The hottest Engineering Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

Polymath Engineer Weekly #68

Polymath Engineer Weekly • 0 implied HN points • 23 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. The importance of standardized microservices caching for improved performance and reduced costs
  2. The impact of China's approach to chips and Moore's Law on future competition in the tech industry
  3. The flexibility and power of text as a communication technology compared to other forms of media

Reject Influence. Choose Prestige.

On Engineering • 0 implied HN points • 14 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Online influence in tech is not the only path to success in a tech career.
  2. Building prestige involves gaining respect for achievements, character, and quality of work.
  3. Approaches to growing prestige include inventing, newsletters, talks, deep dives, and getting others to talk about your work.

Welcome to On Engineering

On Engineering • 0 implied HN points • 07 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. On Engineering is a new publication focusing on technology and engineering.
  2. The content includes in-depth long-form posts on specific topics.
  3. The author is excited to start the journey and delve into the process with the readers.

So, So Lean

Synystron Synlogica • 0 implied HN points • 10 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. FAANGs and BigDumbCorps are extremely agile
  2. Metabook team was able to move fast with a small team and huge resources
  3. Emphasis on being extremely lean in a project's development process
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February 2023

Maker News • 0 implied HN points • 24 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. February 2023 newsletter contains videos and articles on various interesting topics.
  2. Featured video content includes retro gaming, DIY power bank, and model-making.
  3. Highlighted articles cover topics like C++ developers, ESP chips, AVR coding, ePaper reverse engineering, and semiconductors.

Small follow-ons

Bram’s Thoughts • 0 implied HN points • 07 Dec 23
🔬 Science Engineering
  1. Fermat's Last Theorem is a level 1 question that an ordinary Busy Beaver can answer.
  2. The Twin Primes Conjecture is a level 2 question requiring a level 2 Busy Beaver with access to a level 1 Busy Beaver oracle.
  3. Level 3 questions are more difficult and less common in mathematics compared to level 2 questions.

The John Scully's Disease

Money in Transit • 0 implied HN points • 02 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Successful results require a constant process of iteration and refinement.
  2. Big ideas are just a seed; the originality is in the execution.
  3. The most effective way to build software is by assembling an elite squad of engineers and business experts to crunch knowledge together.

Relaunching Siev

Kiernan • 0 implied HN points • 09 Aug 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Stabilizing the system by fixing shaky foundations for a more robust design.
  2. Relaunching Siev with new features like a cleaned up topic page, rich transcripts, and speaker identification page.
  3. Siev shaping up to be an advanced audio processing pipeline that can provide insights without needing to listen to entire streams.

Industrial LLMs: Outside the Shop

Exponential Industry • 0 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Large language models help in reducing time-to-market and operational costs in complex product design.
  2. Generative AI aids in identifying and mitigating risks in supply chain management.
  3. The integration of AI technologies represents a new paradigm in industrial research and design.

Industrial LLMs: Automation Apprentices

Exponential Industry • 0 implied HN points • 17 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Automation apprentices powered by large language models speed up industrial automation integration.
  2. Large language models improve development, deployment, and training phases in factory automation.
  3. LLMs simplify operator interaction with the system, providing guidance and troubleshooting assistance.

Discrete-time first order system implementation

Only Wonder Knows • 0 implied HN points • 10 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. The discrete-time first order system structure involves a combination of current and past input signals to maintain unity gain.
  2. The value of multiplying factor K in the structure determines the speed of the system's response to input changes.
  3. Implementing the filter in digital systems can involve using integer arithmetic and tricks like shifting, making it practical for FPGA or CPU implementations.

Having Fun: The Key To Tech Team Profit

Squirrel Squadron Substack • 0 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Software engineering teams should bring excitement and fun to the workplace to motivate developers and increase creativity and profitability.
  2. In complex systems like software, relaxation and fun can lead to better problem-solving and creativity.
  3. Encouraging experimentation and taking appropriate risks can lead to innovative solutions and success in technology teams.

Creating A Tech Money Machine

Squirrel Squadron Substack • 0 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
💼 Business Engineering
  1. An engineering organization is like a profit-maker's dream with adjustable products and low delivery costs.
  2. Technology offers a gold mine of opportunities, but there are traps to watch out for.
  3. Join the Squirrel Squadron for access to live events, weekly emails, and an executive forum.

