Jonathan Beckett
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jonbeckett.bsky.social
Jonathan Beckett
@jonbeckett.bsky.social
230 followers 180 following 120 posts
Software and web developer, husband, father, writer, runner, coffee drinker, retro video games player. Pizza solves most things.
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jonbeckett.bsky.social
Every web page request triggers an intricate dance between browsers, routers, switches, and servers spanning the globe. Follow the complete journey from typing a URL to the final rendered page, revealing the remarkable infrastructure that makes the modern web possible.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/28/w...
The Hidden Journey: From URL to Rendered Page - Following Data Through the Internet’s Infrastructure
Every web page request triggers an intricate dance between browsers, routers, switches, and servers spanning the globe. Follow the complete journey from typing a URL to the final rendered page, reveal...
jonbeckett.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:36 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Beyond the buzzwords and marketing hype lies a fascinating but fundamentally understandable technology. Understanding how AI actually works reveals both its remarkable capabilities and important limitations.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/27/h...
#ai #tech
Demystifying AI: How Artificial Intelligence Actually Works Behind the Marketing Hype
Beyond the buzzwords and marketing hype lies a fascinating but fundamentally understandable technology. Understanding how AI actually works—from neural networks and training data to transformers and e...
jonbeckett.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:09 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
In complex development projects with multiple teams and countless moving parts, the traditional approach of ‘fixing it later’ becomes exponentially expensive.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/22/s...
#development #testing #tech #shiftleft #cicd
Shifting Left: Why CI/CD Success Depends on Moving Fast by Moving Early
In complex development projects with multiple teams and countless moving parts, the traditional approach of ‘fixing it later’ becomes exponentially expensive. Discover why shifting left—moving testing...
jonbeckett.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:58 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
While most companies race to ship feature upon feature, the most successful products are built by teams that deliberately slow down.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/21/s...
#tech #development #programming
Slowing Down: The Antidote to the Feature Factory
While most companies race to ship feature upon feature, the most successful products are built by teams that deliberately slow down. Drawing from 37signals’ philosophy, discover why restraint beats ve...
jonbeckett.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:27 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
AI coding agents are transforming software development, but their lack of domain knowledge and common sense can lead them into recursive exploration of dead ends. Understanding these limitations and implementing effective oversight is crucial.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/17/p...
#ai #agents #dev
The Human Compass: Preventing Recursive Blind Alleys in AI Coding Agents
AI coding agents are transforming software development, but their lack of domain knowledge and common sense can lead them into recursive exploration of dead ends. Understanding these limitations and i...
jonbeckett.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:48 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, it acts as both a tool and a mirror, reflecting our values while challenging our assumptions about fairness, privacy, and what it means to be human.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/16/a...
#ai #culture #ethics #morality
The Mirror of Humanity: Ethical, Moral, and Cultural Challenges in AI
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly integrated into our daily lives, it acts as both a tool and a mirror, reflecting our values while challenging our fundamental assumptions about fairness...
jonbeckett.com
January 16, 2026 at 9:01 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
In fast-paced Agile and DevOps environments where software changes constantly, automated tests face a unique challenge: keeping pace with evolving requirements. Here's how this problem manifests and what teams can do about it.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/15/m...
#tech #development #testing #agile #devops
The Moving Target: Navigating the Test Automation Challenge in Agile and DevOps
In fast-paced Agile and DevOps environments where software changes constantly, automated tests face a unique challenge: keeping pace with evolving requirements. Here’s how this problem manifests and w...
jonbeckett.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:59 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
The story of how a Cold War-era defence project evolved into the most transformative communications network in human history—told through the visionaries, engineers, and pivotal moments that shaped the internet.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/14/a...
#internet #history #arpanet #technology #tech
From Cold War Experiment to Global Network: The Revolutionary History of ARPANET and the Birth of the Internet
The story of how a Cold War-era defence project evolved into the most transformative communications network in human history—told through the visionaries, engineers, and pivotal moments that shaped th...
jonbeckett.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:51 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Quick question to the BlueSky community - after working from home for the last couple of years, I'm thinking about trying out some shared office space. There is a "Spaces" shared office within walking distance of home - just wondering if anybody uses their "Lounge" access, and has opinions on them?
January 13, 2026 at 4:01 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
From humble beginnings to powering millions of websites, the LAMP stack transformed web development from an expensive enterprise endeavour into an accessible platform for anyone with a computer and an idea.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/13/l...
#web #lamp #history #internet
The LAMP Stack Revolution: How Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP Democratised Web Development
From humble beginnings to powering millions of websites, the LAMP stack transformed web development from an expensive enterprise endeavour into an accessible platform for anyone with a computer and an...
jonbeckett.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:54 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
From Alan Turing’s handwritten algorithms to AlphaZero’s neural networks, the evolution of computer chess charts humanity’s journey toward artificial consciousness—one calculated move at a time.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/12/c...
#chess #games #gametheory #history #turing #deepblue #alphazero #ai
The Chess Machine Awakens: From Turing’s Dreams to Silicon Consciousness
From Alan Turing’s handwritten algorithms to AlphaZero’s neural networks, the evolution of computer chess charts humanity’s journey toward artificial consciousness—one calculated move at a time.
jonbeckett.com
January 12, 2026 at 3:02 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
This is the story of how business automation and workflow evolved from expensive enterprise luxuries to tools that democratized process improvement for organizations of every size.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/11/b...
