FROM THE TRENCHES Issue №288

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.

OmniRoute AI routing paths between applications and model providers AI & Agents

OmniRoute AI Routing: Setup and Production Checklist

A practical OmniRoute setup guide for multi-provider AI routing, plus the security, evaluation and operating gates to clear before production.

Strix AI pentesting agent evaluated with a 30-day pilot scorecard AI & Agents

Strix AI Pentesting: 30-Day Pilot and Buying Guide for 2026

An evidence-first Strix buying guide with real cost levers, benchmark caveats, OWASP APTS procurement checks and a 30-day pilot scorecard.

Werkvertrag vs Dienstvertrag: obligation of result against obligation of effort Business & Regulation

What "Dienstleister" Commits Your Vendor To

A Werkvertrag owes a defined result; an employment-style Dienstvertrag owes labour under direction. Price, change and completion clauses decide how estimation and delivery risk are shared.

Cloud AI agent stack showing skills, browser, code and Slack without a local server AI & Agents

Hyperagent Review: Cloud AI Agents Without a Server

A buyer-focused Hyperagent review covering its cloud runtime, skills, Slack deployment, browser and code tools, security questions and build-versus-buy fit.

Humanoid robot coordinating whole-body movement through a layered physical AI control stack AI & Agents

Gemini Robotics 2: Whole-Body Control and the Pilot Decision

Gemini Robotics 2 links whole-body control, embodied reasoning and local inference. See what the benchmarks, access limits and safety evidence mean for a robotics pilot.

Cursor crosshair selecting a web interface for Hark Handoff computer use AI & Agents

Hark Handoff Review: The Agent That Actually Clicks

Hark Handoff can order, book and research across live websites. Review the benchmark evidence, security gaps and best business pilot.

Meta Muse Code pricing decision between the standard and Contributor tiers for client repositories AI & Agents

Meta Muse Code Pricing: Is the Contributor Tier Safe for Client Code?

Meta's published Muse Spark 1.2 Contributor rates cut token prices by more than 90% for training rights. With 1.3 rolling out, recheck the current route before sending client code.

A silicon wafer stack rising into an orbital compute network Business & Regulation

Terafab: Who Controls the AI Stack From Silicon to Orbit?

SpaceX and Tesla confirmed a $16.8 billion first phase in Texas. The bigger story is control of chips, launch and AI workloads, plus the governance questions that follow.

A shield separating an AI genome model from a bacteriophage and a controlled laboratory Business & Regulation

Can AI Create Viruses? What Stanford Actually Proved

Stanford and Arc used genome models to produce 16 viable bacteriophages. Here is what the study proved, what it did not, and the controls biotech teams need.

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