Tom Thresher

I’ve been thinking a lot about this. The post below highlights a troubling trend: SaaS companies explicitly opting out of serving the EU market because of regulatory challenges. And honestly, I can relate. As an EU citizen, it’s often easier to start something targeted at the US market and distribute it there than it is to operate within Europe. The US market is massive, vibrant, and—crucially—easier to navigate from a regulatory perspective. On the other hand, Europe, with its patchwork of regulations, feels like a minefield. GDPR, while well-intentioned, often becomes a barrier rather than a facilitator for innovation. Take the cookie banners, for example—those intrusive pop-ups we’re forced to navigate on nearly every site. They’ve become a meme at this point, something everyone ignores or blindly clicks through. What’s the point of regulations like this if they alienate users and stifle innovation while doing little to actually protect privacy? We’re seeing innovation bypass Europe. How did it come to this? Where is Europe heading if the cost of compliance outweighs the reward of serving the market? It’s sad to see, but it’s the reality we’re living in. Unless something changes, I fear this trend will only accelerate. Europe needs to rethink its approach if it wants to compete on the global innovation stage. Would love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you had similar experiences, or do you see a way forward?

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What does playing a game like Elden Ring add to your on-call game? It teaches you to be resilient and more importantly the fundamentals of understanding the patterns in front of you to be well prepared and make quick decisions. I share a first person experience of leveling up on the field, how to deploy Node.js on Kubernetes and why great observability is important: https://lnkd.in/dsq4Km7W

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At Localyze we just finished our annual performance reviews cycle. This year I got feedback not only from my manager but also anonymous 360° feedback from peers and, for the first time, feedback from my direct reports. Of course, there are always areas and ways to improve, but overall I am very satisfied with the review. Nothing unexpected was brought up, and there was lots of positive feedback and a bit of actionable advice how to improve. Like many software engineers, I often experienced signs and symptoms of the impostor syndrome during my career. However, after more than 16 years in the industry, I finally feel confident about my technical skills and experience as a software engineer. But as a manager, I still have lots of doubts. For too long, I avoided doing people management because I thought it would be too hard and demanding for me having meaningful, helpful and sometimes difficult conversation with reports on a daily basis. And I have high expectations of what makes a good manager. Having integrity is an important aspect, I want to be recognized a transparent, trustworthy, and emphatic leader. Therefore, this short paragraph from my performance review was my highlight. It makes me very happy, and I am very proud that the people around me perceive me being empathic and see it as one of my greatest straights.  Because the feedback was anonymous, I don't know who to thank. But: Thank you very much, teammate. This paragraph means a lot to me, because it means that I am on the right track.

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This is not just any "hey, we are looking for a dev" post. This might be one of the most exciting engineering roles we have ever hired for. Let me explain why: I have the great privilege of being the product lead for the exceptionally brilliant Rendering Engine Team at Miro. Several months ago, we took a bold step to revamp our foundational rendering technology from the ground up, setting an ambitious vision far beyond what Miro is capable of today. Building a highly performant rendering engine for a product like Miro is not trivial though. You are dealing with an infinite 2D canvas with potentially thousands of multimedia objects, all while multiple people collaborate in real-time. We want professionals & creatives to spend the majority of their working days in Miro. Unfortunately, every lag when panning a large planning board, every jiggle effect due to low FPS when zooming out from a large planning session, and every slight delay when selecting hundreds of multimedia objects not only results in lost time but also slight frustration. It's that small, annoying feeling that something felt slightly slow, slightly not instant, slightly irritating. A products performance is not just about the time you lose; it is about the feeling this product gives you. On the other hand, we all know the feeling of delight when you do something complex in a product, and it happens instantaneously. That feeling that no matter what you do, no matter what workload you throw at an application, it will be responsive, fast, and instantaneous. This is what we envision: A rendering engine that continuously surprises you with its snappiness, making work feel light and delightful. We are looking for someone who is as equally annoyed by these issues as we are and wants to take the lead in solving them. We aim to build a rendering engine that raises the bar for what people consider possible on a web-based canvas. A computer graphics professional who wants to take on the challenge of working on a renderer that powers the day-to-day work of millions of users and some of the most creative and innovative companies in the world. If you work in the field of computer graphics and want to contribute to the heart of a product that aims to amplify collaboration and creative work, give it shot. Feel free to DM me for more information or directly apply below:

