You’re reading The Steady Beat, a weekly-ish round-up of hand-picked articles and resources for people who make software products: designers, engineers, product managers, and organizational leaders.
By the Numbers - Permanent DST
- 10 — For ten months in 1974, the U.S. tried permanent daylight saving time, keeping clocks pushed forward without “falling back” in the fall.
- 79% to 42% — Public approval for permanent daylight saving time plunged from 79 percent in December 1973 to 42 percent by February 1974.
- 8 — Following the switch to year-round DST, eight students in Florida tragically died in traffic accidents as they walked to school in pre-dawn darkness.
- 24% — Heart attacks jump by 24 percent on the Monday following the spring shift to daylight saving time, highlighting health risks of the clock change.
- 70% — A 2019 poll found that 70 percent of Americans wanted to end the biannual clock change, with 40 percent favoring permanent standard time and 30 percent favoring permanent DST.
— Smithsonian Magazine, 8m, #engineering
A Century Before Zoom, Engineers Pulled Off the First ‘Virtual’ Meeting
Back in 1916, way before we muttered “You’re on mute,” engineers connected over 5,000 attendees across eight U.S. cities for a national meeting of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Using 4,000 miles of telephone line and 150,000 poles, they orchestrated the first “virtual” conference, complete with city-by-city roll calls, a congratulatory telegram from President Wilson, patriotic phonograph music, and even breakout sessions. This engineering marvel celebrated the advances of the day, with leaders envisioning the future power of electricity—and sharing their unfiltered, century-old tech optimism.
— IEEE Spectrum, 7m, #engineering #productivity
Design is Persuasion, Not Pixels
In UX, the real work isn’t just designing a solution—it’s making a compelling case for it. Pavel Samsonov argues that a designer’s job is less about creating pretty interfaces and more about forming a persuasive argument that convinces stakeholders to embrace meaningful change. Too often, designers fall into the trap of simply validating existing ideas or relying on AI to generate insights, which waters down their impact. Instead, Samsonov suggests thinking of design as an essay: state a thesis, back it with evidence, and explain why it matters. Good UX doesn’t just show; it persuades, challenging organizational inertia and advocating for experiences that resonate.
— UX Collective, 8m, #design #ux #product
Managing People into Outgrowing the Org
This article explores the many hats leaders wear—mentor, career coach, decision-maker—all aimed at empowering individuals yet ensuring alignment with company goals. Leaders must create space for discussion but also know when to make tough calls, balancing autonomy with clear expectations. They’re responsible for fostering an environment where engineers learn, grow, and feel supported—even if that means helping them outgrow the organization. It’s a balancing act that’s equal parts heart and strategy.
— Practical Engineering, 11m, #management leadership
Updates from the Steady Team
Steady just made it easier to follow Jira issue updates, with added visibility into issue comments—a top request from users who want context, not just “changes.” This update gives you the full story on Jira activity, with actual details on what changed and why. Meanwhile, Steady’s new Echoes feature, now in beta, automatically compiles GitHub pull requests from the last week into a single summary, saving users (like Steady’s Head of Design) hours spent piecing together updates. Echoes gives you context when you need it, so you can focus on the work, not the tracking. Want to try it? Sign up for the expanded beta.
— Steady Product, 4m, #steady #product
Less Meetings, More Context
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