#tech stack integration

[dbajaj48]

From Startup to Scale: A No-Nonsense Guide for Real-World Growth

Let's be real, choosing a tech stack is like picking what to eat at an all-inclusive resort. There are so many options, and while it might seem tempting to just pile everything onto your plate, you know that's a recipe for disaster. Similarly, you can't just pick every trendy tool out there for your business. If you do, you might end up with a bloated, dysfunctional mess that doesn't do anything particularly well.

The goal here is to help you pick the right tech stack for your business, allowing it to scale efficiently without giving you heartburn. Whether you're a startup just figuring things out or an enterprise looking to streamline, this guide is for you.

The Tech Stack Basics: What Are We Even Talking About?

Let's get one thing straight: a "tech stack" is not a literal pile of technology (though that would be cool). It's the tools, programming languages, and frameworks your business uses to build and run applications. Think of it as your company's digital toolbox. And just like with real tools, you don't use a chainsaw to assemble IKEA furniture—so you need to pick the right tools for the job.

Your tech stack is always divided into two parts

Front-end

This is the stuff your customers see and interact with. It's like the shiny chrome on a sports car—it looks nice, but if it doesn't perform well, people will quickly notice.

Common tools: React, Vue.js, HTML, CSS

Back-end

This is the engine of your operation. The invisible stuff powers your business and keeps everything running smoothly.

Common tools: Node.js, Python, Ruby on Rails

But enough with the definitions—let's get into how you can pick the right tech stack for your business. Spoiler alert: there's no one-size-fits-all answer.

Start with your Business needs (not your cousin's tips)

It's tempting to go with whatever your cousin or that random guy on LinkedIn is raving about, but let's be honest—just because a tech tool works for them doesn't mean it's the right fit for you. Would you wear your cousin's jeans? No. So don't copy their tech stack, either.

First things first: what are your actual business needs? Are you a startup trying to build the next Uber for cat-sitting (we've all thought about it), or are you an established company looking to streamline operations? Here's what you need to consider

Your Growth Goals

Are you planning for world domination or just happy to expand locally for now? The tech stack you choose should support both your short-term needs and long-term aspirations.

Your Industry

What industry are you in? If you're in e-commerce, you'll want tools that make online transactions easy and secure. In healthcare, you need technologies that comply with privacy laws like HIPAA. And if you're in finance, good luck with that.

Your Team's Skillset

Who will be using this tech stack? If your team is fluent in Python, don't make them suddenly learn Ruby on Rails unless you want a mutiny on your hands. Pick tools that fit your team's existing skillset—or be prepared to invest in serious training.

Think About Scalability (Because Growth Happens Faster Than You Think)

One minute, you're a cozy little startup, and the next thing you know, your app has gone viral, and your server has crashed more times than you can count. Growth is exciting, but if your tech stack can't handle it, you will have problems. Big ones. Scalability is the magic word here. You need a tech stack that evolve with your business, not one that buckles under pressure. When considering scalability, here is what you need to know

Cloud-Based Solutions

Hosting your infrastructure on cloud platforms like AWS or Microsoft Azure can give you the flexibility to scale up or down based on demand. It's like adding more chairs to the table when unexpected guests arrive—except, in this case, thousands of users are hitting your platform all at once.

Performance

Some programming languages and frameworks are great for large-scale operations. If you're dealing with a high volume of transactions or users, choose something built for speed. Node.js, for example, is known for handling multiple connections simultaneously, making it great for real-time applications like chat apps or online games.

Database Choices

Your database is where all the magic (or chaos) happens. For startups, a simple database like MySQL or PostgreSQL might be enough. Still, as you grow, you'll need something that can handle larger data loads—think MongoDB for non-relational data or Oracle for enterprise solutions.

Don't Forget About Integration (Because No One Likes a Silo)

Ever tried to put together a jigsaw puzzle where none of the pieces fit? That's what it feels like when your tech stack doesn't integrate well with your existing systems. And trust me, nothing grinds productivity to a halt faster than a bunch of disjointed tools that refuse to work together.

