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Believe it or not, there are these things called books which contain all sorts of knowledge about things like low level C, system calls, assembly, even digital

Believe it or not, there are these things called books which contain all sorts of knowledge about things like low level C, system calls, assembly, even digital logic. I know because I have several of them sitting on my office shelf thanks to an EE oriented education. I could have picked up the same set of books and obtained the same knowledge with a more CS focused background. The hardware stuff is harder to pick up compared to software when self learning (for most - I know counter examples). But it’s by no means impossible. Point being, I don’t agree with the author. If you’re a cloud native engineer and you want to learn the lower levels of abstraction, you can. But the point of cloud native is that you don’t need hardware knowledge and you can focus on your product/users/hobbyist itch instead.

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doubled112 3y ago
Hands on wise, playing with software is basically no/low cost. If I don't get it right, I can just fix it and try again. If I want to play with hardware, I have to buy it. I also risk having to replace it when I let the magic smoke out. Or at least that's always been my intuition about getting started.
- reactordev 3y ago
  One can fund the other though. Besides, if you’re tinkering with hardware, it really is super cheap already. ATmega’s are less than a meal. Various capacitors and resistors on Amazon in variety packs for a couple 20s. A soldering iron station for $50. Power supply for $40. It’s the same cost of entry as an entry level laptop…
  - logtempo 3y ago
    How do you program your atmega? with a laptop. Also you won't go anywhere with few resistors and capacitors, you also need transistors, diodes, maybe LED, maybe some soldering, wires, breadboard, some sensors to have fun with, some ICs such as 555 timer and other op-amp. Eventually some voltage converters, a multimeter and logic gates. The list can be long and at the end, for software you need a laptop, for electronic you need a laptop + many things. And those things can cost (the shipping cost more, actually).
    - reactordev 3y ago
      I'm seeing electronics kits on amazon for $55... Yes, you need a laptop (or another atmega, or a rpi) to program your atmega. I'm saying it's not as capital restrictive as it seems. For <$500 USD you can be in for both the laptop and the necessary components, sensors, soldering iron, flux, resistors, caps, diodes, transistors, buttons, breadboard, brass wool, A book on electronics, and multimeter. The list is long, but the prices aren't. All of this is less than an NVidia card.

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doubled112 3y ago

Hands on wise, playing with software is basically no/low cost. If I don't get it right, I can just fix it and try again. If I want to play with hardware, I have to buy it. I also risk having to replace it when I let the magic smoke out. Or at least that's always been my intuition about getting started.

reactordev 3y ago
One can fund the other though. Besides, if you’re tinkering with hardware, it really is super cheap already. ATmega’s are less than a meal. Various capacitors and resistors on Amazon in variety packs for a couple 20s. A soldering iron station for $50. Power supply for $40. It’s the same cost of entry as an entry level laptop…
- logtempo 3y ago
  How do you program your atmega? with a laptop. Also you won't go anywhere with few resistors and capacitors, you also need transistors, diodes, maybe LED, maybe some soldering, wires, breadboard, some sensors to have fun with, some ICs such as 555 timer and other op-amp. Eventually some voltage converters, a multimeter and logic gates. The list can be long and at the end, for software you need a laptop, for electronic you need a laptop + many things. And those things can cost (the shipping cost more, actually).
  - reactordev 3y ago
    I'm seeing electronics kits on amazon for $55... Yes, you need a laptop (or another atmega, or a rpi) to program your atmega. I'm saying it's not as capital restrictive as it seems. For <$500 USD you can be in for both the laptop and the necessary components, sensors, soldering iron, flux, resistors, caps, diodes, transistors, buttons, breadboard, brass wool, A book on electronics, and multimeter. The list is long, but the prices aren't. All of this is less than an NVidia card.