Software Defined Talk

This week, we discuss Gemini powering Siri, AWS’s biggest competitor, and AWS strategy choices. Plus, when should your next meeting actually start?
Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/live/bkN3SDWXYZE?si=5RoIyZ6lz_Hfi7nE) 555 (https://www.youtube.com/live/bkN3SDWXYZE?si=5RoIyZ6lz_Hfi7nE)
Runner-up Titles
Swedish Death Cleaning
Give it a best effort
Trying it bad for profits.
That pen better be really good
You do all the nerd shit, we’ll be cool
Looking at a hundred rabbits’ assholes.
The Kremlinologist of AWS
The aaSes of Cloud
They’ll like our apples better
Running on hopes and dreams until you’re sure they don’t exist
What we have is a situation
Rundown
Apple gets AI from Google
Joint statement from Google and Apple (https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/company-announcements/joint-statement-google-apple/)
Kuo: Apple's AI Deal With Google Is Temporary and Buys It Time (https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/13/apple-google-ai-deal-is-temporary/)
Google's Apple AI deal marks 'huge loss' for OpenAI (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/googles-apple-ai-deal-marks-huge-loss-for-openai-110002996.html)
AWS in 2026: The Year of Proving They Still Know How to Operate (https://www.lastweekinaws.com/blog/aws-in-2026-the-year-of-proving-they-still-know-how-to-operate/?ck_subscriber_id=512840665&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=[Last%20Week%20in%20AWS]%20AWS%20in%202026:%20The%20Year%20of%20Proving%20They%20Still%20Know%20How%20to%20Operate%20-%2020306960)
Relevant to your Interests
Anthropic reportedly raising $10B at $350B valuation (https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/07/anthropic-reportedly-raising-10b-at-350b-valuation/)
Dell Reverses Course, Brings Back XPS Laptops (https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/dell-reverses-course-brings-back-xps-laptops/)
Google is unleashing Gemini AI features on Gmail. Users will have to opt out (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/08/google-adds-gemini-features-to-gmail-message-summaries-proofreading-.html)
Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them (https://www.theverge.com/news/858501/bose-soundtouch-smart-speakers-open-source)
Google Guys Say Bye to California (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/technology/google-founders-california-wealth-tax.html)
Amazon gives managers a new way to spot who's barely coming into the office (https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-flags-employees-rto-office-2026-1)
A decade of open source in CNCF with 300,000+ contributors and counting (https://www.cncf.io/blog/2026/01/12/a-decade-of-open-source-in-cncf-with-300000-contributors-and-counting/)
CrowdStrike to Acquire SGNL to Transform Identity Security for the AI Era (https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/press-releases/crowdstrike-to-acquire-sgnl-to-transform-identity-security-for-ai-era/)
Snowflake Announces Intent to Acquire Observe to Deliver AI-Powered Observability (https://www.snowflake.com/en/news/press-releases/snowflake-announces-intent-to-acquire-observe-to-deliver-ai-powered-observability-at-enterprise-scale/)
Nvidia Hires Google Veteran as Its First Chief Marketing Officer (https://www.wsj.com/articles/nvidia-hires-google-veteran-as-its-first-chief-marketing-officer-3dc2163f?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqc78O9yWpx28YbHsHhkY4UbuzPDNulddaijRt3y9rnPs3uRo18V4ghRRgo3AzQ%3D&gaa_ts=6966a608&gaa_sig=B3ADjcK4inCRjSkACod4QU-1HTE-j0gP27wIE9LUarawkBMmDw9Pap591kz2CPTAjiCKbOqUkbQyYLlxQr0Nmw%3D%3D)
The Fediverse Experiment (https://www.searchengine.show/the-fediverse-experiment/)
RIP the metaverse (https://sherwood.news/tech/rip-the-metaverse/)
Nonsense
American Airlines rolls out free Wi-Fi to loyalty members (https://www.customerexperiencedive.com/news/american-airlines-rolls-out-free-wi-fi-loyalty-members/809135/)
Conferences
cfgmgmtcamp 2026 (https://cfgmgmtcamp.org/ghent2026/), February 2nd to 4th, Ghent, BE.
