twostraws

19 ms·

1.
by twostraws 11mo ago
If it's all the same to you, I'm going to focus on inspiring people with today's technology, and hopefully help fuel their curiosity to learn about what comes in the future – whatever that may be.
2.
by twostraws 11mo ago
I think it's fair to say that the most accessible device is the one they are already using.
3.
by twostraws 11mo ago
Thank you! I hope you enjoy using the app together.
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by twostraws 11mo ago
Source code wouldn't help, because there's no way to verify any code I showed would be the same as the version on the App Store. Fortunately, you can just watch the network packets leaving from your device when you run the app, an
5.
by twostraws 11mo ago
You'll be pleased to know that the app is not only a one-time payment, but also has zero tracking – no analytics, no logging, no adverts, and no data collection of any kind.
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by twostraws 11mo ago
The native version does quite a few extra things, including bringing all the solving tools inside the app (as opposed to using external tools like CyberChef, Boxentriq, Dcode, etc), but also has more compute-intensive operations like creati
7.
by twostraws 11mo ago
I think it's hugely important to eliminate barriers to get access to education, which is why there's a free, web-based version of Hacktivate that is already being used 350+ schools around the world. I also think there's a lot
8.
by twostraws 11mo ago
Thank you! I poured a lot of time and energy into making sure challenges are unique and interesting, but also graded so folks follow a cohesive pathway, and also feel fun – it's as close to a "Hollywood-hacker" aesthetic as I
9.
by twostraws 11mo ago
No, but I like the idea – I think it might make for a good screen to add once they complete the game, saying "use your skills responsibly" and similar. Thank you!
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by twostraws 11mo ago
You say "solved problem", then suggest something explicitly banned by Apple's app review guidelines.
11.
by twostraws 11mo ago
I see. Well, I hope you can appreciate there are limits to what I can do – if someone skips the free challenges then is unhappy there aren't enough free challenges, I don't really know how I can fix that. If you want to go back to
12.
by twostraws 11mo ago
If I only released an up-front payment version, people would complain that they weren't able to try the app first. If I only released a free version with in-app purchases, people would complain that they don't like in-app purchase
13.
by twostraws 11mo ago
Eh… I just went to Stack Overflow and searched for "php mysql", and the first result ( https://stackoverflow.com/q/79790370 ) – asked 12 days ago – had SQL injection
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by twostraws 11mo ago
All you have to do to unlock the next free challenge is solve the previous challenge. The first 10 tutorials are designed to teach the basics of the app – how to transform data with the toolbox, how to read web page source code and run Java
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by twostraws 11mo ago
The app only uses one API from iOS 18 and later, so from a coding perspective I could make it support older versions easily. However, the bigger problem is testing: right now I test each release thoroughly on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, across i
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by twostraws 11mo ago
I agree that the early 90's were a lot of fun – I remember drilling holes in 3.5-inch floppy disks to increase their capacity, blissfully unaware that actual HD floppies had a different coating entirely…
17.
by twostraws 11mo ago
Thank you for your kind words! I've spent over a decade teaching folks to build apps, and it's something I hope I can continue doing for a long time to come.
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by twostraws 11mo ago
If you try the game and like it – if you've run through the 10 tutorial challenges and thought, "I like this and want more" – there's a separate version of the app that is an up-front, one-time purchase with no in-app pu
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by twostraws 11mo ago
Those cybersecurity challenges are incredible – I see kids light up when they take part, finding a passion for something they didn't even known existed previously. I don't think the teams who organize them get enough recognition f
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by twostraws 11mo ago
Nothing about Hacktivate is pay-to-win – you can solve every challenge without using a single hint, and even if someone does need hints there are a bunch given away for free. Even more, for people who want the game but don't want micro
21.
by twostraws 11mo ago
350+ schools are already using this, completely free, and I'm adding new schools every week!
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by twostraws 11mo ago
There's a separate version of the app that is a one-time purchase, with zero in-app purchases. It's available here: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/hacktivate-education-edition/i...
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by twostraws 11mo ago
I'm not sure where you got the one challenge thing from – you can play 10 challenges without needing to pay a cent. Plus, there is a dedicated version you can buy up front front without any in-app purchases, right here: https:/
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by twostraws 11mo ago
I suspect gamifying it isn't enough, but as you say it's a step, and if it helps more people get involved then hopefully others can provide more steps to follow.
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by twostraws 11mo ago
Yeah, sorry; I know my limitations, and would rather do one thing very well than two things kinda average.
26.
Why I'm teaching kids to hack computers(hacktivate.app)
281 points by twostraws 11mo ago|110 comments