Hacker News: hectdev

New comment by hectdev in "Book review: There Is No Antimemetics Division"

hectdev — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:12:40 +0000

This disregards the benefit of a single device that is easy to carry. Love where this is come from so maybe do both if you can.

New comment by hectdev in "I won't download your app. The web version is a-ok"

hectdev — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 15:07:06 +0000

As an app developer it comes down to the full access to phone APIs and the smoothest app experience. The more biased opinion is rooted in preference for the native language over web languages. And I recognize this is an opinion that is self-preservation in nature but it is what it is.

But I'll also say some apps don't really need to be apps (like ordering food from one specific store) but I won't complain about having those apps if it is a convenience.

New comment by hectdev in "I am definitely missing the pre-AI writing era"

hectdev — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:09:17 +0000

Which one is it? Subjective or evidence based? I'm sharing what I know is true for my experience as well as the fact that I proofread what I send with AI and am aware of how terse I usually am.

New comment by hectdev in "Axios compromised on NPM – Malicious versions drop remote access trojan"

hectdev — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:07:59 +0000

Another layer of AI tooling is the cost of spinning up your own version of some libraries is lowered and can be made hyper specific to your needs rather than pulling in a whole library with features you'll never use.

New comment by hectdev in "I am definitely missing the pre-AI writing era"

hectdev — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:59:57 +0000

I work mostly on the tech side of things but my corporate limitation has always been writing up documentation, communicating/translating to stakeholders, and recalling everything relevant when writing PR descriptions. AI has been a breath of fresh air. I actually communicate more information efficiently than I would have ever put the effort into before. I still maintain my own writing for more casual things like social media (HN included) and low stakes Slack conversations but AI for getting across ideas and then proofreading it is great.

New comment by hectdev in "My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary"

hectdev — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:36:02 +0000

As an amateur astrophotographer, I am both so envious and so happy for you. What a wonderful recognition of your talent and dedication to the craft. Kudos!

New comment by hectdev in "Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars"

hectdev — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 20:48:30 +0000

I've been to Copenhagen in the dead of winter with snow on the ground and my mind was blown by how many bikes there were on the streets. It really is an adaptable activity.

New comment by hectdev in "WA income tax clears House after 24-hour debate"

hectdev — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 17:05:21 +0000

I'm just being snarky here but wouldn't you be concerned that the 3x neighbor would view you as you view the 1/3rd neighbor?

New comment by hectdev in "WA income tax clears House after 24-hour debate"

hectdev — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:56:44 +0000

It's more nuanced than that. Say someone moves from California where their property taxes were based on the purchase price of the home, they then buy a home in Austin where it based on the property value and they size up. It is a sticker shock of the taxes. Not justifying it, it is just a reality of what happens here.

New comment by hectdev in "WA income tax clears House after 24-hour debate"

hectdev — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:48:49 +0000

They tend to size up when moving here and are expecting the rates from back home. Not saying it's a logical thing but what tends to happen. This is more of a comment on how people aren't really taking everything into account when just moving because "no income tax".

New comment by hectdev in "WA income tax clears House after 24-hour debate"

hectdev — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:45:03 +0000

Take this into account. People move from places with high cost of living where their 2 bedroom house nets them easily $1mil. They sell that and move to Austin where they can afford a much bigger house. They think they win not paying income tax and then their property tax bill drops and they are paying $16k per year. Enter the flabbergast.

New comment by hectdev in "WA income tax clears House after 24-hour debate"

hectdev — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:31:48 +0000

I live in Texas. People move here and are flabbergasted by our property taxes.

New comment by hectdev in "Roomba maker goes bankrupt, Chinese owner emerges"

hectdev — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 18:00:00 +0000

My dog that sheds a lot says otherwise

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 17:19:14 +0000

Not everyone is your boss. I have 15 years of experience coding. So when the AI hallucinates, I call that out and it improves the code it does create. If someone is passing off Ai's first pass as done, they are not using the tool correctly.

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 17:17:26 +0000

I think calling it baseless to claim benefits from AI is more than disagreeing. It's claiming a rightness that is just contrarian and hyperbolic. It's really interesting to me that the skeptics are exactly who should be using AI. Push back on it. Tell it that the code it made was wrong.

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 22:12:49 +0000

Unit tests, manual testing the final product, PR with two approvals needed (and one was from the most anal retentive reviewer at the company who is heavily invested in the changes I made), and QA.

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 21:26:21 +0000

It isn't a universal thing. I have no doubt there is a job out there that that isn't a requirement. I think the issue is the C-level folks are seeing how more productive someone might be and making it a demand. That to me is the wrong approach. If you demonstrate and build interest, the adoption will happen.

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 21:22:37 +0000

In my personal use case, I work at a company that has SO MUCH process and documentation for coding standards. I made an AI agent that knows all that and used it to update legacy code to the new standard in a day. Something that would have taken weeks if not more. If your desire is manageable code, make that a requirement.

I'm going to say this next thing as someone with a lot of negative bias about corporations. I was laid off from Twitter when Elon bought the company and at a second company that was hemorrhaging users.

Our job isn't to write code, it's to make the machine do the thing. All the effort for clean, manageable, etc is purely in the interest of the programmer but at the end of the day, launching the feature that pulls in money is the point.

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 20:55:51 +0000

This fascinates me. Just observing but because it hasn't worked for you, everyone else must be lying? (I'm assuming that's what you mean by baseless)

How does that bridge get built? I can provide tangible real life examples but I've found push back from that in other online conversations.

New comment by hectdev in "Everyone in Seattle hates AI"

hectdev — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 20:51:12 +0000

I would say it is like that. No one HAS to use AI. But the shared goal is to get a change to the codebase to achieve a desired outcome. Some will outsource a significant part of that to AI, some won't.

And its tricky because I'm trying not to appeal to emotion despite being fascinated with how this tool has enabled me to do things in a short amount of time that it would have taken me weeks of grinding to get to and improves my communication with stakeholders. That feels world changing. Specifically my world and the day-to-day roll I play when it comes to getting things done.

I think it is fine that it fell short of your expectations. It often does for me as well but it's when it gets me 80% of the way there in less than a day's work, then my mind is blown. It's an imperfect tool and I'm sorry for saying this but so are we. Treat its imperfections in the same way you would with a JR developer- feedback, reframing, restrictions, and iterate.