1
The Machine Fired Me
It was 7am when my phone rang. Instead of an alarm, it was my recruiter disturbing me from a pleasant dream. It was too early for a phone call or to be caught off guard, so I did not answer. I went to
Ibrahim Diallo
A programming blog featuring insights, tutorials, and and clever tips to hack your code and daily life by Ibrahim Diallo
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Visit idiallo.com → RSS feedOn Hacker News Oct 2013 – May 2026
Tech Industry & Business 10Career & Management 6Society, Policy & Culture 4Web & Frontend 3Tools & Productivity 3Security & Privacy 3
2
Do not download the app, use the website
The 2010s was the Wild West of the mobile world. You couldn't walk past a row of cubicles without hearing a manager cough "Mobile-first", much like "AI-first" is today. Every company, from the biggest
3
I Charged $18k for a Static HTML Page
Not too long ago, I made a living working as a contractor where I would hop from project to project. Some were short term where I would work for a week and quickly deliver my service. Others lasted a
4
I use zip bombs to protect my server
The majority of the traffic on the web is from bots. For the most part, these bots are used to discover new content. These are RSS Feed readers, search engines crawling your content, or nowadays AI bo
5
Teaching my neighbor to keep the volume down
When I moved to a new apartment with my family, the cable company we were used to wasn't available. We had to settle for Dish Network. I wasn't too happy about making that switch, but something on the
6
No I don't want to turn on Windows Backup with One Drive
Microsoft is doing everything in its power to alienate users. When it's not enshittification, it's user hostility. You can't even dismiss forced reminders.
7
The PC is not dead, we just don't need new ones
When was the last time you needed to buy a new PC? Two years ago? Three years ago? The last PC I built was in 2009. I had to upgrade because I pushed the previous one I built to the limit and that was
8
I can't upgrade to Windows 11, now leave me alone
Microsoft has deprecated windows 10, yet million of users still use it. They say the hardware is not supported, yet they keep pestering us with endless pings.
9
AI didn't delete your database, you did
Last week, a tweet went viral showing a guy claiming that a Cursor/Claude agent deleted his company's production database. We watched from the sidelines as he tried to get a confession from the agent:
10
I stood up to my boss, then he got promoted
There is a special feeling I get on a Sunday evening. Sunday is the weekend and I am home relaxing with my family after a well deserved break. But Sunday evening is the end of the weekend, the end of
11
How to Lead in a Room Full of Experts
Here is a realization I made recently. I'm sitting in a room full of smart people. On one side are developers who understand the ins and outs of our microservice architecture. On the other are the fro
12
Users only care about 20% of your application
I often destroyed our home computer when I was a kid. Armed with only 2GB of storage, I'd constantly hunt for files to delete to save space. But I learned the hard way that .ini files are actually imp
13
We installed a single turnstile to feel secure
After the acquisition by a much larger company, security became a top priority. Our company occupied three tall buildings, each at least 13 stories high. Key card readers were installed next to every
14
All AI Videos Are Harmful (2025)
When OpenAI released the first version of Sora, I was excited. For years, I'd had this short story sitting on my hard drive, something I'd written long ago and always dreamed of bringing to life as a
15
How I learned to charge my customers
After I completed my first programming class, I went straight to Craigslist. I advertised my programming services. I called myself an experienced programmer who could code anything. I posted a link to
16
The 40M dollar job
An extract from my book Just Fired. Still in progress...
17
You're Not Interviewing for the Job. You're Auditioning for the Job Title
I once had a job interview for a backend position. Their stack was Node.js, MySQL, nothing exotic. The interviewer asked: "If you have an array containing a million entries, how would you sort the dat
18
Why Companies Don't Fix Bugs
A few years ago, a lone programmer named t0st did something extraordinary: he fixed an 8-year-old bug in GTA Online that had been driving players crazy. The bug? Painfully long load times, sometimes u
19
What does it mean that MP3 is free?
The MP3 format, once the gold standard for digital audio files, is now free. The licensing and patents on MP3 encoders have expired, meaning you can now include them in your applications without payin
20
CSS sucks because we don't bother learning it (2022)
Every time I hear someone complaining about how much CSS sucks, I have one question: Did you ever learn CSS? The words want to burst out of my lips but I stay silent and keep to myself. When I was muc
21
We Never Paid for Journalism
In 2006 at around 4 am, a man appears at the door of a security booth in Downtown Los Angeles. He slowly opens the door, being careful not to be noticed. He grabs the key attached to a small crowbar h
22
The reality of working in tech: We're not hired to write code (2023)
"So, is everyone losing their minds yet?" My ex-coworker asked me over yahoo messenger. He quit after getting enraged by new work policies that specifically targeted him. I looked up from my screen,
23
Writing code is easy, reading it isn't
Writing code is easy. Once you have a solution in mind, and have mastered the syntax of your favorite programming language, writing code is easy. Having an LLM write entire functions for you? Even eas
24
SQL Injection as a Feature
Looking at old applications, we always wonder who in their right mind thought of building them so badly. But every repository has its story and every effort has noble origins. I encountered such an ap