Coté speaking - anyone interested in being a SDI guest?
DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x (https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x), March 6th, Pasadena, CA
Use code: DEVOP for 50% off.
Devnexus 2026 (https://devnexus.com), March 4th to 6th, Atlanta, GA. Coté has a discount code, but he’s not sure if he can give it out. He’s asking! Send him a DM in the meantime.
KubeCon EU, March 23rd to 26th, 2026 - Coté will be there on a media pass.
Whole bunch of VMUGs: Amsterdam (March 17-19, 2026), Minneapolis (April 7-9, 2026), Toronto (May 12-14, 2026), Dallas (June 9-11, 2026), Orlando (October 20-22, 2026)
SDT News & Community
Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email)
Email the show: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Free stickers: Email your address to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com)
Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk)
Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt)
Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads)
Recommendations
Brandon: Google Nest Doorbell (Wired, 3rd Gen) (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN7GWSHV?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1)
Matt: MTV Rewind (https://wantmymtv.vercel.app/)
Coté:
“These 36 Airlines Offer iPhone Feature That Helps Find Your Lost Bags.” (https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/12/iphone-airtag-bag-tracking-airlines-list/)
Distroless, Helm Charts, & Hardened Images: Security That Ships (with William Jimenez) (https://www.youtube.com/live/9Jc1xH65msg)
Photo Credits
Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/talking-people-sitting-beside-table-PTRzqc_h1r4)

This week, we discuss AI’s impact on Stack Overflow, Docker’s Hardened Images, and Nvidia buying Groq. Plus, thoughts on playing your own game and having fun.
Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/live/LQSxLbjvz3c?si=ao8f3hwxlCrmH1vX) 554 (https://www.youtube.com/live/LQSxLbjvz3c?si=ao8f3hwxlCrmH1vX)
Please complete the Software Defined Talk Listener Survey! (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfl7eHWQJwu2tBLa-FjZqHG2nr6p_Z3zQI3Pp1EyNWQ8Fu-SA/viewform?usp=header)
Runner-up Titles
It’s all brisket after that.
Exploring Fun
Should I go build a snow man?
Pets
Innersourcing
Two books Michael Lewis should write.
Article IV is foundational.
Freedom is options.
Rundown
Stack Overflow is dead. (https://x.com/rohanpaul_ai/status/2008007012920209674?s=20)
Hardened Images for Everyone (https://www.docker.com/blog/docker-hardened-images-for-every-developer/)
Tanzu’s Bitnami stuff does this too (https://blogs.vmware.com/tanzu/what-good-software-supply-chain-security-looks-like-for-highly-regulated-industries/).
OpenAI
OpenAI’s New Fundraising Round Could Value Startup at as Much as $830 Billion (https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openais-new-fundraising-round-could-value-startup-at-a[…]4238&segment_id=212500&user_id=c5a514ba8b7d9a954711959a6031a3fa)
OpenAI Reportedly Planning to Make ChatGPT "Prioritize" Advertisers in Conversation (https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/openai-chatgpt-sponsored-ads)
OpenAI bets big on audio as Silicon Valley declares war on screens (https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/01/openai-bets-big-on-audio-as-silicon-valley-declares-war-on-screens/)
Sam Altman says: He has zero percent interest in remaining OpenAI CEO, once (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/sam-altman-says-he-has-zero-percent-interest-remaining-openai-ceo-once-/articleshow/126350602.cms)
Nvidia buying AI chip startup Groq's assets for about $20 billion in its largest deal on record (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/24/nvidia-buying-ai-chip-startup-groq-for-about-20-billion-biggest-deal.html)
Relevant to your Interests
Broadcom IT uses Tanzu Platform to host MCP Servers (https://news.broadcom.com/app-dev/broadcom-tanzu-platform-agentic-business-transformation).
