Show HN: my weekend project - sell files for bitcoins

by hippich • 15 years ago

34 32 15 years ago

hippich3• 15 years ago

I have done a while ago, but in one weekend. This project's aim is to combine easy uploads and easy payments via Bitcoin.

Main features: - just one field to upload. nothing else - files are stored for one week by default, but if someone downloaded it, file life extends. - payments are in Bitcoins - to download file you have to pay nominal 2 bitcents or more - to setup higher price - you need to "invest" into your file - deposit same amount you want to charge for the file - site takes 10% cut from all payments.

here is example of download link - http://ubitio.us/file/download/127

It is weird in terms of requiring nominal payments (it was initial idea to avoid using CAPTCHA) and short life of the file which depends on number of downloads.

This was really a fun project and it really never took off, but any comments really appreciated =)

huge_ness• 15 years ago

I think it's a good idea but am relunctant to think that people would actually pay for files, especially for something they've never seen/used before.

Nonetheless, maybe check out: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2406614 (http://gumroad.com)

He/She also did the same thing over the weekend. :)

rchowe2• 15 years ago

Your copyright notice still says 2010.

dangrossman• 15 years ago

As it should, if that was the year he put it up. A copyright notice, if you're going to place one, is supposed to have 3 elements (via copyright.gov):

1. The (c) symbol, the word copyright, or the abbreviation "copr." 2. The year of first publication 3. The name of the copyright owner

seiji• 15 years ago

Is Google doing it incorrectly? They use:

    © 2011

rchowe2• 15 years ago

I had assumed this was a weekend project that just launched, my bad.

hippich3• 15 years ago

I put this just 'cos I wanted to put something into footer. I do not care about copyrights at this point =)

clistctrl2• 15 years ago

This is awesome! I personally can't think of a need for the service, but I'm glad to see Bitcoins being used. I don't care how it materializes, but an open source virtual currency needs to flourish.

kloncks• 15 years ago

Could a fellow nerd explain to me why Bitcoins are a good idea? Or what the idea is behind them?

radu_floricica• 15 years ago

Because if you want to build stuff with payments, you deal with APIs and not paperwork. Which is much friendlier for us hackers.

Considering bitcoins actually have value (the market works, you can buy and sell them - right now they're roughly $1), it's a real shot at micropayments done right.

hugh33• 15 years ago

Short answer: they aren't. However, anyone who has managed to acquire some is currently busy trying to talk up their value.

Or to put it another way, it's a pyramid scheme with some geek-friendly features.

3pt141593• 15 years ago

I totally disagree. Their intrinsic value is that they cannot be controlled by despotic governments, nanny state mothers and fathers, or by corrupt bankers or payment gateway vendors. They do not suffer from long term inflation. They have negligible to zero transmission fees.

The fact that the currency is as stable as it is is remarkable, and this is a perfect site to take advantage of bitcoins.

njs12345• 15 years ago

How is it a pyramid scheme? Bitcoins are just a scarce resource..

solid• 15 years ago

Your short answer is just that; You do not mention any of the positives.

Some of the positives:

* anonymous

* decentralized

* finite supply

* no transaction fees

* open source

* growing in usage

* is traded on online currency markets

I'm sure there are more, but that is just off the top of my head. BTW, I'm speaking as someone who has ZERO BTC.

clistctrl2• 15 years ago

It's "Cash" for the web. Currently if you want to do business on the web, your options are accept payments via a private entity, and give them some percentage of your revenue, or work for free. This aims to solve that issue.

I think it also puts us in the right direction in terms of globalization. There are many problems with doing business internationally. The first of which is foreign exchange rates, if we all accepted one currency international transactions become simpler

Personally I don't think it solves the problem in an optimal manner, but if it starts a movement, then I'm all for it.

kragen• 15 years ago

Do you mean a good idea relative to giving away stuff for free, or relative to dollars/euros?

The first question is really, "Why should we use money?" I'm not going to get into that in any depth here, but the short answer is that money allows you to collaborate with people you don't trust, or even know, in efficiently using scarce resources.

As for the second question, they're currently easier to transfer over the internet than dollars or euros, less prone to fraud, and more anonymous.

(I don't own any Bitcoins.)

mikegreenberg• 15 years ago

Here's a resource that offers a nice overview: http://weusecoins.com

pbreit• 15 years ago

It's another in a long list of attempts to create a digital cash scheme which will never work. Regular money is more than satisfactory for almost everyone.

thatusertwo• 15 years ago

I uploaded a .gif and got a huge code dump in return.

hippich3• 15 years ago

oh. well.. this is very quick project and I did not really spent a lot of time polishing it. So I could expect that. Do you have screenshot/copypaste by any chance? If so, could you send it to pavel@yepcorp.com?

schwa• 15 years ago

You probably shouldn't use Mac oS X's zip file icon. Pretty sure that's copyrighted by Apple.

Show HN: my weekend project - sell files for bitcoins

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