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

GPT-6 Astra is here, bringing another huge jump in AI capabilities - and once again raising the question: are we approaching AGI?

But defining artificial general intelligence gets messy fast. If AGI means matching or exceeding humans across virtually any cognitive task, how do you actually test that? And as new benchmarks appear, are we discovering better ways to measure intelligence or simply moving the goalposts? In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike discuss what AGI means from a regular user's perspective, why benchmark scores don't necessarily tell the whole story, and whether the label even matters if AI can already handle increasingly complex real-world work. For most of us, the question may be much simpler: does the AI actually do what we need it to do?

‍Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/does-agi-actually-matter-to-you

Most of us repeatedly teach our AI coding agents the same lessons: ask questions before coding, write a specification, break the work into tickets, test everything, and review the result. Agent skills let us package those instructions into reusable workflows that an agent can load whenever they become relevant. In this episode, Matt and Mike explain what agent skills are, how they differ from prompts, project rules, tools, MCP servers, and custom GPTs, and why they can make AI-assisted development more consistent. They also explore Matt Pocock’s engineering skills - including grill-with-docs, wayfinder, to-spec, to-tickets, implement, code-review, and handoff - and discuss why installing too many overlapping skills can make an agent worse instead of better.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/ai-agent-skills-explained-what-they-are-and-which-ones-to-use

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AI agents can handle tasks independently for minutes at a time - but what should you do while you wait? Start more work, run additional agents, or finally take a break?

In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike discuss how AI has unexpectedly created more opportunities for short retro-gaming sessions during the workday. They explore why playing a low-stakes Game Boy game can be more restorative than doomscrolling, how stepping away can improve your review of AI-generated work, and why running too many agents eventually turns your own brain into the bottleneck.

AI may help us accomplish more, but does every minute it saves need to be filled with additional work?

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/ai-lets-me-game-more-and-work-better

A small business website doesn’t always need a fully custom design. In fact, spending too much time on bespoke visuals can waste the client’s budget without helping the business achieve its goals.

In this episode, Matt and Mike explain how freelancers and agencies can choose the web design services they want to offer, determine how much design a client actually needs, and translate business requirements into an effective website. They compare fully custom designs, versatile themes, pre-made websites, and rebuilds on modern platforms. They also discuss managing client wishlists, gathering brand assets, working outside your comfort zone, and using AI to create more customized designs without reinventing everything from scratch.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/how-to-design-websites-for-small-businesses

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

Leaks have become an unavoidable part of following technology and entertainment. Unreleased phones appear online months before their announcements, unfinished games are shown without context, and spoilers can surface in your feed whether you searched for them or not. In this edition of the Web News, Matt and Mike discuss the recent leak of alleged GTA VI gameplay footage and whether leaking a game is ever a reasonable form of protest. They also explore why unfinished footage can create a misleading impression, how leaks take control away from the people presenting a product, and whether some suspiciously polished tech leaks might actually be intentional marketing. Have leaks made product launches less exciting - or do you enjoy seeing everything as early as possible?

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/are-tech-leaks-real-or-just-marketing

Developer job titles are changing, and GTM Engineer is one of the fastest-growing roles at the intersection of software, data, automation, AI, and revenue. Instead of building only for product or internal engineering teams, GTM Engineers help companies find, convert, retain, and expand customers through better systems and smarter workflows.

In this episode, Matt and Mike explain what GTM Engineers actually do, why being closer to revenue can make an engineer's value easier to demonstrate, and how developers can move toward this work without starting their careers over. They discuss lead scoring, CRM integrations, customer-usage alerts, sales automation, portfolio projects, resume positioning, customer calls, and the importance of documenting measurable business impact.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/how-to-become-a-gtm-engineer-a-new-career-path-for-developers

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

After using AI coding tools professionally and personally, Brett Codes says he is done. His viral video and blog post describe feeling detached from his work, less engaged with programming, and increasingly anxious about the future of his career. This anxious feeling is common in tech and software engineering spaces today as LLMs invade what was once a complex and manual job that required dedication and practice to learn. Matt and Mike discuss why that story resonates with exhausted developers, the pressure companies place on teams to adopt AI, whether opting out is realistic, and what happens if hand-written code becomes a niche craft.

‍Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/developers-are-exhausted-by-ai-coding

Brett Codes' YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZU3j4GQ4K8

Brett Codes' Blog Post: https://brettcodes.com/im-done-using-ai/

Small-business websites used to have a straightforward job: explain who you are, what you offer, and how customers can contact you. Then search became a major source of discovery, and businesses added keyword-focused pages, blogs, technical SEO, and local listings.

Now AI Overviews and zero-click search are changing the equation again. Does that mean blogs and traditional websites are dead? Matt and Mike argue that they are still essential - but they are no longer the whole strategy.

In this episode, they break the modern small-business website into three layers: a trustworthy digital brochure, a discovery engine, and a useful tool. They explore how calculators, product selectors, rankings, schedules, availability checkers, and other “micro-app” pages can give real customers a reason to visit, return, and take action. They also explain why businesses should preserve existing content and link equity, measure what works, and build the new layer gradually instead of throwing everything out.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/small-business-websites-need-to-do-more-than-exist

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Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei reportedly worries that some new hires are joining the company for the paycheck rather than its AI safety mission. But with competitors offering top researchers compensation packages reportedly reaching nine figures, is choosing the money really surprising? In this edition of theWeb News, Matt and Mike discuss the escalating AI talent war, whether company culture can compete with life-changing compensation, and why years of layoffs have made workers less willing to put an employer’s mission ahead of their own financial security.

The episode is based on reporting summarized by AI Weekly, which notes that researchers are also weighing compute access, technical freedom, and influence - not compensation alone.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/can-company-mission-compete-with-a-100-million-paycheck

Before becoming an engineering manager, Mike spent nearly two years washing dishes and another five working as a line cook. The jobs may seem completely unrelated to software development, but the lessons he learned in the kitchen continue to shape how he handles pressure, leads developers, and solves problems today. In this episode, Matt and Mike discuss how early jobs outside of tech can prepare you for a career in development. They explore thriving in chaotic situations, matching people with the right responsibilities, cross-training team members, paying attention to details, and finding the motivation to keep learning. They also share how factory and kitchen work taught them what they wanted from their careers - and what they never wanted to return to.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcast/from-dishwasher-to-engineering-manager

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