Friday Forum: Letting go of Control

peoplefirstengineering • 0 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
💼 Business Engineering
  1. Letting go of control in leadership is important for allowing teams to thrive and be self-organized.
  2. Over-controlling managers can hinder team progress by reducing agency and creating unnecessary bottlenecks.
  3. Trusting individuals and teams, and providing clear direction, fosters a positive team dynamic where people rise to expectations.

Mechanomy's Fifth Birthday!

Mechanomy’s Substack • 0 implied HN points • 16 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Mechanomy is celebrating its fifth birthday today, focusing on developing prototype tools and navigating market challenges
  2. Market needs are challenging to pinpoint, making product development decisions risky
  3. An outside-in iterative approach will be taken, involving readers in critiquing proposed solutions for better understanding and possible Mechanomy offerings

Links #3

Splitting Infinity • 0 implied HN points • 07 Sep 23
🔬 Science Engineering
  1. The use of genetically modified neurons to improve MRI imaging of the brain by producing protein-based contrast agents is an intriguing idea.
  2. Real hedge funds do not seem to use certain advanced algorithms for portfolio selection despite proven performance improvement.
  3. FPGA's are versatile hardware that can be programmed for various computational tasks and have applications in fields like antennas, random number generation, and hardware security.

Streamlining Technology News for Schibsted's Engineers

The Tech Enabler • 0 implied HN points • 19 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. In the world of technology, it's essential for engineers to stay updated on a wide range of topics while also specializing in their niche.
  2. Spreading knowledge and strengthening both expert skills and generalist skills in a company can be achieved through initiatives like sharing relevant tech news summaries.
  3. Utilizing a structured approach like setting up internal newsletters with defined goals, audiences, and sources can efficiently provide valuable information and encourage discussion.

Polymath Engineer Weekly #85

Polymath Engineer Weekly • 0 implied HN points • 11 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Learn about using LUTs in video games for creating vibrant visuals and effects.
  2. Discover how Porsche achieved a lap record faster than F1 by enhancing their LMP1 car's performance.
  3. Explore the design of a lock-free ring buffer for efficient cross-thread communication in technical systems.

YAGNI and DRY — the KISS of Death for Your Software Project

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Popular programming mantras like YAGNI, DRY, and KISS can guide thinking towards effective development but can also be misapplied and used as justification for wrong approaches.
  2. KISS, or Keep it Simple, Stupid, promotes simplicity in software development to avoid over-engineering, but following it too strictly can lead to subpar outcomes.
  3. YAGNI, or You Aren't Gonna Need It, prevents over-engineering by focusing on present needs, but misapplication can lead to sloppy work and low-quality outcomes.

War Stories - How I matured a chaotic startup into a professional development team

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
💼 Business Engineering
  1. The company faced challenges due to outdated organizational structures and lack of alignment between product and engineering teams, impacting project success and team morale.
  2. Centralized decision-making by product management caused inefficiencies and hindered innovation, leading to issues like technical debt, difficulty in resource allocation, and pay disparities among developers.
  3. Product managers lacked technical expertise and communication, resulting in fragmented project outcomes, delayed executions, and confusion across teams.

Making decisions - When does your Startup Needs Engineering Managers?

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
💼 Business Engineering
  1. Deciding when a startup needs engineering managers can be challenging, especially for early-stage startups with limited resources.
  2. Hiring the right engineering manager is crucial, as allocating budget to managers means less for direct contributors to the codebase.
  3. Understanding the evolution of startups, the necessity of managers, and making informed decisions on hiring engineering managers is key.

How to Design Software — Rules Engines

Joseph Gefroh • 0 implied HN points • 09 Jul 20
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Rules engines can help prevent constant interruptions in engineering work by allowing other departments to make changes without engineer involvement
  2. Rules engines are systems that execute actions based on conditions that can be configured during runtime, making them dynamic and adaptable
  3. Using rules engines can reduce the fragility of concrete coding implementations, enabling easier modifications as business requirements evolve

Commentary: How to write a post-mortem that always blames Terry

Bad Software Advice • 0 implied HN points • 18 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. In incident management, avoid blame and focus on process and organizational factors. Blameless post-mortems are crucial.
  2. Consider power dynamics in post-mortems. Allow a separate group to handle incidents to prevent bias and promote improvement.
  3. Incidents rarely have a single root cause. Embrace a more complex root cause analysis to understand the multifaceted reasons behind failures.