When choosing your tech stack, consider how it will integrate with the tools you already use. Does your CRM need to interact with your email marketing platform? Are you planning on syncing your sales data with your accounting software? The right integrations can save you hours of manual work—and possibly your sanity.

Here's the secret sauce: APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). They're like the universal translators of the tech world, helping different tools communicate with each other. When evaluating a new tool, check if it has an API that plays nicely with your other systems.

Example: HubSpot is a great all-in-one marketing platform that integrates with dozens of other tools. HubSpot's smooth integrations can make life much easier if you're already using a CRM or email marketing service.

Budgeting for your Tech Stack (Spoiler Alert: It's going to cost way more than you Thought)

Let's talk about money. Every business has a budget—unless you're backed by a billionaire who's just in it for the fun, in which case, please introduce me. For the rest of the world, picking a tech stack means balancing performance, scalability, and cost. You don't want to go broke paying for shiny new tools that only make things marginally better. Here's the deal: open-source technologies like React or Node.js are great because they're free. Yes, free! But there's a catch-free doesn't always mean zero cost. You must still consider maintenance, updates, and the cost of developers who can work with these tools.

The Airbnb Approach for cost saving

Take Airbnb, for example. The company used Ruby on Rails for its web platform in its early days. Rail is an open-source framework that helped Airbnb get started without sinking too much money into licensing fees. As the business grew, the team heavily invested in infrastructure and switched to React for the front end to handle the scaling needs of their user base. The lesson here? Start small with cost-effective solutions, and be prepared to invest in your tech stack as you grow.

Now, let's talk about enterprise-level tools. These often come with hefty licensing fees. If you're considering Salesforce or Oracle, know you're entering premium territory. These tools provide advanced features, but they come at a price. If you're a small business, this might not make sense yet—but for larger operations, these solutions can pay off in the long run by streamlining processes and reducing human error.

Shopify's Early Tech Stack Struggles

Shopify initially relied on PHP and MySQL to power its platform, which worked fine when serving smaller e-commerce stores. But as it scaled, it ran into performance issues with large traffic spikes. Shopify then transitioned to Ruby on Rails and focused on horizontal scaling to handle requests more efficiently. The learning is that budgeting for future growth and tech debt will save you headaches later.

Make sure your Stack is secure (or pay the price later)

We've all seen those scary headlines: "Massive Data Breach Exposes Millions of User Accounts." No one wants to be the next headline, especially when the damage to your reputation (and your wallet) can be severe. Security must stick in your mind when choosing a tech stack.

Some technologies are more secure than others. For instance, large enterprises often favor Java for its robust security features. Similarly, Python has excellent libraries for encryption and data security.

But security isn't just about picking a tool; it's about implementing the right practices. Ensure your developers regularly update your tech stack, apply security patches, and follow best practices like two-factor authentication (2FA) and encryption for sensitive data.

Target's Massive Data Breach

Remember Target's massive data breach in 2013? Hackers were able to access 40 million credit card numbers just because of a vulnerability in their network access system. They may have avoided that disaster with more secure protocols and better monitoring practices. Don't be like Target.

Keep an Eye on Trends, But Don't Chase Every Shiny New Tool

The tech world is always changing. Every week, a new "next big thing" promises to revolutionize how we do business. Blockchain, quantum computing, AI, Web3—it's easy to feel FOMO when you hear about these groundbreaking technologies. But just because something is trendy doesn't mean it's the right fit for your business.

The Slack Boom

Look at Slack. It became the go-to communication tool almost overnight, pushing out older tools like email and Skype. It was not only because it was shiny and new. It was because it effectively solved a pain point for businesses, making communication faster and more collaborative. However, not every tool has a lasting impact, like Slack, so pick your tech wisely.

That said, you want to pay attention to trends. In an industry where innovation is key, like fintech or healthcare, you may need to adopt new technologies faster than others to stay competitive. The trick is to strike a balance—stay current without feeling like you must overhaul your tech stack every six months.

The Talent Factor (because even the best Tech is useless without the right people)

You could have the most advanced, scalable, and secure tech stack on the planet, but you're sunk if no one on your team knows how to use it. When choosing your tech stack, consider the talent pool. Can your current developers work with this stack? If not, are you willing to invest in training or hire new developers specializing in those tools?