A Brief History Of The Spreadsheet (https://hackaday.com/2025/12/15/a-brief-history-of-the-spreadsheet/)
Databricks is raising over $4 billion in Series L funding at a $134 billion (https://x.com/exec_sum/status/2000971604449485132?s=20)
Amazon's big AGI reorg decoded by Corey Quinn (https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/jassy_taps_peter_desantis_to_run_agi/)
“They burned millions but got nothing.” (https://automaton-media.com/en/news/japanese-game-font-services-aggressive-price-hike-could-be-result-of-parent-companys-alleged-ai-failu/)
X sues to protect Twitter brand Musk has been trying to kill (https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/x_twitter_brand_lawsuit/)
Mozilla's new CEO says AI is coming to Firefox, but will remain a choice | TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/mozillas-new-ceo-says-ai-is-coming-to-firefox-but-will-remain-a-choice/)
Why Oracle keeps sparking AI-bubble fears (https://www.axios.com/2025/12/18/ai-oracle-stock-blue-owl)
What's next for Threads (https://sources.news/p/whats-next-for-threads)
Salesforce Executives Say Trust in Large Language Models Has Declined (https://www.theinformation.com/articles/salesforce-executives-say-trust-generative-ai-declined?rc=giqjaz)
Akamai Technologies Announces Acquisition of Function-as-a-Service Company Fermyon (https://www.akamai.com/newsroom/press-release/akamai-announces-acquisition-of-function-as-a-service-company-fermyon)
Google Rolling Out Gmail Address Change Feature: Here Is How It Works (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-rolling-gmail-address-change-033112607.html)
The Enshittifinancial Crisis (https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshittifinancial-crisis/)
MongoBleed: Critical MongoDB Vulnerability CVE-2025-14847 | Wiz Blog (https://www.wiz.io/blog/mongobleed-cve-2025-14847-exploited-in-the-wild-mongodb)
Softbank to buy data center firm DigitalBridge for $4 billion in AI push (https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/12/29/digitalbridge-shares-jump-on-report-softbank-in-talks-to-acquire-firm.html)
The best tech announced at CES 2026 so far (https://www.theverge.com/tech/854159/ces-2026-best-tech-gadgets-smartphones-appliances-robots-tvs-ai-smart-home)
Who’s who at X, the deepfake porn site formerly known as Twitter (https://www.ft.com/content/ad94db4c-95a0-4c65-bd8d-3b43e1251091?accessToken=zwAGR7kzep9gkdOtlNtMlaBMZdO9jTtD4SUQkQ.MEYCIQCdZajuC9uga-d9b5Z1t0HI2BIcnkVoq98loextLRpCTgIhAPL3rW72aTHBNL_lS7s1ONpM2vBgNlBNHDBeGbHkPkZj&sharetype=gift&token=a7473827-0799-4064-9008-bf22b3c99711)
Manus Joins Meta for Next Era of Innovation (https://manus.im/blog/manus-joins-meta-for-next-era-of-innovation)
The WELL: State of the World 2026 with Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky (https://people.well.com/conf/inkwell.vue/topics/561/State-of-the-World-2026-with-Bru-page01.html)
Virtual machines still run the world (https://cote.io/2026/01/07/virtual-machines-still-run-the.html)
Databases in 2025: A Year in Review (https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pavlo/blog/2026/01/2025-databases-retrospective.html)
Chat Platform Discord Files Confidentially for IPO (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-06/chat-platform-discord-is-said-to-file-confidentially-for-ipo?embedded-checkout=true)
The DRAM shortage explained: AI, rising prices, and what’s next (https://www.techradar.com/pro/why-is-ram-so-expensive-right-now-its-more-complicated-than-you-think)
Nonsense
Palantir CEO buys monastery in Old Snowmass for $120 million (https://www.denverpost.com/2025/12/17/palantir-alex-karp-snowmass-monastery/amp/)
H-E-B gives free groceries to all customers after registers glitch today in Burleson, Texas. (https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/ZEcblg7atP)
Conferences
cfgmgmtcamp 2026 (https://cfgmgmtcamp.org/ghent2026/), February 2nd to 4th, Ghent, BE.
