<h2>Must know</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Global cyber threats escalate with sophisticated social engineering and supply chain attacks</strong>: A significant surge in sophisticated cyber threats is targeting various sectors globally, including banking, healthcare, and e-commerce. Unit 42 reports a massive smishing campaign with over 194,000 malicious domains, while Trend Micro Research identifies Agenda ransomware using Linux binaries to bypass Windows defenses. Supply chain vulnerabilities are also being exploited, with GlassWorm malware infecting over 35,800 developer environments via trojanized VS Code extensions, as detailed by multiple security firms. These attacks highlight a critical need for enhanced security measures across all digital infrastructures.</li>
<li><strong>AI agents and unified data platforms transform enterprise operations</strong>: New developments in AI agents and unified data platforms are poised to revolutionize enterprise operations. SingleStore and Arango have launched platforms supporting agentic AI with integrated vector embeddings and hybrid search, simplifying architecture for real-time performance. Metaview introduced an AI-powered sourcing agent for recruiters, while BASF Coatings successfully deployed a multi-agent AI system for sales insights using Databricks’ Mosaic AI. These advancements, highlighted by Gartner’s recognition of Microsoft Azure for hybrid infrastructure, aim to streamline complex workflows and democratize advanced AI capabilities, though independent validation of vendor claims is limited.</li>
<li><strong>Global governments intensify intervention in quantum technology race</strong>: Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to secure leadership in quantum technology. The UK is urged to increase investment to retain its quantum expertise, while Korea and Australia are forming partnerships for joint research and commercialization. Most notably, the U.S. government is reportedly considering acquiring equity stakes in quantum firms like IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave in exchange for federal funding, a significant shift in technology policy that has already caused a surge in stock prices, according to reports from Universal Quantum’s CEO and other sources.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Good to know</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Ruby ecosystem sees updates and new tools</strong>: Ruby 3.3.10 was released with security fixes, Rails 8.1 introduces Active Job Continuations and structured event reporting, and new tools like Superglue (integrating React into Rails) and CMDx (for structured business logic) are gaining traction.</li>
<li><strong>Cloud data architectures shift towards real-time and disaggregated storage</strong>: Modern data centers are moving to NVMe over TCP for NoSQL databases and adopting lakehouse architectures with open table formats like Apache Iceberg and Delta Lake, aiming for cost efficiency, sustainability, and real-time analytics.</li>
<li><strong>AWS launches RTB Fabric for real-time ad bidding</strong>: AWS introduced RTB Fabric, a fully managed service for AdTech companies, offering single-digit millisecond latency for real-time bidding, up to 80% networking cost reduction, and simplified partner integration across six global regions.</li>
<li><strong>Developer productivity and debugging habits reveal tooling mismatch</strong>: Research shows developers spend only 1.4% of coding time in VS Code’s debugger, preferring <code>console.log</code> due to immediate feedback, highlighting a disconnect between advanced tools and actual workflow habits, and emphasizing the need for seamless IDE integration for observability.</li>
<li><strong>Anthropic expands Claude memory features and secures Google TPU deal</strong>: Anthropic has rolled out Claude’s memory feature to all paid users, allowing conversations and preferences to be retained across sessions, and signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Google for up to one million TPUs for model training, while maintaining AWS as its primary cloud provider.</li>
<li><strong>Open-source VOCODEX emerges as Speechify alternative</strong>: VOCODEX is a new self-hosted, open-source text-to-speech platform built with React, FastAPI, and PostgreSQL, offering real-time sentence highlighting and audio playback, with future plans for PDF reading and mobile extensions.</li>
<li><strong>Canonical launches Ubuntu certifications and robotics observability stack</strong>: Canonical introduced Canonical Academy for Ubuntu and Linux certifications, and a new open-source observability stack for ROS 2 robotics, combining Grafana, Prometheus, and Loki on Ubuntu for fleet monitoring and live data access.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Bullshit police</h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Apple and Microsoft’s software quality: a masterclass in ‘it just works’ (until it doesn’t)</strong>: Microsoft Excel for iOS is now a paperweight after an update, with users reporting widespread crashes and unresponsiveness, all while Microsoft remains silent. Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia are apparently a masterclass in UI/UX inconsistency and degraded user experience, according to a critical analysis. It seems both tech giants are proving that ‘innovation’ often means ‘breaking things we used to rely on,’ especially when chasing shiny new design languages like Liquid Glass. Who needs stable software when you can have ‘enhanced motion elements’?</li>
<li><strong>OpenAI’s Atlas browser: because what the internet needs is more AI-powered surveillance</strong>: OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas, a browser with an ‘agent mode’ that autonomously navigates websites, and it’s already being called out for prompt injection vulnerabilities and aggressive surveillance. Security researchers at SquareX warn that these AI browsers are ripe for malicious extensions, tricking users into data theft. So, while OpenAI promises productivity, critics are pointing out it’s mostly eroding user control and expanding opaque data collection. Because who needs a functional, private browser when you can have an AI ‘assistant’ that’s basically a digital stalker?</li>
<li><strong>AI code generators: the wild west of ‘productivity’ and unsustainable pricing</strong>: The market for AI code generators is a free-for-all, with tools like Kombai claiming impressive benchmarks (from their own documentation, naturally) and a ‘12 AI Code Generators Tested’ article suggesting developers ‘mix and match’ because no single tool is superior. Pricing models are flagged as ‘unstable’ and ‘unsustainable,’ with advice to ‘be opportunistic’ while cheap plans last. So, basically, it’s a gold rush where everyone’s selling shovels, and the real ‘productivity’ might just be for the vendors before the bubble bursts.</li>
</ul>