Netflix's Engineering Talent Strategy

Everybody knows it: Netflix hires the best engineering talent to manage its complex tech stack, which includes everything from Java and Node.js to Kubernetes and AWS. By focusing on hiring top-notch developers, Netflix ensures that their tech infrastructure runs smoothly, scales efficiently, and adapts to new trends.

But let's be real: hiring top tech talent is tough, especially if you're not on Netflix. Tha's why choosing a tech stack that aligns with your team's existing skills is smart. If your team is well-versed in JavaScript, don't force them to learn Python unless there's a compelling reason to switch. You'll save time and money and avoid unnecessary headaches.

Future-proofing your Tech Stack (because the future is coming whether you're ready or not)

Ah, the future. It's unpredictable, exciting, and a little terrifying. When choosing your tech stack, you want to pick tools that will grow with you and adapt to future innovations. No one wants to be stuck with a tech stack that becomes obsolete in two years.

Adobe's Move to the Cloud!

Take Adobe, for example. A few years ago, they shifted from selling standalone software (like Photoshop) to offering Adobe Creative Cloud. This switch to a subscription-based model helped them scale and ensured they could keep up with the industry's shift to cloud computing. They might have fallen behind if they had stuck with the old model.

So, how do you future-proof your tech stack? Look for tools that are modular and flexible. Think of Microservices architecture as one that allows different parts of your system to scale independently. That way, when one part of your app becomes a runaway success (fingers crossed!), you won't need to rebuild your entire system to handle the load.

Concluding Thoughts: The Tech Stack Balancing Act

Choosing the right tech stack balances meeting your current needs, planning for future growth, and monitoring costs. But with the right approach, you can build a scalable tech stack that's secure, and ready to handle whatever comes your way. Remember, it's not about picking the shiniest or most popular tools—it's about finding what works for you and your team.

So, move forward and start building that tech stack! And if you ever get overwhelmed, remember that even Amazon started as a small online bookstore with a simple tech setup. They scaled, and you can, too!

We can put you on track!

Feeling a little overwhelmed by your tech stack choices? Don't worry—we're here to help. Contact our team today for a free consultation, and let's build the perfect stack for your business's future growth.

[skillbabu]

How to build a cash back app like cash karo or rakuten in 2025: full development guide

In 2025, cash back apps like Cash Karo and Rakuten continue to thrive as users seek smart ways to save while shopping. This guide walks startup founders and entrepreneurs through building a cash back app step-by-step covering the business model, niche selection, must-have features, affiliate integrations, tech stack, UI/UX tips, cost breakdown, and marketing strategies.

 Introduction: why best cashback apps are still booming in 2025

Imagine getting paid just for shopping sounds like a dream, right? Cash back apps like Cash Karo, Rakuten, and best Cash back have made this possible. As digital commerce continues to explode in 2025, these platforms are winning user trust by giving something extra cash back on purchases.

The good news? This model isn’t just effective, it's also replicable.

If you're a startup founder or entrepreneur looking to build a cashback app like Cash Karo or clone Rakuten's model, this detailed guide will walk you through every step from idea to launch.

What is a cash back app?

A cash back app rewards users with a percentage of money back when they shop through partner brands. These apps work by leveraging affiliate marketing and commission-based business models, offering a win-win for users, brands and app owners.

Example:

A user shops via your app at Amazon → Amazon pays you a commission → You share a part of it back with the user as cashback.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Cashback App Like CashKaro or Rakuten

 Step 1: Define your business model

There are three core monetization options for cashback apps:

Affiliate Partnerships (Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra)

Paid Brand Promotions

Subscription for Premium Cashback Deals

Tip: Start with affiliate integration. It’s the easiest and most scalable option.

 Step 2: Choose Your Niche (optional but powerful)

While Rakuten is broad, niche cashback apps have also gained traction:

Grocery Cashback Apps (e.g., Ibotta)

Fashion Only Apps

Local Services Cashback

Going niche = lower competition + higher retention.