Coté speaking - anyone interested in being a SDI guest?
DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x (https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x), March 6th, Pasadena, CA
Use code: DEVOP for 50% off.
Devnexus 2026 (https://devnexus.com), March 4th to 6th, Atlanta, GA. Coté has a discount code, but he’s not sure if he can give it out. He’s asking! Send him a DM in the meantime.
KubeCon EU, March 23rd to 26th, 2026 - Coté will be there on a media pass.
Whole bunch of VMUGs, mostly in the US. The CFPs are open (https://app.sessionboard.com/submit/vmug-call-for-content-2026/ae1c7013-8b85-427c-9c21-7d35f8701bbe?utm_campaign=5766542-VMUG%20Voice&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_YREN7dr6p3KSQPYkFSN5K85A-pIVYZ03ZhKZOV0O3t3h0XHdDHethhx5O8gBFguyT5mZ3n3q-ZnPKvjllFXYfWV3thg&_hsmi=393690000&utm_content=393685389&utm_source=hs_email), go speak at them! Coté speaking in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam (March 17-19, 2026), Minneapolis (April 7-9, 2026), Toronto (May 12-14, 2026), Dallas (June 9-11, 2026), Orlando (October 20-22, 2026)
SDT News & Community
Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email)
Email the show: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Free stickers: Email your address to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com)
Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk)
Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt)
Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads): [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Recommendations
Brandon:
Why Data Doesn't Always Win, with a Philosopher of Art (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-points-you-shouldnt-score-a-new-years-resolution/id1685093486?i=1000743950053) (Apple Podcasts)
Why Data Doesn't Always Win, with a Philosopher of Art (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AdbePyGS2M&list=RD7AdbePyGS2M&start_radio=1) (YouTube)
Coté: “Databases in 2025: A Year in Review.” (https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pavlo/blog/2026/01/2025-databases-retrospective.html)
Photo Credits
Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/red-and-black-love-neon-light-signage-igJrA98cf4A)

This week, we review our 2025 predictions, discuss the big stories, and speculate on 2026. Plus, Coté dives deep into the EU broth market.
Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode (https://www.youtube.com/live/A9ighmG9ZVo?si=rJGNb5ZUm7Zr1as7) 553 (https://www.youtube.com/live/A9ighmG9ZVo?si=rJGNb5ZUm7Zr1as7)
Runner-up Titles
I was up at 1am thinking, “are there any good billionaires.”
Maybe you forgot your shoes
Not just room temperature, but cold
I thought Europe was known for its soups
Ice, air conditioning, and, broth - we have solved those three problems.
Sloppy search
Cutlery, tupperware, COVID
The Young People.
The Automation Apologist.
I’m disappointed in everything
Models don’t matter anymore
Shade-tree programmer
An empty farm in Waco
Rundown
2024 Year in Review (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/500)
Scaling Platform Engineering in the CNCF Community - Abby Bangser (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmAfYEPBYr0)
Syntaso’s (https://cote.io/2025/12/12/a-great-platform-as-a.html) Platform as a Product (https://cote.io/2025/12/12/a-great-platform-as-a.html) book (https://cote.io/2025/12/12/a-great-platform-as-a.html)
Claude Skills are way under-rated (https://simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/16/claude-skills/#atom-everything)
“Agents are [just] models using tools in a loop. (https://simonwillison.net/2025/May/22/tools-in-a-loop/)
2026 Predications
Are we in an AI Bubble?
Do Anthropic or OpenAI IPO?
New AI use cases?
Altman remain CEO?
Do Apple or AWS make an AI acquisition?
CFB Championship?
Conferences
cfgmgmtcamp 2026 (https://cfgmgmtcamp.org/ghent2026/), February 2nd to 4th, Ghent, BE.
Coté speaking and doing live SDI (https://www.softwaredefinedinterviews.com) with John Willis.
DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x (https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x), March 6th, Pasadena, CA
Use code: DEVOP for 50% off.
