happy to answer questions.\n Stay lean out there"},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"I built Lean Running because my Stream Deck was eating my RAM (even unplugged)"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://www.ignotietquasiocculti.com/apps/leanrunning"}},"_tags":["comment","author_noeticpenguin","story_46468443"],"author":"noeticpenguin","comment_text":"Hey Hacker News,\nTL;DR: Made a menu bar app that auto-launches or quits apps based on what USB devices you plug in or what WiFi you're connected to. Called it Lean Running and honestly I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
The Problem That Started This\nSo here's the deal. I love my Stream Deck. Great little tool for productivity stuff. But something about it drove me absolutely nuts:\nThe Stream Deck app has to be running for the hardware to work.\nThat app? Not light. On my work machine where memory is... precious is one way to put it... having Stream Deck running all the time when the device is only actually plugged in maybe 30% of the time? Felt dumb.\nI kept manually quitting the app when I unplugged it. Then forgetting to open it again when I plugged it back in. Then sitting there confused wondering why my buttons weren't doing anything. Over and over.\nThere had to be a better way.
What Lean Running Does\nWatches for triggers. Runs automations. That's basically it.\nUSB Triggers
Plug something in \u2192 launch an app, run a Shortcut, execute a script\nUnplug it \u2192 quit an app, run a different Shortcut, whatever
For my Stream Deck thing: device plugs in, app launches. Device unplugs, app quits. I don't have to think about it anymore.\nWiFi Triggers
Connect to home network \u2192 open your personal stuff\nConnect to work network \u2192 launch Slack, kill your game launchers\nConnect to coffee shop WiFi \u2192 fire up a VPN
What It Can Actually Do
Launch apps\nQuit apps\nRun Shortcuts (the Apple Shortcuts app - honestly the possibilities here are kind of endless)
Use Cases I've Thought About\nBeyond my whole Stream Deck situation:
Audio interfaces - Open your DAW when your Focusrite plugs in
Drawing tablets - Fire up Photoshop when your Wacom connects\nExternal drives - Launch backup software when your Time Machine drive shows up\nWebcams - Start OBS when your streaming setup connects\nWork vs Home - Different apps depending on what WiFi you're on\nDocking stations - Full "work mode" when you dock your laptop\nGaming peripherals - Open Steam when your controller connects
The Philosophy\nI wanted something that:
Sits in the menu bar and stays out of your face\nDoesn't phone home or need an account\nJust works - set it up once, forget about it\nActually respects your resources - would be pretty ironic if an app meant to save RAM was itself a memory hog right?
Pricing (No Subscription!)\nAlright let's talk money:
Regular price: $14.99\nIntro price: $9.99 (until January 31st, 2026)
Here's the important part though: One-time purchase per major version.\nNot a subscription. Not "pay forever to keep using the thing you already paid for." You buy v1, you own v1. Forever. If/when v2 comes out with big new features, that'd be a separate purchase (with a discount for v1 folks) - but v1 keeps working regardless.\nI know subscription fatigue is real. I'm tired of it too.
Links\nWebsite & Purchase: https://ignotietquasiocculti.com
I Want Your Feedback!\nThis is v1 and I'm actively working on it. Would love to hear:
What other triggers would be useful? Bluetooth devices? Time of day? Calendar events? When mercury goes into retrograde?\nWhat actions do you wish it had? Shell scripts? AppleScript? System settings toggles? How much should I be protecting users from themselves here?\nWhat's confusing? What could be clearer in the UI or docs? I'm not a UX designer so like... all feedback welcome.\nBugs? Please tell me if something's broken! help@ignotietquasiocculti.com is the best way to reach me.
Drop a comment, send a DM, whatever. Genuinely trying to make this useful.
Thanks for actually reading all this! Happy to answer questions.\n Stay lean out there","created_at":"2026-01-02T19:33:04Z","created_at_i":1767382384,"objectID":"46468444","parent_id":46468443,"story_id":46468443,"story_title":"I built Lean Running because my Stream Deck was eating my RAM (even unplugged)","story_url":"https://www.ignotietquasiocculti.com/apps/leanrunning","updated_at":"2026-03-05T23:18:07Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"bartread"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"Even Java's Swing, introduced in 1999 (or maybe 98 in beta?), dealt with the problem of dynamic layouts fairly well. Of course, it performed like an absolute dog to begin with, but most of the performance kinks were dealt with during the Java 1.3 era (2000), and by 1.4 in 2002/3 or so, performance was absolutely fine, with most of the rendering quirks of the native look and feels having been dealt with as well.
Moving to C#/WinForms in late 2004 after working with Swing for 4 years felt absolutely jarring by comparison. No concept of layout managers and very limited options for dynamic layout in general (docking was about it, IIRC), really hard to customise components (if it was possible at all - for many it wasn't because they were just thin wrappers around Win32). It was terrible by comparison and I seriously considered quitting the job I was in, even though I liked the company, and finding a role in a Java shop again instead because I hated WinForms so very much.
Swing is obviously ancient history now. Is it still a thing? Do people still use it? Are there still Java desktop apps? I've no idea. But even 20-odd years later Microsoft have never managed to surpass it for desktop app development. WPF is OKish, and certainly addresses a lot of the problems of WinForms, but it's always felt over-complicated and the syntax of XAML has never really been a plus point in my opinion. Silverlight was... a debacle.
