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1. List of Management Anti-Patterns and How to Handle Them
INFO: The author describes the most common mistakes made by managers at various levels of an organization, from the "Absentee Manager" to the "Tech-Lead Manager." Each management anti-pattern includes practical solutions for employees, superiors, and managers. This is a valuable guide for anyone working in a team who wants to understand different (ineffective) management styles better.
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2. How My Views on Programming Changed After 10 Years in the Industry
INFO: The author shares insights on how their approach to various aspects of software development has evolved over a decade of work. They discuss beliefs they once held but later reconsidered and those that are still valid. These are personal reflections rather than absolute truths, but they’re worth a read—some conclusions might spark more profound thoughts. Give it a look; you’ll have plenty to debate during your next coffee break!
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3. Ultra-Natural Voice Chat Model – Try It Out
INFO: You’ve probably encountered many language models with advanced audio conversation features (like ChatGPT). However, what you’re about to hear might pleasantly surprise you. You can choose between two bots—a female and a male voice. The key here isn’t the AI’s knowledge (which, to be fair, isn’t great) but rather the way it converses, sounding remarkably natural. Interestingly, the model also responds to silence, keeping the conversation flowing. Pretty impressive.
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4. Simple Ways to Boost Your Productivity at Work
INFO: Why do some employees achieve better results than their colleagues? The author shares a few practical methods to improve your productivity. However, remember that productivity is about the value of your work, not just the number of tasks you complete—so balance is key. This short but insightful article might inspire you to change your work routine positively.
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5. Unconventional Uses of PostgreSQL for Full-Stack Development (Video, 8 min)
INFO: PostgreSQL is much more than a traditional database. This video explores unique ways to leverage Postgres for building a complete full-stack application, from data storage to the application logic layer. It might inspire you to simplify your tech stack and embrace the "PostgreSQL Everywhere!" approach.
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6. LLM Subscriptions vs. API – Which Is More Cost-Effective?
INFO: If you have programming experience, you know that major LLM platforms offer API access. So, instead of paying $20 for ChatGPT or Claude AI, wouldn’t it be more straightforward and cheaper to connect via API and use the tool that way? The author of this article explores this question, and in some (extreme) use cases, the conclusions might surprise you.
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7. DIY DNS Server on ESP32 – Blocking Unwanted Websites
INFO: A fascinating "Do It Yourself" project! The author uses an ESP32 microcontroller as a local DNS server to filter and block unwanted domains. This helps boost productivity by reducing distractions at work. Of course, there are more straightforward ways to achieve this, but reading this article will also teach you how to build and program similar IoT devices yourself.
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8. CTF Writeup Search Engine – Task Solutions
INFO: CTFs are a great way to learn about attacking and securing IT systems and applications. The problem is that they have a very high entry barrier for beginners. A better learning approach at first would be reading writeups prepared by participants rather than jumping into CTFs immediately. Enter the name of a technology or attack (e.g., XSS, SQL Injection, tip) into the search engine, and you’ll find many articles on the topic—a fantastic source of knowledge.
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9. 27 Essential Techniques for Software Architects
INFO: A compilation of key techniques that help software architects design systems and align them with business goals. The article covers planning methods and tools supporting decision-making, risk analysis, and more
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10. The Pros and Cons of Self-Hosting in an IT Company
INFO: Self-hosting may seem like a superb and cost-effective solution, but is it the best option? The author shares their experiences with self-hosting software in a tech company, highlighting this approach's benefits and real challenges/downsides.
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11. Web Scraping with Playwright – Extracting Data from Dynamic Pages
INFO: Playwright is technically an end-to-end testing tool, but it’s also frequently used for web scraping, especially for dynamic pages rendered by JavaScript. This article explains, step by step, how to extract data (e.g., movie titles) from YouTube while handling all popups that appear along the way. A great introduction to headless browser automation.
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12. Was GPT-4.5 Just a Disappointment?
INFO: GPT-4.5, the latest model from OpenAI, debuted on February 27 and received mixed reviews. While it is the largest model in the company’s history, its improvements over GPT-4 are relatively minor. High cost, weaker reasoning compared to competitors, and poor performance have raised questions. So, what’s the deal with version 4.5?
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13. Mistral OCR – A New Standard in Text Recognition from Images?
INFO: Do you have a photo of an invoice or a scan of an official document that you want to convert into an editable, human-readable format? The well-known OCR system has always been the go-to solution. However, Mistral has introduced its approach, offering OCR an understanding of the document’s content, topic, structure, etc. It can parse complex tables, embedded images, advanced formatting, and more. Mistral OCR also offers a self-hosted version if you need to scan sensitive documents.
