Switching jobs is always stressful. But changing from web development with Microsoft technologies to embedded Linux development is like bungee jumping. Not that I’ve ever jumped bungee. But I like overstated comparisons :)

Seriously, judge for yourself.

Before, I was proud that I’ve ever compiled Linux kernel from its sources before (which is untypical for a hardcore Microsoft fan). Today, I re-complile the kernel several times a week.

Before, I was proud that I know what DirectShow filters and the graph are (which is untypical for a normal Silverlight developer). Today, I fix bugs and develop own filters for GStreamer, the open-source alternative of DirectShow.

Before, I thought http and TLS are parts of operating systems. Today, I’m fighting with gnutls trying to cross-compile it properly.

Before, I thought 100 Mb of source code is “a lot”. Today, I’m working on 6 Gb of sources.

Before, I’ve heard about TS files, which were mysterious creatures coming out from content providers and had to be transcoded ASAP into a more usual format. Today, TS is my common denominator, and I juggle with all these PATs, PMTs, SCTs, PCRs, PIDs and PTSes (per stream).

Before, I’ve thought 1Gb of video file is a full-length movie, and 8Mbps is a lot of a bitrate, and 720p is HD Video. Today, 1Gb is a short 5-minute Full HD clip.

Before, I feared of JavaScript, because you inevitable have to deal with HTML when working on JavaScript. Today, I fear of JavaScript, because when I cross-compile source code of WebKit with too much optimizations, its JavaScriptCore engine will expose all kinds of weird errors.

Before, I was ironical about how low-level the .NET 1.1 and .NET 2.0 were in comparison with Smalltalk. Eventually Microsoft has promoted C# to be a reasonably-high level programming language in .NET 4.0. Today I work in an environment where they think C++ is a high-level language, but is overly complicated, while the pure C is just the right level.

Before, I thought Windows 7 is on the verge of getting old. Today, my colleagues think Windows XP is not yet outdated.

So, in some aspects, this is a pretty much “upside down” experience, but I hope I will find my place in this new world, just like I’ve found myself in the web development seven years ago.