Devnexus 2026 (https://devnexus.com), March 4th to 6th, Atlanta, GA. Coté has a discount code, but he’s not sure if he can give it out. He’s asking! Send him a DM in the meantime.
Whole bunch of VMUGs, mostly in the US. The CFPs are open (https://app.sessionboard.com/submit/vmug-call-for-content-2026/ae1c7013-8b85-427c-9c21-7d35f8701bbe?utm_campaign=5766542-VMUG%20Voice&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_YREN7dr6p3KSQPYkFSN5K85A-pIVYZ03ZhKZOV0O3t3h0XHdDHethhx5O8gBFguyT5mZ3n3q-ZnPKvjllFXYfWV3thg&_hsmi=393690000&utm_content=393685389&utm_source=hs_email), go speak at them! Coté speaking in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam (March 17-19, 2026), Minneapolis (April 7-9, 2026), Toronto (May 12-14, 2026), Dallas (June 9-11, 2026), Orlando (October 20-22, 2026)
SDT News & Community
Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email)
Email the show: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Free stickers: Email your address to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com)
Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk)
Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt)
Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads): [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Recommendations
Brandon: Pluribus (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://tv.apple.com/us/show/pluribus/umc.cmc.37axgovs2yozlyh3c2cmwzlza&ved=2ahUKEwj94pWHosCRAxX-mmoFHeF7KbgQFnoECEoQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2W_xeuAzFACtJCdDvFwM00) — slow but interesting
Coté: AirPods Pro 3 (https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChsSEwiQ5JzpusKRAxVBUn8AHe7xPP8YACICCAEQBRoCb2E&co=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAo4TKBhDRARIsAGW29bekdBAYoqVoLRqMLA4ewcWjmyTcM-6QDHqyRuVhs2m83NpqTuU8OnMaAsdkEALw_wcB&cid=CAASugHkaITuXJZ1jpv9xBv-P8t9gtoTvWcxshztb_PAClxlbDXMphhj9bDBcmlXEYuo6rcOaqAu6uRT0epK4d2dOPrgA9JMcc24FrdC8gQBSngeUz0dl_ljpYM1GBxKkRFBx_Uv7MgdZTVa98rgiUt45EUlgffOntGj3VWte7ePJ2FcqSkOYtU0eVb1NkubcYZTJ6_B2Kxm8vLmAcs49k0dg6loxTlduS6WAXipDuxPul1MFsttgtMwkSH24GY&cce=1&sig=AOD64_3vUUu6YHfYM-_QRmv4W9Go88AS9w&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwiN4ZbpusKRAxUEkmoFHb4uMCsQ0Qx6BAgYEAE)
Photo Credits
Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-black-and-gold-background-with-the-number-205-HKpRWdyRrp8)

This week, Brian Gracely joins to dissect strategic choices made by Broadcom, Docker, Netflix and Intel. Plus: The AI Bifurcation—are models commodities or product pillars?
Rundown
Licensing in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 (https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2025/06/24/licensing-in-vmware-cloud-foundation-9-0/)
Hardened Images for Everyone (https://www.docker.com/blog/docker-hardened-images-for-every-developer/)
Introducing Chainguard EmeritOSS (https://www.chainguard.dev/unchained/introducing-chainguard-emeritoss)
Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros. (https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-to-acquire-warner-bros)
Anthropic reportedly preparing for one of the largest IPOs (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/03/anthropic-claude-reportedly-preparing-ipo-race-openai-chatgpt-ft-wilson-sonsini-goodrich-rosati.html)
Conferences
cfgmgmtcamp 2026 (https://cfgmgmtcamp.org/ghent2026/), February 2nd to 4th, Ghent, BE.
Coté speaking and doing live SDI (https://www.softwaredefinedinterviews.com) with John Willis.
DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x (https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x), March 6th, Pasadena, CA
Use code: DEVOP for 50% off.
Devnexus 2026 (https://devnexus.com), March 4th to 6th, Atlanta, GA.
