We all either do or do not work on stuff we really care about.
If you do not, what would you love to work on.
If you do, what are you working on?
It can be hacking related or anything else.
Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
1–10 of 35 posts
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#2Safety-critical software. I've done some work on air traffic control systems and medical equipment and enjoyed it.
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#3Safety-critical software. I've done some work on air traffic control systems and medical equipment and enjoyed it.
Lot's of unit testing I'm sure :)
What languages do those industries use?
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#4Safety-critical software. I've done some work on air traffic control systems and medical equipment and enjoyed it.
Lot's of unit testing I'm sure :) What languages do those industries use?
There was indeed a lot of unit testing as well as very intense reviews of every single line of code. We used C and Linux as we needed an operating system that wouldn't kill people. You had to have a minimum of twenty years experience to work there. An upside was that there was no pressure at all about shipping the product before it was ready, even though we were well behind schedule. The downside was that you were allowed one mistake in your code. You were fired for the second one.
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#5Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lot's of unit testing I'm sure :) What languages do those industries use?
There was indeed a lot of unit testing as well as very intense reviews of every single line of code. We used C and Linux as we needed an operating system that wouldn't kill people. You had to have a minimum of twenty years experience to work there. An upside was that there was no pressure at all about shipping the product before it was ready, even though we were well behind schedule. The downside was that you were al…
Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.
I think a lot can be learned from that industry.
1. Write defect free software from the get-go
2. Take your time
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#6Aircraft. In particular from the start to finish of designing a light two seater aircraft.
I think we could improve safety a lot with modern glass displays. For example, we have the weather report from XM, and we have the pilot's flight plan on computer. Why not warn them if this flight would be dangerous (or dangerous for their experience level).
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Lot's of unit testing I'm sure :) What languages do those industries use?
There was indeed a lot of unit testing as well as very intense reviews of every single line of code. We used C and Linux as we needed an operating system that wouldn't kill people. You had to have a minimum of twenty years experience to work there. An upside was that there was no pressure at all about shipping the product before it was ready, even though we were well behind schedule. The downside was that you were al…
Why C? Why not something designed for safety like ada?
There's some really good tools out there to help meet DO-178B and beyond. In particular I'm a fan of the Spark toolset, recently GPL'ed.
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#8Printmaking. It's meticulous, and I am not --- it stretches me, and makes me feel like I'm working. I love holding all the technical details in mind (how much ink, how much acid, how much light, this is toxic, that is flammable) while still maintaining the vision, trying to give an emotional, intellectual, physical experience to anyone who sees the product. It's people-hacking.
Also, I'm designing a programming language. But these days, who isn't?
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#9I don't know what I'd love to work on.
If you'd asked me a few years ago, the job I described then would be almost indistinguishable to the job I have now. But I don't enjoy it and feel:
a) I know this is a good job and I ought to be able to love it, there's something wrong with me.
b) If I feel this way about this, wouldn't I feel the same about any other job that seems good now, if I did get to do it?
c) Guilty that this is a good job and I'm not making the most of the great opportunities it's giving me.
I fear the kind of ant-in-a-massive-system job, such as "Legal Department E-mail Archive Storage Administrator" and I love the idea of "Independantly Wealthy Research Lab Owner" where I get to be involved in a lot of different things at a high level.
Re: Ask HN: What would you love to work on?
#10Comic books. If I had my druthers, I would somehow be working in comic books. At some point in my life, I had a good deal of artistic talent, though the years I spent goofing off in puberty seem to have killed it entirely.
It's something of a dying art form, as most print-based things are, but also seem to have resurged in many ways, especially as movie properties. I'm eagerly waiting to see whether or not TakeComics succeeds as becoming the iTunes of comic books, and whether or not it spawns any cottage industries or ideas as a result.