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What to learn to be a graphics programmer
I get asked fairly often what people need to know to be hireable as a graphics programmer. I figured it was time to make a page to link instead of re-typing it each time. We are in a strange time w…
Top posts
Every blog post that took off on Hacker News, ranked by the votes of its best submission. 259 posts.
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The economics of software teams: Why most engineering orgs are flying blind
A breakdown of what software development teams actually cost, what they need to generate to be financially viable, and why most organizations have no visibility into either number.
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Bug Blindness
I used to wonder why I see so many more bugs than most people. I easily observe hundreds to thousands of bugs per week and nothing seems to work , but most people I talk to don't see anything like this . For a long time, I thought this had something to do with how I use computers but, over time, I've realized that…
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GitHub Actions is slowly killing engineering teams
Why GitHub Actions is the Internet Explorer of CI, and why Buildkite offers a better path forward for teams that care about developer experience.
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AI Made Writing Code Easier. It Made Being an Engineer Harder
Writing code is easier than ever. Being a software engineer is harder than ever. The paradox nobody talks about, and what engineers and leaders should do.
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Mythical Man Month
a bliki entry for Mythical Man Month
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Distributing Mac software is increasing my cortisol levels
I'm creating a simple developer utility to make managing Claude Code profiles (e.g. running it with DeepSeek, or some OpenRouter models) a little bit easier.
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Don't become an engineering manager
Should you become an engineering manager?
70
Why I Left Google DeepMind
I fought against Google’s Pentagon AI deal from the inside. Powerful people and institutions failed to keep their AI ethics promises under pressure.
71
Vulnerability reports are not special anymore
We needed the insight and confidentiality to protect our users, but now that anyone can get the same results from LLM?
72
You are not your job
On automation, identity, and why warmth and presence — not technical skill — are the parts of a person that can never be replaced by a model.
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A Staff Engineer's Guide to Inventing Work
A how-to manual for engineer-led discovery in software platforms
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Write some software, give it away for free
This website which you're on right now is free (as in beer), free (as in freedom), open source software called Nonograph. It cost about $600 USD to release, mos...
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Bored of eating your own dogfood? Try smelling your own farts
I called a large company the other day. Did I know the information I wanted could be found on their website? And was I aware that I could manage my account online? And would I like to receive a link to chat with their AI assistant via WhatsApp? Naturally, call volumes were higher than expected. I can only assume that…
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Write code like a human will maintain it
One of the best things about LLMs is that they'll write code for you, all day long. Who cares about DRY? You don't have to be the one updating the same long con...
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When employees feel slighted, they work less
New research from Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli reveals how even the slightest mistreatment at work can result in lost productivity.
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AI coding is gambling
GambleAI I’ve been coding a lot with AI since November, when we all noticed it got really good. And it is quite good for instantly generating something th...
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To those who fired or didn't hire tech writers because of AI
Hey you, Yes, you, who are thinking about not hiring a technical writer this year or, worse, erased one or more technical …
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How to write an effective software design document
Best practices for writing a design doc based on my experience working as a developer at Google and Microsoft.
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Tim Cook's Impeccable Timing
Tim Cook had an extraordinary run — and impeccable timing, both in terms of when he became CEO, and when he is stepping down.
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Drunk post: Things I've learned as a senior engineer (2021)
Everything your mentor wants to say but HR won't let them
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I am often wrong
[I shared this note with my team earlier this week, and am posting it here as well. I hope it is interesting or helpful for others working on building product in the age of AI.]
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AI has a multiplying effect on existing technical skills
Friendly articles and tutorials for front-end web developers. ❤️
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Why I'm Forced to Say Farewell: Google Management Has Lost Its Moral Compass
I am forced to leave Google with 2026-08-31 because of the deal with the US Department of War, which is incompatible with my ethical principles.
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Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important
and why communication is so important
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Working with AI feels more like leadership than coding
Working with AI is less predictable than traditional software. That makes leadership skills such as context, clarity, and feedback more valuable.
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If you thought code writing speed was your problem you have bigger problems
AI coding tools are optimising the wrong thing and nobody wants to hear it. Writing code was already fast. The bottleneck is everything else: unclear requirements, review queues, terrified deploy…