Oxide and Friends

Bryan and Adam reflect on the highlights from 2025, sharing favorite moments and images. They dive into the surprising Hacker News reaction to using LLMs at Oxide and recommend the quirky Shell Game podcast. Their discussion celebrates the evolution of episode images, humor, and ingenious references, including deleted Simpsons jokes. They tackle significant themes like debugging and community engagement, while also highlighting listener stories and industry milestones. Tune in for laughs and insightful commentary!

Cliff Biffle, a firmware and systems engineer, and Matt Keeter, a hardware debugging expert on the Oxide team, dive into a perplexing issue where multiple service processors became unresponsive. They explore the surprising root cause linked to an Ethernet driver bug, analyzing network behavior and thermal metrics. Cliff explains how a management-counter interrupt triggered repeated task activations, revealing a hidden fault. The discussion wraps up with insights on the broader implications and how such fixes can benefit future projects.

Join Alan Hanson, an Oxide engineer skilled in debugging storage issues, Andy Fiddaman, a ZFS-analysis expert, and Matt Ahrens, co-inventor of ZFS, as they unravel a 18-year-old ZFS data corruption bug. They discuss the confusion over initial corruption, revealing write-ordering mishaps during ZIL transaction replay. Insights from Ahrens' earlier work aided in diagnosing the persistent problem. Tune in for fascinating tales of cross-team collaboration and technical breakthroughs that refine data integrity in storage systems!

Liz Zalman, a founder and coauthor of Founder vs. Investor, shares her candid experiences with tough term sheets and the stress of last-minute deal changes. Jerry Neumann, an investor and coauthor, discusses why VCs sometimes retract offers, citing fear and career risks. Seth Winterroth, an Oxide investor, highlights the importance of supportive investor relationships during crises. Together, they dive into the nuances of founder-investor dynamics, board responsibilities, and the value of transparency in negotiations.

In this engaging discussion, Oxide engineers Dave Pacheco, John Gallagher, and Eliza Weisman tackle the mysterious 'Futurelock' issue found in async Rust. Dave dives into the investigation, revealing how a Nexus instance became unresponsive during a live update. John shares his insights on reproducing the deadlock, while Eliza discusses semaphore implementation details. Together, they explore the conceptual differences between tasks and futures, the hidden challenges of concurrency, and practical fixes to avoid this tricky pathology in the future.

Dive into a treasure trove of book recommendations, ranging from tech insights to cultural critiques. Highlights include discussions on Neal Stephenson's 'Snow Crash,' the nostalgia of retail software, and the importance of semiconductor firm histories. The hosts share listener picks such as 'Eccentric Orbits' and provide a humorous anti-recommendation for 'If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies.' With anecdotes and revelations about industry giants, this segment is a must-listen for curious readers seeking their next great read.

In this engaging discussion, Michael Littman, a Brown University Professor of Computer Science and Associate Provost for AI, shares insights on the transformative impact of AI in education. He delves into the opportunities and challenges posed by large language models, emphasizing how they can enhance learning when used correctly. Littman underscores the importance of open dialogue in classrooms, the need for ethical considerations, and the potential roles of AI tools in writing and research. His passionate commitment to guiding higher education through these changes shines through.

Dave Pacheco, an Oxide engineer spearheading a multi-year full-system update, shares his insights on the complexities of the project. He discusses the challenges of balancing autonomy with team structure and the need for self-service updates to reduce downtime. Pacheco also highlights the concept of organizational procrastination and its impact on team productivity. With engaging anecdotes about prioritizing tasks and utilizing demos for communication, he provides a behind-the-scenes look at transforming a highly ambitious idea into a functioning system.

Kirstin Neira, a procurement and supply-chain specialist at Oxide, shares her insights on overcoming supplier challenges while scaling production. She discusses navigating regulatory hurdles and the impact of tariffs on sourcing components. Engineering lead Aaron Hartwig dives into the importance of test fixtures like Medusa and Reverso, highlighting how moving testing upstream can catch issues early in the manufacturing process. Together, they explore teamwork and the strategic advantages of partnering with contract manufacturers for efficient production.

Jerry Neumann, a veteran investor and writer known for his insights on technological revolutions, joins the hosts to delve into Carlota Perez's fascinating framework. They explore whether AI marks a new wave or is merely the final stage of the IT revolution. Topics include the distinctions between financial and production capital, big tech's cash strategies, and the implications of regulation and social dynamics post-tech busts. Neumann's unique perspective on AI's impact and future investments fuels a lively debate, making it a compelling discussion.