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My manager recently shared this gem of a blog post about the dance between Engineering Management and Software Engineering roles (turns out it's quite a popular read!). https://lnkd.in/d2fE-vNh While it's seven years old now, the insights are timeless and have been incredibly valuable both for my own career journey and in supporting others. 🌱 For those interested in diving deeper, Charity just recorded a comprehensive talk that adds some fantastic context to the original post: https://lnkd.in/d9xSfhqT Key takeaways that really resonated with me: 💡 🔄 The best technical leaders often swing between both roles - like a pendulum 👉 "Management is not a promotion, management is a change of profession" 🧠 Moving to EM? Be ready to miss that dopamine hit from solving technical problems! ⚡ The hybrid manager + tech lead role is trickier than it seems - your engineering context naturally fades over time Would love to hear your thoughts on this! Have you experienced the engineering-management pendulum in your career? #SoftwareEngineering #Leadership #Engineering #EngineeringManagement

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The policies being driven forward by Thierry Breton around the EU AI Act have been utmost damaging for the European tech industry, and they need to be revised as soon as possible. We need to better balance driving European innovation through data collection and modeling with conflicting needs such as data protection and safety. We need to ensure we can turn these developments into businesses that can be the pillar of the next generation of companies that provide productivity growth in Europe. We have no other choice - either we do this here, or we will have to take over products developed in the US and in China, as it already happened with search engines, cell phones, and social networks. We wouldn't want to let this happen with AI applications in robotics or digital assistants. #euacc #euaiact #aiact

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Saying this without having experience/education in corporate taxes nor global tax liability is borderline negligent and horribly misleading. I'm a big supporter of remote work, but I'm also a supporter of not violating local, federal, or international tax laws and treaties. Some countries have this thing called Permanent Establishment. If an employee works there long enough, and this varies from country to country, you (the employer) may be liable for paying corporate income tax based on profits associated to that employee. So if one of your remote Sales people did 1MM in sales over the month, then you (the company) might be liable for corporate income tax based on what country they reside in. For instance, the effective corporate tax rate for companies in Japan generally ranges from approximately 28% to 35%. You do the math. I'm not an expert, but a popular LLM summarized some of the many challenges well: Allowing employees to work from anywhere in the world for any period can have significant tax implications for a company, including: 1. Permanent Establishment (PE) Risk: If employees work in a foreign country for an extended period, the company might create a PE in that country, leading to corporate tax liabilities there. 2. Withholding Taxes: Companies may need to withhold and remit local taxes on employee wages to the host country. 3. Compliance with Local Laws: Companies must adhere to the labor and tax laws of the country where the employee is working, including social security contributions and payroll taxes. 4. Double Taxation: There is a risk of being taxed in both the home and host countries. Companies need to navigate tax treaties and seek credits or exemptions to mitigate double taxation. 5. Administration and Reporting: Increased administrative burden to manage compliance with multiple tax jurisdictions, including registration, filings, and reporting requirements. 6. Employee Tax Residency: Employees may become tax residents of the host country, impacting their tax obligations and potentially the company’s tax reporting responsibilities. 7. Indirect Taxes: Other taxes such as VAT, sales tax, or service tax may apply depending on the nature of business activities conducted by the employee in the foreign country. 8. Legal and Financial Risks: Non-compliance with local tax laws can result in penalties, interest, and reputational damage. Companies considering this policy should consult with international tax experts to develop strategies for managing these risks effectively. (Not legal or tax advice, talk to professionals as the LLM suggests)

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Does Screenshotbot save on build times? This was a question that surprisingly came up a couple of times at #dcbln24. It probably had something to do with the large number of platform and DevEx folk at the conference. In any case, the answer turns out to be "Yes". More specifically: You'll save 19% in build times on average, and 49% in build times in the P95 case. The savings come from avoiding re-runs when screenshots change. Read my blog post with the analysis, and I'd love to hear your thoughts: https://lnkd.in/eEh4zqkN

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Stop Coding, Start Leading. For many first-time technical co-founders, the transition to a bigger company can be very uncomfortable. They often wrongly believe they can build features more quickly independently rather than collaborating with the team. This is a misguided perception of productivity where technical debt is accumulated in exchange for quicker delivery. This is a must-read for technical founders in their growing startup: https://andr.as/3zrzFWb

