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cialowicz

1,088 karma · joined November 28, 2014

michalography.com twitter.com/MikeCialowicz github.com/cialowicz
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cialowicz··on Five years as a startup CTO: How, why, and was it worth it? (2024)
Not the author, but I'm a VP of Eng, and one of my sub-orgs is QA. Here's my take...

Aside from writing end-to-end test automation, the best SDETs add value in many other ways. They triage bugs, use their deep product understanding (frequently the best on the team) to refine requirements and build test plans, coordinate bug-bashes and large scale releases, measure and report on quality metrics, and much more. All of this takes considerable load off other members of the team (SWEs, PMs, EMs, etc), allows the whole group to ship with much higher confidence, and increases the number of defects caught before making it to production.

If you have an organization where end-to-end tests are easy to write and very quick to execute, then I think the need for QA folks is greatly reduced. In my experience, once there's enough complexity and scale to a product, it's basically impossible to have a rapid TDD loop with enough end-to-end coverage that allows devs to ship features with perfect confidence. Combine that with all the other "hats" QA folks wear, and I think it's is a role that pays dividends in product quality and the efficiency of others across the org.

cialowicz··on Lessons Learned from My First Roblox Game
I think it’s a good takeaway for something that’s sold once on an app store. If it’s junk, the rankings will tank it, and it may never recover from that. There are a few instances of games that have turned things around after the initial launch, like “No Man’s Sky”, but that’s quite rare.

Take Half-Life as an example. The team realized it wasn’t great after multiple years of development, and ended up essentially rebuilding it over the course of another year or two. To quote Gabe Newell, “Late is just for a little while. Suck is forever.”

Your take is spot on for SaaS apps and enterprise software that’s subscription based: ship early, ship often, and iterate fast.

cialowicz··on New 13- and 15‑inch MacBook Air with M3 chip
I’ll venture a guess and assume it’s because they can also charge via USB C, or maybe the EU law only applies to phones and tablets.
cialowicz··on Fun with fluorescence in olive oil (2012)
Curious, was this a hobby or did you work for the government tonic inspection bureau?
cialowicz··on Wolf Incident Postmortem
Well done. Seems like a good prototype to show someone who is unfamiliar with how a postmortem should be written up.
cialowicz··on RadTrike Electric Tricycle
I recently learned about The Villages, FL, which is a sprawling retirement community, and was the fastest growing metro area in the US over the past decade [0]. This feels like the perfect bike for an aging demographic living in that sort of community. This sort of e-bike will be less intimidating to use for older people, and ultimately it feels like a good move for the company. It's hard to argue with getting more people outdoors and active on bicycles.

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/the-villages-census-fl...

cialowicz··on Keyboard Latency (2017)
Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I see a possible issue with the experiment setup.

> The start-of-input was measured by pressing two keys at once -- one key on the keyboard and a button that was also connected to the logic analyzer.

In order to get an accurate measurement, wouldn't you need to directly connect the analyzer to circuitry on the underside of a specific key, as well as the USB output, and measure the diff? The article addresses this by mentioning it's only possible to get average latencies with their setup, but I wonder if this is why the keyboard with the shortest measured latency is also one with an extremely low travel distance.

cialowicz··on Airbnb Q1
It’s much more egregious with ABNB. A hotel might charge you some small local taxes and fees, but with ABNB you get those plus a whopper of a “cleaning fee”, which can be hundreds of dollars, even for short stays.
cialowicz··on Honey, he shrunk the watches
Except the battery on a quartz watch lasts years, and the battery on an Apple Watch lasts 12-18 hours.

Never mind that most mechanical watches are self-winding.

cialowicz··on America's Favorite Pickup Truck Goes Electric
It should be fantastic for towing heavy stuff relatively short distances (less than 150 miles). Electric motors make 100% of their torque from 0 RPM. This is why freight trains are powered by electric motors, with diesel engines merely generating electricity.
cialowicz··on Over 10% of Tesla Model S EVs Fail Germany’s Strict Inspection After 3 Years
> dated infotainment

FWIW I find Tesla’s all-touch infotainment and climate control awful to use. I think there are many like me, who prefer dedicated buttons and knobs for common functions.

cialowicz··on Approved Cameras
Barry Lyndon was shot with an f/0.7 lens because Kubrick wanted period-correct lighting: candlelight, which required a super fast lens with the film used. To my knowledge he wasn’t going for shallow DoF.
cialowicz··on Incorrectly deleted from Facebook? Getting back on might take connections
For this crowd, maybe. What about the majority of the world? They’re SOL, which seems unacceptable.
cialowicz··on Show HN: Sorted CSS Colors – Sort the named CSS colors in a nice way
Fair enough, but the 'brown' issue is similarly confusing to the lightness reversal between 'gray' and 'darkgray'.
cialowicz··on Show HN: Sorted CSS Colors – Sort the named CSS colors in a nice way
'Brown' is dark red, and to my eye 'sienna' has very little red in it. To get actual brown, you need 'saddlebrown'. CSS is super weird.
cialowicz··on Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
Having a nose that crumples is helpful in case of accidents. Turns out that VW Vanagons are deathtraps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmixmEkfLu0
cialowicz··on How hard should I push myself?
I'm not following this one. Wouldn't something that's high reward and low risk also be low stress?

