Category: Software development

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Business Investing Software development

Vertical industry software

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or SaaS

CashBoard: quite a while ago, I did a side gig job (year 2012), and I used this app for PDF invoice (professional looking)

ServiceTitan Inc (now a public company TTAN): saw a plumber uses this to generate receipt for me when I paid via CC. Just as I was looking at a possibility to look at buying some of their stocks, I realized they have quite high stock based compensation. ServiceTitan Announces Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results (My Q: are they the biggest in the industry?)  

Google Search: “how much of servicetitan’s operating free cash flow is from stock based compensations”

Niche players in their respective markets

Bumped into latter two because my younger daughter does violin and dance.

MyMusicStaff (Teipen Music Academy uses it)

The Studio Director (SLAD uses it)

Other examples of vertical industry software (or SaaS)

Constellation Software (Wikipedia): this is a Canadian conglomerate of vertical software companies. It’s probably the latest of its kind. Its stock is traded at Toronto Stock Exchange.

Personally I worked for companies such as Siemens Digital Industry Software (Wikipedia) and Autodesk, both in the CAD, and related CAM, CAE, PDM/PLM industry.

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Software development

I learned a bit more GitHub Copilot recently

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I worked on a small project (in the Agile or JIRA world, it’s a story), and I experimented Copilot more this time, in fact, I think I tried to use Copilot as much or as practically as possible, for 2 out of the 3 main coding tasks. This is in addition to the Copilot code review feature which I have been using probably for a year now. Back to the coding tasks: refactoring and adding unit tests are the two main tasks that I used Copilot extensively. I also think Copilot did a decent job on bath. The 3rd task, which is to create a controller (an end point), I forgot to try the Copilot – hope I can try something like that down the road.

I used the IntelliJ Ultimate edition for my Java project IDE, and I was familiar with some IDE basic features on refactoring, such as extract methods, or change method signature. This mini project involves moving code from one layer down (from UI to the service layer). Copilot did it in one shot when I asked it to perform the task, from and to, mainly using the correct prompt.

For Unit Testing, I did two things, I changed the mocking framework from EasyMock to Mockito (which is more modern), also I added and cleaned all the unit tests, as much as I can. I admit I am still learning on the unit testing front. Sometimes I felt it’s somewhat like “teach an old dog a new trick”, I mean the “test driven development” or writing a complete unit test suite. But I am getting there: not just on Java, for JavaScript, I had some fun writing Jest test as well. For Java it’s JUnit.

Code review

This is similar as before I worked on this mini project, but I am getting more out of the Copilot code review comments, most of which I think is valid.

On a side note, I did a coding test for this LinkedIn AI trainer gig – not sure that I passed it, as I was not very confident on my Python language. But I still think it’s good exercise for me – I mean the coding test via HackerRank.

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Business Investing Software development

Will many software companies die due to AI?

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Full disclosure: I worked in the software (or IT) industry for last 25+ years ago. I put most of my 401k in the S&P 500 index funds. I also have a little individual stocks in my IRA and brokerage accounts, although comparing to the S&P 500 index fund, and other stock positions such as BRK.B and KO, my software stock holdings are insignificant.

google search for saas apocalypse

Fortune 2026/02/04: $300 Billion Evaporated. The SaaS -Pocalypse Has Begun.

2026-2-26 Yahoo Finance (PitchBook): Q&A: Francisco Partners on the software sell-off

Reddit: The “SaaSpocalypse” is the latest wall street hallucination!

There are tons of YouTube videos on this topic recently. Personally, I think the reality will probably somewhere in between, just like this LinkedIn post.

