The hottest Development Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

Politburo Study Session on new productive forces 新质生产力; Xi and baozi; Security and development; Spring Festival travel weather worries

Sinocism • 98 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Xi Jinping Security Development Weather
  1. Xi Jinping has discussed the importance of new productive forces in Marxist theory
  2. The Politburo Study Session focused on developing new productive forces
  3. Emphasis on promoting high-quality development for strengthening the country and rejuvenating the nation

Let's get rid of security reviews

Frankly Speaking • 254 implied HN points • 16 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Security Development Software Engineering
  1. The current security review process is outdated and not aligned with modern development practices.
  2. Implementing efficient and effective security measures may involve integrating software engineers with security teams.
  3. Scaling security efforts requires a rethink of traditional security review processes towards more collaborative and contextual approaches.

Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset

Elevate • 218 implied HN points • 21 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mindset Learning Development Relationships Health
  1. Our mindset plays a big role in shaping our lives, influencing how we tackle challenges, learn, and grow.
  2. A fixed mindset hinders growth by viewing abilities as static traits, leading to fear of failure, avoidance of challenges, and jealousy of others' success.
  3. Conversely, a growth mindset empowers individuals, as they believe in their ability to develop skills over time through effort, learning, and perseverance.
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Python Lists: A closer look, part 11

Mostly Python • 628 implied HN points • 30 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Programming Data Management Development Python Classes
  1. Copying a list in Python can lead to unexpected behavior if the items in the list are mutable objects.
  2. To create a true copy of a list with mutable objects, use the deepcopy() function from the copy module.
  3. When working with Python lists, consider the nature of the items in the list to decide between using list[:], list.copy(), or deepcopy().

Vignettes: War

Myth Pilot • 628 implied HN points • 27 Mar 23
📚 Literature War Fiction Short Stories Development Narrative
  1. The author aims to publish more content regularly, mixing fiction and non-fiction.
  2. The author plans to share short little posts and vignettes to engage readers and improve writing practice.
  3. The vignette shared is a mix of fact and fiction about a soldier's experience with a State Department official in Iraq.

The World Bank African Countries Need

An Africanist Perspective • 613 implied HN points • 01 Mar 23
🌍 World Politics Development Data Collection International cooperation
  1. Low-income countries need the World Bank to focus on their real concerns to ensure program success.
  2. It's crucial for the World Bank to prioritize faster project implementation to avoid delays that disrupt policy planning and implementation in low-income countries.
  3. African countries should advocate for a World Bank that embraces big and transformative ideas, conducts better policy research, and improves data collection to accurately address the region's needs.

The Double-Edged Sword of GPT Models: Navigating Developer Activism and Bias

Rod’s Blog • 39 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
🕹 Technology AI Ethics Development Models Bias
  1. GPT models have revolutionized natural language processing, opening new opportunities in technology and communication.
  2. Developer activists have been exploiting GPT models for various reasons, like gaining unauthorized access to APIs, which raises ethical questions.
  3. The power of GPT models comes with significant responsibility to ensure appropriate use and prevent potential misuse.

Daily bit(e) of C++ | Hardened mode of standard library implementations

Daily bit(e) of C++ • 78 implied HN points • 20 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Programming Software Development Security Debugging
  1. Dealing with assumptions in programming can be risky, especially in C++ where a violated assumption can lead to undefined behavior.
  2. Proper engineering practices like good unit test coverage and sanitizers can help catch bugs, but sanitizers may not detect all issues, particularly at the library level.
  3. Using the hardened mode of standard library implementations like stdlibc++ and libc++ can provide safety features against specific attacks and checks without affecting ABI, enhancing development experience.

Prospero Pascal for the Atari ST

Goto 10: The Newsletter for Atari Enthusiasts • 78 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Programming Software Development Hardware Tools
  1. Prospero Software made compilers for Atari ST and other systems like Sinclair QL and OS/2.
  2. Prospero Pascal was an extensive system with manuals totaling 718 pages, making it one of the most detailed ST development tools.
  3. The integration capability of Prospero compilers allowed for sharing libraries between Prospero Pascal, C, and Fortran, giving a unique advantage in the market.