I'm trying to envision something that's high reward and high risk, and isn't stressful.

cialowicz··on Child-safety laws may reduce the birth rate
My guess would be the Passat.
cialowicz··on Stripe Climate
I'm not super familiar on the subject, but are you sure the analogy holds?

If we build enough capacity to scrub more carbon from the atmosphere than we add each year, then the problem will taper off, no? In your analogy, we'd be moving money from the high rate card to a lower rate one, and also making more $$$ than we spend annually.

cialowicz··on Crows possess higher intelligence long thought a primarily human attribute
If we, through some miraculous circumstance, avoid making ourselves extinct, then maybe there's a small chance the crows won't overthrow us and take over.
cialowicz··on How to say no, for the people pleaser who always says yes
It doesn't seem constructive to always say "no" to things. "Yes" is how things get built. If you say "yes" to the right things, and then execute well, you'll go far in life.

I'm not arguing against saying "no" to things, but a policy of blanket "no" will leave you pretty unfulfilled.

cialowicz··on How much things can change
"Progress disappoints in the short run, surprises in the long run." -- Jim Keller
cialowicz··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (July 2020)
Glassdoor | Lead Software Engineer, B2B Products | San Francisco, CA | Full-time | ONSITE after vaccine, REMOTE currently

At Glassdoor, our mission is to help people everywhere find jobs and companies they love. In the B2B engineering org we build products that enable employers to manage their presence on Glassdoor, and to find and hire great talent.

Tech: Java 8+, Spring, React, Node.js, MSSQL + PostgreSQL (on RDS), Redis, Elasticsearch, GraphQL, Presto, and various AWS technologies.

Read more about the role and apply here: https://www.glassdoor.com/job-listing/lead-software-engineer...

cialowicz··on Olympus quits camera business after 84 years
I'd argue that cameras don't really ever go obsolete, given the artistic nature of photography (as long as you can get the image out of the camera and onto a medium). Any great photo that you've ever admired was take on either previous or current generation gear.
cialowicz··on Waymo raises first external investment round
I wouldn't say this results in zero pressure to ship. It might even increase the pressure since now external investors are looking for a return on their investment (eventually).

For self-driving tech, where people's lives are at stake, it's critical to get things right by exceeding the safety record of human drivers. Increased pressure to ship doesn't seem like the right strategy for that to happen.

cialowicz··on 25-Hour Digital Myst Clock/Chronometer
Interesting, thanks for sharing. Somewhat related, I've always found the "wandering hours" watch complication to be incredibly interesting: https://watchismo.blogspot.com/2007/07/watchismo-times_20.ht...
cialowicz··on Through the snow as if on rails
I'm not sure that not adding additional sensors counts as impressive. Cars are already laden with all sorts of telemetry gathering sensors: ABS/speed at each individual wheel, steering angle sensor, accelerometers, temp and moisture sensors, etc.
cialowicz··on Battery icons shape perceptions of time and space
Eco mode?
cialowicz··on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2019)
Glassdoor | Lead Software Engineer | San Francisco, CA | Onsite, Full-time

https://stackoverflow.com/jobs/288795/lead-software-engineer...

The Role

Glassdoor's Brand Awareness team plays a central role in helping companies reach new talent on Glassdoor and across the web. This small team is responsible for building high-performing brand ad modules, improving targeting & reach, and building reports on ad unit efficacy. The team uses technologies like Java 8, Spring, React, and Presto in their day-to-day work. This team is part of a rapidly growing B2B product and engineering organization at Glassdoor.

As the team lead, you will spend about 70% of your time writing code, and about 30% of your time leading and coordinating technical efforts. You'll work closely with the team's Product Manager to help plan and scope work, and then take ownership to lead it through to completion. You will also spend time guiding and growing other developers on the team, and have the opportunity to start managing people by taking on a direct report.

About You

  * You have successfully led complex technical efforts with multiple stakeholders through to completion
  * You enjoy rolling up your sleeves and writing code
  * You enjoy mentoring and coaching developers, and the thought of pairing in on a tricky technical problem excites you
  * You have experience developing software in Java (or another JVM-based language) using open source frameworks like Spring
  * You have made difficult trade-offs to deliver business value in the past
  * Bonus: you have some experience working with display ads, and understand the ins and outs of DMPs and DSPs
Skills and Qualifications

  * 6+ years of software development experience on large scale, high-volume sites built using JVM languages (Java, etc.) and Javascript
  * Proficient with open source Java technologies like Spring Boot, Spring MVC, Hibernate, etc
  * Basic familiarity with Javascript (bonus: experience with ReactJS or other front-end frameworks)
  * Proven track record of success managing technical deliverables in an agile environment
  * Experience partnering with various business stakeholders like product managers and designers
  * Confident, professional, and effective communicator (both verbally and in written form) that can work with all levels and departments in an organization
  * Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a technical field (Engineering, Math, etc)
We also have lots of other open positions across our San Francisco, Mill Valley, and Chicago offices: https://www.glassdoor.com/Jobs/Glassdoor-Engineering-Jobs-EI...
cialowicz··on Annotated Hacker News traffic since the beginning
The first spike is annotated with "Changes in HN logging system".

The second is annotated with "Bot activity: combated with some HN/YC software".

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