Recent I wrote this blog post – My dream, software development jobs, and software industry

And just today, CNBC – Moody’s cuts rating on private credit fund run by KKR and Future Standard to junk as bad loans grow; Apollo gives investors only 45% of requested withdrawals from $15 billion private credit fund

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Software development

Learn agentic AI in 30 days and AI coding certifications

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Chatgpt: learn agentic AI in 30 days. I just got started: better late than never. Adapt or become irrelevant (as a coder). I am not sure if the link here will work for everyone, but one can type those words, and Chatgpt will come back with the 30 day plan. I think 30 day is good. One factor that drove me to learn, was I saw requirement for a Senior AI developer position, and the recruiter (whom I had a brief interaction probably 20 years ago) responded, with some AI related questions below (note this is just a subset, she asked some other questions too).

======

Years experience working with AI Tools such as Windsurf and Github Copilot?

Windsurf – a year; GitHub Copilot – 2 years

Windsurf  

AI principles including LLMs, RAG, agents, and prompt engineering

AI Integration into app workflows

Familiarity with AI SDKs and frameworks (e.g., OpenAI SDK, LangChain) is a plus

======

I quickly realized that I need to brush up skills to be relevant to say the least.

The second point, probably more importantly, is I want to be relevant for the upcoming AI tsunami – the agentic AI coding and all. I did start look at it recently, and documented my learning here in a google doc.

Certifications

Thinking it may be useful, or at least helpful if one wants to do more structured learning. Here is the google search.

PS: I gave it a bit more thought on certifications. A few years ago I thought about getting the AWS certifications, probably in 2020 or 2021. I bought the cert prep course at Udemy and eventually didn’t complete the prep and attempt the cert exam. From my personal experience learning CFA many years ago, while the prep process will help me to learn, the cert itself is not going to make huge difference in career – it may still help one to secure an interview or a job. But I think the learning the AI is more important. Again this is because AI is and will have even more impact to our lives or work. If I could use an analogy, in 2008 I had my 1st smartphone (Blackberry), and first iPhone was debuted in 2007, in a few years, iPhone basically defeated Blackberry. I think similar things will happen to coding between AI and human beings. AI (the super computer) will beat us human beings eventually – probably it won’t take long there either.

It doesn’t mean we have to accept the defeat, and find another trade job (electrician, or plumber), but we can still do other parts of the tech job: requirements gathering, supervising AI agents (somewhat like supervise the junior engineers), talk to end users and thinking about the bugs and features, etc.

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Software development

My dream, software development jobs, and software industry

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I sort had a bad dream last night. I dreamed that my old colleague admonished me for not working hard enough. I think perhaps I had too much work-related stress recently.

On a related note, 我感觉AI对大众码工(yours truly included)和大部分软件公司和IT行业的冲击才刚刚开始。。。 大厂已经裁了几轮了。。。Personally I am at peace if I have to drive ride share or food delivery to feed or support my family – I felt I already enjoyed my 25+ years of 码工job，and now it’s probably good for me to do something different 😂

Btw, I could be a little biased (because I have been in the IT/software arena, and on LinkedIn since 2008), but it seems to me there are tsunami of people looking for work now #OpenToWork . The overall situation looks pretty bad. And we know in the USA, the current administration is pretty much hands off to the AI, gen AI etc.

PS: I came across Anil Dash’s article here – What do coders do after AI? I quote some below, as I tend to agree with his assessment. I think he said some of what I wanted to say, and said it much more elegantly.

……But the level at which the change is happening in this transition is one that gets closer to people’s sense of self-worth and identity, rather than to their perceptions of simply having to acquire knowledge or skills. It doesn’t help that the change is being catalyzed by some of the most venal and irresponsible leaders in the history of business, brazenly acting without any moral boundaries whatsoever.…..

……I’ve come to the personal conclusion that the only way forward is for more of the hackers with soul to seize this moment of flux and use these tools to build. The economics of creating code are changing, and it can’t just be the worst billionaires in the world who benefit. The latest count is 700,000 people laid off in the last few years in the tech industry. We’ll be at a million soon, at the rate things are accelerating. Each new layoff announcement is now in the thousands.……

……I’ve spent my whole career working with communities of coders, building tools for the people who build with code. I don’t imagine I’ll ever stop doing it. This is the hardest moment that I’ve ever seen this community go through, and it makes me heartsick to see so many people enduring such stress and anxiety about what’s to come. More than anything else, what I hope people can remember is that all of the great things that people love about technology weren’t created by the money guys, or the bosses who make HR decisions — they were created by the people who actually build things.…..

