Not invented here Sonar.1
-
- Technologies
Podcast about tech, software, product development and business. Dima Malenko tries to explain driving forced behind news, events and other developments in the hi-tech world and shares stories and ideas inspired by them.
-
#27 One level deeper
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lp2qCWa9CH0
Discussion and more at http://www.dmalenko.org/blog/2019/6/nih-27-one-level-deeper
In this episode Dima discusses how going deeper down the technology stack can give a company an important advantage over its competitors. -
#26 Unlimited online backup
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HhVDp0in4rE
Discussion and more at http://www.dmalenko.org/blog/2018/04/nih-26-unlimited-online-backup
A particular example of limitations of an unlimited service: Backblaze is a great service, but the way it markets itself as “unlimited online backup” is a fair bit of exaggeration. -
#25 Infinite amount of something
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ImH4lOtVflU
Discussion and more at http://www.dmalenko.org/blog/2018/02/nih-25-infinite-amount-of-something
We all love getting infinite amount of something for a small fee. That makes all the “unlimited” plans so popular. On practice, however, those plans fairly quickly turn out not to be unlimited, infinite or lifetime and there are reasons why. -
#24 Misaligned incentives
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RuaHUd90a8I
When the way company makes money is misaligned with its values, it can sooner or later lead to decisions that may turn into a disaster of some sort. Similar to what happened to Mozilla with the Looking Glass add-on for Firefox.
* Firefox is on a slippery slope (https://drewdevault.com/2017/12/16/Firefox-is-on-a-slippery-slope.html)
* Update: Looking Glass Add-on (https://blog.mozilla.org/firefox/update-looking-glass-add/)
* Mozilla and Pocket (https://twitter.com/dchest/status/942180800782635008) -
#23 A-a-aa not so good song
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wIoGDOxdv4Q
Masking a problem without really solving it can move the problem to a more dangerous place or time. Do you remember the story about “A a a a a Very Good Song”?
* You are finally free from the first embarrassing song on your phone: http://mashable.com/2017/08/10/blank-song-phone-car-playing-music/
* A silent, 10-minute song is climbing the iTunes charts: https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/10/silent-10-minute-song-itunes-car-stereo-trick/
Despite its popularity back in the day the song did not really solve the problem of Apple CarPlay annoyingly starting to play the very first song in the music collection, when the phone was connected to the car. It postponed that annoyance problem until 10 minutes later, when one could be driving through a busy intersection. -
#22 Illusion of control
This episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ely4wOIwn04
All modern systems are built out of components. Those components can come in different forms: 3rd-party proprietary, open source and developed in-house. Open source seems to be the most popular option nowadays and one may think that using open-source components is an all-around win. It is a win, but not all-around.