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grouma

126 karma · joined February 1, 2012

garyroumanis.com
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grouma··on Flutter 2
[Googler who works with the Flutter team]

I'm a big fan of your app! It has become the main way I consume and watch stock data.

There are some minor issues however. The "Watchlist" header has an issue where it renders under the back button both on Android and iOS. Also the Watchlist view can have some jank while scrolling unlike other sections of the app. Finally it'd be great if the app responded to the system level dark mode setting instead of having it's own toggle.

Overall though, great stuff so keep up the good work :D

grouma··on Chart.js 2.0 Released
On a somewhat related note, I've always been impressed by the number and quality of charting libraries for the web. A while back I was looking for native charting libraries for Android/iOS and was disappointed. Has the ecosystem changed at all or are most people better off with embedded web views?
grouma··on AlphaGo beats Lee Sedol again in match 2 of 5
Exciting match with top notch commentary. I'm rooting for a sweep of the series.
grouma··on Google Jibe: Better carrier messaging for everyone
I had the exact same experience coming from T-Mobile as well. No issues after the reset and enjoying the service so far, especially when I travel internationally.
grouma··on Netflix Switch – dim lights, turn on the TV, order food, and silence your phone
Reminds me of something I built: http://garyroumanis.com/2015/03/15/TVRemote-app/
grouma··on Ask HN: Which Laptop models would you recommend for a developer using Linux?
Definitely pricey and a little off the beaten track but I absolutely love my Chromebook Pixel LS. Ubuntu was super easy to set up using Crouton. Everything worked out of the box, the only minor modification I made was replace the synaptic touchpad drivers with a ported version of Chromebook's. When I'm not developing I usually keep it in ChromeOS as it is extremely snappy and responsive. A quick keypress and I can drop into Ubuntu to get some work done.
grouma··on Ask HN: What is it like to work on pager duty?
I currently do pager duty (DRI) for a team within Microsoft. Like most teams that have this duty, we cycle a developer each week to have the responsibility to answer any escalations that might occur. The role of this developer is simply to mitigate the issue. Investigations into the root cause and potential preventative items are reserved for work hours.

The amount of escalations obviously varies from week to week. Some weeks I forget that I'm even on call (well that's actually not true as we have to carry a Lumia 1520 - the thing is a fucking brick) while other weeks are absolutely painful (waking up every couple hours in the middle of the night). Thankfully we have enough developers on the team that I'm only on duty every 6 to 7 weeks. What also helps is that my manager has no problem with me sleeping in and showing up late after a long night of escalations. Overall it isn't too bad and in fact sometimes can be fun to solve head scratching issues. Honestly, the worst part of being on call is not being able to make plans that would involve you being far away from a computer. You can turn this into a somewhat positive thing though by being productive at home whether it is cleaning, working on side projects etc.

grouma··on SparkFun MicroView Review
Great write up! I'll have to get my hands on one in the near future.
grouma··on PM at Microsoft (2005)
Although I have a couple friends at Amazon, I was unaware that their development model is what Microsoft is aiming for. The points you make don't bother me right now since I am so young in my career. I haven't developed deep expertise in any particular area yet. In fact, one of my strongest assets is the ability to quickly pick up technologies. Hopefully this will serve me well when I eventually have to jump from system to system with the new development model.
grouma··on PM at Microsoft (2005)
It depends where you work in Microsoft. Most everybody I work with has their own office. I have several friends at Microsoft who work in open office spaces. As with most things in life, there are benefits and downsides. Personally I like my own office, but I have yet to work in an open environment.
grouma··on PM at Microsoft (2005)
I work on Bing at Microsoft. What you have stated is correct. We have already done away with our test and operation teams. Moreover, a number of PMs were let go last week. Developers are now expected to wear many more hats. We are also reducing the number of middle managers in the name of agility. All good things in my eyes.

Another interesting thing to note is that we are trying to reduce the size of projects and break apart the notion of "cores" within an org. The idea is to allow features that span several different areas to be implemented with greater ease. I like the idea but I am concerned with how these features will be maintained after they are completed.

grouma··on Elasticsearch Raises $70 Million
I have been prototyping with Elasticsearch for the last couple of months. I have nothing but great things to say about the software and documentation. Several other partner teams have taken notice of my work and will likely incorporate the software as well. Very exciting!
grouma··on Microsoft Research uses Kinect to translate between spoken and sign languages
One benefit I see over a simple pencil and paper is the ability to translate between languages. I believe they showed an example of that in the video in which Chinese Sign Language was translated to English presumably on the fly.
grouma··on Immigration Issues for a Canadian working for Microsoft
This.
grouma··on Immigration Issues for a Canadian working for Microsoft
I understand your point of view. I didn't return to Canada for convenience though. I returned because McGill is phenomenal school. Moreover, I knew I would need to do internships during university. This would not be possible while under my mother's TN visa.
grouma··on Immigration Issues for a Canadian working for Microsoft
Very true. I tried my best to hit those bullet points but unfortunately failed.
grouma··on Immigration Issues for a Canadian working for Microsoft
I can't remember which TED talk I saw but they discussed this very issue. It's alarming to think one of America's biggest export is Master/PhD students.
grouma··on Immigration Issues for a Canadian working for Microsoft
I've read countless stories similar to yours. It all seems like verbiage to me.
grouma··on Immigration Issues for a Canadian working for Microsoft
I did not pay out-of-country tuition rates. I did have to pay out-of-province tuition rates though. (McGill is located in Quebec, Canada). I also applied to various NC universities and I would have had to pay out-of-country tuition rates.
grouma··on Ask HN: Money management
This is great, thank you.
grouma··on Ask HN: Money management
This all seems like sound advice. Thanks!
grouma··on Ask HN: Money management
The reviews on Amazon all seem to be stellar. I'll definitely look into this one. Thanks!
grouma··on Taptitude - a Windows Phone Success Story
I created a WP7 app that utilizes Microsoft Pubcenter. My eCPM fluctuates between $0.90 and $1.00. When I first released the app, about a year ago, my eCPM was much lower (around $0.25).