Also this post on LinkedIn by Laurie Voss, let me quote below as linkedIn post search could be buggy from my observation.

I have always been the kind of developer who only cared about outcomes. Give me the tool, the framework, the head start. I just want my website.

A totally different kind of developer exists who cares about the craft. Getting that function just right. Those devs are in pain right now.

LLM-powered engineering is the ultimate outcome-based method: in the extreme case you ship code you’ve never even read.

This is anathema to those who care about the craft and you can see their cultural convulsions across social media every day. “People aren’t caring AND THEY SHOULD WHAT IS WRONG!?”

I don’t know what’s going to happen to the craftspeople of code. I’m not here to predict their irrelevance, they could end up being the most important people to cultivate in a world where nobody reads code. But I know they’re in pain right now, and my sympathy is with them.

It is a very, very weird time to be a software developer and anybody who tells you they know where this is going is deluded. We have shaken the kaleidoscope as hard as we can and the pattern it will land in is a total unknown.

Categories
Software development Stocks

Why average investors should pick S&P 500 over picking own stocks

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I have been in the US stock market since 2003. And I observe majority of average investors don’t like volatility. They chase the hot stocks, and they catch the falling knife, and then they sell during panic. And occasionally they watch Jim Cramer’s Mad Money show on CNBC “watching TV and making money”. In other words, they usually buy high and sell low – using the late Charlie Munger’s words a little blunt, please note, “if (many) people are not stupid, how can we make money”.

This is obviously not a winning strategy. And yesterday’s market action is a perfect example. The direct reason for yesterday’s stock drop was due to the below report. I do understand the selling pressure on software stocks from the AI disruption has been there for a while now. Disclosure: I do own some software stocks, and the largest position is the good old MSFT. I joked that I was Bill Gates’ slave 20 years ago. Also – I am an average investor too and I put most of my money into S&P 500 index fund – I told my wife to do that too – if something happens to me.

The mentioned report is below. I suggest read at your leisure time.

But we need to keep in mind the software (SaaS) stocks have been trading at high valuations for at least 20 years. This may be a healthy adjustment of valuation – somewhat like an obese person losing some weight so that he/she can put less stress on his/her body.

Software benefits from larger trend such as the shift to cloud computing, pandemic (working from home), for the users there are usually higher cost of switching (think Oracle DB, or Electronic Medical Records vendor such as Epic, and Cerner now a part of Oracle), and so on. But nothing lasts forever, the recent AI revolution appears (or will likely) causing disruption to the industry. As I also worked in this industry (software and IT) for last 25+ years, and I can see that seismic shift coming. Nothing or no trends last forever.

Back to stocks, below is the S&P 500 compared to some of the popular stocks or assets.

Also the stocks hit 52 week low yesterday. Many are software or tech stocks. The saas apocalypse is real.

Btw, just bumped into my own writing on stocks etc. here, and noticed I wrote it almost 6 years ago. I can see both my kids grew significantly in last 6 years, and I am getting older – hopefully wiser too.

Last but not least, regarding the asset price, JPM’s Jamie Dimon said something yesterday – Jamie Dimon says ‘watch out’ as lofty asset prices add to economic risks: ‘My anxiety is high’ (CNBC).

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Software development

Dev Stories

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I bumped into Angus Cheng accidentally the other day, on YT – I make $40K/month with this one website

And I had to admit, I love read his dev stories or technical deep dives. Here is one on X. And here is his profile on X.

