Picture Me Coding

In this episode we discuss working in the Salesforce environment, and low-code platforms generally, with software engineer Kyle Willcox.  Kyle's dev journey from a CS degree at UNC Wilmington to Salesforce dev to web app developer reveals a lot about both the benefits and pitfalls of working in isolated environments like Salesforce.  Kyle is also a sponsored skimboarder and came to California to ride the surf, so he and Erik nerd out on weather and waves.Low CodeExile SkimboardsSend us a text

For the holiday we're doing another news roundup, although it's mostly about data centers and AI to be honest.  Inside the Data Centers...Korean Data CenterOracle Data Center DebtCloudflare OutageRust Adoption Drives Android Memory Safety Bugs Below 20%Adversarial PoetrySend us a text

Erik became fascinated with CRDTs while working on a project, so we're talking about how they work, how they simplify some distributed systems, and how they might protect you from zombies.Conflict-Free Replicated Data TypesA Comprehensive Study of Convergent and Commutative Replicated Data TypesCounters - Aviral GoelSend us a text

This episode is about the Turing Test, and Alan Turing's original description of the test in Computing Machinery and Intelligence.  We also discuss a recent work by two UCSD researchers that claims that current LLMs pass the Turing Test.Computing Machinery and IntelligenceLarge Language Models Pass the Turing Test Pragmatic Engineer Podcast with Armin RonacherSend us a text

In 1988 Mark Weiser of Xerox PARC coined the term "ubiquitous computing", and in 1991 he spelled out the particulars of this concept in a Scientific American article called "The Computer for the 21st Century".  We discuss whether or not Weiser's vision was achieved.  It's hard to argue that computers are now all around us, but it doesn't seem like they've faded into the background as Weiser hoped.The Computer for the 21st CenturyDesigning Calm TechnologyToward Ubiquitous Operating Systems: Lessons from the FieldAmbient Computing Has Arrived: Here's What It Looks Like in My HouseSend us a text