Whole bunch of VMUGs, mostly in the US. The CFPs are open (https://app.sessionboard.com/submit/vmug-call-for-content-2026/ae1c7013-8b85-427c-9c21-7d35f8701bbe?utm_campaign=5766542-VMUG%20Voice&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_YREN7dr6p3KSQPYkFSN5K85A-pIVYZ03ZhKZOV0O3t3h0XHdDHethhx5O8gBFguyT5mZ3n3q-ZnPKvjllFXYfWV3thg&_hsmi=393690000&utm_content=393685389&utm_source=hs_email), go speak at them! Coté speaking in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam (March 17-19, 2026), Minneapolis (April 7-9, 2026), Toronto (May 12-14, 2026), Dallas (June 9-11, 2026), Orlando (October 20-22, 2026)
SDT News & Community
Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email)
Email the show: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Free stickers: Email your address to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com)
Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk)
Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt)
Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads): [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Photo Credits
Header (https://unsplash.com/photos/university-of-alabama-football-game-tuscaloosa-alabama-YcVe7gL9A0s)
Special Guest: Brian Gracely.

This week, we discuss Oracle’s AI vibes, Chainguard’s EmeritOSS, and GitHub’s pricing U-turn. Plus, a robust robot vacuum debate.
Watch the YouTube Live Recording of Episode 551 (https://youtube.com/live/TpDLcvAXrqo?feature=share)
Runner-up Titles
It has CarPlay
iPad Range Anxiety
an Australian documentary
Oracle got popped
Intentions
I don’t feel bad for them
Open Source old folks home
Spreadsheets love it
Robots are going to take care of us
The Median User
Nobody feels bad for the whales
I have a dog
I have a Korean microwave
We’re the Neal Stephenson of podcasts
Rundown
Ford pulls the plug on the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck (https://www.npr.org/2025/12/15/nx-s1-5645147/ford-discontinues-all-electric-f-150-lightning)
AI Investment
Oracle plummets 11% on weak revenue, pushing down AI stocks like Nvidia and CoreWeave (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/10/oracle-orcl-q2-earnings-report-2026.html)
Oracle Shares Drop the Most Since 2001 on Mounting AI Spending (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-10/oracle-posts-weak-cloud-sales-raising-fear-of-delayed-payoff)
OpenAI in Talks to Raise At Least $10 Billion From Amazon and Use Its AI Chips (http://1 https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-talks-raise-least-10-billion-amazon-use-ai-chips)
S&P 500 falls after nearing record as Oracle disappointment drags down AI stocks (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/10/stock-market-today-live-updates.html)
Inside The $1T AI Economy (https://x.com/StockSavvyShay/status/2000920959000445220?s=20)
Introducing Chainguard EmeritOSS: Sustainable stewardship for mature open source (https://www.chainguard.dev/unchained/introducing-chainguard-emeritoss)
Runners
Announcing powerful upgrades & a new pricing model for self-hosted runners (https://www.atlassian.com/blog/bitbucket/announcing-v5-self-hosted-runners)
GitHub to charge for self-hosted runners from March 2026 (https://devclass.com/2025/12/17/github-to-charge-for-self-hosted-runners-from-march-2026/)
GitHub postpones changes to self-hosted runners pricing plans (https://x.com/github/status/2001372894882918548?s=46)
Why Git (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3_95BZYIVs)H (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3_95BZYIVs)ub Why? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3_95BZYIVs)
Coursera to buy Udemy, creating $2.5 billion firm to target AI training (https://www.reuters.com/business/coursera-udemy-merge-deal-valuing-combined-firm-25-billion-2025-12-17/)
Roomba Maker iRobot Files for Bankruptcy, With Chinese Supplier Taking Control (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/business/roomba-irobot-bankruptcy.html)
Relevant to your Interests
Harness raises a $240M Series E at a $5.5B valuation (https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2025/12/11/harness-goldman-sachs-series-e-software)
