The Engineering Notebook — page 19 of 32
Notes on building with AI, agents & the modern stack.
Deep dives on AI/ML, RAG systems, agent engineering, and senior-engineer architecture decisions — a new post every week.
AI and Machine Learning Llama 3 8B vs Qwen 3 7B (2026): Which Small LLM Actually Wins on Your Laptop?
Qwen 3 7B wins for multilingual tasks, reasoning, and coding on modern hardware; Llama 3 8B wins for ecosystem maturity, English-first workloads, and plug-and-play local deployment. Here's the full breakdown.
AI and Machine Learning Llama 3 70B vs Qwen 3 32B (2026): Which Local LLM Actually Wins for Coding?
Qwen 3 32B wins for coding tasks and hardware-constrained setups; Llama 3 70B wins for ecosystem maturity, English-first workloads, and production integrations. Here's how to choose.
Developer Tools Cursor vs Windsurf in 2026: Which AI Code Editor Should You Use?
Cursor wins for power users and teams needing deep customization; Windsurf wins for solo developers who want a faster, more autonomous out-of-the-box experience. Here's the full breakdown.
Developer Tools Perplexity vs Claude with Web Search in 2026: Which AI Research Assistant Actually Wins?
Perplexity wins for fast, citation-heavy web research; Claude with web search wins for deep analysis, long documents, and complex reasoning tasks. Here's the definitive breakdown.
AI and Machine Learning Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Llama 3 70B Local: Cost & Quality in 2026
Claude Haiku 4.5 wins for zero-ops, high-volume API workloads; Llama 3 70B wins for privacy-first, cost-at-scale self-hosted deployments. Here's the full breakdown.
AI and Machine Learning Phi-3 vs Gemma 3 in 2026: Which Small LLM Wins for Edge Inference?
Phi-3 wins for ultra-constrained edge devices and Windows/Azure pipelines; Gemma 3 wins for multimodal tasks, Raspberry Pi deployments, and open-ecosystem flexibility. Here's the definitive breakdown.
AI and Machine Learning Qwen 3 vs Mistral 2026: Which Open-Source LLM Family Actually Wins?
Qwen 3 wins for coding, multilingual tasks, and raw benchmark performance; Mistral wins for European compliance, lightweight deployment, and a mature API ecosystem. Here's the full breakdown.
Technology Holafly vs Airalo: I Tested Both Travel eSIMs Across 3 Continents — One Clear Winner for Developers [2026]
I ran speed tests on Holafly and Airalo eSIMs across Europe, Asia, and North America. For tech nomads who need tethering, the choice is surprisingly clear.
Technology Forward Deployed Engineer: The Hottest Role in AI-First Tech and Why It Pays So Well [2026]
The forward deployed engineer blends software engineering, consulting, and solutions architecture into one high-impact role. Here's what it actually takes and why AI companies can't hire them fast enough.
Technology Senior Engineers Don't Just Write Code: The 4 Hidden Roles That Drive Real Impact [2026]
Most mid-level engineers think the next promotion is about writing better code. It's not. Here are the 4 roles senior engineers actually play — and none of them are 'faster coder.'
AI and Machine Learning AI Agent Control Flow: Why Better Prompts Won't Fix Your Broken Agent Architecture [2026]
The most advanced AI agent teams aren't writing better prompts. They're writing better control flow. Here's why that architectural shift changes everything.
Frontend and Mobile Android 17 QPR1 Beta 2: The Developer Features Nobody Is Talking About [2026]
Google's Android 17 QPR1 Beta 2 is packed with API changes, privacy enforcement, and adaptive layout requirements that will break apps. Here's what developers actually need to prepare for.