> Instantly create a secure URL to your Mac
OK so like a URL to... what? Screenshare? Access the HDD like dropbox? Do something else?
> Make changes in real time. Get feedback immediately. Effortless live previews.
Of what? About what? Of what?
> Nice cartoon picture of dog
/closes tab
Edit: reading the rest of the page it's still unclear what it does, or even why I'd want it. I guess I'm not the target audience?
so I guess the target audience is developers who do not know how to configure a web server, setup proxies or other means of testing webhooks maybe? maybe there is a market for a product like this but obviously I would not be target audience either...
Before they even do that they should explain what it is for!
I was indeed trying to explain something technical (i.e. a tunneling service) in a non-technical way in an attempt to be friendly towards designers, but it seems like I still have some work to do on the product page.
The way you wrote your product page and app description is fascinating not because it was so oblique as to be completely meaningless, but because you appear to have been so thoroughly unaware of that fact.
This is an extremely common problem with technical documentation. We find pages and pages of description of frameworks and libraries created without simply answering the fundamental question, “What does this do?” And those pages could be easily replaced with one brief annotated example.
Technical people are often unaware that they have created a desert of meaning and substance.
Your product page made sense to me and might also make sense if your customers are web and mobile web developers
>> No Subscription Required
>> The core version of Emporter is free.
>>
>> Subscriptions are offered to provide faster speeds, custom URL names, multiple sessions, and super good vibes.
I have to deal with this "contact us and we will make you an offer"-thing everyday at work. It's stupid. Either your product costs a fixed amount per GB/user/whatever or you are trying to screw me over the price.
> Subscriptions provide faster speeds, customized URL names and multiple sessions.
• Monthly Subscription: 3 day free trial, then €5.99 a month • Yearly Subscription: 7 day free trial, then €59.99 a year (15% off!)
A bit expensive for what localtunnel provides for free, no?
The pricing is not hidden. Just click "subscription" and there it is.
edit Looks like OP updated the product page. Sounds like you made a good suggestion then. :)
ssh -NT -R 0:localhost:80 youraccount@yourbox.amazonaws.com
I also do an extra step and put an nginx proxy in front to translate hostnames into correct port numbers, but that's optional. RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP:Upgrade} =websocket [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^([^\.]*).*$ [NC]
RewriteRule /(.*) ws://localhost:%1/$1 [P,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP:Upgrade} !=websocket [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^([^\.]*).*$ [NC]
RewriteRule /(.*) http://localhost:%1/$1 [P,L]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^([^\.]*).*$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^ - [E=TUNNEL_PORT:$1]
ProxyPassInterpolateEnv On
ProxyPassReverse "/" "http://localhost:${TUNNEL_PORT}/" interpolate
This reverse proxies something like https://12345.example.com to http://localhost:12345, which is forwarded back to the dev machine (typically port 80 or 3000). When a local server is spun up, our tooling automatically sets up the remote port forwarding and appropriately configures the local instance based on an environment variable. For a pre-seed startup, this results in considerable cost savings w.r.t. ngrok's pricing.Monthly fees are a ball and chain thought up by corporations to create modern slaves. Psychological and, to some extent, physical captivity.
In theory, iOS implements this well by allowing you to unsubscribe with one click. In practice, it's a terrible UX. Just try finding the subscriptions page in Settings and you'll see what I mean.
Hyperbole much?
This service has ongoing costs - they have a server which you need to connect to in order to tunnel to the outside world. So a monthly charge makes 100% more sense than a one-off charge. In fact, a monthly charge is better for everyone, because it ensures their service will be around in perpetuity, rather than shutting down once the stream of new purchases stops.
> The best parts of my life have been a result of avoiding being tied to monthly fees. Without them, you are free to travel and move about at will.
They are monthly. You are free to travel and move about at will at a month's notice. It's not exactly a life-crushing limitation.
[1]: https://ngrok.com/
The same product can be sold to many different demographics through different channels.
+ GUI
- Cross platform support
- request inspection support
- non-http tunnel support(unclear, docs/faq is terrible)
One of the biggest reasons that I decided to distribute on the Mac App Store was to establish trust. If I embraced its limitations (i.e. sandboxing), it'd help me build a product that was more secure and have some sort of proof that it was.
Also, the company (me) behind the app is based in France, which has some of the toughest privacy laws. The privacy policy, although in English, is compliant with French law. The short version is that Emporter doesn't collect user data, or perhaps most importantly, user content.
I have quite a lot I want to discuss about this via the company blog, which ironically is part of the reason I decided to post a "Show HN". I wanted contextualize the product a little bit before inviting this kind of discussion.
It also makes me think you're not telling me for a reason. I guess I've purchased too much "enterprise" software over the years. :-)
I have a few other things that I'm looking forward to sharing, though. I just started with this because it will hopefully contextualize some of the other content.
It is so jarring and out of place that it's basically all I see there.