A great platform as a product paper, and a fun platform philosophy thereof (https://cote.io/2025/12/12/a-great-platform-as-a.html)
Google Launches Managed Remote MCP Servers for Its Cloud Services (https://thenewstack.io/google-launches-managed-remote-mcp-servers-for-its-cloud-services/)
Fake Leonardo DiCaprio Movie Torrent Drops Agent Tesla Through Layered PowerShell Chain (https://www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/labs/fake-leonardo-dicaprio-movie-torrent-agent-tesla-powershell)
Useful patterns for building HTML tools (https://simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/10/html-tools/)
Waymo Seeking Over $15 Billion Near $100 Billion Valuation (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-16/waymo-seeks-to-raise-funds-at-valuation-near-100-billion)
Write your CV or resume as YAML, then run RenderCV, (https://github.com/rendercv/rendercv) (https://github.com/rendercv/rendercv)and get a PDF with perfect typography. No template wrestling. No broken layouts. Consistent spacing, every time (https://github.com/rendercv/rendercv)
Roomba Maker iRobot Files for Bankruptcy, With Chinese Supplier Taking Control (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/business/roomba-irobot-bankruptcy.html)
Nonsense
The Full Text of Marco Rubio’s Directive on State Department Typography, Re-Establishing Times New Roman (https://daringfireball.net/2025/12/full_text_of_marco_rubio_state_dept_directive_times_new_roman)
Listener Feedback
Sent stickers to Jelle in Belgium
Conferences
cfgmgmtcamp 2026 (https://cfgmgmtcamp.org/ghent2026/), February 2nd to 4th, Ghent, BE.
Coté speaking and doing live SDI (https://www.softwaredefinedinterviews.com) with John Willis.
DevOpsDayLA at SCALE23x (https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/23x), March 6th, Pasadena, CA
Use code: DEVOP for 50% off.
Devnexus 2026 (https://devnexus.com), March 4th to 6th, Atlanta, GA.
Whole bunch of VMUGs, mostly in the US. The CFPs are open (https://app.sessionboard.com/submit/vmug-call-for-content-2026/ae1c7013-8b85-427c-9c21-7d35f8701bbe?utm_campaign=5766542-VMUG%20Voice&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_YREN7dr6p3KSQPYkFSN5K85A-pIVYZ03ZhKZOV0O3t3h0XHdDHethhx5O8gBFguyT5mZ3n3q-ZnPKvjllFXYfWV3thg&_hsmi=393690000&utm_content=393685389&utm_source=hs_email), go speak at them! Coté speaking in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam (March 17-19, 2026), Minneapolis (April 7-9, 2026), Toronto (May 12-14, 2026), Dallas (June 9-11, 2026), Orlando (October 20-22, 2026)
SDT News & Community
Join our Slack community (https://softwaredefinedtalk.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-1hn55iv5d-UTfN7mVX1D9D5ExRt3ZJYQ#/shared-invite/email)
Email the show: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Free stickers: Email your address to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Follow us on social media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/softwaredeftalk), Threads (https://www.threads.net/@softwaredefinedtalk), Mastodon (https://hachyderm.io/@softwaredefinedtalk), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/software-defined-talk/), BlueSky (https://bsky.app/profile/softwaredefinedtalk.com)
Watch us on: Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/sdtpodcast), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi3OJPV6h9tp-hbsGBLGsDQ/featured), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/softwaredefinedtalk/), TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@softwaredefinedtalk)
Book offer: Use code SDT for $20 off "Digital WTF" by Coté (https://leanpub.com/digitalwtf/c/sdt)
Sponsor the show (https://www.softwaredefinedtalk.com/ads): [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Recommendations
Brandon: Humble Audiobook Bundle: Shadows, Stars & Screams: Epic Audiobooks (https://www.humblebundle.com/books/shadows-stars-screams-epic-audiobooks-dramas-realm-books)
Matt: Termination Shock (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57094295-termination-shock) - Neal Stephenson
Photo Credits
Header (https://unsplash.com/s/photos/electric-vehicle?orientation=landscape&license=free)