HTML All The Things - Web Development, AI, and Developer Careers

Is the AI bubble finally starting to pop? In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike discuss OpenAI reducing usage on its $200 Pro plan, the enormous cost of AI infrastructure, and growing questions around whether businesses are actually seeing enough financial return from their AI investments.

They also look at the other side of the argument: AI usage and revenue are still growing rapidly, companies continue pouring money into the technology, and the industry may simply be moving out of an era of heavily subsidized compute. Is this the beginning of an AI correction, or just the next stage of the AI boom?

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/is-the-ai-bubble-starting-to-pop

Use our Scrimba affiliate link (https://scrimba.com/?via=htmlallthethings) for a 20% discount!! Full details in show notes.

AI can save small businesses time, reduce repetitive work, and unlock capabilities that previously required more people, but where should you actually start? In this episode, Matt and Mike break down how small businesses can introduce AI without getting overwhelmed, from identifying high-frequency, low-risk tasks and protecting sensitive business data to turning successful experiments into repeatable AI workflows. We also discuss why you shouldn't automate everything at once, how your existing expertise makes AI more useful, when AI can hurt your brand, and why even a small business should consider having a basic AI policy.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/ai-basics-for-small-businesses

Our world already has an instant gratification problem and AI has somehow made it worse. It's making skilled work faster and cheaper than ever, which in turn makes us more impatient than ever. Why should we spend a week learning a new SEO tool or a new coding method when we can just ask our AI to do it in a snap? In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike discuss AI-powered instant gratification, the pressure to constantly build and experiment, and the strange feeling that when almost anything can be made quickly, maybe we should be doing everything.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/ai-has-made-skilled-labour-almost-free-and-its-scary

Tech layoffs can happen with little warning, even when your company is doing well. In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss the warning signs that layoffs may be coming, how to prepare while you're still employed, and what to do when a layoff starts looking imminent. From building an emergency fund and keeping your resume current to documenting your accomplishments and strengthening your professional network, we cover practical ways to make an unexpected layoff much easier to navigate.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/how-to-prepare-for-a-tech-layoff

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AI models are already remarkably capable, but their intelligence doesn’t matter much if they’re too expensive, limited, or confusing to use. In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike discuss why cheaper and faster models, higher usage limits, and a better user experience could be more important than winning the next benchmark - and why the future of AI may be about making today’s technology genuinely usable.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/ais-biggest-problem-isnt-intelligence-anymore

AI is easy to start using, but getting good at it takes practice. In this episode, Matt and Mike break down the AI basics everyone should learn first, from improving your prompts and knowing when AI needs to search the web to verifying important answers and avoiding AI overload. Whether you're using ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, or another AI tool, these tips will help you build better habits and get more useful results.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/ai-basics-learn-these-tips-first

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Is AI coding making technical debt worse, or could it help us finally clean it up? In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike debate how tighter deadlines, unchecked code, and AI’s context limits affect maintainability - and whether clean code still matters when AI can navigate the mess.

Inspired by this r/webdev discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/1wi3mi5/is_vibe_coding_creating_a_hidden_technical_debt/

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/is-ai-coding-making-technical-debt-worse

Every once in a while, a new app actually sticks and changes how you work. In this episode, Mike shares the developer and productivity apps that have earned a permanent spot in his workflow, including the Aside AI Browser, Orca Agent IDE, OrbStack, Aerospace, Raycast, and Niagara Launcher. We dig into AI-powered browser automation, managing multiple coding agents, remote development from your phone, lightweight Docker alternatives, keyboard-first macOS workflows, and minimalist Android setups.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/my-favorite-developer-and-productivity-apps-right-now

Use our Scrimba affiliate link (https://scrimba.com/?via=htmlallthethings) for a 20% discount!! Full details in show notes.

Can AI actually plan a good vacation? Matt recently used ChatGPT and Gemini to help plan a trip to the UK, from sightseeing and transportation to fitting everything into a packed itinerary. We break down what AI got right, where it completely missed the mark, and why the best travel planning still combines AI with Google Maps, social media, and advice from real people.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/i-let-ai-help-plan-my-vacation-heres-how-it-went

AI coding tools can generate huge amounts of functional code in seconds, but does that mean developers no longer need to learn how to code? In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss how aspiring and junior developers can use AI coding agents as both builders and tutors - following their curiosity, learning the concepts behind generated code, and deciding how much manual coding knowledge they actually need to retain. They also explore the growing challenge of balancing traditional programming skills with agentic coding skills, especially when preparing for developer jobs and technical interviews.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/dont-just-vibe-code-learn-while-you-code

Use our Scrimba affiliate link (https://scrimba.com/?via=htmlallthethings) for a 20% discount!! Full details in show notes.