Nicoll, Commentaries, Vol.1 - Letter to Mr. Bush [1.a] - p.1-4 - Reading Club posting

Journal of Gurdjieff Studies • 59 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
⛪ Faith & Spirituality Spirituality Teaching Growth Development
  1. Man's level of being attracts his life - the idea suggests that the circumstances and experiences people face are connected to their level of being, not just random events.
  2. Focus on changing one's being - the work mentioned involves a transformation of one's level of being, which can happen by conscious actions in the present moment.
  3. Development stages of man - the text discusses different stages of man's development from essence to personality and then to further growth of essence, emphasizing the importance of inner growth over external success.

OpenAI Dev Day

Bojan’s Newsletter • 157 implied HN points • 15 Nov 23
🕹 Technology AI API Models Development Future Tech
  1. Key announcements at OpenAI Dev Day included GPT4 Turbo, GPT Store launch, ChatGPT API introduction, new Text-to-speech API, DALL-E 3 API, Whisper 3 unveil, and Copyright Shield.
  2. Developers can create and customize GPTs for specific use cases easily.
  3. OpenAI emphasized gradual AI model advancements and the transformative impact AI will have on various industries in the near future.

Embarking on the Product Management Journey: Product Research and Discovery

Product Power by Samet Ozkale • 196 implied HN points • 19 Oct 23
💼 Business Product Management Research Innovation Development Framework
  1. Product managers can find ideas through user interviews, trend analysis, personal experiences, and input from internal stakeholders.
  2. Criteria for pursuing an idea include satisfying a need, having a unique selling point, being profitable and in demand, and creating value.
  3. Utilizing the Double Diamond framework can guide product discovery and development by focusing on understanding problems before jumping into solutions.

An illustration of the high cost of low state (fiscal) capacity in Liberia

An Africanist Perspective • 494 implied HN points • 28 Apr 23
🌍 World Politics International relations Fiscal policy Development Corruption
  1. The high cost of low state capacity in Liberia impacts public services and infrastructure, highlighting the need for economic growth over only focusing on governance and corruption.
  2. Poverty in Liberia severely limits the government's fiscal capacity, affecting its ability to provide public goods and services. The country's annual budget per capita is significantly lower than other regions, making it challenging to maintain essential services.
  3. The US Ambassador to Liberia pointed out significant mismanagement of funds in critical sectors like healthcare and education. This points to a need for better spending of allocated funds and an improvement in service delivery to benefit the citizens.

The Startup CTO's Handbook | Zach Goldberg

Dev Interrupted • 37 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Engineering Leadership AI Metrics Development
  1. The core sections of The Startup CTO's Handbook include Management Fundamentals, Technical Leadership Concepts, and Hard Technology Decisions.
  2. Conducting career history interviews when hiring can reveal a candidate's mindset and how they handle challenges.
  3. Engineering leaders can stay technically relevant by reviewing pull requests and taking courses, even when not coding regularly.

Cash crops, marketing boards, and agricultural policy failures in Africa

An Africanist Perspective • 455 implied HN points • 18 Feb 23
🌍 World Politics Agriculture Development Trade Africa Policy
  1. Improving agricultural productivity in Africa is crucial for economic development. Policymakers need to shift towards policies that support small-scale farmers and focus on local value addition before exports.
  2. The role of the state in African agriculture needs to be reconsidered. Historical policies like marketing boards have had both positive and negative impacts, and there is a need for open-mindedness towards government involvement in the sector.
  3. African cash crop producers face challenges in benefiting from their produce due to the structure of international commodity markets. African governments must invest in value addition and convince buyers to support local processing to boost sectoral margins.

Breaking the Screenplay

Development Hell • 236 implied HN points • 02 Sep 23
📚 Literature Writing Development Stories
  1. Rules in screenwriting can be flexible and breaking them can lead to creative breakthroughs.
  2. Working on personal projects without external pressure can allow for creative experimentation.
  3. Challenges and frustrations can sometimes lead to unexpected opportunities and new directions.