 Step 3: Key Features to Include

Here are must-have features that every cashback app like CashKaro or Rakuten should offer:

👤 For Users:

Easy Sign-up/Login

Partnered Store List

Cashback % for Each Brand

Live Cashback Tracking

Withdrawal via UPI/Bank/Wallet

Referral Program

 For Admin:

Partner Management

Commission Settings

User Management

Cashback Payout Reports

CMS for Offers & Banners

Bonus:

Push Notifications for Offers

Cashback Tier Levels (Gamification)

Live Chat Support

 Step 4: Cashback tracking and affiliate integration

This is the heart of your app.

 How It Works:

Use affiliate tracking links with unique user IDs.

Partner with affiliate networks like Commission Junction, Admitad, or Impact.

Track conversions via Postback URLs or Cookies.

Tools/API Providers:

Trackier

HasOffers

PartnerStack

 Step 5: Choose the Right Tech Stack

 Frontend:

Flutter or React Native (for cross-platform apps)

Swift/Kotlin (for native apps)

 Backend:

Node.js or Django

Firebase or AWS for real-time data

PostgreSQL or MongoDB for storage

 APIs:

Razorpay/Stripe for payouts

Twilio for OTP/login

Google Analytics + Firebase for tracking

 Step 6: UI/UX Design Strategy

Make it user-first. Cashback users care about:

Clear offer visibility

Fast tracking

Simple redemption

Pro Tip: Study apps like CashKaro & Rakuten and note how clean and intuitive their flows are. Mimic what's working.

 Step 7: MVP or Full-Scale App?

If you're bootstrapped, go MVP:

Core features only

Single affiliate network

Manual cashback approval

Scale later with:

Auto cashbacks

Tiered rewards

Multiple affiliates

 Marketing strategy for launch

Here’s how top cashback apps grow:

Influencer Marketing: Especially effective for finance, shopping, or deal-hunting influencers.

Referral Bonuses: Give ₹50-₹100 for every new user.

SEO + Blog: Create content around “best cashback deals,” “how to save money online,” etc.

App Store Optimization (ASO)

 Legal & Compliance Checklist

Partner agreements with affiliate networks.

Terms & Privacy Policy.

GDPR/CCPA compliance if targeting global users.

RBI-complaint payout gateways.

Final Thoughts: Your Next Steps

Building a cashback app like CashKaro or Rakuten isn’t just possible, it's practical. With the right tech partner, strategy, and vision, you can launch an app that not only earns but adds real value to your users.

 Ready to build Your Cashback App?

Whether you're starting small or planning to disrupt the cashback space, our team can help you design, develop, and launch a Rakuten-style cashback app tailored to your business.

[ajmishra]

Custom Software vs. Off-the-Shelf Solutions: What’s Best for Your Startup?

Struggling to choose between custom software and off-the-shelf solutions for your startup? Explore the pros and cons of each option in our comprehensive guide, and discover which approach best aligns with your business goals and budget.

[crossdevverse]

What to Look for When Hiring Android App Developers | AIS Technolabs

Discover the key qualifications and skills to seek in Android app developers. Make informed hiring decisions with our essential guide

[studyblr-perhaps]

Misa Explains 1: Spintronics in a nutshell

A series of posts where I will explain bits and pieces of physics I have gathered throughout the my foray into this wonderful science. Warning, these will be long.

Highly inspired by @chemblrish and @minmin-vs-physics 's posts on their fields, check out their posts (linked on this post in various places!)

Wait what even is going on?

Okay, first of all, why are we even talking about spintronics, whatever that means? Now, we live in an age where we need devices, right? Phones, TVs, laptops, name it. All digital devices come under electronics, which is a cluster of what we call "logic devices" (verrry loosely speaking) with various functions, made with expert circuitry to create our sophisticated "smart" devices. Whew. That's a lot of words. But what does it mean? It means that the very device you're using to view this post is made up of very tiny mini devices, which are made to utilize electrical signals (current, flow of electrons) to make it store information, read information, or perform logic tasks ("AND", "OR" "NOT" and the rest. Let me know if you want me to explain those, but this is not the point of the post so I'm letting them hang in the air for now).

