The hottest Engineering Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Business Topics

She Drove The Tube Train 100 Years Ago: How a Woman Launched a Rebuilt Northern Line

Londonist: Time Machine • 99 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
💾 History Engineering Transportation Women London
  1. The Bank branch of the Northern line was rebuilt in 1923, including widening the tunnels, in a remarkable engineering feat.
  2. The reconstruction involved meticulous planning and a terrifying explosion, highlighting the challenges faced during the project.
  3. Despite the significant efforts and historical importance of the project, this story is often overlooked and forgotten in history.

Uploading Instagram Videos with 94% LESS CPU

Byte-Sized Design • 58 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Social media Video Compression Engineering Digital
  1. Instagram improved video uploading efficiency by compressing videos first to progressive encodings and then converting them to adaptive-bit-rate videos, saving 94% of resources.
  2. The challenge for Instagram was to support various video formats for different devices while minimizing resource consumption and CPU usage.
  3. Insightful optimization was achieved by realizing that progressive and adaptive bit rate encodings could use the same codec, streamlining the encoding process to focus on scalability.

Interview with Intel’s Dr. Ann Kelleher

More Than Moore • 186 implied HN points • 22 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Semiconductors Manufacturing Research and Development Innovation Engineering
  1. Intel has been successful in using EUV in their Intel 4 technology
  2. The development of nodes at Intel involves extensive research, pathfinding, and process development before transferring to high-volume manufacturing
  3. Intel is progressing well with their roadmap of '5 nodes in 4 years', with Intel 4 completed and Intel 3 on track

3 quick tips on how to build more scalable systems [System Design Sundays]

Technology Made Simple • 119 implied HN points • 17 Apr 23
🕹 Technology System Design Scalability Engineering Software Architecture
  1. Location matters: Place software close to clients for faster response times using CDNs, edge computing, or geo-replication.
  2. Cache wisely: Optimize speed by using in-memory caching, database caching, or web caching to avoid repeated actions.
  3. Async is key: Improve efficiency with asynchronous processing through message queues, event-driven architectures, or microservices.
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Platform vs. DevEx teams: What’s the difference?

Engineering Enablement • 14 implied HN points • 05 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Engineering Data Management Team Dynamics Productivity Tools
  1. Platform teams handle a broader range of responsibilities compared to Developer Experience teams. This means they are involved in more of the underlying tech operations.
  2. Local development, source code management, and incident management are key tasks for both types of teams. These areas help developers write and deploy their code more smoothly.
  3. The name of the team can reflect its focus. Some teams prioritize overall developer support while others are more infrastructure-focused, suggesting that their approach can change based on company needs.

Optimising costs to enhancing UX - it is all engineering

system bashing • 117 implied HN points • 18 Jul 23
🕹 Technology Cost Optimization User Experience Cloud Services Engineering System Design
  1. In a tech company, engineering involves balancing cloud costs and user interface to optimize costs and enhance user experience.
  2. Reducing costs significantly is crucial for a company's profitability regardless of other measures like discounts or marketing strategies.
  3. Engineering decisions impact user experience constraints and cloud costs, requiring a balance between the two for system efficiency.

Quality Engineering Basics: Quality Metrics

QUALITY BOSS • 39 implied HN points • 25 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Metrics Quality Automation
  1. Metrics help show how good a product is and can lead to improvements. They can boost quality and user happiness.
  2. Bug metrics track issues like how many bugs are found after release and how long they take to fix. This helps teams focus on areas needing help.
  3. Product and automation metrics can include customer satisfaction and how well automated tests work. They help understand what's going right or wrong in the product.

2024 DORA Report

Engineering Enablement • 15 implied HN points • 30 Oct 24
🕹 Technology Software Development DevOps Artificial Intelligence Data Analysis Engineering
  1. Using AI tools can actually make software delivery worse, as they lead to larger code changes that are riskier. This is surprising because many people think AI would improve coding efficiency.
  2. Software delivery performance indicators are becoming more independent from each other. This year's report shows some unexpected trends, like medium performance groups having fewer failures than high performance groups.
  3. To boost productivity, companies should focus on creating user-friendly internal platforms for developers. It's important for leaders to understand their team's needs and provide clear support to improve overall performance.

From Fear to Function: Rethinking Engineering Processes | Stytch’s Julianna Lamb

Dev Interrupted • 9 implied HN points • 26 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering AI Process Productivity
  1. Having the right engineering process can actually boost your team's speed and help everyone take responsibility for their work. It's about finding the right balance, not too much or too little process.
  2. Many developers feel scared of strict processes, but a flexible approach can reduce problems and improve workflow. It's all about making processes work for your team, not against it.
  3. Using AI tools can improve productivity and keep developers focused on challenging tasks. Instead of replacing jobs, these tools help with repetitive work, allowing for better project focus.

