David Wegman

Santana Row shopping center in San Jose has implemented a ticketless parking system that eliminates the need for drivers to take a ticket upon entry and pay at a pay station upon exit. Instead, drivers can simply scan a QR code (see photo) posted throughout the garage using their phones, enter their license plate number and credit card information on the website that pops up, and a camera will read their license plate and open the gate as they exit. While this system may seem convenient and efficient, I think there is a significant security concern! There is a risk that perpetrators could replace the posted QR code with their own, which would redirect drivers to a fake website where they would unknowingly enter their credit card information. This could lead to unauthorized charges and potential identity theft. It is crucial for the shopping center to address this security concern by taking appropriate measures to protect drivers' personal and financial information. They must ensure that the QR codes posted are authentic and that there are no vulnerabilities that could allow perpetrators to manipulate the system. As an alternative solution, pay stations could be installed for shoppers to use instead of relying on their own phones.

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Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: cPacket Commitment to Portland's Tech Landscape. Today, I'm excited to share some big news about cPacket continued investment in Portland. We're not just moving offices – we're recommitting to a city with incredible potential. Our new space in the Pearl District isn't just a location; it's a statement. We're creating a collaborative hub where innovation thrives, bringing our team closer together and staying connected to the vibrant heart of Portland. With plans to grow our engineering team, we're betting on local talent and the power of in-person collaboration. Some key highlights: - Hybrid work model that balances flexibility and team connection - Strategic location that supports our engineering and AI teams - A belief in Portland's tech ecosystem and its future The past few years have challenged downtown Portland, but we see beyond temporary setbacks. We're investing in spaces that foster creativity, problem-solving, and breakthrough innovations. To my friends Portland tech enthusiasts: the future is bright, and we're building it together. https://lnkd.in/gaAfKzyb #Portland #networkobservability #NetOps #WeBelieveinPortland #TechCommunity

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Come check out this talk if you want to learn how we built distributed queries for Iceberg + Python!

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Anthropic's latest Claude AI model is taking human-AI interaction to a whole new level! 🖥️🤖 The new Claude 3.5 Sonnet can now use computers just like a human would - by looking at the screen, moving the cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text. This is a major leap forward in AI capabilities. Key features: Operates based on screenshots, emulating human computer use Can perform complex multi-step tasks across different applications Self-corrects and retries when encountering obstacles2 Accessible via API for developers to build with Why it's game-changing: This opens up incredible possibilities for AI assistance in data entry, form filling, software testing, and automating repetitive computer tasks13. Imagine having an AI assistant that can seamlessly work alongside you, handling tedious computer work while you focus on higher-level tasks. While still in beta, this technology demonstrates how AI is rapidly advancing toward more human-like interaction with digital interfaces. As it develops further, it could revolutionize how we work with computers and boost productivity across industries. The future of human-AI collaboration just got a lot more exciting! What do you think about this new capability? #AIInnovation #FutureOfWork Here is a video about it: https://lnkd.in/gh8aNYEu

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Reading Ted Mabrey's article on FDEs at Palantir (https://lnkd.in/dEeweq2g) I'm completely in agreement with his point that you've never "finished" building a product, thus your mission is to expand the "perimeter" of your product as fast as possible. IMO one can see this as a bit like the universe: it's always expanding. Not only do you want to keep expanding the use cases your product addresses, but there are ever more use cases popping up. Going further, if we imagine the number of use cases as a linear dimension, and the effort required as the surface area, unsurprisingly adding more use cases to your already complex product takes much more than linear effort... So not only is a product never finished, it becomes ever harder to expand its perimeter. Thus, building an ecosystem of products (from partners, or a well-integrated solution of one company's products) is likely to work better than one "super app.". The former is a collection of small spheres, each of which can expand to targeted incremental use cases with modest effort, versus the latter which is a huge and very hard to grow.

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Don't you hate filling out long forms too? Not anymore! Here's a practical use of Generative AI that everyone can benefit from right now! Developed with ❤️ by VONQ's AI Labs.

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Best trend I'm seeing at Notable re: #GenAI – yesterday's users/non-engineers are becoming tomorrow's builders. 🔨 The cost and skill required to build is dropping so rapidly, the need to write a spec is becoming obviated. The flow is the spec. Since Notable opened up our platform with Flow Builder, we've seen this accelerate even more. But you can't just be a wrapper on Anthropic/OpenAI. If that's all you are, you're dead 😵 Certain things really matter. If anyone wants to have a conversation about what those things have been for us, hit me up! Also, if anyone wants to help us simplify and optimize healthcare for humanity, we're hiring! 😀 https://lnkd.in/gKJThs37

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We take BIM Validation a step further: Check models in Dalux and allow smooth fixing of issues in Revit.

