5 ms·

Good product development really does seem to require some sort of leader who demands quality and smacks people when they don't deliver. Linux is nice because of

Good product development really does seem to require some sort of leader who demands quality and smacks people when they don't deliver. Linux is nice because of Torvalds for example.

valiant55 1y ago
I was just thinking about Linux/Linus the other day. How will Linux fair when Linus is no longer with us?
- jdsnape 1y ago
  Fare, not fair (I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter but I couldn’t help it in a discussion on quality)
  - foundart 1y ago
    In comments on an article about spellchecking no less
    - eru 1y ago
      In this case, both fair and fare are words in English. Which shows that spell checking needs to know a lot about grammar and context to work in general. Basically you need an LLM. Or if not a 'large language model', perhaps at least a small language model.
      - jdsnape 1y ago
        I wonder how it does work, I remember MS Word having a fairly decent grammar checker when I was using it in school - which predated LLMs by many years! I suspect an LLM wouldn’t be the most optimal choice
        eru 1y ago
        Depends on what you mean by 'optimal'. Ie what are you optimising over? In terms of 'can I run it locally on an early 2000s machine?' LLMs are definitely the wrong choice. In terms of 'what can I quickly hack together in 2025 regardless of variable cost?' LLMs might be the right choice. > I wonder how it does work, I remember MS Word having a fairly decent grammar checker [...] You can get pretty far with some lookup tables and some heuristics.
        rossant 1y ago
        farely decent?
brabel 1y ago
I have to agree with that as a lead. Most developers claim to be done with a task without taking care of the small details that users will immediately notice. It’s a constant struggle to try to get them to care about what is actually the value of the feature they are implementing, let alone chase on their own initiative the small issues unless painfully listed in some requirements document.
- polishdude20 1y ago
  As a dev Im always noticing these little problems in my designs but my boss just wants the thing done asap without worrying too much about it being nice to use.
  - DanielHB 1y ago
    It is the bottom and the top that appreciates the quality the middle appreciate metrics and deliverables
    - polishdude20 1y ago
      Oh in my case it's a small company and my boss is "the top"
  - MortyWaves 1y ago
    Same here to the point when I do leave it’s going to be one of the reasons given. One example is how this product manager type, because of company politics, isn’t really under the same department as the other software teams. Because of his very very narrow horse blinkers approach, he doesn’t see or even comprehend why we’d want to align with literally anything in any other team and that includes visual UI stuff. That’s why we have a bright neon pink “Back” button. Right in the literal center of the screen. It’s insane.
- Phelinofist 1y ago
  For most things small details unfortunately do not really matter and thus are left out
Lio 1y ago
Completely agree. I was given a small electric fan. It’s great in that it’s portable and I can use it in some of the crummy hotels I have to stay in. Unfortunately, it has a bright blue LED on it so it’s a pain to use at night when you’re trying to sleep. It’s so bright that even covered with tape it still shines through the thin plastic of the fan body. What really gets me is why they bothered putting an operating light on it in the first place? It’s a fan. The fact that it’s working tells you it’s working. A Jobs or Torvalds type character would have pointed that out. I suspect though that it’s often a case of people noticing these type of design flaws but not having the authority to fix them while those with the authority don’t care.
- seszett 1y ago
  > I suspect though that it’s often a case of people noticing these type of design flaws but not having the authority to fix them while those with the authority don’t care. Kinda related but also not really, my own pet peeve is the pouring spout in many products, coffee machine, water jugs, buckets... they might look effective but I find that more often than not, they are curved too much and drip all over when actually pouring. And I always have to wonder, after serving coffee from one of those things, did the person who design it never even try it just once? Didn't they ever use such a thing, they never ever poured water from a pot?
- netsharc 1y ago
  Can't you improve this product with a screwdriver (to open it up) and wire-snipper (to cut off the LED)?
  - psyonity 1y ago
    There is a chance the led is also used as a important diode in the circuit, plainly removing it can greatly reduce the lifespan of the device. (more common in cheaper products) Adding a appropiate diode in it's place is advised.
    - rossant 1y ago
      What's the physical reason for this? (elec noob here)

