Basecamp employees detail an all-hands that led to resignations, including the head of strategy, who questioned the existence of white supremacy at the company

(post is archived)

You are currently inside a comment thread.

Click here to see all the comments (51).

[–] • 0 pt

project management web-app

I almost spit out my coffee laughing.

I guess I am mainly only talking about places that write systems level code, firmware, drivers, microcode, utilities, compilers, complex engineering and science applications, etc.

parent
link

[–] • 0 pt

Yeah, I was wondering when you started talking about a windows hardware conference, didn't seem like productivity web app territory.

Incidentally, if you have any advice about how to get into that kind of field could I PM you? I've wanted to work with hardware level coding for years.

parent
link

[–] • 0 pt

(edited )

hardware level coding for years

avoid tinkering with arduino UNLESS targeting a very low volume run and can afford 22 dollar specs.

you want to learn ARM-32 (arm cortex) or 64 C programming (assembler not needed at first except understanding interrupt handlers and boot up and sleep)!!!!!! Then buy a easy to play with ARM based version similar to some arduino kits enhanceability and battery management.

you can learn ARM using a game boy advance emulator (ARM7TDMI) and a set of free compiler tools. no hardware, no cables, but not impressive.

remember to avoid ever wasting time on Thumb 16-bit instruction mode! Its not part of the world of 2021.

To impress a person hiring , you need to build a few hobby fun arm projects, (gyrosope, sound, led control, screen draw, fonts, battery management, etc). lots of "EVIL GENIUS" style robotics books exist and some are ARM based.

If you just want systems level ARM tinkering and daughtercard addon consider many cool projects for a powerful linux computer : https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/

50 bucks and you are set, then buy the cards to snap onto it to do DA, AD, relay button, 3d gryro , etc.

you cannot of course ever expect to use that proprietary shit firmware in a raspberrypi in a SERIOUS mass market ARM product.

Serious mass market products are final builds with just a 2 to 5 dollar ARM CPU, sometimes additional flashrom, and minimalist board. 2 to 5 dollars... not 45 dollars.

Serous hobby board to start out with would be :

STM32 Discovery(10$) a 10 dollar board with 32-bit ARM cortex running at 24MHZ with 8kb of RAM, or a 50 dollar with bells and whistles : https://www.amazon.com/s?k=STM32+Discovery

do a few cool projects using things similar to STM32 hobby boards and remember that the interviewer wants in a hiring meeting to know how you FIXED PROBLEMS and overcome engineering obstacles, and not just final success.

if self teaching, perhaps find free online collegiate courseware for DIGITAL ELECTRONICS. A couple years ago lots of universities allowed video of courses online.

books and even some textbooks can come from searching : https://booksc.org/

To get hired, start on a small contract LOCALLY and underbid and work at your own pace as a contractor, but its better to get hired fulltime and learn on the job because an older mentor can unstuck you if you act appreciative.

the only negative of being a hardware engineer is INCORRECT OR MISSING CHIP DOCUMENTATION or MISSING FIRMWARE DOCUMENTATION. I achieved jaw dropping reworks of existent circuit boards without one piece of paper of any documentation. Its never ever barely tolerable, but one day you will do the same. A high IQ can solve any computer or electrical problem.

> hardware level coding for years avoid tinkering with arduino UNLESS targeting a very low volume run and can afford 22 dollar specs. you want to learn ARM-32 (arm cortex) or 64 C programming (assembler not needed at first except understanding interrupt handlers and boot up and sleep)!!!!!! Then buy a easy to play with ARM based version similar to some arduino kits enhanceability and battery management. you can learn ARM using a game boy advance emulator (ARM7TDMI) and a set of free compiler tools. no hardware, no cables, but not impressive. remember to avoid ever wasting time on Thumb 16-bit instruction mode! Its not part of the world of 2021. To impress a person hiring , you need to build a few hobby fun arm projects, (gyrosope, sound, led control, screen draw, fonts, battery management, etc). lots of "EVIL GENIUS" style robotics books exist and some are ARM based. If you just want systems level ARM tinkering and daughtercard addon consider many cool projects for a powerful linux computer : https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/ 50 bucks and you are set, then buy the cards to snap onto it to do DA, AD, relay button, 3d gryro , etc. you cannot of course ever expect to use that proprietary shit firmware in a raspberrypi in a SERIOUS mass market ARM product. Serious mass market products are final builds with just a 2 to 5 dollar ARM CPU, sometimes additional flashrom, and minimalist board. 2 to 5 dollars... not 45 dollars. Serous hobby board to start out with would be : STM32 Discovery(10$) a 10 dollar board with 32-bit ARM cortex running at 24MHZ with 8kb of RAM, or a 50 dollar with bells and whistles : https://www.amazon.com/s?k=STM32+Discovery do a few cool projects using things similar to STM32 hobby boards and remember that the interviewer wants in a hiring meeting to know how you FIXED PROBLEMS and overcome engineering obstacles, and not just final success. if self teaching, perhaps find free online collegiate courseware for DIGITAL ELECTRONICS. A couple years ago lots of universities allowed video of courses online. books and even some textbooks can come from searching : https://booksc.org/ To get hired, start on a small contract LOCALLY and underbid and work at your own pace as a contractor, but its better to get hired fulltime and learn on the job because an older mentor can unstuck you if you act appreciative. the only negative of being a hardware engineer is INCORRECT OR MISSING CHIP DOCUMENTATION or MISSING FIRMWARE DOCUMENTATION. I achieved jaw dropping reworks of existent circuit boards without one piece of paper of any documentation. Its never ever barely tolerable, but one day you will do the same. A high IQ can solve any computer or electrical problem.

parent
link

[–] • 0 pt

avoid tinkering with arduino UNLESS targeting a very low volume run and can afford 22 dollar specs.