We store digital information in the form of 'bits' (I swear all of this is relevant, please be patient) which is a computer's language of storing and using information. If you've watched any show involving hacking, you'll see stacks after stacks of "1"s and "0"s on their high contrast screens in that radioactive green font (general older sister advice: don't use high contrast it hurts your eyes), these are bits and the basis on which logic devices work. Each combination of 1s and 0s makes a different information, which is the backbone of computing. Now, how these devices make 1s and 0s is again a whole course on electronics, so I will skip over it to just preface that they exist and that's how we make digital devices.

All these years, we have used semiconductors, which allow moderate amount of current flow from them (in contrast to conductors, which allow free flow of electrons, and insulators, which do not allow flow of electrons) to make transistors, which are currently the building blocks of circuit-making devices.

[here's a picture containing ICs (the bug-like looking thing covered in wires) which have tiny transistors inside them, and the LEDs, on which the lit ones are "1"s and unlit ones are "0"s. This was my project for one of my courses!]

In electronics, a very famous law called Moore's Law, states that for increase in tech and development, the amount of transistors in integrated circuits (IC) doubles every two years. This moves proportionally with the increase in use of semiconductors, because transistors are made using them.

Every device maker's main goal is to make a device faster, smoother, and more functional. Which means, more transistors, better semiconductors. Moreover, the smaller space occupied by the ICs, the better. But obviously there's a limit to how much we can decrease the size of the transistors. One is the technical issue of creating such a small object, which will require highly precise instruments which we are not in possession of/ not feasible in the long run. The second issue is the working. "Will a semiconductor keep it's properties when they layer is so small?" is a valid question to ask when we go further down in scale. In simple words: in the long run, improving semiconductors for transistors will be difficult. Moore's law plateaus, and the number of transistors doesn't double with two years. What now? We can't just stop developing better computing devices, not just smart devices, astronomy, medicine and other scientific areas also require reliable, stable and fast computing devices.

Which means we desperately need new materials (and techniques) for logic and memory devices.

Hold on, when's spintronics going to start?

Okay background information done. Now we move onto spins and why we use it. We know that atoms are made of protons, electrons and neutrons. Out of these, electrons "revolve" in "orbits" around the nucleus, which holds the protons and neutrons. I put "revolve" and "orbits" in quotes because essentially it's a cloud of probabilities and we have no clue what path it truly takes. Electrons reside in what are called 'orbitals', which are balloon-like spaces which have a high probability of the electrons being present in (@/chemblrish explains orbitals better here).

Now along with the "revolution", electrons also considered to have a "spin". We don't really know if it "spins" the way Bayblades do, but regardless, they have an angular momentum, which is classically something rotating objects possess (@/mimin-vs-physics goes more in depth on quantum mechanical fun stuff) Either way, we don't know why it has angular momentum, but we know it does (at least I have no idea if we've figured it out??). And in true human fashion, we see anything new and think "now how can I utilize this for my benefit?"

Years and years of research later, we figured out something interesting. The angular momentum which the electron spins contain, and the angular momentum of electrons in "orbits" can interact! This interaction is called Spin-Orbit Coupling (SOC) and it causes a bunch of other fascinating phenomena in quantum mechanics. One of which, is that it if we supply electricity into a metal plane, we can align the electrons and their spins in such a way that it causes a stream of current (remember: current is essentially a flow of electrons in one direction) with aligned spins to move into a different layer perpendicularly.

Okay but what does all of this have to do anything with Spintronics?

We're finally at the part where we can discuss what Spintronics is! We can use our now generated spin current to make electronic devices (hence, spintronics!). So, how do we make these tiny devices?

What we first take is a heavy metal (these are metallic elements/alloys with high atomic numbers, which have a lot of free electrons to use) and make a very thin film of it. (The procedure of making thin films is very interesting, and I will make the next post on it!) We can now pass a stream of current/electricity* parallel to the surface of the thin film, which will give us a stream of spin-aligned electrons bouncing to move into an upper layer.

