53 karma · joined January 12, 2023
Phthalates are pervasive too in soaps and shampoos, where it's hidden within the ambiguous "fragrance" item.
There are phthalate-free options for soap and shampoo, and a quick google search indicates the perfume industry is starting to offer more products without phthalates. Phthalates aren't the only nasty chemical used for scents. Parabens are another, and maybe more I'm unaware of.
My view is that Google Drive and iCloud will cost significantly more, but that is getting you a nice web interface where you can see your files. And maybe other features like sync’ing. Also, customer support.
I like AWS S3 because I trust my data is more secure there and it is much cheaper. I also trust the durability of s3, not sure that Google Drive or iCloud discloses so openly how they replicate data or if they have an SLA like S3. But S3 takes some technical knowledge to understand how to manage things in a cost effective way. And you won’t get help from AWS support unless you pay for a support plan.
There’s a market for knit hats made in the USA. I doubt the quality assurance or price could compete with a factory from Asia, but they still sell. Partly because Americans want to support American businesses. Not the same as a toaster, but I can see consumer demand being similar.
If you say that you’re not sure how to get involved, I would just suggest that you work to set boundaries as clear as you can with management about what your responsibilities and ownership will be. That could be a tricky thing if your colleagues think of you still as an engineer. The line between developer and PM can already be a fuzzy one, and it could be even harder to make sense of if you’re just starting to do PM work.
Other advice would be to pay attention to how you communicate your ideas, sell your ideas, and your writing skills. Things that PMs need to do a lot, but software engineers often undervalue. Work to develop those skills.
Some feedback: - The chart showing the distribution of word length is very cool. - Maybe you could educate newbies about how can choose a grid. I’m wondering if the predefined ones you provide are commonly seen in NYT. Does NYT prefer certain grids? Are you more likely to be accepted by NYT with a unique grid? - Custom grids sounds like a great feature. I’m guessing there are some rules about symmetry and no two-letter words that you can help users with. - Auto filling on an empty grid basically does all the work except clue writing? Maybe that’s intensive for your back-end? I noticed the page hang when submitting that. Maybe you can require some percentage for the user to first fill in on their own? As a user I think I’d only want the grid to highlight areas where I have an invalid word.