FROM THE TRENCHES Issue №309

Practical decisions for AI and software

Technical guides to choose models, verify software and plan delivery.

Latest articles

New comparisons, practical guides and engineering lessons.

Battery passport architecture connecting identity, lifecycle data, access policy, and QR code Delivery & QA

EU Battery Passport Software Architecture for 2027

Turn the 18 February 2027 deadline into a buildable identity, data, access, QR, and lifecycle architecture.

Kevin Riedl
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Software evidence chain linking requirements, tests, releases, incidents, and updates Business & Regulation

EU Product Liability for Software: Evidence Checklist

Build the release, test, incident, and update evidence chain needed for software placed on the EU market after 8 December 2026.

Kevin Riedl
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AI bill of materials comparing CycloneDX and SPDX for models, datasets, and software Business & Regulation

AI Bill of Materials: CycloneDX vs SPDX

Choose an AIBOM format, define model and dataset provenance, and generate signed inventory from the release pipeline.

Kevin Riedl
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Connected-product API architecture with device, user, policy, and export layers Delivery & QA

EU Data Act: Connected-Product API Checklist

Prepare the Article 3 access-by-design duty for products placed on the market after 12 September 2026, while the Data Act already applies generally.

Kevin Riedl
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Ox Alpha revealed as Z.ai GLM-5.3-Flash with updated access, privacy and cost checks AI & Agents

Ox Alpha Revealed as GLM-5.3-Flash: What Changed

Ox Alpha was revealed as Z.ai GLM-5.3-Flash. See what changed in access, pricing, privacy, model identity and production planning.

Kevin Riedl
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Rust compiler graph connecting persistent declaration identities to verified semantic patches AI & Agents

Why Agent Edits Need Semantic Identity: Building SEMAPRAX in Rust

A compiler engineering walkthrough of persistent IDs, checked HIR, deterministic graphs and replayable patches in the experimental SEMAPRAX language.

Kevin Riedl
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LangChain Deep Agents connects planning, subagents, files, approvals, sandboxes and production traces AI & Agents

LangChain Deep Agents Review: Is the Agent Harness Ready for Production?

A buyer-focused Deep Agents review covering architecture, v0.7 changes, security boundaries, operating costs and a measurable production pilot.

Kevin Riedl
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Cursor Origin and GitHub repositories connected through a reversible code-hosting pilot Delivery & QA

Cursor Origin vs GitHub: Should Your Team Switch?

Cursor now hosts code, but Origin is still an early beta. Compare sync behavior, CI, governance, price and a low-risk pilot before moving your source of truth.

Kevin Riedl
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Four Pika Audio API models mapped to sound effects, speech, music and synchronized video soundtracks with cost controls AI & Agents

Pika Audio Models API Pricing: Is SFX Really 20x Cheaper?

Pika lists SFX at $0.0002 per second, plus three more audio models. See the real break-even, API limits, quality gates and production fit before you switch.

Kevin Riedl
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