The problem with Nix is that its often claimed to be reproducible, but the proof isn't really there because of the existence of collisions. The definition of reproducible is taken in such an isolated context as to be almost absurd.

While a collision hasn't yet been found for a SHA256 package on Nix, by the pigeonhole principle they exist, and the computer will not be able to decide between the two packages in such a collision leading to system level failure, with errors that have no link to cause (due to the properties involved, and longstanding CS problems in computation).

These things generally speaking contain properties of mathematical chaos which is a state that is inherently unknowable/unpredictable that no admin would ever approach or touch because its unmaintainable. The normally tightly coupled error handling code is no longer tightly coupled because it requires matching a determinable state (CS computation problems, halting/decidability).

Non-deterministic failure domains are the most costly problems to solve because troubleshooting which leverages properties of determinism, won't work.

This leaves you only a strategy of guess and check; which requires intimate knowledge of the entire system stack without abstractions present.

I am not a fan of today's concept of "AI", but to be fair, building today's software is not for the faint of heart, very few people gets it right on try 1.

Years ago I gave up compiling these large applications all together. I compiled Firefox via FreeBSD's (v8.x) ports system, that alone was a nightmare.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to compile GNOME3 or KDE or Libreoffice. Emacs is the largest thing I compile now.

Would you like people to work really hard for you without paying them competitively?

It's from 2007; if someone showed you this today, as what you needed to know as a hire, they'd be scamming you.

This seems like only the "first slide's" worth of what a tech employee needs to know about stock options, and not the most important things.

It's also worded imperfectly in parts, with the effect of being misleading.

If you start by looking at the lede and first paragraph, it's unclear who this is for, and seems more like a child's "book report", with no regard for the reader, nor sufficient understanding of the space that's relevant to the reader.

Perhaps this wasn't garbage in 2007, but I'm flagging it in 2025.

So, my son just graduated at the start of the summer with a dual degree in Math and Computer Science. He would like to find an entry level job in software engineering. Does anyone have any advice to give him?

After many (many!) years I finally got around to my childhood dreams of building a home network rack, centered around the Unifi stack. I've got the new 10 gig switch, the dream machine SE, a bunch of cameras, and I've been very impressed with their stuff. The experience "just works" and feels like they take inspiration from Apple. The whole camera setup can be "closed" by shutting off outside access, this self-hosting option takes it all a step further for those who care deeply about privacy!