HNHacker News
TopNewBestAskShowJobs

mikemikemike

28 karma · joined November 27, 2013

submissionscomments
mikemikemike··on Every Major Advertising Group Is Blasting Apple for Blocking Cookies in Safari
Privacy is important, but breaking the functionality of cookies is the wrong way to address it. Not all cookies are used for tracking. Be prepared to start losing your settings in web apps or being logged out after 24 hours if you use Safari.

What's more, the claim that Apple is doing this for the sake of user trust is a lie. The real reason they're breaking the functionality of cookies is the same reason they refuse to implement progressive web apps, and the same reason they've become the slowest browser to adopt new standards, and the same reason you see "Safari is the new IE" all over the place. They're deliberately trying to hold back web technology so that people will be forced to create and use native apps instead. They're desperately trying to cling to the annual developer license fees and app commissions.

I say this as a die-hard MacBook user. I prefer Apple to Microsoft, but I hope Google wins in the web-vs-native holy war.

mikemikemike··on Diamonds Suck (2006)
Interesting read and great points. But the reason I'm shopping for a diamond is precisely that it is too expensive. It's supposed to be proof that I am glad to make sacrifices for her. If we wanted to do something nontraditional we might choose some completely different kind of ring, but to choose something that looks super expensive and is not would make me feel like I had cut corners for my fiance.
mikemikemike··on Thank HN: From Google form to $1k in revenue in one month
I wonder if the problem is specific to ageism in individual contributor roles. I've worked at a few startups where maybe 1/3 of the product team was over 40, but I can only think of two coworkers over 40 who didn't have any direct reports. Do we find ourselves wondering why an individual hasn't "advanced" to a management position after 10+ years?
mikemikemike··on Things not to say on stage at a tech event
I really respect the perspective of this peice. My reaction: this career, for me, has been so riddled with imposter syndrome and self-doubt that I would hardly recognize it without the kind of language in question. Dissatisfaction with my own expertise is a huge motivation, and the pursuit of confidence in my abilities has taken me further than I ever thought I would go. Realizing this, I've become pretty comfortable with feeling like the idiot in the room, and if I ever get comfortable or confident it's time to challenge myself more. That said, I think there are situations (like conferences) where inclusiveness is more important, and we can save the bar-raising for the workplace.
mikemikemike··on Isomorphic JavaScript, let’s make it easier
The JS community switched from the term "isomorphic" to "universal" around a year ago. Seems not everyone is on the same page yet.
mikemikemike··on How Google’s Web Crawler Bypasses Paywalls
This is an odd debate. Let's say a restaurant declares "veterans eat free." This blog post is like a friend telling you "Hey if you tell this restaurant you're a vet they'll give you a free meal." No one said it's legal or ethical. It's lying to trick someone into giving you something at their expense.

I think the relevant point, underscored by the author's last sentence, is it doesn't matter who you open a back door for - it opens the possibility for anyone to barge through.

mikemikemike··on Preact, a fast 3k React alternative
less code !== faster code. I wouldn't even try this without seeing some impressive performance benchmarks. Giving up the support of the entire react team and community in exchange for a small framework that may or may not be faster is a huge ask.
mikemikemike··on Pip -t: A simple and transparent alternative to virtualenv in Python
My impression is that the benefit of this approach is that it fits the mental model of NPM and Bower. Being able to manage packages across your stack using the same kinds of steps feels... organized. The relative path issue, however, needs some more consideration.
mikemikemike··on How to Find, Hire, and Retain Developers – Interview with Cal Evans
"anytime they’re looking at job ads, serious developer positions, not front end developers... "

Ouch. I guess I never should have dropped PHP for client side MVC apps.

mikemikemike··on How Pinterest Drives Sustainable Growth
If you haven't noticed the impact social media has had on our world, you have not been paying attention. Yes, people waste an astounding amount of time with it. People (and businesses) are also more connected than ever before. I've learned that people I know died through social media, I've generated sales for small businesses through social media, and revolutions have been coordinated through social media: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/01/18/if-you-dou...
mikemikemike··on When Life Gives You Lemons
If I were Tesla I would probably hire Buzzfeed or some other marketing channel to do a viral story highlighting how schmucky this lawyer and his client are. It would serve the brand better if they weren't seen giving these guys the time of day, let alone real estate on their corporate site.
mikemikemike··on Why you should Get your Shit Together Before you Make it Big
This one hit home with me. Having every waking hour consumed with obligations - fun or not - gets draining after a couple years. I wish my friends didn't get mad whenever someone says no to something, and I find myself regularly contemplating the merits of going off the grid to live as a mountain man.
mikemikemike··on Technology and Wealth Inequality
One thing that developers can do is think about how they can build products that give other people an opportunity to make income online. Marketplaces, payment processing, etc. Build sites that encourage people to learn to code or design, build tools to enable web designers to launch better sites, give small business owners new ways to monetize their sites and compete online. One of the things I'm most proud of as a developer is that we can build things that not only reward ourselves, but create opportunities for others.
mikemikemike··on When You Get a Job Counteroffer: Should You Stay or Should You Go?
I was in this situation four months ago. Frankly, I interviewed for the new job because it came with an attractive salary, but there had also been recent layoffs at my old job and I was interested in moving on anyway.

In the end, I'm glad I turned down the counteroffer and got out - I do think that my relationships would have been poisoned if I had stayed, and some core issues would not have been fixed. That said - I should not have taken the job I did. Chasing money was a rookie move, and I'm now more unhappy than I was at the previous company.

My advice is to think very realistically, perhaps pessimistically, about what life will be like at the new company. If you're not sure, ask questions. Don't take a new job because you want to get out - take a new job because you want out AND because the new job is freaking amazing. I'm now job hunting all over again, and it sucks.

mikemikemike··on F.lux
I'm conflicted... my eyes give me a ton of issues and this is tempting, but I also do a lot of front end work and visual design. I don't want everything I design at night to turn out blue because my screen was orange when I made it. I think for now I'll stick with my computer glasses, they've helped a ton.
mikemikemike··on The New York Times Redesign is Live
The design is almost skeumorphic in its replication of an actual newspaper. I can understand wanting to do that for branding reasons, the same way Craigslist is successfully branded as anti-design. But the wall of information is just such a bad UX... if they want the site to look like the paper, they should redesign both to have a legible content hierarchy.
mikemikemike··on Ask HN: What is the problem you try to solve?
This is exactly the kind of idea that I want to have.
mikemikemike··on We Do Not Negotiate with Terrorists
IgnitionDeck needs to accept that there are consequences for refusing to offer refunds to unsatisfied customers. Either accept the negative reviews, apologize for your policy decision, and move on, or rethink your policy, because UX extends to the sales process.

This customer may be rude, but name-calling and public call-outs don't strike me as a professional response. As others pointed out, they definitely spent more than $300 publishing this post.

mikemikemike··on Show HN: I built a local/fast marketplace for used gadgets, games
Looks like a fun product to build. When I see this type of marketplace I always wonder how you get a user base... why will people pay to list products here if there aren't many buyers in their city yet, and why would buyers pay to shop here if there aren't many sellers in their city yet? Why not use craigslist for free? I'm just genuinely curious how others tackle the chicken/egg problem.