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Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

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Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#111

Post by zquzra »

bmitc wrote: post #23
amatecha wrote: post #9

"Stay honest, keep smiling and pay your own successes forward" Love this mentality. I've not seen such a concise phrase to describe such a positive perspective that truly embraces the "gift" of life. Like, be real/legit, find the good in everything/everyone, and help people out or life people up. Woz seems like a pretty cool guy.

He does indeed seem like a laid back normal person. But I must admit that I find it pretty easy to have such sentiments if one has or had a net worth that's basically infinite money to 99% of people out there. Would this post have the same upvotes and discussion if it was from an unknown gas station attendant or school teacher? It's good to take note of his positive attitude, but I do also think it's healthy to take…

If it was a school teacher people would surreptitiously dismiss it as "coping". People would dismiss it anyway, being it Woz or a teacher. Maybe people are somehow dismissing his opinion because it contradicts the entrepreneurial ethos that is glorified over here.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#112

Post by scruple »

madrox wrote: post #18

I resonate with this a lot. There is a time horizon beyond which the work we do doesn't really matter. No code I wrote five years ago is in production today. A vanishingly small number of products I built are still around. The act of building is a pleasure, but once it's built, its success and impact are pretty much out of my hands. Once I accepted that, I enjoyed the process a lot more, and ironically my output got…

I think this is kind of sad, but I guess I'm also very fortunate in who (most of) my employers have been. I've spent a large portion of my career working in codebases alongside stuff from the '90s, and with my first employer the things I was doing ~20 years ago are still in production systems today, right there alongside the older bits from the '90s in many cases.

I saw some comments in code last week from the founders of my current employer, written back in the '90s when I would've just been entering high school. That code and much more is still there in a product used and beloved by millions.

At an employer in the middle there, the oldest code was from the mid-2000s but it's still kicking around. Code I wrote there a decade later is still in production use today.

I can only think of a single employer where this isn't the case and it was a shitty startup that I never should've accepted an offer for.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#113

Post by scruple »

raverbashing wrote: post #45
normie3000 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No code I wrote five years ago is in production today. This is wild! How can you be so sure?

That's a funny statement I'm sure-ish some of my code from 10 yrs ago is still in production. Though I'm far removed from where it actually runs. Maybe even some of the older code I wrote (which at this point is ~ 15yrs old) might be still around (at a different place) 5 yrs ago? No problem. I even have to still maintain the darn thing. Of course, different companies, different cases, etc.

I'm still in contact with former colleagues from 4 of my 5 former employers over the last ~20 years (no contact from 1 of them that I left in a hurry). That's how I know code I wrote back then, alongside code that was even older, is still in use today.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#114

Post by ta1243 »

The_Colonel wrote: post #34

It's interesting how Woz and Jobs represent polar opposites on this topic with Jobs being very "the end justifies the means" type of person. > Finding things to be grateful for in the midst of hardship — like your loved ones or good health — can shift your brain into a more optimistic mindset and help you overcome those challenges, Wozniak added. I guess this is what it all boils down to. The default human setting is…

> appreciate what you have and live in the moment.

It's always easy for people who have everything to say that, they're not the ones lying in bed at night watching roaches climb the wall with no dad to phone and stop it all.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#115

Post by scruple »

drmpeg wrote: post #63
m463 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the companies I've worked for no longer exist, let alone the code. Even stranger, I've never had anything to show as the code never "existed" in the physical sense.

None of the companies I've worked for exist today. Even some of the buildings are gone. I worked at 1188 Bordeaux in Sunnyvale (at a kooky company called Microtest where I used to smoke weed with the CEO and CFO), and now it's been replaced with a Google parking garage (and Sunnyvale Fire Station #5 next door).

