
Coder Radio
A weekly talk show taking a pragmatic look at the art and business of Software Development and the world of technology.
Latest episodes

Mar 5, 2025 • 19min
609: More Rust With Honey
For our listener Q&A, we tackle questions about the evolution of hybrid web/mobile app development, the licensing concerns around AGPL3.0 open-source projects, and the changing landscape of contract software development in a post-zero-interest-rate environment. We'll also discuss the current trend of AI integration and how developers can approach it effectively.

Feb 24, 2025 • 55min
608: R With Eric Nantz
House Keeping
Google / YouTube Update
Join the Discord!
Feedback
Rust in the Linux Kernel.
R Stuff
What is R Again?
Great presentation by John Chambers at UseR! 2006 https://www.r-project.org/conferences/useR-2006/Slides/Chambers.pdf
The times have changed, now R is very much suited for production use and not just an academic research language
Highly recommend reading Advanced R for more comprehensive details on the quirks of the language https://adv-r.hadley.nz/index.html
R VS Python for Data?
Different philosophies on the use of the language
CRAN vs PyPi
Interoperability becoming more mainstream now
Visualization: R has always been leaps and bounds ahead (Grammar of Graphics, interactive widgets, etc)
R Dev Stack?
IDEs: RStudio, now Positron https://positron.posit.co/
Managing package installations with renv https://rstudio.github.io/renv/
Building web apps with Shiny: https://shiny.posit.co/ (I got so engrossed in this space that I created the Shiny Developer Series because of it)
Early adopter of using Docker with R in devcontainers with VS-Code.
New tech I’m excited about to enhance dev stacks and sharing apps
WebAssembly with webR https://docs.r-wasm.org/webr/latest/
Shiny apps in webR? Yes you can https://github.com/RConsortium/submissions-pilot4-webR
Managing dev environment combined with Nix: The rix package https://github.com/ropensci/rix
(More organized links for show notes)
R Language: https://r-project.org
Posit (formerly RStudio): https://posit.co
RStudio IDE https://posit.co/products/open-source/rstudio/
Positron (still in beta): https://positron.posit.co/
History of S and R presentation by John Chambers at useR! 2006: http://www.r-project.org/user-2006/Slides/Chambers.pdf
Advanced R (2nd edition) by Hadley Wickham https://adv-r.hadley.nz/index.html
Shiny - Easy interactive web applications with R: https://shiny.posit.co/
renv - Project environments for R: https://rstudio.github.io/renv/
R Markdown: https://rmarkdown.rstudio.com/
WebR - R in the browser: https://docs.r-wasm.org/webr/latest/
Rix - Reproducible Data Science environments for R with Nix: https://github.com/ropensci/rix
Chromatic by ModRetro
Chromatic: https://modretro.com/products/chromatic-tetris-bundle?variant=47637522579758
FPGA
Mike’s Review
Eric’s Thoughts
Eric's Socials
R Weekly Highlights: https://serve.podhome.fm/r-weekly-highlights
Shiny Developer Series: https://shinydevseries.com/
R Podcast: https://r-podcast.org
Bluesky: @rpodcast@bsky.social
Mastodon: @rpodcast@podcastindex.social
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-nantz-6621617/
Coder's Socials
Mike on X
Mike on BlueSky
Coder on X
Coder on BlueSky
Show Discord
Alice

Feb 16, 2025 • 31min
607: Warp's Zach Lloyd
In a fascinating conversation, Zach Lloyd, CEO of Warp Terminal, shares insights on his revolutionary terminal that integrates AI to boost developer productivity. He reveals how Warp simplifies workflows with natural language capabilities while addressing privacy concerns. The discussion shifts to the evolution of coding assistance tools and their transformative impact on the industry. Lloyd also explores the future of AI in development, emphasizing the balance between automation and skill retention.

Feb 5, 2025 • 4min
606: Coder's Next Steps
The hosts share exciting news about transitioning to an independent format, reflecting on their journey and expressing gratitude to their dedicated listeners. They discuss the implications of this change and emphasize the importance of community engagement moving forward. The conversation also touches on the vibrant world of the Fediverse and how it could influence their future content. Tune in to catch the latest updates and be part of this new chapter!

Jan 29, 2025 • 46min
605: The Democrats Behind DeepSeek
DeepSeek is stirring both intrigue and concern, revealing what’s genuinely noteworthy and what’s simply overblown. The discussion highlights a staggering shift away from Oracle Java, with 88% of companies seeking alternatives. As AI innovation heats up, tensions rise between American and Chinese tech competitors amid Nvidia's massive market drop. Corporate policies are also scrutinized, particularly in the realm of prompt engineering and GitHub Actions, reflecting the quirky absurdities of navigating modern tech landscapes.