The New Gold Rush: Asteroid Mining

Space Ambition • 279 implied HN points • 16 Dec 22
🕹 Technology Space Exploration Resource Management Astrobiology Engineering Entrepreneurship
  1. Asteroid mining could help solve the problem of limited Earth resources. Some asteroids are worth tons of money and could provide materials crucial for technology.
  2. Mining in space isn't just about precious metals; water is a key resource that astronauts can use for drinking and rocket fuel. It also opens up possibilities for farming in space.
  3. There are many challenges to asteroid mining, like developing the right tools and overcoming technical issues. But with innovation, it could become a reality, and the first trillionaire might be a space miner.

What is a Founding Engineer?

Jake [Building in NYC] • 59 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Engineering Product Development Startups User Experience Leadership
  1. Founding engineers have to work really fast. They need to handle problems quickly and keep feedback flowing between users and the business.
  2. Empathy is key for founding engineers. They should think about how users will respond to their work and make it as easy and enjoyable as possible.
  3. A founding engineer always seeks the truth. They are curious and unafraid to ask questions to understand problems better and find effective solutions.

What causes 'bad days' for developers?

Engineering Enablement • 9 implied HN points • 25 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Productivity Engineering Research Developer Experience
  1. Engineers often have bad days due to issues with their tools and systems. Problems like unreliable tools or slow processes can make it tough to work efficiently.
  2. Having a bad day can lower a developer's productivity and increase their stress. Both senior and junior developers feel these effects, but in different ways; seniors may get frustrated, while juniors often doubt their abilities.
  3. Research confirmed that issues causing bad days also slow down work processes. Measuring things like how long it takes to complete tasks showed that these problems really affect productivity.

You don’t have to be an engineer to become a founder of a space tech start-up

Space Ambition • 239 implied HN points • 20 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Space Tech Startups Entrepreneurship Engineering Innovation
  1. You don't need to be an engineer to start a space tech company. Many successful founders come from different backgrounds and experiences.
  2. The space tech industry includes a diverse range of founders, such as experts with technical knowledge, entrepreneurs who were successful in other fields, and dreamers who are passionate about space.
  3. Many successful space tech founders show that with passion, determination, and the right team, anyone can make their space exploration dreams a reality.

Ion Proton - FPGAs!

ASeq Newsletter • 7 implied HN points • 10 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Hardware Software Data Engineering Innovation
  1. The Ion Proton DNA sequencer uses specific hardware for DNA acquisition, which is important for its function.
  2. This hardware is expensive and involves custom designs, making it a significant cost for the sequencer.
  3. The upcoming summary will focus on the disassembly of the Ion Proton, which reveals more about its inner workings.

Top 5 blockers to establish a foothold on Mars

Space Ambition • 259 implied HN points • 09 Dec 22
🔬 Science Space Exploration Astrobiology Environmental Science Physics Engineering
  1. To go to Mars, we really need to improve how we use fuel and build bigger rockets. Right now, our technology just isn’t strong enough.
  2. Living in space for a long time means we need larger spaceships with essential comforts like food and water. Making these spaceships in space instead of on Earth might be a smart solution.
  3. Radiation on Mars is a big health risk since it doesn't have a magnetic field like Earth. We need to find ways to protect astronauts from this danger while they explore.

How Cloudflare fails

Frankly Speaking • 254 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Security Engineering Networking
  1. Companies are focusing more on engineering-focused security functions to become efficient.
  2. Cloudflare is seen as an underrated security company with a strong engineering following.
  3. Cloudflare transformed from a CDN company to offering security services like WAF, SWG, and email security.

Are Only 20% of Devs Happy? | Stack Overflow’s Erin Yepis

Dev Interrupted • 9 implied HN points • 19 Nov 24
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Data Productivity
  1. Only about 20% of developers say they are happy in their jobs. This suggests many people in the field are feeling dissatisfied.
  2. Factors like low pay, workplace culture, and issues with technical debt are major reasons behind this unhappiness. It's important to look at these issues to help improve developer satisfaction.
  3. A new project called Flock aims to address problems with the popular Flutter toolkit. The creators want to make a community-driven platform that fixes bugs and speeds up development.

Enterprise Prompt Engineering Practices

Cobus Greyling on LLMs, NLU, NLP, chatbots & voicebots • 19 implied HN points • 17 May 24
🕹 Technology AI NLP Research Engineering Data
  1. Users spend a good amount of time, around 43 minutes, editing prompts to get better results from language models. They often make small, careful changes instead of big rewrites.
  2. The main focus of edits is usually on the context of the prompts, such as improving examples and grounding information. This shows that context is crucial for getting good outputs.
  3. Many users try multiple changes at once and sometimes roll back their edits. This indicates that they might struggle to remember what worked well in the past or which changes had positive effects.

Manufacturing PCBs with controlled impedance

Only Wonder Knows • 98 implied HN points • 02 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Manufacturing Engineering Quality control
  1. Manufacturing PCBs with controlled impedance involves extra cost and needs to be well understood and justified.
  2. To determine when controlled impedance of PCB traces is needed, consider factors like trace width, dielectric material thickness, and manufacturing tolerances.
  3. Measuring characteristic impedance in PCBs involves complex processes, manual testing, and cost implications that should be discussed with the manufacturer.

