Best of Google — July 2025

  1. 1
    Article
    Avatar of staffengStaffEng·46w

    Adam Bender - Principal Software Engineer at Google

    Adam Bender, a Principal Engineer at Google, shares insights about the staff engineer role, emphasizing the shift from individual technical execution to strategic business thinking and cross-team coordination. He describes how staff engineers solve open-ended problems, reduce system complexity, and mentor junior developers. Bender highlights the importance of communication skills, systems thinking, and the ability to connect disparate teams and solutions across large organizations. He discusses his promotion journey, the concept of 'staff projects,' and provides advice for aspiring and new staff engineers about embracing discomfort during skill development.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of tcTechCrunch·43w

    Google is testing a vibe-coding app called Opal

    Google is testing Opal, a new AI-powered vibe-coding tool available through Google Labs in the US. The tool allows users to create web apps using text prompts or remix existing apps from a gallery. Opal features a visual workflow editor where users can see and modify the input, output, and generation steps. Users can publish and share their apps with others. This joins Google's existing AI Studio and competes with similar tools from Canva, Figma, and Replit that target non-technical users for app prototyping.

  3. 3
    Video
    Avatar of bytegradByteGrad·46w

    Build An AI-Video Generation App With Veo 3 + Next.js (Cursor, fal.ai)

    A step-by-step tutorial demonstrating how to build an AI video generation web application using Google's Veo 3 model through fal.ai service and Next.js. The tutorial covers setting up the frontend with a prompt input and video display, implementing server actions for API calls, integrating with fal.ai's video generation API, and handling the expensive costs (around $6 per 8-second video with audio). The guide includes practical considerations about pricing, API key management, and basic UI implementation using Cursor AI for code generation.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of collectionsCollections·43w

    Google Labs' Opal: A Tool for Crafting AI Mini-Apps Without Coding

    Google Labs launched Opal, an experimental no-code platform that enables users to build AI mini-apps through natural language descriptions and visual workflows. Currently in US-only public beta, the tool features demo templates, instant sharing capabilities, and eliminates the need for programming knowledge by translating user instructions into visual workflows.

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