Jan 22, 2025 • 39min
604: The Startup Myth
We dig into the Rails 8 Solid Trifecta, our thoughts on why fewer developers are taking jobs at startups, and a new buzzphrase: Framework Fatigue.Sponsored By:Coder QA: Take $2 a month off for the lifetime of your membership and contribute to our show directly Promo Code: jarjarBitcoin Well: Bitcoin sent directly to your wallet is the safest way to buy Bitcoin. Immediate settlement, direct to self-custody. Supports the Lightning Network.Links:💥 Gets Sats with Strike — Strike is a lightning-powered app that lets you quickly and cheaply grab sats in over 100 countries. Easily integrates with Fountain.fm. Setup your Strike account, and you have one of the world's best ways to buy sats.🇨🇦 Bitcoin Well — The fastest and safest way to buy Bitcoin in Canada and the USA. With self-custody built in. 🥇📻 Boost with Fountain.FM — Boost with Fountain.FM and kick the tires on the Podcasting 2.0 revolution! 🚀Startup Winter: Hacker News Lost its Faith — I believe we're entering what might be called a "Startup Winter" - not because startups have stopped being created, but because the mythology around them has frozen over.Introducing the Solid Trifecta | Rails 8 Unpacked - YouTube — The Solid Trifecta is a set of database adapters in Rails 8 that simplifies app development by replacing traditional RAM-based solutions like Redis with efficient, cost-effective database-backed tools. Solid Cable handles WebSocket messages, Solid Cache powers caching, and Solid Queue manages job queues, all using databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite. Framework Fatigue: The Real Reason Developers Get Angry About New Tech — As a developer trying to keep up with the latest tech, you find yourself in a familiar loop: check the landing page, watch the demo, star the GitHub repo “just in case,” and move on with your life. There’s only so much mental bandwidth to go around.

Jan 15, 2025 • 43min
603: COSMIC Defenders
The CEO who bet on SwiftUI—and lost their job. Then poke some fun at Rust stans, SalesForce claims they're not hiring any developers in 2025, and more!Sponsored By:Coder QA: Take $2 a month off for the lifetime of your membership and contribute to our show directly Promo Code: jarjarBitcoin Well: Bitcoin sent directly to your wallet is the safest way to buy Bitcoin. Immediate settlement, direct to self-custody. Supports the Lightning Network.Links:💥 Gets Sats with Strike — Strike is a lightning-powered app that lets you quickly and cheaply grab sats in over 100 countries. Easily integrates with Fountain.fm. Setup your Strike account, and you have one of the world's best ways to buy sats.🇨🇦 Bitcoin Well — The fastest and safest way to buy Bitcoin in Canada and the USA. With self-custody built in. 🥇📻 Boost with Fountain.FM — Boost with Fountain.FM and kick the tires on the Podcasting 2.0 revolution! 🚀Sonos CEO steps down after app upgrade debacle — On its fiscal 2024 earnings call, Spence shared news that annual revenue had gone backwards by four percent, and admitted one reason for that result was “we mishandled the rollout of our new app.”Salesforce Will Hire No More Software Engineers in 2025 — “30% Productivity Boost” from AIMassive Memory Leaks in System76's Cosmic Desktop (Written in "Memory Safe" Rust) - YouTube — Plus: Hyprland developer weighs in, "No, I don't think it's beta ready :P"Reference Cycles Can Leak Memory - The Rust Programming Language — Rust’s memory safety guarantees make it difficult, but not impossible, to accidentally create memory that is never cleaned up (known as a memory leak). Preventing memory leaks entirely is not one of Rust’s guarantees, meaning memory leaks are memory safe in Rust. Handling memory leaks in Rust - LogRocket Blog — Once in a while, you may experience memory leaks in your Rust projects due to many factors, from unsafe code to shared references, etc. Ideally, you’ll want to fix these memory leaks and ensure your programs are efficient, which may lead to performance gains and resource safety.Memory leaks are memory safe, and there isn't much to do about it | /home/Samsai — Despite their potential for destruction, Rust considers memory leaks "memory safe" and thus doesn't aim to prevent them. Rust's design, however, makes it less easy to create memory leaks, since it uses a Resource Acquisition Is Initialization (RAII) pattern to abstract resource allocation and deallocation. Google Donates $1 Million to Donald Trump's Inaugural Fund — The total inauguration fund for the returning US president has already reached a record $170 billion, according to an ABC report.

