Rahul Pandey Q&A and Videos

The launch of a new AI-based hardware product, Friend, went viral yesterday on Twitter/X:

Most of the reactions I saw online have been very negative. The common complaint is that Friend creates a dystopian future of companionship with intrusive technology.

Would love to hear your thoughts!

• "Friend" is a wearable pendant around your neck that ""
• Friend connects to your phone via Bluetooth and tries to develop a personality based on listening to what you say and do.
• It costs $99 and the product is ~6 months out: pre-orders start shipping in Q1 2025.
• The video on Twitter has been viewed 22M times! That's good marketing.

I'll share my thoughts first.

We're software engineers -- we use computers a lot! And yet, there are probably lots of things that we're doing inefficiently.

Let's create a thread of quick hacks/shortcuts that can save us time. Doesn't have to be related to programming.

The thing where people go "ooh, I didn't know you could do that!"

Hi all,

I recently finished the Masterclasses from Alex & Rahul where Alex & Rahul discussed building apps as side projects to put on resumes. Also in , Alex mentioned he monetized his app & got $100 from premium users.

AFAIK, anything above $400 must be put onto tax return. I'm thinking about developing a small side projects & put maybe ads / premium restrictions on some features. If I do this, how do I avoid conflicts of interest with my 9-5 job, especially if the revenue coming in may way surpass $400? I'm working for a large tech company that essentially do everything hence it's hard to find a business area where the company isn't involved in.