by mohamed amine ben salah // tech // automation

Field notes on tech & automation

My technology blog & newsletter. I follow what's happening in tech worldwide and write about it — my opinions on automation, testing, AI, and building things that actually work.

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Signals from damine — a weekly digest of worldwide tech, with takes. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

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post Aug 4, 2026 · 5 min read

Running 80‑Billion‑Parameter LLMs on a Mac: Why It Matters for Test Automation

Swiftlet shows you can decode 80B‑parameter Qwen models on a laptop and a 35B on an iPhone. Here’s why that flips the script for QA, CI/CD and open‑source devtools.

#ai#automation#testing#mlops#devtools
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post Aug 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Don't be a meat proxy

#technology
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newsletter Aug 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Signals from damine — August 2, 2026

A quick dive into docs methodology, a flexible reference engine, Go's new interactive tour, a teenage engineer's cycloidal gearbox, and Android's latest interoperability win.

#newsletter#automation#testing#ai#devops
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post Aug 2, 2026 · 6 min read

Why AMD’s MI355X Is The Underdog Hero For Running Kimi K3 (and What It Means For Test Automation)

AMD’s MI355X delivers more Kimi K3 throughput per dollar than Nvidia’s B300, but only thanks to clever kernel hacks—engineers must own the stack.

#ai#performance#automation#amd#testing
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post Jul 25, 2026 · 6 min read

Android’s On‑Device ADB Crackdown: A Wake‑Up Call for Test Engineers

Google’s move to block loopback ADB connections could break Shizuku, libadb and a lot of our mobile‑testing tricks – here’s why it matters and how to future‑proof our pipelines.

#android#automation#testing#security#ai
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post Jul 24, 2026 · 4 min read

Why Writing By Hand Is Still a Superpower for Engineers (and How AI Can’t Replace It)

Handwriting trains the brain in ways keyboards can’t. I’ll argue why engineers should keep a pen in the toolbox, even amid AI hype and failing software factories.

#handwriting#cognitive#automation#ai#productivity
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post Jul 23, 2026 · 5 min read

Why a One‑File PowerPoint Is a Tiny Revolution for Automation Engineers

Bento packs a full slide deck into a single HTML file, prompting fresh thoughts on tooling, automation, and the way AI fits into UI‑building pipelines.

#automation#frontend#html#ai#testing
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post Jul 22, 2026 · 4 min read

Gemini’s Flash: Speed, Hype, and the Real Work of Testing LLMs

Google rolls out Gemini 3.6 Flash, promising lightning‑fast prompts. I’ll unpack the hype, why safety still matters, and what testers should do today.

#ai#testing#automation#security#cloud
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post Jul 21, 2026 · 5 min read

Nativ: Run frontier open models locally on your Mac

#technology
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post Jul 20, 2026 · 4 min read

Qwen 3.8 Is Here – Open‑Weight LLMs, Real‑World Testing, and Why You Should Care

Alibaba’s Qwen 3.8 drops open‑weight, 2.4 T parameters, and it’s a wake‑up call for SDETs to start testing LLMs like any other service.

#ai#testing#automation#llm#devops
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newsletter Jul 19, 2026 · 4 min read

Signals from damine — AI, Automation, and the Real World

From a C++ speech tool to NYC’s AI‑listing rules, I unpack the week’s most buzzworthy stories and what they mean for testers and builders.

#newsletter#ai#automation#testing#devops
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post Jul 19, 2026 · 4 min read

When Real Estate Gets Real About AI: NYC’s New Disclosure Rule and What It Means for Engineers

NYC wants landlords to admit when AI spiffs up rental photos. I break down the policy, why it matters to testers, and how to future‑proof your pipelines.

#ai#automation#testing#real-estate#policy
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post Jul 18, 2026 · 5 min read

When Your Monitor Joins the Windows Update Party Without an Invite

LG’s monitors are slipping software onto Windows machines via Update, raising consent, security, and testing questions for every engineer.

#privacy#automation#testing#windows#security
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post Jul 17, 2026 · 3 min read

The Dead Internet Theory is Hitting DEV.to (And Why It Matters for QA)

From 'The Color Purple' term papers to random literary essays, DEV.to is being flooded with AI-generated spam. Here is why this is a wake-up call for every SDET.

#automation#ai#quality-assurance#web-scraping#sdet
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newsletter Jul 17, 2026 · 4 min read

Signals from damine — decoys, drama, and the open-source AI reality check

Decoy fonts, Apple vs OpenAI poaching wars, the real state of open-source AI, Kimi K3 benchmarks, Pebble's revival, and a garage-built gimbal rover worth studying.

#newsletter#ai#automation#open-source#hardware
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post Jul 17, 2026 · 5 min read

Why I Still Trust LLMs (Even When the OSS Crowd Is Closing Their PRs)

I’m an SDET who uses LLMs daily, despite the chorus of criticism. Here’s why the noise is useful, how automation can stay sane, and a concrete pattern to keep code quality alive.

#llm#automation#testing#opensource#ai
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post Jul 16, 2026 · 6 min read

When Stripe Tries to Eat PayPal: A Tester’s Take on the Mega‑Deal

Stripe and Advent’s $53B+ bid for PayPal could reshape payments, but the real story for us engineers is how integration, testing, and open‑source AI fit into the new landscape.

