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"Subscribed for quick summaries of topics. Saves time. Googling and Youtube and collating info isn't convenient."

— RB

Technically

Making practical sense of software and AI.

AI
Recent Articles

How to use open-weight AI models

Picking a model, a harness, and where to run the thing.

What's going on with open-weight models?

How open-weight models went from a curiosity to great in 2 short years.

How do "computer use" agents work?

Why it's surprisingly challenging to let an LLM use a computer for you.

AI Reference

Reasoning

AI reasoning is how artificial intelligence systems solve problems, think through complex situations, and draw conclusions from available information.

Inference

Inference is a fancy term that just means using an ML model that has already been trained.

Terms

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a Machine Learning model, created and maintained by OpenAI, that generates paragraphs of text in response to prompts.

Harness

A harness is the software wrapped around an AI model that lets it actually do things — touch your files, run your tools, and remember what happened.

All AI →
Analytics
Recent Articles

Databricks is apparently worth $100B. What do they even do?

What we should really be asking is “What does Databricks not do?”

Terms

The Modern Data Stack

The Modern Data Stack™ (MDS) is a new-ish set of tools that data teams are using to collect, transform, explore, and make use of their company’s data.

ETL

ETL stands for Extract - Transform - Load, and it’s the process of moving data around your internal systems to get it ready for analysis.

Companies
dbt Labs

dbt Labs

dbt (no capitals) is a tool for transforming and organizing data in your warehouse.

Alteryx

Alteryx

Alteryx is a group of tools that helps business teams get insights out of their data, without needing to write any code.

All Analytics →
Databases
Recent Articles

Software Eng for Vibe Coders: Databases + Storage

Where your vibe coded app actually keeps its data, and how it might break when real users show up.

What does Turbopuffer do?

And what's going on in the category formerly known as vector databases?

Terms

SQL

SQL, or structured query language, is a type of programming language for working with databases.

Multi-tenant

Multi-tenant simply means shared with someone else, like having a roommate in an apartment.

Companies
turbopuffer

turbopuffer

Turbopuffer is a search engine built on top of object storage (like AWS S3).

Algolia

Algolia

Algolia provides a set of tools that helps engineers build search functionality into their apps.

All Databases →
DevOps
Recent Articles

Software Eng for Vibe Coders: On Frontends + Backends

A new series to help non-engineers build products that can handle going viral.

What are code sandboxes?

Why coding agents need a safe place to play, just like we all do.

All about Infrastructure as Code

The deceptively simple text files that help you avoid huge mistakes when shipping software.

Terms

Docker

Docker is an engine for running your code in containers, which are isolated little boxes.

Terminal

The Terminal is the native way to talk to computers.

Companies
Heroku

Heroku

Heroku was and is one of the first cloud platforms as a service (PaaS).

UIPath

UIPath

UIPath helps people automate rote manual tasks like updating spreadsheets and creating documents.

All DevOps →
Security
Terms

VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) lets you route your internet access through a specialized server that keeps your sensitive information private.

Tokenization

Tokenization is one of the ways that backends protect sensitive information, like credit cards or social security numbers.

Companies
Okta

Okta

Okta is an enterprise-focused identity provider: they take care of managing usernames, passwords, and permissions.

Snyk

Snyk

Snyk helps developers make sure that the code they're writing is secure.

All Security →

"Technically has allowed me better bridge the gap between user problems and how our system works under the hood."

— Adelaide Hallowell

Latest
Software Eng for Vibe Coders: Auth + Security

Software Eng for Vibe Coders: Auth + Security

How to make sure anyone on the internet can't just delete your app's data, and other security considerations.

David KrevittDavid Krevitt

Recent

How to use open-weight AI models

Picking a model, a harness, and where to run the thing.

Will RaphaelsonWill Raphaelson

Software Eng for Vibe Coders: Databases + StorageFree

Where your vibe coded app actually keeps its data, and how it might break when real users show up.

David KrevittDavid Krevitt

What's going on with open-weight models?

How open-weight models went from a curiosity to great in 2 short years.

Will RaphaelsonWill Raphaelson

Software Eng for Vibe Coders: On Frontends + BackendsFree

A new series to help non-engineers build products that can handle going viral.

Justin GageJustin Gage
AI ReferenceSee all →

The guide to AI that you've been looking for. Click on any term for an in depth explanation.

GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)GPUs are specialized chips that do thousands of simple calculations simultaneously, making them perfect for AI training Instructional Fine-tuningInstructional fine-tuning is how you turn a pre-trained AI model – knowledgeable, but useless – into a helpful assistant that actually answers your questions.RAGRetrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) is a way to make LLMs like GPT-4 more accurate and personalized to your specific dataReinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF)RLHF is the final training step that turns a knowledgeable but rambling AI into the helpful assistant you know and love.
How do "computer use" agents work?

How do "computer use" agents work?Free

Why it's surprisingly challenging to let an LLM use a computer for you.

Tereza TizkovaTereza Tizkova
What is Rust?

What is Rust?Free

The fast, safe, super difficult to write programming language that’s finally getting its flowers.

Will RaphaelsonWill Raphaelson
What's Harness Engineering?

What's Harness Engineering?Free

If AI models are a commodity, the harness is the thing you want to own.

Paul IusztinPaul Iusztin
What does Turbopuffer do?

What does Turbopuffer do?

And what's going on in the category formerly known as vector databases?