I think I would share some of my dev stories from now on too – probably via YT (as I am not a big fan of X platform, mainly because I don’t like its owner 🙂

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Business Investing Software development

A lot going on recently

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Moved this WordPress website (again)

SaaS and SaaS stocks apocalypse

Thinking somewhat more bullet proof idea in this space is Constellation Software Inc., which is a Canada based software conglomerate (TSE:CSU; OTCMKTS:CNSWF). And I looked at both Robinhood and Schwab, it appears the former doen’t have it, the latter one has to pay $6.95 to buy the Over the counter market stocks. I don’t think $7 fee should be a deal breaker if one is truly believer of the company and the stock, though. Also, refer to this YT video Broken Compounder or Rare Sale? Constellation Software Stock Explained by Drew Cohen. And his stock researches here.

From software to real estate, U.S. sectors under the grip of AI scare trade | Reuters – (this is a quote) AI-focused logistics firm Algorhythm Holdings (RIME.O), which previously sold karaoke machines, said its SemiCab unit boosted customers’ freight volumes by 300% to 400% “without a corresponding increase in operational headcount”.

The news triggered a rout in stocks such as Landstar System (LSTR.O), opens new tab and C.H. Robinson (CHRW.O), opens new tab. The Dow Jones Transportation Average (.DJT), opens new tab fell 4.4%.

Jefferies analysts, however, said the reaction was disconnected from fundamentals. “Proprietary freight data and physical networks remain durable moats,” they said.

The company seems problematic for me, to say the least, looking at its stock price here. And here is its linkedIn profile (Algorhythm Holdings Inc. and SemiCab).

Anxiety of AI among white collar workers and parents, high school and college kids

(Fortune) Brian Moynihan isn’t so worried about an AI jobs bloodbath, pointing to a 1960s theory that computers would end all management roles

Two sad incidents

I came across this news today: Man who fatally shot woman in Starbucks drive-thru robbed someone in different drive-thru days earlier, police say NY Post article.

And it reminds me of another incident I read about recently. ‘Was just like a war’: Rideshare driver gunned down in Ferguson was unintended target – As a former Uber driver, I felt incredible sad… I have been to Ferguson a few times in my short Uber driving tenure (10/2024 to 09/2025).

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Site Info Software development Web

Moved the wordpress host again

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I moved the host of this WordPress website again. It’s on a smaller Droplet. There was some AI bot spike recently (since mid-Dec), and also the previous droplet has been there about 10 years ago. It’s time for a cleanup etc.

More details are forthcoming: as practical as possible, obviously.

Note this also marks my 20 years of blogging.

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advice and tips Life Life Tips Software development

My 2025 year end review

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New habits re: health and fitness

Swim:

Run: I didn’t run a lot. I did run a few races (for run): the Ladue Dogwood run, the ‘Due Run for Education (LEF) and Frostbite Run at Forest Park organized by the St. Louis track club (short distance).

No more alcohol 🍷

I started using Apple Watch to track sleep.

Other new adventure I decided to take on

Learn music, guitar and piano

Stocks

Need some more patience there. A good example may be $MDB at 04/04/2025: it was under $155 then. Today it closed at about $399.65.

Family and China Trip

Started teaching my older kid to drive

Realized that “Good habit is important – easier to correct in the beginning than to correct later on – similar for the music learning too”. Today 01-01-2026 she even drove from the Walgreens in St. Ann (St. Charles rock road and Ashby road) to our home – via Ashby road. I was the passenger. (Update 01-02-2026) Today’s practice route here.

Btw, I paused the Uber driving for now. It was fun ride to say the least.

YouTuber or creator instead of blogger?

Thinking I may archive this blog site and focus more on the video content creation instead. Haven’t made final decision yet but leaning towards this – it was a good 20-year journey but couple things made me to re-think about my blogging journey – very few people are reading my blogs these days, that’s probably true for other newspaper, magazine website too – people are mostly switching to video or short videos over the years due to many reasons. Video is more engaging, or much easier to absorb. Also, video especially short video is quite addictive. Other reasons are the cost of hosting this website, as well as the recent AI bots scanning my website continuously (they appear are from CHN).