Syntax &#8211; Tasty Web Development Treats

968: Habits and Changes We Want to Make in 2026 Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

Wes and Scott talk about setting realistic goals for the new year, building habits through small, sustainable changes, creating systems that actually stick, and why incremental progress beats big resolutions every time.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:26 Wes: Stand more
06:55 Wes: Learn to wake up early
10:04 Scott: Embrace daily TODOs
- Tweek
14:18 Brought to you by Sentry.io
14:43 Wes: Better email management
19:14 Scott: Become more minimal
22:13 Wes: Get faster at typing
26:55 Scott: Listen to more self-help books
30:18 Scott: Track long-term habits
31:36 Scott (and Wes): Ship more things

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967: What’s Going to Happen in Web Dev During 2026 Dec 31, 2025

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Wes and Scott talk about their bold predictions for web development in 2026, from WebGPU-powered design and modern CSS breakthroughs to JavaScript standards, AI-driven tooling, security risks, the future of frameworks, workflows, and more!

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:49 WebGPU and 3D experiences will finally take off
- Lando Norris
01:30 Web design will make a comeback
- Raycast
- shaders.com
04:03 Light mode returns (yes, really)
07:06 Modern CSS standards are about to have a huge year
- CSS Wrapped
- Graffiti
13:15 Will the Temporal API finally ship everywhere in 2026?
14:18 The rise of the standard stack
16:18 Are we headed toward standardized RPC?
19:41 What’s next (and what’s not) for React
21:07 Why we’ll see more security failures in web dev
22:35 SvelteKit 3 lands in 2026
22:53 Where developer tooling is headed next
- Oxc
- Biome
26:44 More big acquisitions
- Anthropic
- Bun
28:02 2026: the year of durable compute
30:57 Frameworks will matter less as AI gets better
33:34 End-to-end AI workflows become the norm
36:04 Brought to you by Sentry.io
37:21 Personalized software for everyday people
39:11 MCP and MCP UI will pop
42:24 Developer skills will fall off
46:20 Crappy software will continue

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966: A Look Back at Web Dev in 2025 Dec 24, 2025

Show notes

Wes and Scott revisit their 2025 web development predictions, grading hits and misses across AI, browsers, frameworks, CSS, and tooling. From Temporal and AI coding agents to React, Vite, and vanilla CSS, they reflect on what actually changed, what stalled, and what it all means heading into 2026.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 866: 2025 Web Development Predictions
01:26 Temporal API will ship in the browser
03:33 On-device AI becomes common
06:14 WebGPU unlocks fast local machine learning
- TypeGPU
07:10 Models will plateau
10:32 Is there an actual use case for video and photo gen AI?
13:27 Text to UI tools get really good
16:25 Framework choice will matter less
18:53 Web components in Standard Stack, Web Awesome takes off
21:37 AI browsers and Copilot Workspace-style tools will become normal
22:56 AI browsera will become inevitable, OpenAI will launch a browser
27:51 Relative color will feel fully “safe to use”
29:02 Vanilla CSS will make a comeback
30:33 Brought to you by Sentry.io
30:58 CSS mixins and functions spec solidifies
- CSS Custom Functions and Mixins Module Level 1
33:25 Container style queries will ship everywhere
- CSS if statements
35:40 Vertical centering jokes will stubbornly persist
36:20 VS Code will reach feature parity with Cursor
38:47 More VS Code forks will appear
39:46 React Compiler drops Babel
40:34 React server components will pop
42:17 Remix re-emerges as something new
43:17 React Native will have its time
44:21 TanStack Start and Tanstack will pop
45:46 SvelteKit gets more granular data loading
46:06 Local first apps will take off
46:43 Bun keeps doing “wild but loved” non-standard features, Bun will launch a platform-as-a-service
48:22 Vite stays king
51:07 Laravel will release a CMS
52:44 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Scott: DARKBEAM Flashlight UV Black Light
Wes: WOOZOO Fan