I always assumed arduino was used as a stand in until they developed their own boards, and possibly rewrote the whole thing in C, is that not the case? I didn't realise commercial projects actually used entire arduino boards in their production.

I made a little breakout board for an Atmega32u2 and messed around with programming for that in C. I figure a job involving that kind of thing (maybe embedded product development) would be fun and keep me away from the arty lefty types you tend to find in things like game dev or web dev.

you can learn ARM using a color game boy emulator and a set of free compiler tools. no hardware, no cables, but not impressive.

That sounds like a good project, thanks for the tip. Any particular language, or does it matter? I assume most work is done in C but I'm not really sure.

To impress a person hiring , you need to build a few hobby fun arm projects, (gyrosope, sound, led control, screen draw, fonts, battery management, etc). lots of "EVIL GENIUS" style robotics books exist and some are ARM based.

If you just want systems level ARM tinkering and daughtercard addon consider many cool projects for a powerful linux computer : https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/

50 bucks and you are set, then buy the cards to snap onto it to do DA, AD, relay button, 3d gryro , etc.

So to be in hireable territory, would I need to write the driver libraries for those cards, or just prove I can read the manual and interface with them?

you cannot of course ever expect to use that proprietary shit firmware in a raspberrypi in a SERIOUS mass market ARM product.

Serious mass market products are final builds with just a 2 to 5 dollar ARM CPU, sometimes additional flashrom, and minimalist board. 2 to 5 dollars... not 45 dollars.

Oh definitely, I assumed they'd strip out everything they didn't need and condense it all down to a single board. I've played around with that before too: Made my board in eagle and got it shipped out from china. I even did all the SMD stuff by hand and used a hotplate to flow it. Board didn't work in the end and I realised I had taken waaaaay too much on and there were so many potential problems I couldn't possible hope to diagnose any of them. Could be a fuckup in the circuit design, heat stress from my dodgy hotplate soldering, bad components... it was a mess. It was a great project though and I'm glad I did it in hindsight.

if self teaching, perhaps find free online collegiate courseware for DIGITAL ELECTRONICS. A couple years ago lots of universities allowed video of courses online.

books and even some textbooks can come from searching : https://booksc.org/

Thanks. Currently I'm in a crappy CS course, but there's an online ElEng masters I have my eye on. In the meantime you've given me a bit to chew on.

To get hired, start on a small contract LOCALLY and underbid and work at your own pace as a contractor, but its better to get hired fulltime and learn on the job because a mentor can unstuck you.

What kind of projects would you recommend? The only hardware guy I know does chip design for intel and that's obviously miles out of my league.

>avoid tinkering with arduino UNLESS targeting a very low volume run and can afford 22 dollar specs. I always assumed arduino was used as a stand in until they developed their own boards, and possibly rewrote the whole thing in C, is that not the case? I didn't realise commercial projects actually used entire arduino boards in their production. I made a little breakout board for an Atmega32u2 and messed around with programming for that in C. I figure a job involving that kind of thing (maybe embedded product development) would be fun and keep me away from the arty lefty types you tend to find in things like game dev or web dev. >you can learn ARM using a color game boy emulator and a set of free compiler tools. no hardware, no cables, but not impressive. That sounds like a good project, thanks for the tip. Any particular language, or does it matter? I assume most work is done in C but I'm not really sure. >To impress a person hiring , you need to build a few hobby fun arm projects, (gyrosope, sound, led control, screen draw, fonts, battery management, etc). lots of "EVIL GENIUS" style robotics books exist and some are ARM based. >If you just want systems level ARM tinkering and daughtercard addon consider many cool projects for a powerful linux computer : https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b/ >50 bucks and you are set, then buy the cards to snap onto it to do DA, AD, relay button, 3d gryro , etc. So to be in hireable territory, would I need to write the driver libraries for those cards, or just prove I can read the manual and interface with them? >you cannot of course ever expect to use that proprietary shit firmware in a raspberrypi in a SERIOUS mass market ARM product. >Serious mass market products are final builds with just a 2 to 5 dollar ARM CPU, sometimes additional flashrom, and minimalist board. 2 to 5 dollars... not 45 dollars. Oh definitely, I assumed they'd strip out everything they didn't need and condense it all down to a single board. I've played around with that before too: Made my board in eagle and got it shipped out from china. I even did all the SMD stuff by hand and used a hotplate to flow it. Board didn't work in the end and I realised I had taken waaaaay too much on and there were so many potential problems I couldn't possible hope to diagnose any of them. Could be a fuckup in the circuit design, heat stress from my dodgy hotplate soldering, bad components... it was a mess. It was a great project though and I'm glad I did it in hindsight. >if self teaching, perhaps find free online collegiate courseware for DIGITAL ELECTRONICS. A couple years ago lots of universities allowed video of courses online. >books and even some textbooks can come from searching : https://booksc.org/ Thanks. Currently I'm in a crappy CS course, but there's an online ElEng masters I have my eye on. In the meantime you've given me a bit to chew on. >To get hired, start on a small contract LOCALLY and underbid and work at your own pace as a contractor, but its better to get hired fulltime and learn on the job because a mentor can unstuck you. What kind of projects would you recommend? The only hardware guy I know does chip design for intel and that's obviously miles out of my league.

parent
link

Load more (2 replies)