🚀 The race to space

Hey, 👋 Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter.

Come and say hello! We’re on Reddit now. Get involved in tech discussions 💬

Enjoying our content? Why not share it with your friends! 👇

Share Haystack Digest

💥 Big Tech & Start-ups

[caption align="alignnone" width="980"]

[/caption]

giphy

Man, Big Tech has problems

Biden signed an executive order last week cracking down on Big Tech, hoping to promote more competition. But will this make much of a difference? 

“Too often, federal agencies have not blocked, conditioned, or, in some cases, meaningfully examined these acquisitions” said a White House fact sheet.

So what’s happening? Here’s just a handful…

• Google’s monopoly problems 🎲 It’s latest complaint on the Google Play Store, and the 30% commission fee it levies on developers ontends Google imposes technical barriers that “strongly discourage or effectively prevent third-party app developers from distributing apps outside the Google Play Store”.

• Amazon in Hollywood 🎬 Amazon is also in the spotlight with the FTC having a closer look at a recent $8.45billion acquisition of MGM, the Hollywood studio behind hits like James Bond.

• Epic Vs. Apple 🍏 Apple removed Fortnite from the Appstore after Epic introduced direct payments - which meant Apple didn’t receive its 30% commission on all in-app purchases. Apple is awaiting a federal judge’s decision later in the year in response to Epic’s antitrust claim. 

🔭 Science & Future Tech

[caption align="alignnone" width="980"]

[/caption]

Image taken from the Financial Times

Not really future tech or science but we couldn’t not mention the rivalry between Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos and their race to space…

On Sunday, July 11, Richard Branson flew Virgin Galactic and went to space, so he’s officially an astronaut. Jeff Bezos, the owner of rocket Blue Origin, previously announced plans to go to space on July 20 before Branson announced his plans. IMAGINE being pipped to the post like that?

There are 600 customers supposedly lined up to fly Virgin Galactic, which costs around £180,000 for a trip to space when the commercial offerings commence in 2022.

Billionaires with their toys…

💻 Programming, Design & Data

[caption align="alignnone" width="980"]

[/caption]

In their latest update, Figma has continued their streak of much asked for updates with a release that makes comparing, testing and presenting prototypes easier than ever. You can now create multiple user flows on a single page 📄, name them to provide context and easily swap between them from within the prototype viewer. No more juggling 15 prototype links praying 🙏  your stakeholders know which is which.

You can also now rename frames directly on the canvas, no more searching down the layers list for ‘Frame 567’. Let’s hope soon they let us add borders to a single side, we’re all tired of 0 blur 1px shadows. 🙄

⚙️ Miscellaneous

[caption align="alignnone" width="980"]

[/caption]

giphy

What’s new in social? 📱

• Whatsapp is working on a new multi-device feature, so you could be logged in on up to 4 devices, without necessarily having to be logged into your mobile device and have it nearby.

• Say bye 👋 to Fleets. You know, that Twitter stories feature? Turns out no one uses them! So Twitter is throwing that idea in the trash.

• Instagram are ruffling some feathers in the community, by launching a ‘Re-share’ sticker test to their stories feature. The idea behind the feature is to allow users to be more creative, but, will it work?

• The TikTok takeover continues. It comes as no surprise that TikTok has topped the leaderboard for the past 18 months, claiming the title as the most downloaded non-gaming app. Let’s face it, a 5 minute scroll can quickly turn into 5 hours 👀

🚀 Sponsors

Dev

1. Lloyds Banking Group: Software Engineer (Manchester)

2. NorthLink Digital:Full Stack Javascript Developer (Middlesbrough)

3. Asda: Full Stack Developer (Leeds)

Design

1. Grid Smarter Cities: UI Designer (Newcastle upon Tyne)

2. Opencast:Interaction Designer (Newcastle upon Tyne - open to remote)

3. Gear4Music:UI Designer (Manchester/ York)

Data

1. Auto Trader: Data Scientist (Manchester)

2. Tombola: Data Analyst (Sunderland)

3. AO: Data Engineer - BI (Remote)

♻️ Blog Round-up

Top 5 Programming Languages for Automation Testing

Automation Testing is flourishing in the current times, replacing the more traditional Manual Testing practices within organisations. It’s becoming apparent that Automation Testing is less labour-intensive, more efficient and scalable and there are various programming languages considered when using it. Read more.

Meet Ruth 👋

A self-taught software engineer and proud trans woman 🏳️‍⚧️. Ruth shares her journey of how she got into software engineering from a Chemistry degree and how her experience of transitioning impacted her work. Read more.

How to have a productive programming day

Why bother being productive? It’s pretty self-explanatory. You’ll get more work done, learn faster, become smarter, become better in your career and ultimately earn more 🤑. Discover the most desirable high-level productivity tips. Read more.

5 React Libraries Every Project Should Use in 2021

There are 100s of great React libraries to choose from, but which ones do you need most for your React projects? Take a look at the top 5, each of them covering virtually every major tool you’ll ever need! Read more.

❓ Q&A

In our latest Developer stories series, we caught up with Ermiya - a Software Developer, Mentor and STEM Ambassador.

“I’m crazy about all things to do with tech. I’m genuinely excited to see how the world is going to change over the coming years.”

Q.You’re super active in the tech community, how do you find your own balance between work and helping to create the next generation of technical experts!?

Maintaining balance in anything ultimately comes down to sacrifice. I love helping in general, especially when it’s something to do with tech – for events which I do through STEM learning, I typically use my annual leave to cover for that. Even if one student or one person is inspired to move into tech because of what I’ve said or done, it’s the most rewarding and satisfying feeling.

I hope I can give back to the community in the same way that I’ve benefited from the community.

Q. What one, or two key pieces of advice would you give to other software developers who are looking for their next opportunity? What should they look out for in job specs, what are your top red flags etc?

Key advice #1 would be network – this isn’t specific to software development but the working world and life in general. Being connected to 1000 people who are well connected is extraordinary – you can get introduced to potentially anyone that in normal circumstances, you’d probably never be able to even be connected to. Network, network & network – it’s not what you know. It’s who you know.

Key advice #2 is to find where your strongest skills lie and go all-in on it. Go deep in a few skills that you love and you will be successful.

Top red flags for job specs – everyone says they have a “unique opportunity” or we’re a “forward-looking company”. Don’t fall for fancy words at all. Look for tangible benefits. Look for the real core skills that they need. Avoid job specs that list technologies like there is no tomorrow. Avoid interview processes beyond 3 stages unless you are going for a FAANG company. Avoid job specs that mention “work hard, play hard” unless you’re applying for EA Games to work on BF 2042 & hang on in there. It will take time before you find your perfect role – just get your foot in the door.

Read more of Ermiya’s journey and discover his tips and guidance.