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R&B on my new BFS sounds amazing, almost hilariously good. Modern mastering techniques ensure that hip-hop bass kicks on even cheap car speakers, so when you combine Missy Elliott and a Serious Bass Device, you get reminded that there are frequencies of music that ears have nothing to do with. I'm glad I have cool housemates.
I remember thinking something along the lines that after we put the site out for public use, the speed of development would slow to ensure a high-quality product. I was not the only one who thought this, and we were all of us wrong. The money clock dictates that the features must be released, the feature checkboxes must be filled, whatever it takes. Next year, I tell myself, then it'll be calm. It's probably a lie, but it helps me sleep at night.
Every developer dreams of working a job where the engineering and management practices are sane. Yet, for some reason this job doesn't exist. Its employees will tell you that Google is a happy, magical place where Quality Is King. Microsoft employees will tell you it's pretty good where they're at, despite the rest of the company's departments. Amazon employees will be jealous if you have a real desk.
So while the bureaucracy at HITS was impenetrable, the engineering was solid, and we worked hard to ensure we met business needs in a maintainable, understandable fashion. At a startup, or at least at this startup, market timing trumps nearly every other factor. It's quite frightening to throw everything I learned about software quality out the window so we can meet carrier testing requirements on time. I've taken to reading my software engineering textbook at night just to remind myself that I'm not insane, the mobile industry is.
Aphorisms for today:
I remember thinking something along the lines that after we put the site out for public use, the speed of development would slow to ensure a high-quality product. I was not the only one who thought this, and we were all of us wrong. The money clock dictates that the features must be released, the feature checkboxes must be filled, whatever it takes. Next year, I tell myself, then it'll be calm. It's probably a lie, but it helps me sleep at night.
Every developer dreams of working a job where the engineering and management practices are sane. Yet, for some reason this job doesn't exist. Its employees will tell you that Google is a happy, magical place where Quality Is King. Microsoft employees will tell you it's pretty good where they're at, despite the rest of the company's departments. Amazon employees will be jealous if you have a real desk.
So while the bureaucracy at HITS was impenetrable, the engineering was solid, and we worked hard to ensure we met business needs in a maintainable, understandable fashion. At a startup, or at least at this startup, market timing trumps nearly every other factor. It's quite frightening to throw everything I learned about software quality out the window so we can meet carrier testing requirements on time. I've taken to reading my software engineering textbook at night just to remind myself that I'm not insane, the mobile industry is.
Aphorisms for today:
- Money can't buy happiness, but it can sure keep you entertained.
- A beer in the afternoon is delightful at work, but don't drink it because you're hungry, or you can expect to stumble home with a stupid grin on your face.
- Software development is primarily a human endeavor. Ensure you choose the right humans to do it.