How to Get an SRE Role

Certo Modo • 0 implied HN points • 01 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. To excel in an SRE role, focus on developing important character traits like emotional intelligence, resilience, and assertiveness to stand out as a candidate.
  2. Coding skills are essential for an SRE position; expect to be tested on tasks like file I/O, data structures, and program efficiency, so practice coding and explaining your solutions.
  3. Understanding systems knowledge and experience is crucial; be prepared to discuss Linux internals, troubleshooting tools, and system administration basics in interviews to showcase your expertise.

SRE Essentials

Certo Modo • 0 implied HN points • 06 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) teams drive higher operational maturity, remove sources of toil, and improve service reliability.
  2. Establishing strong SRE practices involves shared operational responsibility, measuring customer success, using error budgets to prioritize work, and learning from failures in a blameless manner.
  3. Properly staffing on-call rotations and ensuring humane work-life balance are essential for SRE team success.

🎓 What `MVP` actually means; Horizontal vs. Vertical scaling

Become a Senior Engineer • 0 implied HN points • 21 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. An MVP is about focusing on value, not just products. It's delivering the earliest testable product to get feedback early and iterate quickly.
  2. For scaling, vertical scaling increases power of a single server, while horizontal scaling adds more servers for flexibility. Each has its pros and cons to consider.
  3. When choosing between vertical and horizontal scaling, think about expected growth, architectural needs, maintenance, team capabilities, and cost to make the best decision for your project.

A Story of Failure; BASE Tech: Full Text Search Engines

Become a Senior Engineer • 0 implied HN points • 14 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Mistakes happen in engineering, and it's important to have a positive culture that supports learning from failures without blame.
  2. Implementing a full-text search engine in your app can greatly enhance the search experience for users by offering advanced features like relevance ranking and language analysis.
  3. When adding a full-text search feature, make sure to gather requirements, choose the right engine, build a robust implementation plan, and continuously test and optimize for performance and user feedback.

Gradient Dissent

Meaningness • 0 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Neural networks are criticized for being expensive, unreliable, and potentially harmful, yet continue to be widely used without adequate safeguards.
  2. In the software industry, inferior designs can dominate better alternatives, leading to long-term use of buggy, slow, and complicated programs.
  3. Replacing neural networks with better alternatives is not only possible but important and urgent for creating a safer technological future.

This is how tech is using behavioral science today

The Kahneman Bot • 0 implied HN points • 13 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Product squads in tech actively use psychology and behavior science tactics like personalization and defaults to drive metrics.
  2. Top nudges used today include personalization, timely prompts, defaults, and social norms, while scarcity and commitment devices are less common.
  3. Personalization and defaults are perceived as the most effective techniques for driving metrics in tech products, with defaults being notably effective in behavioral science.

RDEL #27: The frequency and impact of destructive code reviews

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 0 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Destructive code reviews can negatively impact team cohesion, trust, and psychological safety. It's crucial to address feedback delivery to maintain a positive work environment.
  2. 22% of respondents reported inconsiderate feedback at least once a year, showing a notable frequency of damaging criticism in code reviews. This highlights the importance of promoting constructive feedback culture.
  3. Destructive criticism was perceived to be less valuable and appropriate, especially impacting motivation and mood. Recognizing and addressing such feedback biases can help improve team dynamics.

RDEL #17: How does your engineering team type indicate team performance?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 0 implied HN points • 06 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Different types of engineering teams show different performance patterns on key performance indicators, such as software delivery performance, operational performance, and user-centricity.
  2. User-centric teams prioritize delivering user needs, leading to high organizational performance and job satisfaction, but they can be prone to burnout.
  3. Balanced teams, with a sustainable approach to technology use, show the lowest rate of burnout and enable enduring teamwork.

RDEL #16: What makes a code review useful?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 0 implied HN points • 30 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Engineering
  1. Good code review comments can enhance a coder's skills and lead to better implementation.
  2. Certain factors like the number of iterations and author participation can impact the usefulness of code review comments.
  3. Maintaining a positive tone, having focused conversations, and keeping reviews manageable in size are key to improving the effectiveness of code reviews.