😎 Microsoft’s New OpenHCL, OOP’s Power & 3 More

💎 This week’s top 5 articles shaping the tech industry

Welcome to HackerPulse Dispatch, your weekly slice of the latest news and trends in the tech world! 

Whether you're a seasoned enthusiast or just starting to explore the tech world, our curated list of top papers helps you stay at the forefront of the industry’s most exciting moments.

Here’s what new:

💨 How Is This Website So Fast!? — Breaking down the McMaster Carr Website and the Techniques They Use to Make It So Dang Fast: In a world where slow-loading websites mean lost sales, McMaster-Carr is proving that speed doesn’t always require the latest tech.

#️⃣ Microsoft Has Open Sourced Its New Cross-Platform Virtual Machine Layer Written in Rust: Meet Microsoft’s new open-source paravisor, OpenHCL, enhances virtualization for confidential computing by enabling secure VM workloads without frequent OS updates.

👻 Software Engineer Titles Have (Almost) Lost All Their Meaning: The inflation of software engineer titles is eroding career clarity and industry integrity, creating mismatched expectations and undermining authentic growth.

🤬  Using AI Generated Code Will Make You a Bad Programmer: Did you know that the reliance on AI-generated code undermines personal growth, devalues programming skills, and leads to a lack of respect from peers?

😏 OOP Is Not That Bad, Actually: Explore the essential strengths of mainstream statically-typed Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), promoting backward compatibility and flexibility in collaborative coding.

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How Is This Website So Fast!? — Breaking down the McMaster Carr Website and the Techniques They Use to Make It So Dang Fast (🔗 Read the Story)

When Kenneth Cassel, founder of rmfg.com, tweeted about McMaster-Carr’s surprisingly snappy online shopping experience, it sparked a lively debate on Twitter. 

For those unfamiliar with the century-old industrial supplies company, McMaster-Carr has been quietly excelling at customer experience for decades—ranked just behind Amazon and Barnes & Noble back in 2002. 

But what’s catching attention now is how the site combines old-school design with cutting-edge performance, defying modern web trends. 

Key Points

• Old tools, new tricks: McMaster-Carr’s site runs on ASP.NET with JavaScript powered by jQuery and the vintage YUI library—technology many consider outdated, yet performing exceptionally well.

• Under the hood: Key optimizations, like server-side rendering, prefetching links, and CDN caching, ensure users experience lightning-fast interactions without modern bloat.

• A lesson for the web: McMaster-Carr’s success shows that practical performance engineering beats trendy frameworks—reminding us that websites don’t need flashiness to impress.

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Microsoft Has Open Sourced Its New Cross-Platform Virtual Machine Layer Written in Rust (🔗 Read the Story)

Virtualization has been the backbone of cloud computing from the start, allowing workloads to run efficiently in virtual machines (VMs). 

Now, Microsoft is pushing the boundaries with a novel solution called the "paravisor," aimed at addressing the limitations of confidential computing.

Microsoft’s new open-source paravisor, OpenHCL, embedded within the VM’s secure boundary, ensures that both older and newer operating systems can leverage confidential computing without frequent updates or disruptions. 

Key Points

• OpenHCL: unified solution for all VMs: OpenHCL bridges the gap between confidential and non-confidential VMs, offering device emulation, performance enhancements, and compatibility for legacy OS versions without requiring modifications.

• Collaborative hardware support: OpenHCL already supports Intel TDX, AMD SEV-SNP, and ARM CCA, with ongoing collaboration to optimize performance across multiple architectures.

• Future-proof innovation: Microsoft aims to expand OpenHCL’s reach by supporting KVM hosts and aligning it with community-driven projects, ensuring adaptability for the future of confidential computing.

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Software Engineer Titles Have (Almost) Lost All Their Meaning (🔗 Read the Story)

The title of "Senior Software Engineer" once carried weight, signaling deep expertise, years of hands-on experience, and a readiness to lead. 

However, in recent years, title inflation has run rampant, leaving the industry grappling with a devaluation of roles. Developers with only a few years of experience are being given senior titles, diluting what those titles once represented and muddling the path for career growth. 

The problem isn’t just confusing—it’s reshaping industry dynamics, creating mismatches between expectations and real-world abilities. 

Key Points

• The roots of title inflation: Companies under competitive pressure are inflating titles as a non-monetary incentive, especially when they can't match salaries from tech giants. Additionally, platforms like LinkedIn have turned titles into personal branding tools, driving demand for prestigious-sounding roles.

• Misaligned expectations: With inflated titles, junior employees are often thrust into responsibilities they’re unprepared for, leading to poor performance, burnout, and team disruptions. A lack of clarity in role expectations hurts not only those employees but also the teams they lead.

• Toward authentic growth frameworks: Leaders and HR teams must prioritize transparent career paths tied to skills and responsibilities, rather than resorting to hollow titles. Companies that resist title inflation cultivate stronger teams, attract top talent, and build reputations rooted in trust and excellence.

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Using AI Generated Code Will Make You a Bad Programmer (🔗Read the Story)

 In a provocative opinion piece, Rudis Muiznieks critiques the reliance on AI-generated code, arguing that it undermines personal growth and the integrity of programming as a craft. 

While AI tools can streamline mundane tasks, the author contends that over-dependence on them not only stifles learning but also fosters a culture of superficial coding without genuine understanding.

Key Points

• Developers rob themselves of learning opportunities: Relying on AI-generated code limits growth and understanding, akin to "script kiddies" who use pre-written tools without grasping their functionality.

• Skills developers already have may atrophy: Regularly writing code, even the boring bits, is essential to maintaining and improving programming skills, as neglect leads to forgetfulness and diminished abilities.

• Developers’ code will not be respected: Using AI tools may result in a lack of respect from peers, as true pride and accomplishment in programming come from creating code independently.

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OOP Is Not That Bad, Actually (🔗 Read the Story)

In a recent post, the author reflects on the merits of mainstream statically-typed Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), arguing that it offers essential advantages for collaborative programming over extended periods. 

While the author may not favor the OOP paradigm, they acknowledge that certain features are crucial for developing composable libraries and maintaining backward compatibility. 

Through a comparative analysis with Haskell, the author aims to illustrate that OOP is often misjudged by functional programmers.

Key Points

• OOP provides essential features: The core features of OOP, such as classes, inheritance, subtyping, and virtual calls, enable developers to create flexible and maintainable code that can evolve without disrupting existing functionality.

• Backward compatibility is key: The OOP approach allows developers to extend libraries with new functionalities while ensuring that existing code remains functional, fostering an environment conducive to collaboration and long-term projects.

• Functional programming needs to embrace OOP successes: The author advocates for the functional programming community to recognize the successful aspects of OOP, emphasizing that understanding these strengths can lead to better practices in the industry.

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🎬 And that's a wrap! Tune in for the biggest hits from the tech world.