For the upper layer, we add a thin layer of a ferromagnet. A ferromagnet is a type of material which readily aligns its spin on one direction when under a magnetic field (contrary to this are paramagnets which weakly align their spins, and diamagnets which weakly align their spins opposite to the applied field).

Now remember the electrons with their spin aligned which wanted to move into the upper layer? Yeah once they are given an upper layer to move into, they flow into the layer, bringing their aligned spins with them. This spin can now affect the ferromagnet's spin, and align it in either the direction of the applied electric field ( the one applied on the heavy metal layer. I'm marking it as * for you to check which electric field I mean) or directly opposite to the direction of the electric field. This alignment can be measured. The value doesn't matter, only the direction. Is it parallel to the electric field or anti-parallel? "Up" or "down"? "Left" or "right"? Or, in terms of electronics, "1" or "0".

And look! We now have a way to make a tiny device which can display values of "1" or "0"! We used an analog signal (electricity) to create a digital output (1s and 0s)! That is electronics! But because it uses spins, it is called Spintronics.

Because we use Spin-Orbit Coupling, these devices are extremely precise and fast. And the layers of heavy metal/ferromagnet will be in the ranges of nanometers (10^-9 m), so they are also extremely small. We can also choose materials with properties we like (high melting/boiling point, low reactivity) to create devices which can work in extreme conditions (high heat, pressure, reactive areas).

And here we have it! We've made spintronic devices!

End of post disclaimer: I am a Bachelors student and I will have mistakes. I also tend to exaggerate. So if I have made a mistake in this post, please inform me nicely in the comments or tags!

[the-nox-syndicate]

SysNotes devlog 1

Hiya! We're a web developer by trade and we wanted to build ourselves a web-app to manage our system and to get to know each other better. We thought it would be fun to make a sort of a devlog on this blog to show off the development! The working title of this project is SysNotes (but better ideas are welcome!)

What SysNotes is✅:

A place to store profiles of all of our parts

A tool to figure out who is in front

A way to explore our inner world

A private chat similar to PluralKit

A way to combine info about our system with info about our OCs etc as an all-encompassing "brain-world" management system

A personal and tailor-made tool made for our needs

What SysNotes is not❌:

A fronting tracker (we see no need for it in our system)

A social media where users can interact (but we're open to make it so if people are interested)

A public platform that can be used by others (we don't have much experience actually hosting web-apps, but will consider it if there is enough interest!)

An offline app

So if this sounds interesting to you, you can find the first devlog below the cut (it's a long one!):

(I have used word highlighting and emojis as it helps me read large chunks of text, I hope it's alright with y'all!)

Tech stack & setup (feel free to skip if you don't care!)

The project is set up using:

Database: MySQL 8.4.3

Language: PHP 8.3

Framework: Laravel 10 with Breeze (authentication and user accounts) and Livewire 3 (front end integration)

Styling: Tailwind v4

I tried to set up Laragon to easily run the backend, but I ran into issues so I'm just running "php artisan serve" for now and using Laragon to run the DB. Also I'm compiling styles in real time with "npm run dev". Speaking of the DB, I just migrated the default auth tables for now. I will be making app-related DB tables in the next devlog. The awesome thing about Laravel is its Breeze starter kit, which gives you fully functioning authentication and basic account management out of the box, as well as optional Livewire to integrate server-side processing into HTML in the sexiest way. This means that I could get all the boring stuff out of the way with one terminal command. Win!

Styling and layout (for the UI nerds - you can skip this too!)

I changed the default accent color from purple to orange (personal preference) and used an emoji as a placeholder for the logo. I actually kinda like the emoji AS a logo so I might keep it.

Laravel Breeze came with a basic dashboard page, which I expanded with a few containers for the different sections of the page. I made use of the components that come with Breeze to reuse code for buttons etc throughout the code, and made new components as the need arose. Man, I love clean code 😌

I liked the dotted default Laravel page background, so I added it to the dashboard to create the look of a bullet journal. I like the journal-type visuals for this project as it goes with the theme of a notebook/file. I found the code for it here.