#powerplatform #nintex #k2 #metastorm #filenet #sharepoint #workflow #automation
From Paper to Power Platform: The Revolutionary History of Business Automation and Workflow
In 1990, a typical business process looked something like this: a paper form would land in someone’s inbox, sit there for hours or days, get signed, placed in an inter-office envelope, and physically ...
jonbeckett.com
January 11, 2026 at 12:22 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
In 2009, a programmer named Ryan Dahl stood on stage at JSConf EU and demonstrated something that seemed almost heretical to many in the audience: JavaScript running on a server.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/10/n...
#javascript #nodejs #history #tech #internet
JavaScript Everywhere: The Revolutionary History of Node.js and Full-Stack JavaScript
In 2009, a programmer named Ryan Dahl stood on stage at JSConf EU and demonstrated something that seemed almost heretical to many in the audience: JavaScript running on a server. Not in a browser, not...
jonbeckett.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:02 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
The World Wide Web represents one of humanity’s great collaborative achievements. By understanding its history, we can better appreciate both its possibilities and its challenges—and work to ensure the web remains open, accessible, and beneficial for all.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/09/w...
#web
From CERN to Chrome: The Revolutionary History of the World Wide Web and Web Browsers
In 1989, a British scientist working at CERN had an idea that would fundamentally transform human civilization. Tim Berners-Lee’s proposal for an “information management” system evolved into the World...
jonbeckett.com
January 9, 2026 at 7:26 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
The code you write today becomes the legacy system of tomorrow. The shortcuts you take now become the technical debt your successors will curse. The standards you establish—or fail to establish—determine whether your project scales gracefully or buckles under pressure.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/08/s...
The Hidden Challenges of Large-Scale Software Development: Navigating Complexity in the Real World
Every software developer knows the exhilaration of starting a new project—a blank canvas where anything seems possible. But as projects grow from small prototypes to large-scale enterprise systems, th...
jonbeckett.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:59 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Since its public release in 2004, Rails has not only shaped how we think about web application development but has also influenced countless other frameworks across different programming languages.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/07/r...
#development #web #mvc #rails #ruby
Ruby on Rails: The Framework That Revolutionized Web Development
In the landscape of web development frameworks, few have had as profound and lasting an impact as Ruby on Rails. Since its public release in 2004, Rails has not only shaped how we think about web appl...
jonbeckett.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:54 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Microsoft Playwright has evolved far beyond traditional browser automation into an intelligent testing ecosystem powered by AI agents that can autonomously crawl websites, map user interfaces, design comprehensive test suites, and self-heal when applications change.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/06/p...
Microsoft Playwright’s Intelligent Testing Revolution: AI Agents That Design, Build, and Heal Tests Automatically
Microsoft Playwright has evolved far beyond traditional browser automation into an intelligent testing ecosystem powered by AI agents that can autonomously crawl websites, map user interfaces, design ...
jonbeckett.com
January 6, 2026 at 12:34 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Discover how combining Gherkin, Cucumber, Playwright, NodeJS, and Allure Reports creates a powerful, flexible BDD solution that bridges the gap between business requirements and technical implementation.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/02/f...
#testing #bdd #gherkin #cucumber #playwright #allure #development
Building Flexible BDD Solutions: The Power of Gherkin, Cucumber, Playwright, NodeJS, and Allure Reports
Discover how combining Gherkin, Cucumber, Playwright, NodeJS, and Allure Reports creates a powerful, flexible BDD solution that bridges the gap between business requirements and technical implementati...
jonbeckett.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:27 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Microsoft’s emerging ‘Frontier’ approach represents a fundamental shift toward centralised agent governance, monitoring, and control at enterprise scale.
jonbeckett.com/2026/01/05/m...
Microsoft’s AI Agent Frontier: Building the Enterprise Command Centre for Autonomous Intelligence
Microsoft’s ambitious vision for enterprise AI agents isn’t just about creating smarter assistants—it’s about orchestrating entire ecosystems of autonomous digital workers. As organisations grapple wi...
jonbeckett.com
January 5, 2026 at 1:15 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
I tend to think the various platforms are best aligned with specific use-cases.
January 5, 2026 at 10:45 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
After giving it quite a bit of thought over new year, I have resurrected a technical blog on the internet - to bring together the notes I write from day to day into a coherent form that might be of use to others. jonbeckett.com - feel free to go take a look :)
jonbeckett.com
Software and Web Developer
jonbeckett.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:42 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Looking at BlueSky once again, and wondering if it's worth the effort. Being "present" on the various social networks is kind of exhausting.
December 31, 2025 at 8:53 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
First day off sick in a year. Just completed the trip to the shops to get energy drinks, paracetamol, chocolate, and cough syrup (which we all know doesn't work, but still hoping the placebo effect does).
February 19, 2025 at 11:31 AM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
Not stopping once you've figured out how to do something seems to be a particular failing in software and web developers :)
February 13, 2025 at 6:12 PM
jonbeckett.bsky.social
The one where I won't admit how difficult I found it to switch off my work computer this evening, after finally discovering how to do something that I've been working towards all day - with minutes of the day left.
February 13, 2025 at 6:10 PM