You’re reading The Steady Beat, a weekly-ish round-up of hand-picked articles and resources for people who make software products: designers, engineers, product managers, and organizational leaders.
By the Numbers - Pneumatic I/O
- 400 — At its peak in 1940, Berlin’s pneumatic tube system stretched across 400 kilometers, a massive underground network designed to transport mail and small parcels.
- 1984 — Paris’s famed pneumatic post system, which began operating in 1866, continued in use until 1984, when it was replaced by modern communication technologies like fax machines.
- 72 — ThyssenKrupp’s industrial facility uses pneumatic tubes to transport steel samples at 72 feet per second, moving materials at a blazing speed between production and testing.
- 1.75 — Dublin’s Dalkey Atmospheric Railway, an early precursor to pneumatic systems, operated along a 1.75-mile stretch from Kingstown to Dalkey, Ireland, in the 1840s.
- 95 — Alfred Ely Beach’s experimental pneumatic subway in New York, constructed secretly in 1869, extended for 95 meters under Broadway, showcasing the potential for underground transit systems.
Tech Hiring: Is the Slide Over?
After a brutal 2023, layoffs and tech hiring freezes seem to be thawing, with signs of cautious optimism. A UBS analysis reports that job postings at Google, Amazon, and Meta are up year-on-year, and surveys from recruiters like Robert Half show a shift from pessimism to hope. AI’s growing role in tech innovation is driving demand, with firms looking to boost productivity and efficiency. But not everyone’s buying the bounce-back narrative. Some warn that “ghost jobs” and AI-powered tools could still dampen long-term developer hiring.
— LeadDev, 5m, #leadership #management
How to Win Friends and Influence Stakeholders
In the world of product management, influence is everything—just ask Jules Walter, a product leader at Google. His five-step playbook shows how to master stakeholder alignment by understanding what makes each player tick, framing your message from their perspective, and priming allies and detractors before the big meeting. With a little intel and emotional intelligence, Walter demonstrates how to turn even the toughest rooms in your favor, whether you’re reshaping Slack’s monetization or getting YouTube NFL-ready.
— Lenny’s Newsletter, 7m, #product #productmanagement
AI Won’t 10x Your Code—But It Might Add 26%
Gary Marcus is here to tell us the cold, hard truth: Generative AI won’t magically 10x programmer productivity, despite the hype. Studies show only modest improvements—like 26% boosts for junior devs and marginal gains for seniors—with some added risks like buggy and insecure code. So, while AI tools can help you type faster, they can’t replace the deep conceptual thinking that makes great code great. In fact, a solid IDE is probably doing more heavy lifting than the latest AI wonder-tool.
— Marcus on AI, 4m, #development #programming #productivity
Mozilla’s New Look
Mozilla, the open-source force behind Firefox, has rebranded with a nostalgic nod to early internet aesthetics, courtesy of branding agency JKR. Their revamped identity isn’t just about style—it’s a rallying cry for digital rights, uniting grassroots coders, activists, and government advocates under a bold new banner. With pixel-inspired typefaces and a flag-waving T-Rex mascot, Mozilla aims to better tell its story as a beacon for an open and accessible web, a role they’re cementing for the next 25 years.
— It’s Nice That, 4m, #design #branding
Less Meetings, More Context
Have you tried Steady? It’s an AI-powered coordination layer that eliminates 83% of meetings for software teams.
Steady runs in the background, distilling plans and progress from tools, teams, & people into tailored summaries, giving everyone the clarity they need to build outstanding products together. With Steady, everyone has continuous context at their fingertips, eliminating the need for burdensome shoulder taps, interruptions, and endless meetings.
Learn more at steady.space.