I also added some placeholder menu items for the pages that I would like to have in the app - Profile, (Inner) World, Front Decider, and Chat.

i ran into an issue dynamically building Tailwind classes such as class="bg-{{$activeStatus['color']}}-400" - turns out dynamically-created classes aren't supported, even if they're constructed in the component rather than the blade file. You learn something new every day huh…

Also, coming from Tailwind v3, "ps-*" and "pe-*" were confusing to get used to since my muscle memory is "pl-*" and "pr-*" 😂

Feature 1: Profiles page - proof of concept

This is a page where each alter's profiles will be displayed. You can switch between the profiles by clicking on each person's name. The current profile is highlighted in the list using a pale orange colour.

The logic for the profiles functionality uses a Livewire component called Profiles, which loads profile data and passes it into the blade view to be displayed. It also handles logic such as switching between the profiles and formatting data. Currently, the data is hardcoded into the component using an associative array, but I will be converting it to use the database in the next devlog.

New profile (TBC)

You will be able to create new profiles on the same page (this is yet to be implemented). My vision is that the New Alter form will unfold under the button, and fold back up again once the form has been submitted.

Alter name, pronouns, status

The most interesting component here is the status, which is currently set to a hardcoded list of "active", "dormant", and "unknown". However, I envision this to be a customisable list where I can add new statuses to the list from a settings menu (yet to be implemented).

Alter image

I wanted the folder that contained alter images and other assets to be outside of my Laravel project, in the Pictures folder of my operating system. I wanted to do this so that I can back up the assets folder whenever I back up my Pictures folder lol (not for adding/deleting the files - this all happens through the app to maintain data integrity!). However, I learned that Laravel does not support that and it will not be able to see my files because they are external. I found a workaround by using symbolic links (symlinks) 🔗. Basically, they allow to have one folder of identical contents in more than one place. I ran "mklink /D [external path] [internal path]" to create the symlink between my Pictures folder and Laravel's internal assets folder, so that any files that I add to my Pictures folder automatically copy over to Laravel's folder. I changed a couple lines in filesystems.php to point to the symlinked folder:

And I was also getting a "404 file not found" error - I think the issue was because the port wasn't originally specified. I changed the base app URL to the localhost IP address in .env:

…And after all this messing around, it works!

(My Pictures folder)

(My Laravel storage)

(And here is Alice's photo displayed - dw I DO know Ibuki's actual name)

Alter description and history

The description and history fields support HTML, so I can format these fields however I like, and add custom features like tables and bullet point lists.

This is done by using blade's HTML preservation tags "{!! !!}" as opposed to the plain text tags "{{ }}".

(Here I define Alice's description contents)

(And here I insert them into the template)

Traits, likes, dislikes, front triggers

These are saved as separate lists and rendered as fun badges. These will be used in the Front Decider (anyone has a better name for it?? 🤔) tool to help me identify which alter "I" am as it's a big struggle for us. Front Decider will work similar to FlowCharty.

What next?

There's lots more things I want to do with SysNotes! But I will take it one step at a time - here is the plan for the next devlog:

Setting up database tables for the profile data

Adding the "New Profile" form so I can create alters from within the app

Adding ability to edit each field on the profile

I tried my best to explain my work process in a way that wold somewhat make sense to non-coders - if you have any feedback for the future format of these devlogs, let me know!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disclaimers:

I have not used AI in the making of this app and I do NOT support the Vibe Coding mind virus that is currently on the loose. Programming is a form of art, and I will defend manual coding until the day I die.

Any alter data found in the screenshots is dummy data that does not represent our actual system.

I will not be making the code publicly available until it is a bit more fleshed out, this so far is just a trial for a concept I had bouncing around my head over the weekend.

We are SYSCOURSE NEUTRAL! Please don't start fights under this post

[lacerrabian]

🚨 Introducing: 🚨

the breathtaking HA Benjamin ! 💣💣💣

// illustration by @nympah

The Harrison Armory Benjamin is a size 2 controller frame, specialising in melee area denial, locking down enemies, making them regret overextending and securing choke points.