#stripe#paypal#automation#ai#open-source
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post Jul 15, 2026 · 4 min read

When AI Assistants Forget to Forget: The Claude Memory Heist

A deep dive into the Claude “Memory Heist” that shows how LLMs can exfiltrate your secrets via web_fetch, and what testers can do to stop it.

#ai#security#testing#automation#privacy
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post Jul 14, 2026 · 5 min read

Git History is the Underdog Hero Your Rebase Deserves

The new git history command lets you fix, reword, and split old commits without the scary rebase dance—no extra tools, just pure Git power.

#git#automation#devops#testing#ai
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post Jul 13, 2026 · 5 min read

Zig, Rust, and the Anthropic Bun Drama: Why My Testing Bones Tickle

Zig lost Bun to Rust, Anthropic trumpeted AI‑only rewrites, and I’m left wondering what this means for testing, automation, and the hype‑filled future of code.

#ai#automation#software-engineering#zig#rust
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newsletter Jul 12, 2026 · 5 min read

Signals from damine — GPU financing, JavaScript runtimes, and more

A quick spin through the GPU financing loop, a fresh JavaScript runtime, distributed LLMs, scaling PgBouncer, and a Lisp agent—plus why Vint Cerf’s retirement matters to us builders.

#newsletter#ai#automation#testing#software
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post Jul 12, 2026 · 5 min read

Why I’m Betting on STRICT Tables in SQLite (And What It Means for Test Automation)

SQLite’s new STRICT tables are a small but mighty feature that can save us from silent data bugs. Here’s why I’m using them, how they mesh with CI/CD, and a few lessons from the GPU‑boom and distributed LLM world.

#sqlite#testing#automation#databases#ai
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post Jul 11, 2026 · 4 min read

Apple vs. OpenAI: Trade Secrets, Hype, and What It Means for Automation Engineers

Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade‑secret theft. I dissect the drama, its impact on AI hype, and a pragmatic takeaway for testers and engineers.

#ai#legal#automation#testing#privacy
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post Jul 10, 2026 · 5 min read

Logistics Is the New Software Backbone – Lessons for Engineers

The army’s looming logistical collapse isn’t just a military problem – it mirrors how we build, test, and ship software. Here’s why engineers should care.

#logistics#automation#ai#software#testing
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post Jul 9, 2026 · 4 min read

Why the John Deere Right‑to‑Repair Settlement Matters to Every Automation Engineer

The FTC settlement with John Deere isn’t just farm‑tech news – it’s a wake‑up call for testers, CI pipelines, and anyone who builds software that should stay in the user’s hands.

#right-to-repair#automation#testing#ai#open-source
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post Jul 8, 2026 · 4 min read

Why Ilya’s 30 Essential ML Papers Still Matter (and How Test Automation Can Borrow Their Discipline)

Ilya’s 30‑paper cheat sheet is a reminder that curated learning beats endless scrolling—especially when you apply the same rigor to test automation and AI tooling.

#ml#testing#automation#ai#devops
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post Jul 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Offline Maps, Open Routers, and the AI Margin Collapse: Why Privacy‑First Tools Matter

CoMaps shows that privacy‑first, community‑driven offline navigation is possible—and it forces us to rethink how we test, CI, and build resilient, data‑light tools.

#offline-maps#open-source#privacy#automation#ai
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post Jul 6, 2026 · 5 min read

Why Organic Maps Is a Test Engineer’s Dream (and What It Says About Offline‑First Tooling)

Organic Maps proves that privacy‑first, offline‑first apps can be robust, and it gives test engineers a blueprint for building and CI‑testing such tools.

#offline#open-source#testing#automation#privacy
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newsletter Jul 5, 2026 · 4 min read

Signals from damine — From Retro RTS to Jellyfish Wound Healing

A quick dive into a macOS port of Command & Conquer, button ergonomics, GPT‑5.5 hiccups, UI library shifts, and jellyfish-inspired healing.

#newsletter#gaming#ui#ai#automation
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post Jul 5, 2026 · 5 min read

When ORMs Meet Real‑World SQL: Why Knowing the Language Beats the Abstraction

ORMs feel like magic, but without solid SQL skills you write slow, fragile code. Here’s why you should master SQL and keep automation honest.

#orm#sql#automation#testing#software-engineering
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post Jul 4, 2026 · 5 min read

Running SOTA LLMs at Home: Why I’m Building My Own AI Super‑Computer

I dissect Jamesob’s $2k‑$40k local‑LLM guide, compare it to the falling cost‑per‑dollar curve, and give engineers a concrete automation checklist to tame GPU farms.

#llm#automation#hardware#testing#devops
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post Jul 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Stop Scraping the World: Why Agent-Native Infrastructure is the Real Game Changer

From SAR radar to MCP servers, Velocity is showing us that the future of AI isn't better prompts, but structured, bounded data for agents to actually use.

#ai#automation#mcp#osint#engineering
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newsletter Jul 2, 2026 · 4 min read

Signals from damine — Malware masquerades, AI patents, and the egg bandits

A quick run‑through of Android’s sneaky verifier, Copilot’s new Kimi model, Spain’s Palantir ban, LUKS key‑wiping slip, AI‑inventor ruling, and why code reviews matter.

#newsletter#android#security#ai#automation
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post Jul 2, 2026 · 5 min read

Why PeerTube matters (and how automation can keep it alive)

PeerTube offers a truly federated video alternative, but its success hinges on solid testing, CI/CD, and a dash of AI‑powered tooling. Here’s my take.

#peer-to-peer#video#automation#ai#open-source