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Monitoring usage for Canopy AI has been interesting. Some people frame things super well and get great results. Others ask a four-word question, and somehow still get some okay results (just because we have a lot of content + I categorized everything for the RAG), but not always. We do some prompt augmentation, but we should do more. Currently, we inject things in certain scenarios or when it fails. Ideally, we would have a two-pass system for every request, where everything goes through a prompt improver. You can't assume users will ask the right things. All kind of obvious things I had already considered but left for a later version after initial usage. The cool part is this would've been hard to do last year due to speed/cost; now you can just "pipe" things multiple times using the same high-quality model you call at the end.

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I've started using CachyOS; more specifically the KDE / Plasma / Wayland stack with NVIDIA and it's very good indeed. Getting the more modern Wayland going with performant graphics drivers has been hard work the last few months, with many false starts. I now use vanilla headless Ubuntu 22 over SSH for my primary multiGPU compute, with a wireguard VPN into that from CachyOS, basically a VERY thick client/hybrid model. I am building software on the server side within Cursor.so and VSCode/CLINE directly using an SSH remote in the IDE, but this means I can slip to local very easily, pushing the focus of the Docker builds back and forth in the moment. https://lnkd.in/emZQuAcS I commend this approach!

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If you have built and operated an application or service that relies on an operational database in production, you will immediately understand the insane amount of value that these features deliver.

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Recently, Eric Ignasik and Michael Sols from The Software House asked me about my first steps as a VP of Technology at Habito. It's been a fun 8 months in a supportive environment with fantastic people! 😉 This interview discusses a few improvements ‌I made with a big emphasis on why servant leadership is important to me. Hope you’ll learn from it, ➡️ https://hubs.la/Q02Bw-Bv0 #softwaredevelopment #cto #softwaredelivery

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Project update! My application tracking extension is now doing fuzzier matching and injecting new information into LinkedIn (and other sites) to keep me from doubling up on applications. Next up: local storage and bulk import/export operations...

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In today's episode of The Daily CTO, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Zachariah Peterson, founder of Northwest Engineering Solutions, to dive into a topic many software CTOs face but few feel fully prepared for: the leap into hardware development. In this conversation, we explore a crucial mindset shift and 5 essential lessons to navigate the hardware space effectively, including: 1. Understanding the real costs and timelines of hardware prototyping 2. Navigating complex compliance requirements for physical products 3. Selecting reliable components that won’t disrupt production 4. Integrating hardware and software seamlessly to create cohesive products 5. Managing production timelines and building scalable, compliant solutions With his deep expertise in hardware consultancy, Zach sheds light on why hardware requires a more deliberate approach than the agile, iterative nature of software. #thedailycto #software #hardware

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I had a super hard time finding the right Lead Engineer/technical counterpart for me at my SaaS company. After going down the "hire a technical Co-Founder path" in the very early days of Because and having it not work out (having a co-founder is like a marriage and man it's not easy!)... After hiring older more seasoned technical leaders and having that also not work out... I finally hired the gem that is our Lead Engineer today, Marlin Jayasekera 🙏 He's in his late twenties and he's a better fit for our team than all the older more "seasoned" talent I had hired historically. That doesn't mean our entire team is Gen Z btw (we aren't ageist!) but I learned so many good lessons here I thought were worth sharing for anyone building out their team. In my opinion... 👨‍💻 Your first technical leader (or any early hire for that matter) should be someone who GSD (gets shit done 💩) rather than someone who dreams all day or just wants to "direct resources." 👵 Age doesn't define you. As a 27 year old CEO, I of course embody this value but it's been so cool to see other young leadership at Because quickly earning the respect and love from older peers around them. 🤝It's so important to make sure your early leadership team sees eye to eye with you. The relationship Marlin and I have built is healthy, respectful, and supportive. We know when to challenge each other but we almost always see eye to eye. That's way easier said than done! ✨ I completely trust him to make decisions. We come together once a week for sprint planning (1 week sprints) to set goals together and then I let him and the team go off and execute on those goals. The trust between us is key to let him and the engineering team be successful on their own. What wrong hires have you made that ultimately led you to the right one? ❤️👇

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The Langchain team has recently released a video and code demonstrating how to create your own research assistant. This system employs a multi-step decision process and allows for parallel execution, providing tangible and useful outcomes. While the approach remains quite semantic it can be an incredibly valuable resource for those looking to enhance their work efficiency.

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I'm still leery of calling today's AI "intelligent" or "reasoning", but I like how Perplexity is starting to experiment with how best to communicate the trade-off between quality vs. speed in the design of its in-product tooltips....

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