Good product development really does seem to require some sort of leader who demands quality and smacks people when they don't deliver. Linux is nice because of Torvalds for example.

valiant55 1y ago

I was just thinking about Linux/Linus the other day. How will Linux fair when Linus is no longer with us?

jdsnape 1y ago
Fare, not fair (I’m sorry, it doesn’t matter but I couldn’t help it in a discussion on quality)
- foundart 1y ago
  In comments on an article about spellchecking no less
  - eru 1y ago
    In this case, both fair and fare are words in English. Which shows that spell checking needs to know a lot about grammar and context to work in general. Basically you need an LLM. Or if not a 'large language model', perhaps at least a small language model.
    - jdsnape 1y ago
      I wonder how it does work, I remember MS Word having a fairly decent grammar checker when I was using it in school - which predated LLMs by many years! I suspect an LLM wouldn’t be the most optimal choice
      - eru 1y ago
        Depends on what you mean by 'optimal'. Ie what are you optimising over? In terms of 'can I run it locally on an early 2000s machine?' LLMs are definitely the wrong choice. In terms of 'what can I quickly hack together in 2025 regardless of variable cost?' LLMs might be the right choice. > I wonder how it does work, I remember MS Word having a fairly decent grammar checker [...] You can get pretty far with some lookup tables and some heuristics.
      - rossant 1y ago
        farely decent?

brabel 1y ago

I have to agree with that as a lead. Most developers claim to be done with a task without taking care of the small details that users will immediately notice. It’s a constant struggle to try to get them to care about what is actually the value of the feature they are implementing, let alone chase on their own initiative the small issues unless painfully listed in some requirements document.

polishdude20 1y ago
As a dev Im always noticing these little problems in my designs but my boss just wants the thing done asap without worrying too much about it being nice to use.
- DanielHB 1y ago
  It is the bottom and the top that appreciates the quality the middle appreciate metrics and deliverables
  - polishdude20 1y ago
    Oh in my case it's a small company and my boss is "the top"
- MortyWaves 1y ago
  Same here to the point when I do leave it’s going to be one of the reasons given. One example is how this product manager type, because of company politics, isn’t really under the same department as the other software teams. Because of his very very narrow horse blinkers approach, he doesn’t see or even comprehend why we’d want to align with literally anything in any other team and that includes visual UI stuff. That’s why we have a bright neon pink “Back” button. Right in the literal center of the screen. It’s insane.
Phelinofist 1y ago
For most things small details unfortunately do not really matter and thus are left out

Lio 1y ago

Completely agree. I was given a small electric fan. It’s great in that it’s portable and I can use it in some of the crummy hotels I have to stay in. Unfortunately, it has a bright blue LED on it so it’s a pain to use at night when you’re trying to sleep. It’s so bright that even covered with tape it still shines through the thin plastic of the fan body. What really gets me is why they bothered putting an operating light on it in the first place? It’s a fan. The fact that it’s working tells you it’s working. A Jobs or Torvalds type character would have pointed that out. I suspect though that it’s often a case of people noticing these type of design flaws but not having the authority to fix them while those with the authority don’t care.

seszett 1y ago
> I suspect though that it’s often a case of people noticing these type of design flaws but not having the authority to fix them while those with the authority don’t care. Kinda related but also not really, my own pet peeve is the pouring spout in many products, coffee machine, water jugs, buckets... they might look effective but I find that more often than not, they are curved too much and drip all over when actually pouring. And I always have to wonder, after serving coffee from one of those things, did the person who design it never even try it just once? Didn't they ever use such a thing, they never ever poured water from a pot?
netsharc 1y ago
Can't you improve this product with a screwdriver (to open it up) and wire-snipper (to cut off the LED)?
- psyonity 1y ago
  There is a chance the led is also used as a important diode in the circuit, plainly removing it can greatly reduce the lifespan of the device. (more common in cheaper products) Adding a appropiate diode in it's place is advised.
  - rossant 1y ago
    What's the physical reason for this? (elec noob here)