David KrevittDavid Krevitt
CompaniesSee all →

What their products actually do and why they're so valuable.

dbt Labsdbt Labs
dbt (no capitals) is a tool for transforming and organizing data in your warehouse.
ElasticElastic
Elasticsearch is a popular open source database for storing and searching unstructured data.
HashicorpHashicorp
Hashicorp sells software that helps developers manage their cloud infrastructure via code-based configuration.
HerokuHeroku
Heroku was and is one of the first cloud platforms as a service (PaaS).
GlossarySee all →

Quick explanations of the concepts you see every day.

DistributionEvery operating system is built off of a kernel, which is the core of the OS, doing most of the hardware management.GuardrailsGuardrails are the rules that decide what an AI system may do on its own — what runs freely, what needs your okay first, and what's denied outright.Package registryA package registry is a public, trusted repository of open source software packages on the internet — the place your package manager actually downloads from.Web AppA web app is an application that you access through your browser.

Video

Analyzing all 203 million trades on Kalshi

Analyzing all 203 million trades on Kalshi

Kalshi just raised a new round at an $11B valuation. How much revenue does their prediction market really make?

Sam SchneiderSam Schneider
Relationships are the moat

Relationships are the moat

What's the forward deployed engineer role, and why is every startup hiring them?

Sung Won ChungSung Won Chung
Technically on YouTube →

Contributors

Afzal JasaniAfzal JasaniChristy BieberChristy BieberDavid KrevittDavid KrevittGarrett O'BrienGarrett O'BrienJustin GageJustin GageKenny NingKenny NingMatt HendersonMatt HendersonPaolo PerronePaolo PerronePaul IusztinPaul IusztinSachin BennySachin BennySam SchneiderSam SchneiderSarah Krasnik BedellSarah Krasnik BedellSung Won ChungSung Won ChungTereza TizkovaTereza TizkovaWill RaphaelsonWill Raphaelson

Learning Tracks

Curated collections of foundational articles to guide you through the basics of getting more technical at work.

AI, it's not that complicated ↗

How to understand and work effectively with AI and ML models and products.

  • How do Large Language Models work?

    Breaking down what ChatGPT and others are doing under the hood

  • What's RLHF?

    How AI models learned to stop being weird and start being helpful.

  • What's GPT-3?

    GPT-3 is a Machine Learning model that generates text.

  • What’s a data science notebook?

    Data Science Notebooks help data teams explore data with code.

Analyzing Software Companies ↗

The products and business models of leading software companies.

  • Databricks is apparently worth $100B. What do they even do?

    What we should really be asking is “What does Databricks not do?”

  • What does Snowflake do?

    Snowflake sells a powerful cloud data warehouse for analytics and data science teams.

  • What does OpenAI do?

    OpenAI is the most popular provider of generative AI models like GPT-4.

  • What does dbt do?

    dbt (no capitals) is a tool for transforming and organizing data in your warehouse.

Building Software Products ↗

How to make positive contributions to your product roadmap.

  • The top 5 things PMs should know about engineering

    Engineering and code basics that can make you a better PM to work with.

  • What's code?

    Code is step by step directions, but for computers.

  • What's the internet?

    A network of computers all connected to each other and sharing information.

  • What's cloud?

    Cloud is how companies rent infrastructure over the internet.

From Spreadsheets to Databases ↗

You've outgrown Excel, but you've got to put that data somewhere besides your parents basement.

  • The Beginner's Guide to Databases

    There are 300+ databases; what do they all do?

  • SQL for the rest of us

    If you’re not a data scientist but you have questions, you want to know SQL.

  • The Excel User's Guide to Databases: Schemas

    Why that schema change is going to take your engineers two weeks.

  • The Excel User's Guide to Databases: Migrations

    Why your feature is held up by a migration and why this is actually good.

How AI Models Actually Work ↗

How do these things actual work under the hood? What does it mean to train one? Is it more like going to the gym, studying for a test, or sleeping?

  • What is Machine Learning?

    How computers learn patterns from data — and why it’s the foundation for everything from stock prediction to ChatGPT.

  • How do Large Language Models work?

    Breaking down what ChatGPT and others are doing under the hood

  • How do you train an AI model?

    A deep dive into how models like ChatGPT get built.

  • The beginner’s guide to AI model architectures

    Unlike an onion, hopefully these neural network layers won't make you cry.

Software Engineering for Vibe Coders ↗

Your AI wrote the app. This is everything that happens after — where it runs, how it stays up, and what breaks first when real users show up. A six-part series, made with our friends at Railway.

  • Software Eng for Vibe Coders: On Frontends + Backends

    A new series to help non-engineers build products that can handle going viral.

  • Software Eng for Vibe Coders: Databases + Storage

    Where your vibe coded app actually keeps its data, and how it might break when real users show up.

  • Software Eng for Vibe Coders: Auth + Security

    How to make sure anyone on the internet can't just delete your app's data, and other security considerations.

Working With Data Teams ↗

How to make positive contributions when working with analytics and data science teams.

  • How do product analytics work?

    Product analytics is how teams instrument and analyze data about their product usage.

  • What your data team is using: the analytics stack

    A deep dive into all of the tools that data teams use to do their work.

  • SQL for the rest of us

    If you’re not a data scientist but you have questions, you want to know SQL.

  • What's the Modern Data Stack?

    The new set of tools data teams use to get their jobs done.

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— Kevin Sullivan

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