WeAreDevelopers Dev Digest

Issue 156: Destroy him, my robots!

WeAreDevelopers World Congress 9-11/7/25 - get 15% off using code devdigest

Hello fellow developer, I am enjoying Bluesky much more than any other social platform at the moment, so I was happy to be able to talk to one of its engineers about the ins and outs of the platform. Furthermore, we explain how to create a new React app nowadays, how to speed up your SQL and to mourn the loss of the NCC1701-D.

Bluesky has been constantly growing as an alternative to X. With good reason. Instead of just being another social app, it strives to be a platform you can build bots and tools on. And it focuses on text and open source instead of locking you in whilst being easier to grasp than Mastodon. We met with engineer Eric Bailey to get more insight into the how and why. Check out the video and also these news items with more detail:

• Bluesky’s Emily Liu on rethinking social media
• When Imperfect Systems are Good, Actually: Bluesky's Lossy Timelines

What's happening in AI

• AI usage is making us feel dumber – but you don’t need to panic yet
• AI agents can be easily tricked into doing stupid things
• AI is stifling tech adoption
• "I’m glad AI didn’t exist when I learned to code"

Security and Privacy

• The overuse of browser engines in desktop applications
• Magento credit card stealer disguised in an <img> tag
• Delivering malware through abandoned Amazon S3 buckets
• Nontraditional red teams

Software Development

• require(esm) backported to Node.js 20 meaning we can move on to ESM-only.
• Debugging An Undebuggable App
• Ruby on Rails on WebAssembly,a guide to full-stack in‑browser action.
• Sunsetting Create React App and how to start a React project now.

Tips, Tricks and Tools

• Native cross-platform Web Workers
• In-browser video compressor
• SQL Indexing and Tuning e-Book
• Kreuzberg is a Python library for text extraction from documents

Procrastination corner and Wonderful Weird Web

• Turn your logo into the cool Liquid Metal Apple just showed
• The new DVD bargain bin - publishers uploading full feature movies to YouTube
• Floor 796 - lots of pixel goodness to find and enjoy
• Impossible Mission - the Commodore 64 game in your browser

• Enterprise is Dead
• New Junior Developers can’t actually code
• Why firing programmers for AI will destroy everything
• Despite the hype about RTO there is not much Reduction in WFH in 2 years

Companies to check:

1. Data Analyst - A/B Testing & Big Data at trivago
2. Data Architect at Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB)
3. Senior Frontend Software Engineer at Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund Servicegesellschaft
4. Cyber Security Architect Cloud at VECTOR Informatik
5. Front-End Developer at Dennemeyer Group

More jobs here: Remote positions - Germany - Austria