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I have been working in technology for 30 years, fully dedicated to software development. Yet, I’m certain that even today, my family doesn’t really understand what I do. As I observe discussions in companies and communities, I notice that many people in technology are confused about the different roles, especially within the context of "Architecture": - Software Architecture - Cloud Architecture - Solutions Architecture - IT Architecture - Enterprise Architecture - Data Architecture - Security Architecture - Infrastructure Architecture Our career is amazing, full of possibilities, and has expanded significantly over the past few decades. And look, I haven’t even touched on the topic of artificial intelligence in this list. The truth is, I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to live through and intensely experience the evolution of the software development industry over these decades. I’ve been actively supporting the ecosystem through mentoring, lectures, books, and articles, helping to shape other leaders who can spread knowledge and train even more people. And now, how do I explain that I’m developing a platform that helps other developers develop software? :) #SoftwareArchitecture #CloudArchitecture #SolutionsArchitecture #ITArchitecture #EnterpriseArchitecture #DataArchitecture #SecurityArchitecture #InfrastructureArchitecture #software #tecnology

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I wrote a blog post about the Vivaldi web browser from Vivaldi Technologies and why I use it as my primary browser. This post also contains links to a related video I created on the topic and a Vivaldi Community Talk conversation that I participated in. https://lnkd.in/duSATdt8 #Vivaldi #VivaldiBrowser #OnlineCommunity #WebBrowser #Browser #WorkProductivity

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Well, this will be interesting: https://lnkd.in/dn7DpK8K? We are a long way from knowing the outcome of this and whether it will really happen or not. One thing that I am interested in finding out is how well Google (or Alphabet) will do when their massive ad revenue can't be used to subsidize all of their tech development? If all of their solutions have to stand on their own, provide their own revenue, and fully compete feature by feature, where will they land? Looking forward to watching this play out.

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🪴 “As a manager, I think it is incredibly necessary to have an educational budget so people can decide how they want to grow in their careers.” 👋 We recently chatted with our new Director of Engineering, Najla Elmachtoub, to find out why she thinks this benefit at Delivery Hero is so valuable and how she’s made the most of it so far. 🚀 Read more about our benefits here: https://lnkd.in/e2xe7QSX How do you plan to spend your educational budget next year? Tell us in the comments! 👇 #deliveryhero #benefits

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💻 When we begin a project at Outsourcify, it’s not just about gathering a team of developers, designers, and testers. There’s a crucial first step we prioritize: the Define Scope – Requirements Workshop.   🎯 This workshop is our chance to address your startup’s vision and business needs, turning ideas into an actionable, tailored roadmap for a successful project launch. 🔎 How do we extract the needs of a startup in the context of a Define Scope - Requirements Workshop? ➡️ Read our newest article now: https://lnkd.in/gbfCdps3 #outsourcify #techtalk #webagency #bangkok #thailand #technology #innovation #development #workshop

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Interesting. Demand for Devs is now 30% lower than PRE-Pandemic levels.

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The Art of Self-Review: A Solo Developer’s Guide You should always have someone to review your work – a manager, a lead, a mentor, a psychotherapist. An external perspective is crucial for validating your thoughts and intentions. But what happens when you don’t have anyone around? That's my current reality. Five months ago, my backend engineer partner moved to another team, leaving me solely responsible for all server-side decisions. Initially, I felt sadness and loneliness, which quickly led to a drop in both speed and accuracy. This challenge prompted me to elevate my self-review practice, and here's how I do it: 1. Complete the Code — Ensure it's fully functional and meets all acceptance criteria. 2. Post for Review — Submit your code as you would for any peer review. 3. Switch Tasks — Move on to another task until the end of the day. 4. Start Fresh — Begin each new day with a Code-Review session. 5. Review Your Code — Use a Code-Review Tool like GitLab to gain a reviewer’s perspective. 6. Blur Ownership — Review your code alongside others’ work to minimize bias. 7. Leave Honest Comments — Critique your code as if it were someone else’s – no hesitations or leniency. 8. Address Feedback — Review comments, respond, and proceed to QA. > Be a leader for yourself. Poll - Do you practice self-review? - Do you leave comments for yourself? - Do you agree that your code isn't ready for cross-organizational review until it passes your self-review? - Do you apply self-review to other activities, like planning a vacation? Inspired by [Christian Hammond's blog](https://lnkd.in/d5Y3KZHB) #LifeIsASoftwareDevelopment #CodeReview #SoftwareEngineering #TechLeadership #BackendDevelopment #DeveloperLife #SelfImprovement #AgileDevelopment

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Sharing another great article about motivation by Vitaly Sharovatov I steal three sum up points from the article directly: - interest is of essential value to the team morale, motivation, and performance - interest bolsters cognitive functions, creativity, learning, and growth - interest is provoked by novelty and problem solving, so refrain from giving tasks; help the team solve problems https://lnkd.in/dz4TwiQF

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