HN Explorer

Ask HN: What once useful product/services have you stopped using?

1 points by neilsharma ↗ HN
Silicon Valley touts that products need to be significantly better, that founder should "build something people want." I've noticed that over the past 4-5 years, a lot of products/services I once considered essential have completely dropped from my life. On occasion, a better alternative does indeed come along, displacing the old one. Mostly though, my behavior/interest changed. I want more control and enjoyment of my time, money, health, and relationships with fewer complexities, and more often than not that means removing products/services from my life rather than adding them. It means consolidating services (a single grocery store, a single media platform, a single file storage service) to minimize management of competing products/services. It means realizing that "fewer" (or even "nothing") is often the best option out there.

Or it could mean my needs changed and I simply haven't found what the next compelling product is.

3 comments

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neilsharma
Dropbox - After two years of having over 20gb of free space, my university campus cup reward expired (people got free space based on the # of students at their university who signed up). I went down to < 3gb overnight and didn't want to pay for what I once had. This was by far the worst marketing stunt ever -- a 2 year "free trial" is not a sampler of a paid plan, it became the expected free plan.

Also, I was already using Google Drive since Docs/Sheets had already replaced MS Office. Don't need two services that do the same thing, especially when Dropbox has made no noticeable updates to its service in years.

Gym Memberships + Workout Classes - I used to be in a gym for 7-8 hours/week for years, but now I can't stand it. Realized I can get a comparably effective workout doing calisthenics at a local park while breathing fresh air and looking at the sunset and mountains.

Mobile Games - If I only have a limited amount of time on entertainment, I'm only going to play the best stuff out there.

Kindle/Ebooks - I discovered the library. Massive selection of free (well, tax-supported) physical books

Twitter - Used to check it 5x/day, but got no utility out of it aside from a few transient, impersonal messages to a handful of VCs, founders, and journalists. Deleted my account, never looked back.

Facebook - Socializing online using artifical interactions ("like", "share", one line comments) made me feel less connected with my friends/family. I still use their IM service from desktops, but refused to install messenger on my phone

Cable TV - Watching TV is incredibly frustrating with ads every 5 minutes.

Dedicated News Publishers - Used to subscribe to the NY Times, WSJ, Time, Atlantic Monthly, Scientific American, and the Economist. Although those publishers still have great content, I'd rather read what the internet surfaces (HN, Medium, random google searches)

Torrent Sites - There's finally enough free or affordable quality content to make torrenting less desirable, but maybe that's just because I've had an income.

Retail Stores - I now get all my food from Costco, Amazon (for misc spices), and farmers' markets for less. As a result, I buy fewer pre-made goods than I used to a few years ago and just cook in bulk. Far healthier and cheaper. I don't go shopping anywhere except to buy clothes every few years or medicine at a local pharmacy.

byoung2
Gym Memberships + Workout Classes - I used to be in a gym for 7-8 hours/week for years, but now I can't stand it. Realized I can get a comparably effective workout doing calisthenics at a local park while breathing fresh air and looking at the sunset and mountains.

I had a 24 hour fitness membership and a trainer when I worked in an office but after I started working from home it made more sense to invest in a home gym. So I got some Olympic barbells and bumper plates, a squat rack, bench, resistance bands, battle ropes, medicine balls, and 2.5-55lb adjustable dumbbells. The mailman and UPS guys hated me since I ordered it all in Amazon. Much more convenient than going to a stinky gym and waiting for the rack to become free while the bros talk about what supps they're taking.

neilsharma
Haha good call. I guess its not the machinery at the gym that's the problem, but the culture, smell, and general atmosphere.

I have a (wobbly) pullup bar and a punching bag at home, though I'd need to install some bars in the yard to get an acceptable home setup.