59 comments
iandanforth · 54 minutes ago
Your machine has jammed, doesn't work in Firefox (macos). The words dropdown doesn't populate, nor does the style dropdown. I see a JSON.parse uncaught SyntaxError.

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rmetzler · 39 minutes ago
Hey is the blogpost reloading every second (on mobile safari)?

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xivzgrev · 10 hours ago

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ipsento606 · 7 hours ago
> The machine was jammed. It wasn’t a big deal. I shrugged and moved on to buy my groceries.

I resonate with the sentiment, but this is very far from my experience selling cheap software products.

I had multiple people reach out to me because a software upgrade they paid $2 for 8 years ago stopped working. And they were, like, pissed about it.

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hampowder · 6 hours ago
I'm trying to make an analogous product (native app) for learning vocabulary after Memrise shut it simple, flashcard app down.

One thing about the vending machine model is that the transaction is done. You don't require any continued interaction from the vendor to enjoy what you bought.

For that reason I made it:

  - a native app so it didn't require a server once downloaded
  - offline first, using WatermelonDb to sync with a server if available
  - all data bundled, so my server doesn't need to exist when downloading
The intention is to make it at some point a one-time purchase. I'm trying to conceive it more like writing/distributing a book than a subscription app.

The hardest elements have actually been complying with the various app store requirements. Google Play now requires developers to have 20 users test your app for 14 days. I've been stuck with 4x 14 day cycles for the Catalan version with no specific feedback as to how to satisfy their desire that it has been sufficiently tested.

Interestingly with Google Play, if you want to make an up-front paid app, your testers must pay for the app too. If you make the app free, such that your testers can download it, you can't make it paid again afterwards. You can add in app purchases later, though.

If anyone wants to check it out, it's available for Spanish and Catalan for now: https://learnthewords.app/

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