Year one of a startup is like adrenaline-fueled travel. Founders are passionate. They have an idea they believe will change the world. The team is tiny—maybe five to ten people—and everyone is highly motivated. There's a sense of "we're fighting the world, against the odds." Funding arrives. Maybe from angel investors or seed-stage VC....

Last week, there was significant news in the automotive world, though maybe not as flashy as robotaxis from Amazon or Lucid. BMW launched the iX3—the first production model from their new Neue Klasse architecture. There's no "i" in front of "Klasse"—that's intentional. BMW says this is their first truly "software-defined vehicle." I kn...

I remember clearly when "T-shaped engineer" became the buzzword in corporate circles. Around 2015, there was a realization: a purely specialist engineer struggles to collaborate in modern organizations. A developer who only understands backend, but is completely blind to DevOps or product strategy—they need an intermediate layer to com...

Indonesia produces an enormous amount of nickel. Let me ask you to guess: what percentage of the world's total nickel production comes from here? Fifty-five percent. More than half—from a single country. This mineral is a critical component in modern electric vehicle batteries. Nickel forms the spine of cathode material. The higher the...

The most frequent question I get from engineers unfamiliar with machine learning is this: "How can a system learn if a human is the one giving it instructions?" The question is good because it reveals an implicit assumption—that somebody has to explicitly tell the system: "If pattern A appears, do X. If pattern B appears, do Y." That's...

I have a friend — a senior engineer. Smart, experienced, over ten years in the industry. A few months ago he told me: "I'll learn AI later. There's still so much real work to do. Besides, the technology is still changing." Completely reasonable logic. He was busy with actual projects, mentoring his team, managing complex deliverables. ...

[first blog in 2026, let's see for how long ~~~] There's a complaint I keep hearing from engineering teams working with large AI models: "The model is great, but the longer the input, the slower and more expensive it gets." And here's the thing — that's not a configuration problem. You can't fix it with better hardware tuning or a smar...

Last post in 2025~ I am Vicky - as a technology enthusiast who has navigated through different eras of operating systems for over three decades, I want to share my fascinating experience of the journey I've taken. From the classic computer era with intel 386 processor, through the Windows revolution, transitioning to Apple's elegant ec...

I'm going to be honest with you. This year was hard. Not just the blogging — everything. And somewhere along the way, the daily post target became one more thing pressing down on an already full plate. What I Learned Consistency is not just a content strategy. It's a character test. And this year, some days I passed, some days I didn't...

Five days in. And I have a new respect for anyone who does this long-term. What I Thought vs. What It Actually Is I thought daily blogging would get easier as the days go on. Build momentum, find a rhythm, and it flows naturally. That's the theory. The reality is that every single day you have to make the choice again. The habit doesn'...

Today was one of those days. Back-to-back meetings from morning to late afternoon. By the time I had a moment to breathe, half the day was already gone and my brain was running on fumes. The Calendar Was Brutal Stand-up. Sync with the firmware team. A supplier call. A quick check-in that turned into a 45-minute discussion. Another sync...

Ugh~ Day three and I already feel it. The initial excitement from day one is fading. Today writing felt like a chore. The Grind Starts Here Nobody tells you that day three is where the habit actually begins to be tested. Day one you're motivated. Day two you push through. Day three — your brain starts asking "why are we doing this agai...

Okay, day two. Yesterday was smooth. Today I sat down to write and the first thing I thought was: "what do I actually write about today?" The Blank Page Problem It's only day two and I already hit a small wall. Not a big one — more like a speed bump. But it was there. I spent about 20 minutes just staring at the screen. Scrolled throug...

Day one. Let's go. I decided to commit to posting every single day. One post, every day, no excuses. The goal is simple: build the habit, document the journey, and share what I'm learning along the way. Why I'm Doing This Consistency is the difference between someone who "wants to blog" and someone who actually does. I've been in the f...