And, really, since 2013 I've only paid attention to distributed systems, web, and back end development (all of which have their own problems and complexities) so I've really lost touch with Microsoft's desktop development paradigm.
But I do find myself often yearning for the "simplicity" of desktop app development. Of course, that simplicity comes at a cost: you're trading it for complexity in licensing, distribution, deployment, and support because you have no control over your target environment, and you have to support almost unlimited combinations of machine configuration (which is not necessarily a picnic when you have thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of customers for each product). And, let's be real: nobody misses InstallShield and MSIs."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"IDEs we had 30 years ago and lost (2023)"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"https://blogsystem5.substack.com/p/the-ides-we-had-30-years-ago-and"}},"_tags":["comment","author_bartread","story_45626910"],"author":"bartread","children":[45647333,45668800,45669609],"comment_text":"Even Java's Swing, introduced in 1999 (or maybe 98 in beta?), dealt with the problem of dynamic layouts fairly well. Of course, it performed like an absolute dog to begin with, but most of the performance kinks were dealt with during the Java 1.3 era (2000), and by 1.4 in 2002/3 or so, performance was absolutely fine, with most of the rendering quirks of the native look and feels having been dealt with as well.
Moving to C#/WinForms in late 2004 after working with Swing for 4 years felt absolutely jarring by comparison. No concept of layout managers and very limited options for dynamic layout in general (docking was about it, IIRC), really hard to customise components (if it was possible at all - for many it wasn't because they were just thin wrappers around Win32). It was terrible by comparison and I seriously considered quitting the job I was in, even though I liked the company, and finding a role in a Java shop again instead because I hated WinForms so very much.
Swing is obviously ancient history now. Is it still a thing? Do people still use it? Are there still Java desktop apps? I've no idea. But even 20-odd years later Microsoft have never managed to surpass it for desktop app development. WPF is OKish, and certainly addresses a lot of the problems of WinForms, but it's always felt over-complicated and the syntax of XAML has never really been a plus point in my opinion. Silverlight was... a debacle.
And, really, since 2013 I've only paid attention to distributed systems, web, and back end development (all of which have their own problems and complexities) so I've really lost touch with Microsoft's desktop development paradigm.
But I do find myself often yearning for the "simplicity" of desktop app development. Of course, that simplicity comes at a cost: you're trading it for complexity in licensing, distribution, deployment, and support because you have no control over your target environment, and you have to support almost unlimited combinations of machine configuration (which is not necessarily a picnic when you have thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of customers for each product). And, let's be real: nobody misses InstallShield and MSIs.","created_at":"2025-10-20T16:41:52Z","created_at_i":1760978512,"objectID":"45645930","parent_id":45634508,"story_id":45626910,"story_title":"IDEs we had 30 years ago and lost (2023)","story_url":"https://blogsystem5.substack.com/p/the-ides-we-had-30-years-ago-and","updated_at":"2026-03-05T22:51:09Z"},{"_highlightResult":{"author":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"robterrell"},"comment_text":{"fullyHighlighted":false,"matchLevel":"full","matchedWords":["machine","shop","quoting"],"value":"http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/browse/home/shop_mac/fam...
The price of leasing a Mac Mini from Apple is $25 per month ($34 with more RAM, but that would be silly to pay for). Much cheaper than the model of renting a virtual machine, plus works with your local devices. The only problem is, Apple Business leasing has a minimum order.
Of course, if you can't stand Objective-C and want to stop, the virtual machine gives you a simpler path to quitting."},"story_title":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"Rent a Mac in the cloud for development"},"story_url":{"matchLevel":"none","matchedWords":[],"value":"http://www.macincloud.com/"}},"_tags":["comment","author_robterrell","story_3162927"],"author":"robterrell","comment_text":"http://store.apple.com/us_smb_78313/browse/home/shop_mac/fam...
The price of leasing a Mac Mini from Apple is $25 per month ($34 with more RAM, but that would be silly to pay for). Much cheaper than the model of renting a virtual machine, plus works with your local devices. The only problem is, Apple Business leasing has a minimum order.
Of course, if you can't stand Objective-C and want to stop, the virtual machine gives you a simpler path to quitting.","created_at":"2011-10-27T16:30:11Z","created_at_i":1319733011,"objectID":"3163956","parent_id":3163707,"story_id":3162927,"story_title":"Rent a Mac in the cloud for development","story_url":"http://www.macincloud.com/","updated_at":"2024-09-19T18:05:09Z"}],"hitsPerPage":20,"nbHits":29,"nbPages":2,"page":0,"params":"query=machine+shop+quoting&advancedSyntax=true&analyticsTags=backend","processingTimeMS":27,"processingTimingsMS":{"_request":{"roundTrip":22},"afterFetch":{"format":{"highlighting":3,"total":4},"merge":{"mergeLoop":{"prepareNextHit":4,"total":4},"total":4},"total":5},"fetch":{"query":14,"scanning":6,"total":21},"total":27},"query":"machine shop quoting","serverTimeMS":31}