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965: Baseline 2025 Features web gained in 2025 Dec 22, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes break down the biggest web platform features that reached Baseline in 2025, separating the genuinely useful APIs from the niche and forgettable ones. From same-document view transitions and the Popover API to Promise.try, content-visibility, and modern CSS goodies, they share what’s actually ready to use today.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:37 24 new web APIs that reached baseline in 2025.
01:49 Same-document view transitions for single-page applications.
05:28 abs()
08:22 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
09:20 JSON Module Scripts.
10:10 Popover API.
13:07 Base64 to UInt8Array.
- Better Binary Batter Mixing
16:11 @starting-style
- Scott’s A CSS Only Accordion with <details>
- Scott’s Mobile Nav
17:39 allow-discrete
21:31 Promise.try
22:51 content-visibility

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964: Markdown as a CMS is a bad idea Dec 17, 2025

Show notes

In this potluck episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott answer your questions about keyboard shortcuts, choosing frameworks in the age of AI, markdown vs CMSs, backup strategies, moving countries for work, staying relevant as a developer, and more!

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
02:28 Do keyboard shortcuts actually improve productivity?
- Hyperkey
08:41 What is Error Lens, and why use it?
- Ep 956: Should I Keep Using WordPress?
11:44 How Scott is using a Svelte 5 service worker
14:52 Does tech stack choice still matter with AI coding?
- Ep 951: A first look at Remix 3
20:15 What stack should you choose for a greenfield SaaS?
22:38 What’s the right stack for a band website?
28:24 Is moving countries for work worth the tradeoff?
34:59 Brought to you by Sentry.io
36:16 How should you manage commits with AI tools?
40:50 Is programming still a good career in the AI era?
47:03 How should you back up large files and media?
- Ep 949: Web Dev HORROR Stories + Spooky Trivia! (Spooky Stories Pt. 1)
- Ep 962: The Home Server / Synology Show
53:29 What backup setup works for small teams and clients?
55:14 How should you store sensitive files safely?
58:07 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs

Sick Picks

Scott: Philips LED Ultra Definition
Wes: LEGO Builder App

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963: Hardware Hacking with Matt Brown Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

Scott and Wes chat with YouTuber and security consultant Matt Brown about breaking into IoT devices, extracting firmware, and decoding the hidden tech inside everyday gadgets. Matt shares his methods, the legal boundaries, and the wild stories behind his most interesting hacks.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:21 Curiosity in Hacking
03:28 Understanding IoT Devices
07:15 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
07:40 Linux vs Microcontrollers
10:11 UART Console Access
13:56 Firmware Extraction Techniques
14:19 Guessing Usernames and Passwords
19:22 Extracting Password Hashes
23:15 Legal Considerations in Hacking
30:06 Where does the inspiration come from?
31:20 Using Logic Analyzers
37:45 CAN Protocol in Automotive
45:42 Influence of Lewis Rossman
54:05 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs

962: The Home Server / Synology Show Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Wes and Scott talk about their evolving home-server setups—Synology rigs, Mac minis, Docker vs. VMs, media servers, backups, Cloudflare Tunnels, and the real-world pros and cons of running your own hardware.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:35 Why use a home server?
07:29 Apps for home servers
16:23 Home server hardware
18:27 Brought to you by Sentry.io
20:45 VMs vs containers and choosing the right software
25:53 How to expose services to the internet safely
30:38 Securing access to your server

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961: Keeping Up With The Fast and Furious Web Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

Scott and CJ go live from JS Nation NYC to talk about how developers can actually stay current without drowning in the constant churn of new tools and trends. They break down how to see through the fluff, focus on why tech exists before adopting it, and build a healthier, curiosity-driven approach to learning in 2025 and beyond.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:39 Scott delivering a non-technical talk at JS Nation.
03:24 Lamenting the frequency of change as developers.
03:46 Understanding why things exist before deciding to learn them.
05:11 Learning styles are a myth?
07:41 First dates and psychology exams.
10:39 Discovering is step one, playing is step two.
13:32 Learn with a project that you actually want.
18:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
18:34 Cutting through the noise of new tech.
21:40 Using AI as a learning tool
25:12 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs.

Sick Picks

Scott: dbrand Ghost Case 2.0
CJ: analog watches

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