FROM THE TRENCHES Issue №310

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.

Open USD: shared reserve economics, four native networks and integration checks Web3 & Privacy

Open USD Explained: Live Networks, Issuer and Restrictions

OUSD launched on 30 September 2026. Check its issuer, four native chains, reserve disclosures, integration routes and EEA partner-promotion restrictions.

Rendering your prompt as an image to cut LLM costs: the pxpipe trick, explained honestly AI & Agents

Pxpipe Review: Can Images Cut Claude Code Token Costs 60%?

Pxpipe turns bulky Claude Code context into dense PNGs. The measured token savings are real, but exact IDs and numbers can fail silently. See where it works and where text must stay text.

Cost per token versus cost per task: a lower unit price can still produce a higher total bill AI & Agents

Cheaper Per Token Can Still Cost More Per Task

A benchmark once put Sonnet 5 above Opus 4.8 in cost per task, but Anthropic cancelled the price increase behind that result. Learn how to compare current rates with observed usage.

Coding with Claude Fable 5.1: model routing across Fable, Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku AI & Agents

How to Use Claude Fable 5.1 in Claude Code

A practical Claude Code workflow for Fable 5.1: select the model, plan first, route implementation, verify with tools, and handle safeguard fallbacks.

Anthropic rejects an open-weights ban while model competition changes enterprise AI costs AI & Agents

Anthropic Says No Open-Weights Ban. The Cost War Is Still Real.

Anthropic explicitly rejects a protectionist open-weights ban while seeking action against illicit industrial distillation. What its policy, Coinbase’s first-party cost report, and EU rules actually mean for buyers.

Agile De-engineering and the erosion of engineering culture in the enterprise Delivery & QA

Agile De-engineering

How a movement built to liberate engineers came to erode engineering culture in the enterprise. Alexandre Kotcherguine and Kevin Riedl trace the commercialisation, ritual capture, metric inversion, and craft erosion behind it.

What an internal AI assistant costs in DACH 2026 AI & Agents

What an Internal AI Assistant Actually Costs in the DACH Region (2026)

Embeddings, vector DB, tokens, hosting, and the maintenance line everyone forgets. A directional per-seat cost breakdown for a DACH internal AI assistant.

Minimum credible product replacing the traditional MVP in the age of AI Product & MVP

The MVP Is Dead. Build a Minimum Credible Product.

AI can reduce prototype effort, not the need for product judgment. Avoidable roughness may damage the signal an MVP should collect. A practical case for less scope, one trustworthy path, and decision-grade evidence.

LLM gateways compared in 2026 AI & Agents

LLM Gateways Compared 2026: LiteLLM vs OpenRouter vs Portkey vs RouteLLM

One endpoint over many providers, with fallback, caching, spend limits, and routing in one place. How LiteLLM, OpenRouter, Portkey, and RouteLLM differ, and how to choose on the constraint that binds you.

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