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14. MrBeast on Business, Success, and Losing Millions on Beast Games (Video, 1h 43m)
INFO: An intriguing interview with the world’s most popular YouTuber. He discusses how he works, creates his videos, and the business experiments that cost him millions, some of which failed. There’s also a bit about helping people and how things don’t always go according to plan. If you're interested in online business, social media, or building a brand online, this video is worth watching, no matter what you think of the YouTuber himself.
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15. Google Tests Search Results Based Solely on AI
INFO: Google plans to introduce an "AI Mode" in its search engine, where answers generated by the Gemini model will wholly replace traditional search results. The new version aims to provide more advanced responses to questions, including mathematical analysis, programming support, and multimodal search. It will be interesting to see how sponsored ads currently dominate search results and fit into this vision of a Google search without links.
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16. 50 Lessons on Building Successful Products
INFO: The authors of Product for Engineers (and creators of the PostHog platform) share 50 key lessons they've learned while building their products. The article covers how small teams can effectively work on innovative solutions, why trust and transparency are crucial in software development, and how to leverage user feedback effectively. A condensed collection of valuable insights for software creators.
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17. Malicious ML Models Detected on Hugging Face Platform
INFO: Researchers from ReversingLabs discovered two ML models on the Hugging Face platform containing malicious code that uses the Pickle serialization format to execute attacks. In simpler terms, when attempting to run such a model locally, the deserialization process triggers the execution of Python code on the machine. Interestingly, Hugging Face tests models for these types of attacks, but this time, the attackers devised an ingenious method to bypass security scanners—more details in the article.
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18. How to Use LLMs in Your Daily Work – Practical Examples (Video, 2h 11m)
INFO: Andrej Karpathy (one of the leading experts in the AI field) demonstrates how he uses LLMs in his work, from simple interactions in ChatGPT to advanced techniques like data analysis, code generation, and image/video processing. The video showcases how different models work, their limitations, best practices for using supporting tools (e.g., search engines, document analyzers), and the differences between available options. I recommend watching at 125% speed, as Andrej speaks quite slowly.
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19. How to Effectively Solve Problems? A Troubleshooting Guide
INFO: Troubleshooting is helpful in any industry and with any technology. This article explains how to conduct the troubleshooting process step by step and simplify it significantly. Solving a problem isn’t just about sitting down and methodically analyzing what’s broken and how to fix it (though you can do that; it's just not efficient). Some techniques can streamline this process. Learn how to do it effectively.
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20. Tools Actually Used by Hackers (Video, 33m)
INFO: An analysis of cybercriminals' fundamental tools – from batch scripts to ransomware. The presenter explains step by step what these tools do in a system and how intruders exploit them. Start watching around 7:20, as the beginning includes a lot of unnecessary chatter and sponsor ads.
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21. How Dyslexia Affects Coding Style
INFO: The author shares their experiences with dyslexia and its impact on their approach to writing and formatting code. They emphasize the importance of shorter lines, clear structure, and vertical text flow, providing specific examples of method formatting and class declarations for improved readability. This article may be handy for those looking to adjust their code for better readability under various conditions.
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22. What is a Modular Monolith, and Why Would You Use It?
INFO: When considering application architecture, we often consider microservices or monolithic solutions. But what if I told you there’s an intermediate state called a modular monolith that might be precisely what you need? By breaking the application into independent modules with clearly defined interfaces, the application remains easier to manage while addressing some of the issues associated with microservices.
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23. HP Sells Laptops with FreeDOS... But Could It Be Linux Instead?
INFO: You can choose from several operating systems when buying an HP laptop. Among the free options is FreeDOS, so if you buy such a device, it will indeed run the mentioned operating system. However, it turns out that’s not entirely the case. Instead, you’ll get Debian 9 with a virtual machine running the system you requested inside—an interesting analysis of this case.
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24. SQLite on the Server – Better for Hyper-Scale than Micro-Scale?
INFO: SQLite has been gaining popularity recently, but the myth persists that it is mainly suited for small applications. In this article, the authors demonstrate that SQLite performs much better on a larger scale than on a micro-scale, which may come as quite a surprise.
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25. Microsoft Closes Skype – Service Shutdown on May 5, 2025
INFO: After 23 years of launch, Skype will no longer be available. Microsoft has decided to end support for the app this year, focusing entirely on the development of Teams. Skype users have until then to transfer their contacts and history to Teams or download their data. The article provides more details.
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