I set a personal target: one blog post per day. Sounds simple. It's not. The Idea Was Good Consistency builds audience. Daily publishing forces you to keep learning, keep writing, and keep showing up. That part I still believe. And honestly, the topics aren't the hard part — there's always something to write about. Tried a new tool? Wr...

Not everyone knows what a PCB designer does. Most people just see the finished green board inside their gadgets and move on. But behind every one of those boards is someone who spent hours — sometimes days — thinking about traces, footprints, stackups, and clearances. Let's talk about that. What Is a PCB Designer? A PCB (Printed Circui...

It's happening. Potato Codex is going to YouTube. I've been putting this off for a while. Writing blog posts is one thing — you can edit, rearrange, and publish at your own pace. Video is a different commitment entirely. But the time feels right, so here we are. Why YouTube Text is great for technical depth. But there's a ceiling on ho...

Potato Codex is expanding — and Instagram makes sense as the next platform. Short, visual, fast. A different format from the blog, but the same mission: share what I'm learning with people who care about tech. Why Instagram The blog is for depth. Instagram is for moments — quick thoughts, behind-the-scenes, short-form content that does...

I opened Visual Studio today for the first time in a long while. That specific feeling when the IDE loads — the solution explorer, the familiar dark theme, the IntelliSense kicking in — it all came back immediately. Like muscle memory. Why I Stepped Away Life moves in directions. My work shifted heavily toward embedded systems, firmwar...

Is it worth it using ultrawide monitor? 20 May 2025 Potato Codex

After setting up Rails locally and getting the basics of Ruby down, it was time to find a proper learning platform. I landed on GoRails — and so far it's the right call. What Is GoRails GoRails is a screencasting platform specifically for Ruby on Rails developers. Run by Chris Oliver, it covers everything from beginner Rails setup to a...

I've been using Alacritty for a while. Fast, minimal, does what it says. But after buying Berkeley Mono and wanting to actually use its ligatures — Alacritty became a problem. So I tried Ghostty. And I'm not going back. The Core Difference Alacritty is intentionally minimal. The developers have made it very clear: no ligature support, ...

I bought a font today. First time ever paying for a typeface. And it was Berkeley Mono. No regrets. Why Berkeley Mono If you've spent any time in developer circles online, you've probably seen Berkeley Mono without knowing it. It's the font that makes terminals and code editors look like they belong in a different era — precise, warm, ...

Here is my setup for today's experiment. Let's see. • Asus Zenbook S16 = Windows 11 as a workstation. • Fujitsu Lifebook U9310 = Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as a server. • Macbook Air M1 = macOS Sequoia as a portable. 16 May 2025 Potato Codex

Yesterday tested Ubuntu 25, turns out it make me back to Windows 11. 15 May 2025 Potato Codex

I am registered to attend the AWS Summit in Singapore, but have ended up on the waiting list. 14 May 2025 Potato Codex

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA) with Ryzen AI HX 370 is a capable machine — but running Linux on it isn't completely smooth out of the box. Here's a quick summary of the known issues and how to fix them. This link covers Bluetooth, keyboard, and audio issues. No Bluetooth Bluetooth doesn't work without a kernel patch. You'll need to a...

I know C. I know Python. I know Rust, Dart, Java, a bit of C#. And now I'm adding Ruby to the list — from scratch. No prior Ruby knowledge. No shortcuts. Just starting from zero and seeing where it goes. Why Ruby Honest answer: Ruby on Rails brought me here. I've been exploring Rails as a web framework, and you can't really appreciate ...

Finally, I am upgrading my laptop to an Asus Zenbook S16 and SSD to 4 TB. 11 May 2025 Potato Codex

I got my hands on a Ledger Flex. First hardware wallet I've seriously used, and it's a good excuse to talk about something the crypto world takes for granted but doesn't always explain well — the difference between a cold wallet and a hot wallet. Cold Wallet vs Hot Wallet — The Simple Version • Hot wallet: connected to the internet. Yo...