2281
Everyone should read support emails
A company can learn more from people sharing their experiences than from numbers in a spreadsheet
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 4,748 posts.
2282
2283
Nobody Likes the “Idea Guy”
One time I had a “great” idea for a telephone company. Service would be free—all the calls you want! But you’d have to listen to advertisements before each one. I asked my friend what he thought the idea was worth. His answer: “I don’t know. Telephone companies make a lot of money. Maybe $1 billion?” […]
2284
2285
Famous Laws of Software Development (2017)
Like any other field, the world of Software Development has some interesting and famous rules, principles and laws.
2286
Normalization of Deviance
If I was setting up curriculum at a university I’d make an entire semester-long class on The Challenger disaster, and make it required for any remotely STEM-oriented major. Because I think it…
2287
2288
Towards an understanding of technical debt (2016)
Hello, world.
2289
On Being an Engineering Manager
I’ve been acting in the role of Engineering Manager for 6 months now, so it’s a good time to review how things are going. Some of the points below could be obvious to some and not everything will work in all situations, but I hope I can accurately describe my perspective. A little bit of background for you, first, to…
2290
Technical Recruiting Needs to Focus on Selling the Position
Developer and writer.
2291
Going Solo, Successfully
Three years ago I quit my job and started consulting full time . It's worked out really well. I get to spend more time doing things I like to do and I've been able to deliver great products for clients. I wanted to go over some tips for starting a successful consulting business.
2292
You Don't Need to Quit Your Job to Make
The startup storyline being told may not be the most optimal. The mental clarity of separating your lifeline from your projects may be the most thoughtful choice.
2293
2294
2295
2296
Fuck Your 90 Day Exercise Window (2016)
Written pieces, talks, and other bits by Zach Holman.
2297
On Being a Principal Engineer
The manager’s pathI bought and read The Manager’s Path by the awesome Camille Fournier when it first came out. At the time, I was a senior Database Engineer aspiring to become a principal engineer ...
2298
Strangler pattern, a powerful simple concept to do refactoring
Inspired by the strangler figs in Australia, a strangler fig application gradually draws behavior out of its host legacy application
2299
2300
I stopped using Intercom
This post has been on the back of my head for a couple of years now. I think we actually switched-off Intercom in 2016 or so… But the reasons should still stand now, or might even be stronger. Of course, things might have shifted, so please forgive me if some features are totally different by…
2301
HTML, CSS and our vanishing industry entry points
Everyone is angry about CSS again. I’m not even going to try to summarize the arguments. However it always seems to boil down to the fact that CSS is simultaneously too easy to bother with, yet so hard it needs to be wrapped up in a ball of JavaScript in case it scares the horses. ... HTML, CSS and our vanishing…
2302
The Over-Engaged Knowledge Worker
I recently listened to a discussion of knowledge work in the browser. Along the way people imagined idealized workflows and the tools that could enable them. This result felt familiar from concept videos since forever (such as this old Mozilla concept video ):
2303
Applied Machine Learning Is a Meritocracy
When making a start in a new field it is common to feel overwhelmed. You may lack confidence or feel as though you are not good enough or that you are lacking some prerequisite. You will explore these issues in this post and learn that such feelings can lead to actions that can consume a […]
2304
Advice to new programmers
It’s not every day where students new to programming get to ask 709 software developers for advice. Overview There is a school here in Malmö, Sweden called The Game Assembly. This school focuses on teaching students game production. Everything from programming to art and design. This is a three year...
2305
Getting Ahead by Being Inefficient
Inefficient does not mean ineffective, and it is certainly not the same as lazy. You get things done – just not in the most effective way possible. You’re a bit sloppy, and use more energy. But don’t feel bad about it. There is real value in not being the best.
2306
My Losing Battle with Enterprise Sales
If you prefer to receive all of my writing in your inbox, you can subscribe here. I strive to publish weekly, on Tuesday mornings.
2307
Coding Problems from Programming Job Interviews
Java Programming tutorials and Interview Questions, book and course recommendations from Udemy, Pluralsight, Coursera, edX etc
2308
How to Be Successful
I’ve observed thousands of founders and thought a lot about what it takes to make a huge amount of money or to create something important. Usually, people start off wanting the former and end up...
2309
Microsoft’s Azure DevOps: An Unsatisfying Adventure
As a software developer, I know first-hand how difficult it is to build quality products quickly and cheaply. It’s an art form that we sometimes get right, and other times devolves into something akin to the Obama era healthcare government site. Our level of control over the resulting product varies, and blame for…
2310
When hiring senior engineers, you’re not buying, you’re selling
Undeniably, hiring senior software engineers is hard. However, I don’t buy into the narrative that the market is completely dried out. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with many different engineering teams, which could all be sorted into two categories: The ones struggling to hire seniors and the ones that had an…