Post Processing: Hiring, Microsoft, Einstein, Google Fi, and Linux

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Lamp Post
I explored how tech hiring was broken in two previous posts: The Best Selling Tech Book On Amazon Is ... and Alternatives to the Whiteboard. An article from CNBC adds to the story.  Historically, the Google hiring process required six to nine months and 15 to 25 interviews, but learning the lesson of diminishing returns, Google has adopted the "Rule of Four."

In the post Git-Hub Hub-Bub, I wrote how Microsoft, under Nadella, is different and better than when it was under Ballmer.  Microsoft continues that trajectory as written in Bloomberg's The Most Valuable Company (for Now) Is Having a Nadellaissance.  Most telling is Nadella's mature reaction to a $1 trillion valuation: "... not meaningful" and any rejoicing about such an arbitrary milestone would mark "the beginning of the end."

The figurines Albert Einstein and Homer Simpson sat together on my shelf for a few years.  Every now and then, I wondered what they would say to each other if they had met.  The post, Einstein Meets Homer Simpson, was inspired by this New York Times piece: Have Dark Forces Been Messing With the Cosmos?  The sub-heading adds "Astrophysicists scramble to patch a hole in the universe, rewriting cosmic history in the process."

I wrote about Google Fi for the iPhone and noted the lack of visual voicemail. Messages (and spam) would pile up in my voicemail box and it was a nuisance to dial in, enter my PIN, and press 6 to delete them.  Now the Google Fi app has an additional tab which lets you view transcripts, playback messages, and delete them right from the screen!

Back in 2014, I gave a talk "Stupid Shell Tricks for Beginners and Intermediates" and lived to write about it.  Modern Linux has rendered these tricks obsolete, although I'd argue they are still entertaining.  Nevertheless, it pays to stay current and I keep up by reading Linux Journal.  The publication recently thanked their readers by posting photos and blurbs about them.  See if you can find me.  Hint: I am about 33 names down the page.



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