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Show HN: dialti.me, a US telephone number to timezone converter (dialti.me)

2 points by benjaminasmith ↗ HN
This is my one of my first weekend (actually, it took more like a week) mini-projects, and as a long-time reader I thought it would be great to get some feedback from HN.

My aim was to create a tool that I'd find useful while learning something new. In this case, I rediscovered Java, learned about Java servlets and JSON, and I tried out the Google App Engine as a platform.

Feedback, advice or criticism for an aspiring micropreneur? I'd be particularly interested in feedback on the design and concept: are there obvious ways that can I make it more intuitive, more useful or more straightforward?

3 comments

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benjaminasmith
Long time HN reader, first time poster.

This is my one of my first weekend (it actually took more like a week) side projects.

My aim was to create a tool that I'd find useful while learning something new. In this case, I rediscovered Java, learned about servlets and JSON, and I tried out the Google App Engine as a hosting platform.

Feedback, advice or criticism for an aspiring micropreneur?

I'd be most interested in feedback on the design and execution: what could I do to make this simpler, more intuitive, easier to use?

rachelbythebay
It seems like all of my friends kept their cell numbers when they moved to the valley. This means you have east coast phone numbers with a west coast human behind it. The three hour difference can be a big deal if someone guesses incorrectly.

I don't know how to help you get better location info given a number alone, unfortunately. Sorry.

benjaminasmith
Argh - this is a really good point.

I'm from the UK, so I often forget that: a) cell phones have area codes (unlike the UK), b) area codes do not change when cell phones move, and c) there's no way to tell a cell number from a land line number (again, unlike the UK).

Put those three factors together and you're right - the tool becomes far less useful for cell phone numbers.

I'll do a bit more investigation and see if there's a way to improve this situation. Thanks for the input!