Why the boring tech is the best for starting a startup

The Tech Bubble • 3 HN points • 25 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Startups Tech stack Development
  1. Consider using boring technologies for starting a startup as they are reliable and stable, having been tested by many companies.
  2. Stick with what you know when choosing a tech stack for an MVP to avoid inefficiencies from trying new tools.
  3. If you're not a developer, options for building a product include using no-code tools, paying for development, or partnering with a technical co-founder.

[CEI] Chrome Extension Ideas #128

Chrome Extension Ideas • 39 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Chrome Extensions Development Browsers AI Marketing
  1. Consider building a Chrome extension that informs users if a publication is on strike before they access the website
  2. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop browser extensions for browsers other than Chrome due to upcoming changes in iOS 17.4
  3. Explore the idea of creating a Chrome extension that automatically adds clothes to images, which could be popular among parents and certain communities

Apple Animation Through the Ages: 2007

Jacob’s Tech Tavern • 192 implied HN points • 12 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Animation Frameworks Graphics Development
  1. In 2007, Apple introduced Core Animation, revolutionizing how animations were implemented on Mac OS X.
  2. Core Animation streamlined animation implementation by providing a declarative framework that leveraged the GPU for smooth transitions.
  3. Developers could easily create animations with Core Animation properties like frame, border, filters, and opacity.

Here's Proof that Extreme Poverty Statistics are Unreliable

Policy Tensor • 373 implied HN points • 29 Apr 23
🌍 World Politics Poverty Data Analysis Development Research
  1. Extreme poverty statistics may not be reliable due to potential biases in measurement methods.
  2. Evidence indicates inconsistencies between poverty rates and key indicators like life expectancy, raising concerns about the accuracy of poverty data.
  3. The World Bank's numbers show discrepancies that suggest a need for further scrutiny and possible revision of poverty measurement techniques.

Resolving Mac Appstore rejections due to deprecation

jDeploy Newsletter • 28 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Development Software APIs Frameworks
  1. Be mindful of using non-public or deprecated APIs when developing Mac Appstore applications as it can lead to rejections.
  2. One way to fix dependencies on deprecated APIs is by building and inserting a custom version of the deprecated framework into the app bundle.
  3. Changing bundle IDs when necessary and updating dependencies in dynamic libraries using tools like install_name_tool can help in resolving issues and getting the updated version accepted on the Mac Appstore.

Grounding yourself as a programmer in the AI era, part 6

Mostly Python • 314 implied HN points • 11 May 23
🕹 Technology Programming AI Machine Learning Development Tools
  1. Programming in the AI era is undergoing significant changes.
  2. The future of programming lies between extremes: no programming needed with AI doing everything, and tools not being useful.
  3. AI tools have potential to democratize software development, but their effectiveness can be underestimated due to inconsistencies and non-deterministic nature.

The Truth about Prefect, Mage, and Airflow.

Data Engineering Central • 294 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Data Engineering Python Development
  1. Airflow has been a dominant tool for data orchestration, but new tools like Prefect and Mage are challenging its reign.
  2. Prefect focuses on using Python for defining tasks and workflows, but may not offer enough differentiation from Airflow.
  3. Mage stands out for its focus on engineering best practices and providing a smoother developer experience, making it a compelling choice over Airflow for scaling up data pipelines.

African Foreign Policy in a Multipolar Age

An Africanist Perspective • 376 implied HN points • 22 Dec 22
🌍 World Politics Foreign Policy Africa International relations Sovereignty Development
  1. Africa's growing population and demographic shift will increase its geopolitical importance in the future.
  2. African countries must focus on building strong states and state capacity to ensure physical safety, order, and effective regional cooperation.
  3. African leaders should be clear on their policy priorities, understand foreign actors' motivations, keep options open for partnerships, and promote healthy competition within Africa to advance the region's interests.

In search of collaboration...

Development Hell • 256 implied HN points • 04 Jun 23
📚 Literature Collaboration Writers Development Creative Process
  1. The post discusses the importance of writers in the creative process and encourages them to advocate for themselves in collaborations with producers.
  2. The author highlights the value that writers bring to the development process and emphasizes the need for them to understand their crucial role.
  3. There is a mention of a free trial for readers to access full post archives and continue reading content on the topic of collaboration between writers and development executives.