Driving fans

Only Wonder Knows • 98 implied HN points • 25 May 23
🔬 Science Physics Engineering Devices Specifications
  1. Understanding basic physics is crucial when dealing with fan systems.
  2. The relationship between air flow and air pressure in fan systems is not always linear.
  3. When selecting a fan for a system, consider factors like power consumption, flow specifications, and current consumption.

The Metaverse is a good business move[Finance Fridays]

Technology Made Simple • 179 implied HN points • 22 Oct 22
🕹 Technology AR/VR Social media Data Collection Engineering Skills Development
  1. The Metaverse is viewed as a beneficial business move, despite criticism from some sectors. It offers potential for immersive AR/VR experiences that could transform various industries.
  2. Critics raise concerns about the Metaverse's impact on mental health, utility versus costs, and accessibility to all. However, these challenges might not be as significant as initially perceived.
  3. Investing in the Metaverse could help Meta address its major challenges, create new revenue streams, and establish a unique position in the tech industry. Developing skills related to AR/VR and technology can potentially lead to opportunities in this evolving landscape.

How to Build a World Class Engternship Program

Jake [Building in NYC] • 39 implied HN points • 27 Feb 24
💼 Business Internships Startups Engineering Management Career development
  1. Internship programs often fail because interns get little guidance and engage in low-value projects. Startups need to realize that internships shouldn't just be about cheap labor but setting interns up for success.
  2. Effective internships focus on growth and clear expectations. Setting clear roles and feedback practices helps interns feel engaged and lets them know how to succeed.
  3. Building a supportive culture is key. Grouping interns, encouraging pair programming, and giving them ownership of tasks help create a positive learning environment.

Edge 374: Some Technical Details we Learned About OpenAI's Sora

TheSequence • 140 implied HN points • 29 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Generative models Video Engineering
  1. OpenAI's Sora is a groundbreaking text-to-video model that can create high-quality videos up to a minute long.
  2. The release of Sora has caused a lot of excitement and discussion in the generative AI community and media outlets.
  3. While OpenAI has not revealed extensive technical details about Sora, the model includes some clever engineering optimizations.

Edge 445: A New Series About Knowledge Distillation

TheSequence • 35 implied HN points • 05 Nov 24
🕹 Technology AI Data science Machine Learning Computing Engineering
  1. Knowledge distillation helps make large AI models smaller and cheaper. This is important for using AI on devices like smartphones.
  2. A key goal of this process is to keep the accuracy of the original model while reducing its size.
  3. The series will include reviews of research papers and discussions on frameworks like Google's Data Commons that support factual knowledge in AI.

The End of Software, Long Live Software

Chaos Engineering • 5 implied HN points • 04 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Software Data Automation Engineering
  1. AI Agents are changing how we think about software. They are smart programs that can do tasks for us, but we still need humans to help out to make sure everything runs smoothly.
  2. Using AI to create software can make things cheaper, but it also makes the software more complex. As we rely on AI, we need to ensure we can trust it to work reliably.
  3. Data is super important for AI to work well. We need to collect good quality data to train these AI Agents so they can do their jobs effectively and produce accurate results.

HyperX Topology for Photonic Wafer Scale Integration

Tapa’s Substack • 59 implied HN points • 17 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Networking Electronics Optics Computing Engineering
  1. Using the HyperX topology can be a good choice for connecting photonic wafer-scale systems, helping to improve efficiency and lower costs. It focuses on making connections quicker and cheaper in long-distance scenarios on wafers.
  2. Photonic wafer-scale integration offers benefits like reduced energy use and lower latency compared to traditional electrical methods, but the right network setup has been a challenge. Finding a suitable layout is important for maximizing performance.
  3. The HyperX design has advantages like fewer layers and a straightforward layout, which can help minimize complications in building these systems. It's a simple yet effective way to boost the performance of interconnects in photonic setups.

AI Safety: Is AI The Genie Or The Lamp?

jonstokes.com • 237 implied HN points • 01 May 23
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Policy Engineering Regulation
  1. AI safety involves the debate between AI as a tool or an agent, impacting approaches to AI explainability and safety.
  2. There are conflicting folk conceptions of alignment, including individualist and collectivist perspectives centered around control.
  3. The distinction of viewing AI as the genie or the lamp, as an agent with goals or as a software tool, is crucial in shaping AI safety discussions and applications.

The Wells of Venice

Of All Trades • 12 implied HN points • 10 Feb 25
💾 History Engineering Architecture Urban planning
  1. Venice faced a big problem getting fresh water because it is surrounded by saltwater. To solve this, the people invented clever rainwater cisterns and wells.
  2. The Venetian wells used a special system that filtered rainwater to keep it clean. This made clean drinking water available despite the challenges of their environment.
  3. These historical wells show human creativity in solving problems. They remind us that, even without modern technology, people in the past found smart ways to adapt to their surroundings.