Notes for people who build
Writing about vibe coding, AI dev tools, and turning ideas into products.
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- Notes · 2MQTT: A Protocol Designed for DisconnectionWhile the web asks and waits for an answer, the world of things has been talking a different way. An introduction to publish/subscribe, and to the design philosophy of a protocol that even prepares a last will.
- The Startup Prince · 7On the Risk of Making Every Judgment With Your Own Eyes Alone — Trust Only Your Own Sight, and the Organization Closes Its EyesThe third post in Part Two of The Startup Prince. A founder's judgment is the asset that carried the company this far — but the moment it becomes the only standard for every decision, it shuts the organization's eyes. We look at why Machiavelli made the choice of ministers the first measure of a ruler's ability.
- React Native · 2The Development Environment — Your First Screen With ExpoThe fastest way into React Native is Expo. We create a project, get a first screen running on a real device in your hand, and look at what separates Expo from the bare workflow — and why Expo is the recommended starting point today.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 15Epilogue: Back to the UserAs this series comes to a close, we return to the question of what UX design is, and trace once more where the answer ultimately leads.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 14The Tools of Validation — Confirming Whether the Design Actually WorksFrom usability testing to A/B testing and quantitative scales, we look at five validation tools that check, in front of real users, whether a design actually works.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 13Tools of Implementation — Making Ideas TangibleA look at four tools that turn ideas into something users can actually experience, from paper prototypes to the Wizard of Oz technique.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 12Tools of Expression — How to Share the Invisible with Your TeamUnderstanding the user shouldn't stay locked inside one person's head. We look at five tools — Persona, Empathy Map, Scenario, User Journey Map, and Storyboard — for sharing the invisible experience of the user with the rest of the team.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 11The Tools of Analysis — When the Data Still Hasn't SpokenFrom Card Sorting to Affinity Diagrams, KJ Mapping, POV statements, and HMW questions — an introduction to the tools of analysis that read structure and meaning out of fragmented observation data.
- Vibe Coding for Everyone · 11How to Make a Vibe-Coded Service LastThe long-term sustainability problem in vibe coding, the difference a habit of recording structure makes, and a sustainable long-term development routine.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 10Tools of Observation — When You Don't Know What Users Are DoingIntroducing eleven observation tools to reach for when you can't tell what users are doing or why. From Shadowing to ZMET, we look at each tool's use and its limits.
- React Native · 1What Is React Native? — Drawing With React, but Not on the WebReact Native is not a hybrid app wrapped in a WebView. Starting from the idea that React's way of thinking stays put while only the 'what to draw' changes, we map out what React Native actually is — and where the web ends.
- The Startup Prince · 6On the Risk of Dominating Instead of Leading — Obedience Reaches Only as Far as the Order; Understanding Goes Beyond ItThe second post in Part Two of The Startup Prince. Extracting obedience through the power of the office is not the same as leading people. We look at why an organization that runs on compelled obedience alone moves only while the founder is watching, borrowing Machiavelli's distinction between two kinds of power.
- The Startup Prince · 5On the Risk of Fighting on a Battlefield You Cannot Win — Courage Charges In, Strategy Chooses the GroundThe first post in Part Two of The Startup Prince. Which battlefield you end up on is largely a matter of luck; how you fight once you're on it is a matter of skill. We look at the risk of grinding it out on a losing battlefield, borrowing the way Machiavelli saw the Romans wage war and the half of life he assigned to fortuna.
- Vibe Coding for Everyone · 10When You Hit a Bug — Finding the Root Cause with AILearn how to find the root cause of a production bug together with AI and fix it.
- The UX Design Manifesto · 9Emotion Is the Temperature of the River — The Third Parameter of UX DesignThis post addresses the layer of emotion that usability and conveniency alone cannot explain. Through Donald Norman's three levels of emotional response, we examine the role emotion plays in UX design and the traps that emotional design tends to fall into.