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What do you want the last chapter of your software development career to look like? Carl and Richard talk to Shawn Wildermuth about life as a 55-year-old software developer. Shawn talks about being an independent software development consultant for the past twenty years and considering what the next ten should look like. The conversation digs into what's fun and valuable and what you want to achieve before retirement. One thing is for sure - there is no one right way to have a career - but making a plan is important!



Download audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/60052948/dotnetrocks_1898_being_a_senior_software_developer.mp3

After yesterday at Google I/O, I was in Vegas today for a Gartner conference. It’s been a wonderful chance to learn from “regular” folks with normal tech challenges.

[blog] Google I/O 2024: An I/O for a new generation. Here’s a good overview of I/O based on Sundar’s keynote.

[blog] Sociotechnical Maestros with Gene Kim. Listen to the podcast, or read the transcript here. Product wizard John talks to DevOps and culture guru Gene about empowerment, vision, and other considerations for high performing teams.

[paper] Global deployment with Compute Engine and Spanner. What does it look like to build a globally available system with VMs and databases? Here’s a complete reference guide.

[blog] Introducing PaliGemma, Gemma 2, and an Upgraded Responsible AI Toolkit. New, and better open AI models now ready to use.

[article] Why and How Teams Are Replacing External Database Caches. Are separate caches uncool now? Are databases performant enough? This post looks at some examples.

[blog] What’s new in Firebase at I/O 2024. Firebase came out STRONG at Google I/O. You’ve got Firebase App Hosting for serverless compute beneath your Next.js or Angular app, a nifty-looking relational database offering, new integrations with the Vertex AI platform, and the new Genkit for building generative AI apps.

[blog] Done is Better Than Perfect. On one hand, this is how you get technical debt. But on the other, sometimes those efforts at perfection create more debt and negative business impact.

[blog] Introducing VideoFX, plus new features for ImageFX and MusicFX. These are wild tools for creative folks to use when building what they love.

[article] “Developers should own security. And test in production.” I saw a lot of “shift left” content today. Observability apparently needs to shift left too. Or, let’s have platforms do more, by shifting down.

[blog] Vertex AI at I/O: Bringing new Gemini and Gemma models to Google Cloud customers. Context caching is a big deal. And the updated tools for those building agents are great.

[article] Three Reasons DevOps Should Consider Rocky Linux 9.4. I like what this team is doing, and you should definitely consider Rocky Linux as a distribution.

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Understanding Azure Reservations and Savings Plans

 

For bootstrapped startups, every dollar counts. Wasting money on cloud resources can stifle your growth. But fear not, cloud ninjas! This post dives into two powerful tools – Azure Reservations and Savings Plans – that can help you slash your Azure bill and optimize your cloud spending.

Imagine getting a discount on your favorite takeout app… but only if you order the same thing every week from the same location. That's kind of like Azure Reservations. You commit to using a specific amount of Azure resources for a set period (think virtual machines) and get a sweet discount (up to 72% off!).

Azure Savings Plans are more flexible. It's like a pre-paid gift card for your cloud resources. You commit to spending a certain amount per hour for one or three years, and you get discounts (up to 65% off!) on eligible compute costs across different regions and instance types.

Choosing the Right Option

Here's a breakdown of the advantages, drawbacks, ideal use cases, and penalties for each option to help you decide which is best for you:

 

Azure Reservations (Learn more about Azure Reservations)

• Advantages:

  • Cost Savings: Up to 72% off compared to pay-as-you-go pricing.
  • Predictable Billing: Provides a predictable expenditure model.
  • Automatic Application: Discounts automatically apply to matching resources.

• Drawbacks:

  • Limited Flexibility: Best for stable, predictable workloads.
  • Resource Specificity: Tied to specific regions and instance families.
  • Penalties: "Use-it-or-lose-it" - unused resources are forfeited. Limited cancellation and exchange options (Azure Reservations Exchange Policy).

• Ideal Use Cases:

  • Consistent, uninterrupted workloads with minimal variation (e.g., core web server).

Azure Savings Plans (Learn more about Azure Savings Plans)

 

• Advantages:

  • Flexible Savings: Applies across a wide range of compute resources.
  • Global Application: Works across different regions and instance families.

• Drawbacks:

  • Limited Scope: Discounts only apply to compute costs, not storage, network, or licensing.
  • Non-Cancellable Commitment: Purchases are final, with no cancellation or exchange options (Canceling Azure Savings Plans).

• Ideal Use Cases:

  • Fluctuating workloads, varied instance families, or workloads spanning multiple regions.

Bonus Tip: Don't forget the Free Tier!

 

Azure has a generous free tier with a ton of services that are perfect for getting started. Check it out before you dive into Reservations or Savings Plans.

 

By leveraging these tools and the free tier, you can build a scalable and cost-efficient cloud infrastructure that fuels your startup's growth. Ready to explore? Check out Microsoft's cost calculators to see how much you can save!

 

Here are some additional resources:

• Microsoft Azure Reservations: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/reservations
• Microsoft Azure Savings Plans: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/savings-plan/
• Microsoft Azure Pricing Calculator: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cost-management-billing/cost

Microsoft's edge-computing strategy has been shifting in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways. In the evolving AI era, edge computing will become even more central for customers, partners and Microsoft itself. Directions analyst Barry Briggs and Mary Jo Foley dissect Microsoft's evolving edge-computing plans and tactics in this episode.



Download audio: https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/members/sites/default/files/audio/2024/05/season3ep8briggs.mp3

Ori Saporta, co-founder and Systems Architect at vFunction, joins host Jeff Doolittle for a conversation about the role of the software architect. The episode begins with Ori’s thoughts on what is typically missed or overlooked regarding this role. The conversation then explores aspects of both hard and soft skills required of software architects. Other topics include the relationship of the software architect to other roles, to design and process, and to quality. The show concludes by addressing the importance of dependency management by software architects. Brought to you by IEEE Software magazine and IEEE Computer Society.

Download audio: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/seradio/616_ori_saporta_software_architect_role.mp3?dest-id=23379