usbsea's comments

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Launch HN: Human Layer (YC F24) – Human-in-the-Loop API for AI Systems

I get the impression the "random dude" is the expert you are already paying $100k/yr for. It sends them a slack message, email, etc. The sales pitch is you don't have to code that microservice so you can ship your AI a bit faster. Which is fair enough, since most SaaS is 99% other PaaS/SaaS + some core unique business factor thrown on top. However I worry about how much this company is charging. It is pricey.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Launch HN: Human Layer (YC F24) – Human-in-the-Loop API for AI Systems

10c per slack API call. I could make a mobile phone call for less than that in 1995. It is expensive...

IFTTT, Zapier, NodeRed, etc. are your competitors.

E.g.

https://ifttt.com/applets/J75VtBA9-get-an-email-when-a-webho... -> https://ifttt.com/applets/KWqQedih-make-a-web-request-when-i.... They have lots of AI things too.

The problem is you are saying "API" call so you are already dealing with devs. They can save $10k by writing their own Slack integration (even easier if they pay IFTTT $150/y), and the enterprises will want you to be all FedRAMP, ISO, SOC, Data Resident etc.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Show HN: Windsurf – Agentic IDE

In this shovel rush, even the shovel factory makers (OpenAI) are not sustainable, and the shovel factory factory makers (NVidia) are doing well. Ironically the "gold" is with all the boring companies on the consumer side of the AI.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Show HN: Burner – A low cost wallet to gift crypto

You avoid a seed phrase, but how? I thought it was "not your keys not your coin".

My understanding is someone who wants secure crypto needs to cryptographically safely generate a seed phrase. For signigicant amounts of money you will want that backed up. I guess if this is like a $50 gift card people are treating it like that and might accept if it gets lost then shrug.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Show HN: Someday, Open-Source Calendly Alternative for Gmail / Google App Script

Yes sort of enough to be useful to use, and I do use it, but not complete enough to be perfect. A bit like Google tasks!

It does the main things though - it can check other calendars, people can book into your calendar, it deals with time zones and schedules.

It fits into the valley of "use if you are already using Google stuff alot, but not worth it as a solo feature if you don't".

Cal.com is way better. But then that is no suprise, it's their only job.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: SMURF: Beyond the Test Pyramid

This is obvious, as anoter commenter said, but this is nonetheless useful.

You can use it to show graduates. Why have them waste time relearning the same mistakes. You probably need a longer blog post with examples.

It is useful as a check list, so you can pause when working earlier in the lifecycle to consider these things.

I think there is power in explaining out the obvious. Sometimes experienced people miss it!

The diagram can be condensed by saying SMUR + F = 1. IN other words you can slide towards Fidelity, or towards "Nice Testibility" which covers the SMUR properties.

However it is more complex!

Let's say you have a unit test for a parser within your code. For a parser a unit test might have pretty much the same fidelity as an intergation test (running the parse from a unit test, rather than say doing a compilation from something like Replit online). But the unit test has all the other properties be the same in this instance.

Another point is you are not testing anything if you have zero e2e tests. You get a lot (a 99-1 not 80-20) by having some e2e tests, then soon the other type of tests almost always make sense. In addition e2e tests if well written and considers can also be run in production as synthetics.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Show HN: Citizen – A Node.js web app framework for fans of classic app servers

What does "server do the heavy lifting" mean here - and is this much different to a Rails or Django type of thing? I know in Node-land there are less kitchen-sink options like this though.

The storage and k/v looks interesting. Django is pretty pluggable in that regard. Choose sqlite and a local redis and I think you probably have the same thing. But you do need to make choices and read docs to get there.

usbsea | 1 year ago | on: Pair Programming?

It is not like pair programming at all. At least yet.

* There is no social stuff to deal with. You want a break but don't want to look like a slacker, so you keep going. Etc.

* The assistant can be turned off. It can also be turned on at 1am if you need it.

* The assistant has the reasoning power of a flea and knows nothing of your mission. Had to use Github Copilot due to AI policies and that is worse than most of the scrappy startup ones, in that it won't even look at other files.

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