Daily Reading List – October 21, 2024 (#423)

Starting with mainframes, ending with AI apps. Sounds about right for 2024. I’ve got a big reading list for you today, as I was able to consume a good amount of content today.

[article] Tech leaders struggle to rescue data trapped in mainframes. Twice last week during in-person customer briefings, I mentioned mainframes and caught knowing looks between audience members. Folks are hungry for ways to effectively tap into what’s there.

[blog] 8 expert tips for getting started with NotebookLM. I haven’t formed any habits around this product yet, but I suspect that this amazing service is going to become part of the daily workflow for MANY folks in the months ahead.

[article] AI Agents: A Comprehensive Introduction for Developers. It’s not easy to find two people with the same definition of “AI agent.” Jani takes a stab and explains how to use agents. Whatever they are, Gartner Research says 2025 is a big year for agents.

[article] Microsoft unveils new autonomous AI agents in advance of competing Salesforce rollout. Whatever agents are, Microsoft is launching them for Dynamics 365 products. More here.

[blog] Open Models on Vertex AI with Hugging Face: Let’s get started! Ivan documents the “why” and “how” of getting open models running on Google Cloud’s AI platform.

[blog] Introducing Express v5: A New Era for Node.js Framework. Out of familiarity, Express is still my go-to for Node apps. It’s been ten years since the pull request was opened for v5!

[blog] 5 Chunking Strategies For RAG. It’s cool seeing a sophistication of techniques getting widely shared now that many have embraced the fundamentals of LLMs.

[blog] Yes, AI will “take” your job. No, you won’t mind. I like the idea of AI “bringing up the skills floor” for programmers. That feels true.

[blog] Unpopular opinion about “Moving back to on-prem.” You can find a story that “proves” anything. Yes, some folks move workloads out of the cloud. No, it’s not a trend that I can see. Smart folks recognize what’s a differentiating investment, and what enables growth.

[blog] Vertex AI in Firebase is now Generally Available. I’m doubtful that tons of folks will regularly build “AI apps”, but I do expect that many of us will call LLMs as part of our “regular” apps. And integration with something like Firebase is awesome.

[blog] Mastering BigQuery’s Pipe Syntax: Streamlining Your SQL Queries. I can’t escape it. Every day I see a post about this syntax. What do you think? Will you try it?

[article] Why Workplace Well-Being Programs Don’t Achieve Better Outcomes. Do any of you think that your corporate well-being efforts are making a huge difference? Why or why not?

[repo] End-to-End Gen AI App Starter Pack. This looks interesting. It’s a reference app/system that shows you the components of a generative AI app.

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