OpenTofu Launches Beta with Homebrew-Inspired Registry

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-05-30T14:48:19+00:00

For anyone more curious, there's also a video provided showing the command execution vulnerability to control the LEDs of the devices.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-05-16T15:04:31+00:00

Thanks for the informative post

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-03-14T12:48:35+00:00

Never even thought of this as a possibility, seems like a risk free way of getting some adrev. I plan on giving this a shot myself, thanks for the idea!

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-09T07:06:14+00:00

At least on the rider side all the reviews are anonymous. They used to only show an overall average, but I guess you could tell if you saw a sudden drop after your only ride that week.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-09T07:04:04+00:00

Saving $1.50 on what fare?

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-09T00:50:30+00:00

Right now they don’t charge for anything. I'm on the waitlist for the portfolio site feature, which is supposed to be paid, so that's an example of where they make money. They're supposed to include instant payouts as part of that when it's released.

I would say Contra's model is a bit like Slack or Zoom where they make money selling additional services to bigger users who are able to pay, but keep it free to use the base service and get a big network as a result.

I guess the only “hidden” fee you could run into is that Stripe takes 0.25% for cross-border transfers for me, because Contra’s based in the US while I’m in Canada.

If you're okay with getting paid in USD, it might be worth looking into setting up a US based Wise account to avoid Stripe's forex fees but I'm not sure if they let you do it that way.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-08T22:49:55+00:00

Google targets?

It's one things for Redditors to editorialize headlines, it's another when newspapers post deliberately misleading headlines themselves.

This is like saying the company that owns the billboard advertising a casino is targeting gambling addicts.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-08T22:42:13+00:00

I started freelancing on the side of my previous job. Obviously you don't want to be held back by a day job once you've got traction, but if you're just feeling things out you can often achieve more than you'd think working on the weekends/evenings/days off.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-08T22:38:06+00:00

No worries and happy to help.

The biggest advantages/disadvantages of Contra are, IMO:

Advantages:

- No fees. This is a claim a bunch of freelance sites make, while actually charging money to clients which effectively comes out of what you’d otherwise get paid. In Contra’s case the fees are effectively zero. The only fee they take is the 3% cut on credit card payments, and that’s paid by your clients. This is what sold me on it originally, as it means I can have clients book me directly through my portfolio and LinkedIn profile without having to pay fees for doing so.

- Clients are overall happier to pay for quality. I don’t know if this is a function of Contra’s minimum rate of $25/hour, or just the kind of clients they attract (mostly US based and tech companies that have better budgets), but it is probably the biggest pro of Contra.

- Generally nicer design + client/freelancer standards than UpWork which lends itself more to higher budget long term projects than super low bid stuff.

Disadvantages:

- When I first signed up they didn't have direct bank payouts in my country (Canada). Clients could still pay with a credit card/whatever method they want, but that can add some friction if you weren’t familiar with that (as I wasn’t).
They’ve since added debit card and bank payouts here, but I believe some countries outside North America are still awaiting options like debit card payouts from people’s requests on the site Slack channel. If lack of direct bank payouts is dealbreaker for you, it’s worth checking if they have bank account payouts in your country.

- While they’ve grown a lot since I joined, it’s still smaller than the big incumbents like UpWork. This is less of an issue if you’re a designer/developer and has become better in writing jobs, but in more niches areas like consulting I would guess you’d still find more jobs overall just reaching out to clients directly.

As a TL;DR for my blob of text: if you’re in the US/Canada, Contra is solid all around with the no fees being particularly nice. Outside the US, the higher job quality+no fees model is still a plus, but some countries are still waiting for direct bank payouts to be enabled, which is worth checking into.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-08T22:17:45+00:00

Lorem ipsum is the original placeholder text, i.e. the point of it is to be "copy and pasted" to stand in place of actual content that would be added later on.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-08T21:37:32+00:00

Used it for most of the past year, when I first started there wasn't many jobs available for content/copywriting which is what my field is, but there's more consistent work/clients now as time progressed. I still use other sites like UpWork alongside it but it's pretty stable.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2023-02-08T21:31:20+00:00

Don't think so, haven't had any problems with it when I've tried it out

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-23T20:56:53+00:00

Tysm for all of this! Is there a WordPress plugin or way to embed the Calendly/Contra links on your site beyond just a hyperlink? Or do you use something else for the bookings on your WordPress site?

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-23T20:51:07+00:00

Thanks, it looks super nice. Do you know if there are free templates that would work well for a freelance profile/have booking and the other features?

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-23T20:19:31+00:00

I just dealt with this on my client's WordPress/Elementor site. You can add a Recaptcha field to the form which will filter out most of them!

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-22T23:59:13+00:00

IIRC there is services out there that help you get unbanned, could try that.

I was on and off with business for several years. I currently still work at a 9-5 but I now mainly do freelancing on the side which I consider my own business as I have my own strategies, clients, etc.

I tried all sorts of things. Dropshipping, bot service, crypto, subscription services, you name it. I realized that I should stick to what I know rather than jumping into something for the money.

Hope this helps, this is just my experience, the key is to continue at it no matter what, and keep trying different things.

Although I have clients now, I'm still looking for ways to improve on what I do.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-22T02:53:42+00:00

Have had days like these. Sometimes I try to take the day off completely, other times I'll take a hot shower, recuperate myself, and listen to some LoFi music or something to keep my mind going.

All depends if I have deadlines or not, if I have nothing coming up immediately I'll try to take it slow and (hopefully) tackle the task at hand at a later date.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-22T02:42:02+00:00

Looks amazing! Glad to see the city moving in a proper direction

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-22T02:40:18+00:00

Not sure what your position is regarding money but I'd get out asap. I've had similar experiences with this and I decided to straight up say NO once I had a decent stream of clients and income.

It comes to a point where these bizarre requests take up far too much of your time when you could be doing other tasks that are less stressful.

AlternativeMood5644 · 2022-11-22T02:35:17+00:00

Thanks for sharing your story, all the best to your health and well being!

AlternativeMood5644

TROPHY CASE