Blogs

Last Week A difficult decision was made: I archived the old repository and started fresh. Before this decision, I had a working product. Users could download the app, go through the entire flow, and it would work perfectly – as long as they stayed on the happy path. But during bug squashing, I discovered a horrifying pattern: fixing one bug often revealed two more. The technical debt from shortcuts taken to rush the MVP was demanding payment with considerable interest....

Last Week Bug squashing dominated the week. But as I fixed each bug, more seemed to emerge – a classic sign that something deeper was wrong. The more I debugged, the clearer it became: in my rush to get the MVP ready for alpha testing, I’d taken architectural shortcuts that were now demanding payment with considerable interest. The Missing Domain Layer The biggest realization? I completely omitted the domain layer when setting up the app....

Last Week After finally solving the Gradle and WSL issues on my Windows development environment, I could get back to actual development work. With a functional build pipeline, it was time to focus on what really matters – the user experience. The Marketing Revelation Last week brought an unexpected source of inspiration. YouTube’s algorithm served up a talk by a successful young entrepreneur, and his message hit home: while product quality matters, the communication between you and your customers often matters more....

Last Week Set up the public GitHub issues tracker for our testers – the main communication hub for bug reports, discussions, and feature requests. Going forward, I’ll reference private PRs and commits in the public repo so folks can track development progress. The Windows Migration Recently switched from Fedora 40 to Windows 11 IoT LTSC due to driver issues with cutting-edge PC components on Linux. The IoT LTSC version is refreshingly minimal – no bloat, just core Windows functionality with the ability to add components as needed....

Join the Alpha Testing Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to test Shokken! Your feedback will directly shape this restaurant waitlist management system. Join testing at: https://github.com/endian-dev/Shokken-Issues What is Shokken? Shokken is a waitlist management app designed for restaurant hosts. Instead of traditional pagers or buzzers, restaurants can send notifications directly to customers’ emails and phones when their tables are ready. Testing Approach This is exploratory testing – no specific instructions....

Last Week Mid-year milestone achieved! After returning from my trip and settling back in, I successfully released the first alpha testing build of my MVP on Google Play Store. The app is now ready for testing. Testing Infrastructure Most of last week was spent setting up the testing environment – not the local development setup, but the infrastructure testers need: Issue boards for bug tracking Discussion forums for feedback GitHub documentation with clear README files Testing instructions so testers know what to focus on What does it mean in English?...

Last Week Writing from Waterton National Park in Canada – absolutely beautiful day to share a project update. Last week covered the app’s value proposition and target audience. This week: the development timeline. Project Timeline Started development on January 1, 2025, with a clear roadmap: 2025 First Half Target: Android MVP alpha on Google Play Store Deadline: June 30, 2025 (two weeks away) Status: Confident for closed testing release Few items to tighten up, but on track 2025 Second Half Two main objectives:...

Last Week Writing from the porch of a bed and breakfast in Red Lodge, Montana, after driving the breathtaking Beartooth Highway to Yellowstone. No development work this week, but it’s a perfect time to share the vision behind my app. The Inspiration Last year in Shanghai and Hangzhou, I experienced a radically different dining culture. In virtually every restaurant, customers scan QR codes to order directly from their phones – no server interaction needed....

Claude Code vs Cursor: Which AI Coding Tool Should You Choose? June 2025 When it comes to AI-powered development tools, two names stand out: Claude Code and Cursor. Both promise to revolutionize how we write code, but which one offers better value—especially if you’re already using Claude’s models? Let’s dive into a detailed comparison. Understanding the Basics Cursor: The Versatile Option Cursor, developed by the Cursor team, is built on Visual Studio Code, offering a familiar interface that developers already know and love....

Last Week Last week was all about tests – lots and lots of tests. I spent the majority of my time writing unit tests for the features I’d already implemented in my app. While it wasn’t the most exciting part of development (let’s be honest, writing tests rarely is), I’ve come to realize just how crucial they are, especially when using AI to assist with programming. This realization has led me to seriously consider adopting Test-Driven Development (TDD) – yes, the practice where you write tests before writing the actual code....