This week was full of regulatory events impacting the largest tech companies, Apple, Google, Uber, and Lyft. As I said in the previous newsletter, the tech industry will no longer be free from regulations.

Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

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Software Engineering ⚙️

Yes, websites really are starting to look more similar – Sam Goree

I don’t buy the methodology of the study or the conclusion that the larger tech companies benefit from the similarity. However, it’s worth thinking about the tradeoff between the usability/accessibility of a website and the creative expression.

The consequences of memory allocation size for a Lambda function – Tamás Sallai

I rarely use lambda these days. But this article corrected the assumptions I held in the past. I especially liked the point that, due to the limit to the scaling speed, the larger lambda instances will translate into the more processing power.

People ❤️

Ritu Vincent – Staff Engineer at Dropbox – Ritu Vincent

Ritu’s interview was an inspiring read with a couple of takeaways. Most importantly, I was reminded that, while I seek stretching projects, I don’t actively seek feedback on how I am doing. A few projects immediately came to my mind, and I will follow up this week.

Business 💸

Epic is suing Google over Fortnite’s removal from the Google Play Store – The Verge

Epic Games, the developer behind the popular game Fortnite, is suing the two largest tech companies. The big tech hearing two weeks ago and the current public sentiment give Epic Games a good chance. Of the two, I believe that Apple, given its tighter control around iOS, is in a more serious trouble.

It really looks like Uber and Lyft might suspend operations in California – Quartz

Since the last year’s passing of California’s AB5, the law that classifies gig workers in California as employees, not individual contractors, Uber, and Lyft sought exemptions to classify their drivers as individual contractors. But the court ruled that both companies have until August 20 to make the change. The companies claim that they won’t be able to afford this change, and the drivers don’t want it.

“The Trick With Personal Tokens is People Want Me to be Popular, Not Necessarily Succesful:” Alex Masmej – Alex Masmej

Alex tokenized his life, and now leaves some of his life decisions up to the token holders. I am amazed that the initial offering raised USD 20,000 among 30 investors, and that the price is going up. It is like Patreon on steroids.