Every software engineering company I have worked for (5) still exists today. One of them was started in the '40s, so it clearly wasn't always a software company, and wouldn't strictly define itself as one today, either, but software is a critical component of their product lines so whatever. My current employer has been around since the '80s. Another was started in the late '90s. The others were startups that are younger.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#116

Post by scruple »

RealityVoid wrote: post #82
madrox wrote: post #18

I resonate with this a lot. There is a time horizon beyond which the work we do doesn't really matter. No code I wrote five years ago is in production today. A vanishingly small number of products I built are still around. The act of building is a pleasure, but once it's built, its success and impact are pretty much out of my hands. Once I accepted that, I enjoyed the process a lot more, and ironically my output got…

Based on your post, I was curious how long the stuff I write will be around for. I write software for cars, so that means a lot of legacy stuff, I've seen code written by coleagues hang around in the next generations of product for about 10 years. Then you have the life of the vehicles that varies greatly, but at least _some_ of the vehicles will reach 25 years, so I'd expect at least some of the SW I write to linger…

Yeah, I worked for an embedded company for ~8 years and there was a lot of old code kicking around that had been carried forward across product iterations. I know, from talking to colleagues who are still there today, that code I wrote ~20 years ago is still kicking around here or there in the current offerings.

> A bit unsettling when I think about the varying quality of software though.

That's just the business.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#117

Post by talldayo »

pipeline_peak wrote: post #110
talldayo wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Woz was nowhere near as productive as Jobs and you know it. Now I need this quote as a stitched sampler to hang over my toilet. Why didn't Jobs do the Atari contract himself? Why didn't he build the Macintosh alone? Why didn't he build his Phreaking business without the help of others? Such a vast mystery. The world may never know! It's just so hard to tell... obviously Jobs' genius surpassed Woz's weak intellect!…

There were many engineers who could've designed those products, but far less people who had the vision. A handful of engineers can design many amazing things, and yes they're essential, but they need use to a consumer. The people who vote with their wallet and keep a company alive. > And Jobs didn't? He did, but he certainly redeemed himself. Also there's this little company called Pixar you might've heard of. - Sent…

I'm sorry, I didn't realize your mouth was congenitally attached to Jobs' penis.

Have you looked into surgery for getting it detached? I've heard there's quite a high chance of success if you don't resign yourself to failure and insist upon a fruit-based diet.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#118

Post by pipeline_peak »

talldayo wrote: post #117
pipeline_peak wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There were many engineers who could've designed those products, but far less people who had the vision. A handful of engineers can design many amazing things, and yes they're essential, but they need use to a consumer. The people who vote with their wallet and keep a company alive. > And Jobs didn't? He did, but he certainly redeemed himself. Also there's this little company called Pixar you might've heard of. - Sent…

I'm sorry, I didn't realize your mouth was congenitally attached to Jobs' penis. Have you looked into surgery for getting it detached? I've heard there's quite a high chance of success if you don't resign yourself to failure and insist upon a fruit-based diet.

lmao…To the 12 year old boy who stole the phone of the person I’m replying to, would you please give it back to the original owner?

Stay classy

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#119

Post by squigz »

lawn wrote: post #89
jaggederest wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's only a fallacy for people who actually have arrived. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a useful framework - of course people who have achieved physical and emotional security, esteem in their career and family think that "it's not all about accomplishments", because they have all the accomplishments they need and are just trying to self-actualize. People who aren't in a position to worry about self-actualization be…

> People who aren't in a position to worry about self-actualization because they're trying to stay fed and clothed are unlikely to agree that money doesn't matter that much, if asked on their deathbed at presumably a young age. Lets be real though, almost everyone who reads HN are in the self-actualization phase, instead of the "how not to starve" phase.

The ideas people have about HN demographics is wild.

Re: Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

#120

Post by gopher_space »

scruple wrote: post #112
madrox wrote: post #18

I resonate with this a lot. There is a time horizon beyond which the work we do doesn't really matter. No code I wrote five years ago is in production today. A vanishingly small number of products I built are still around. The act of building is a pleasure, but once it's built, its success and impact are pretty much out of my hands. Once I accepted that, I enjoyed the process a lot more, and ironically my output got…

I think this is kind of sad, but I guess I'm also very fortunate in who ( most of ) my employers have been. I've spent a large portion of my career working in codebases alongside stuff from the '90s, and with my first employer the things I was doing ~20 years ago are still in production systems today, right there alongside the older bits from the '90s in many cases. I saw some comments in code last week from the foun…

As far as I'm aware the work I've done for institutions that still exist is all largely in place. I wouldn't consider this unusual or surprising in most industries, and certainly not a sign of exceptional competence on my part.

Life outside the FAANG-adjacent-or-worshipping community is completely different.

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