Jan 8, 2025 • 45min
602: Dude, You're Getting a Dell Pro Max Micro Plus!
CES 2025 Secrets Revealed: A developer’s dream or just more hype? Plus, NVIDIA flexes its AI muscles, and we're admittedly impressed. Then, our thoughts on Dell's historic rebrand.Sponsored By:Coder QA: Take $2 a month off for the lifetime of your membership and contribute to our show directly Promo Code: jarjarBitcoin Well: Bitcoin sent directly to your wallet is the safest way to buy Bitcoin. Immediate settlement, direct to self-custody. Supports the Lightning Network.Links:💥 Gets Sats with Strike — Strike is a lightning-powered app that lets you quickly and cheaply grab sats in over 100 countries. Easily integrates with Fountain.fm. Setup your Strike account, and you have one of the world's best ways to buy sats.🇨🇦 Bitcoin Well — The fastest and safest way to buy Bitcoin in Canada and the USA. Focused on Bitcoin excellence, with self-custody built in. 🥇📻 Boost with Fountain.FM — Boost with Fountain.FM and kick the tires on the Podcasting 2.0 revolution! 🚀ChatGPT Pro plan is making OpenAI lose money, CEO says — “I personally chose the price…and thought we would make some money,”OpenAI is losing money on its pricey ChatGPT Pro plan, CEO Sam Altman says — OpenAI is losing money on its pricey ChatGPT Pro plan, CEO Sam Altman saysNvidia’s Jensen Huang says AI agents are ‘a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity’ and ‘the age of AI Agentics is here’ — “The age of AI Agentics is here,” Huang told the crowd, describing a shift from generative AI to agentic AI—a future driven by intelligent AI agents capable of assisting with tasks across industries. Huang called this emerging sector "a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity," positioning Nvidia at the forefront of the movement.Nvidia announces next-gen RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs — Four new RTX 50-series GPUs are on the way, including the $1,999 RTX 5090 and $999 RTX 5080.Nvidia’s AI NPCs are no longer chatbots — they’re your new PUBG teammate — Nvidia says that ACE characters can use AI to “perceive, plan, and act like human players,” per a blog post. “Powered by generative AI, ACE will enable living, dynamic game worlds with companions that comprehend and support player goals, and enemies that adapt dynamically to player tactics.” The characters are powered by “small language models (SLMs)” that are “capable of planning at human-like frequencies required for realistic decision making” as well as “multi-modal SLMs for vision and audio that allow AI characters to hear audio cues and perceive their environment.”Nvidia announces $3,000 personal AI supercomputer called Project Digits — This desktop-sized system can handle AI models with up to 200 billion parameters.The World’s Smallest AI Supercomputer — A Grace Blackwell AI Supercomputer on your desk. NVIDIA Puts Grace Blackwell on Every Desk and at Every AI Developer’s Fingertips — Project DIGITS systems running Linux-based NVIDIA DGX OSDell mocked at its own press launch for copying Apple's names — Now, most of the company’s new PCs will be divided into three tiers: Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro MaxApple Intelligence summaries might get warning labels. That’s not enough. — The BBC, following up on two reports of Apple Intelligence summaries that transformed its own headlines into factually inaccurate text, got a public response from AppleNvidia’s stock heads for worst drop in months as CES speech lacked one big thing — We believe many investors were hoping for more concrete progress updates on the ramp of Blackwell and some input as to the company’s progress with its next-generation GPU platform, Rubin,” Benchmark Research analyst Cody Acree wrote in a note to clients.shoutrrr — Notification library for gophers and their furry friends.

Jan 1, 2025 • 58min
601: The 10X Exec
Some debates never die, and this week, we’re reigniting one of our spiciest from the archives. Plus, our boldest 2025 predictions yet.Sponsored By:Coder QA: Take $2 a month off for the lifetime of your membership and contribute to our show directly Promo Code: jarjarBitcoin Well: Bitcoin sent directly to your wallet is the safest way to buy Bitcoin. Immediate settlement, direct to self-custody. Supports the Lightning Network.Links:💥 Gets Sats with Strike — Strike is a lightning-powered app that lets you quickly and cheaply grab sats in over 100 countries. Easily integrates with Fountain.fm. Setup your Strike account, and you have one of the world's best ways to buy sats.🇨🇦 Bitcoin Well — The fastest and safest way to buy Bitcoin in Canada and the USA. Focused on Bitcoin excellence, with self-custody built in. 🥇📻 Boost with Fountain.FM — Boost with Fountain.FM and kick the tires on the Podcasting 2.0 revolution! 🚀Nvidia's next move: Powering humanoid robots — The chipmaking giant Nvidia is leaning more heavily into robotics in 2025. More specifically, in the first half of the new year, confirms the Financial Times, Nvidia is launching a new generation of compact computers for humanoid robots called Jetson Thor.H1B Visa Salary Database 2024 — Search By Employer, Job, or City.Performance Data — As part of the U.S. Department of Labor's commitment to supporting the goals of an open and transparent government, this page provides easy access to employment-based immigration data organized in three main categoriesThe H-1B Visa, ExplainedMusk vs. MAGA on H1-B visas - YouTube — CNBC’s Megan Cassella joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss Musk going against MAGA on H1-B visas.Ethan Evans on X — There are three simple economic arguments for increasing legal immigration by highly educated workersMitchell Hashimoto on X — "r/linux": arguments about what "native" means, angry they have to click one link to learn what it is, disappointed that another terminal exists, 50-comment discussion about GTK vs QTBroken Money — Why Our Financial System Is Failing Us and How We Can Make It Better.

Dec 18, 2024 • 56min
600: Mikestrodamus
Celebrate a milestone with humorous reflections on past predictions and tech history. Dive into quirky discussions about internet costs and the evolution of AI tools like GitHub Copilot. Explore the economic challenges facing the tech industry and how they influence political dynamics. Enjoy playful banter about listener support, AI communication quirks, and a fun take on podcast engagement strategies. All this, wrapped in lighthearted tales and insights, makes for a memorable journey through the tech landscape!