Manuzoid
Learning and science
product manuals database
SHOW HN2021
How HN took it
4 positive, 5 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 5 critical, out of 15 comments about the project. Thread score -0.10.
Execution: 1 for, 3 againstIdea: 1 for, 0 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Cleaner and less spammy than other manual sites
From 3 comments
I would guess scraping other sites and trying to do a credible job of cleaning up mis-labeled files, fixing meta-data, sorting them in a reasonable taxonomy, etc. There's a lot…
tyingq on HNThis is less spammy than most of these databases, but please remove the captcha on “download pdf”. Also, the first (and only) manual I tried gave a 404 after I solved the…
hedora on HNAnd is overrun with spammy ads. Yuck.
jfk13 on HN
Useful for reviving old appliances and electronics
From 2 comments
Is there anything more satisfying than reviving some random old appliance with a pdf service manual found on the internet?
adav on HNThe best. With very little electronic I revived some vintage stereo equipment using the original circuit board schematic diagram. I had a lot of help from YouTube and online…
shanecleveland on HN
Objections
Search returns duplicates and the right result is buried
From 1 comment
Looks very cool! A couple things however that I noticed. There seem to be a lot of duplicates which clutter the search results. Also, the first thing I looked for was available,…
michaelmior on HN
PDF viewer is hard to read and cannot zoom
From 1 comment
This is very cool and useful, will be bookmarking for sure. Some of the websites you come across when googling manuals are... less than reputable. My first suggestion after…
mdoms on HN
Data appears outdated, missing newer models like OLED TVs
From 1 comment
Data seems to be quite old, since it does not include e.g. OLED TVs. https://manuzoid.com/brand/LG
de6u99er on HN
Legality of scraping and hosting copyrighted manuals is questioned
From 2 comments
Well however he did, I do not see his responses after posting it here. Is it even legal to scrape all these manuals from other sites?
system2 on HNLike any other comment, I will ask the same. How did you get 1 million manuals? Show HN is for small projects usually. Can you tell us or tell us a range you paid for the 1…
system2 on HN
Requests
Add zoom to the PDF viewer
From 1 comment
This is very cool and useful, will be bookmarking for sure. Some of the websites you come across when googling manuals are... less than reputable. My first suggestion after…
mdoms on HN
Offer a list view as well as the gallery
From 1 comment
Suggestion: allow a list as an alternative to (or maybe even instead of) a gallery. Too many titles start with the same text, and the gallery doesn't allow the user to see the…
macintux on HN
Allow users to upload manuals
From 1 comment
Hi! Thank you. We have been collecting this library for a long time. And we'll be adding the ability to upload manuals soon.
bitgur on HN
Remove captcha on PDF download
From 1 comment
This is less spammy than most of these databases, but please remove the captcha on “download pdf”. Also, the first (and only) manual I tried gave a 404 after I solved the…
hedora on HN
Questions
How was the library of manuals collected
From 3 comments
Like any other comment, I will ask the same. How did you get 1 million manuals? Show HN is for small projects usually. Can you tell us or tell us a range you paid for the 1…
system2 on HNYour privacy policy mentions fixlib.com which appears to be up for sale. Curious: how did you get hold of all the manuals, and hope did you process them all?
austinjp on HNAmazing, bookmarked. Where did you get all of them from, and is there a way of contributing manuals?
shadowfaxRodeo on HN
How will the site make money
From 1 comment
1) I had very similar idea, How are you planning to monetize it ? 2) 10 years back I made a similar site using manuals online.com, 3) did you look at react-pdf ?
bootcat on HN
Alternatives named
ManualsBrain
From 1 comment
Hello, it looks nice but have a look https://manualsbrain.com/en/ it's bigger and grows
armstrong on HN
manuals online
From 1 comment
1) I had very similar idea, How are you planning to monetize it ? 2) 10 years back I made a similar site using manuals online.com, 3) did you look at react-pdf ?
bootcat on HN
manualOne
From 1 comment
There was/is a German startup called “manualOne” which offered manuals as well, and I think the idea was to establish a connection between the customer and seller of devices…
weitzj on HN