It has integrated explosives on its single-cast armor plates that can explode when being hit (this won’t backfire trust me!) which can also be released to set up a mine field around it. It is a heavy and slow frame, securely standing it’s ground in the most crowded areas, having high defensive capabilities to really be able to recklessly risk pushing through the most dangerous fields. In it’s license you find plenty of tools for knocking enemies back, prone, immobilising them and being an all around pain in the ass. Also a massive bomb that you carry around in your ribcage like a baby! (I’ve never been pregnant before don’t ask me how it works)

- LICENSE -

//the frame

4 structure

4 stress

2 Armor

10 HP

6 Evasion

6 E-Defense

6 Heat Capacity

5 sensors

-2 Tech Attack

3 Repair capacity

11 save target

3 speed

5 system points

Flex mount - heavy mount

Heavy frame:

The Benjamin can’t be pushed, pulled, knocked Prone, or knocked back by smaller characters or any kind of smaller object.

Pressure plating:

The Benjamin is resistant to explosive damage.

Sentinel:

Prone characters within sensor range of the Benjamin receive +1 difficulty on all attacks they make.

Slow:

The Benjamin receives +1 difficulty on Agility checks and saves.

Core system - integrated explosives:

Passive:

Whenever an enemy within range 3 and line of sight hits you with an attack, ram or grapple, you can decide to release an explosion dealing 1D6 explosive damage to the target and yourself (No bonus damage or other effect can apply to this damage).

Active: Release explosives:

Once per scene, you release your integrated explosives as a quick action, losing the effect of the passive but letting you place up to 12 mines within sensor range of the Benjamin. You cannot place mines in locations currently occupied by other characters. Whenever a character moves into a space occupied by one of these mines they must stop moving and make a hull save, on a failure they suffer 1D6+2 explosive damage and get knocked prone, on a success they only suffer half the damage. The mine in that place is destroyed afterwards. These mines count as size 1/2, have 10HP and 5 evasion.

- quick Action

You also gain access to the 'Detonate mines' full action:

Destroys all mines on the field in a chain reaction, enemies within blast 2 of any mine must make an agility save, on a failure they suffer 2D6+6 explosive damage and get knocked prone, or half as much damage on a success. Damage from multiple mines does not stack.

- Full Action

//LL1

Wallop charges:

(2 system points)

range 5, Blast 2

Throws a grenade within range 5. All characters inside the blast 2 area must make a hull save or they will be knocked back up to 3 spaces or until they hit a wall or an object, and will be knocked prone. They can also choose to fail this save.

Places a mine within range 5 activating as soon as an enemy enters the space the mine is located. After activation, the mine explodes in a blast 2 radius and all characters are knocked back up to 3 spaces from the Center of the blast. You can also activate the mine as a reaction when an enemy enters the blast radius.

- limited 4

- Grenade

- Mine

- Quick action

- Reaction

Explosive Morning star:

Main melee

Threat 3, 1D3+2 explosive damage

on critical hit - the enemy must succeed on a hull save or will be immobilised.

//LL2

Benjamin frame

Pressure plate guardian:

Heavy melee

Threat 3, 1D6+2 explosive damage

On hit effect: you gain hardcover from the enemy you attacked until the start of your next turn.

- knockback 1

- Heat 2 (self)

Steel-tear & anti-air rocket:

(2 system points)

Choose a character within range 5, the target must succeed on an agility save or will be immobilised until the end of their next turn. Flying enemies have difficulty on this save.

- limited 2

//LL3

Quickfire silence flare:

(2 system points)

Attacks all targets within sensor range that are currently prone hitting them automatically, dealing 3 explosive damage and hinders them from using reactions as long as they are prone.

- quick action

- Heat 1 (self)

- Unique

Nuclear excavation load:

(3 system points)

Deploys a size 2 bomb in a free space within 5 spaces of you, it has 20 HP and 5 evasion, exploding in a burst 3 zone at the beginning of your next turn, or when it is destroyed before. Characters within the area must make an agility save, if they fail they take 3D6+6 explosive damage and will be knocked prone and if they succeed they take half the damage instead. The area becomes difficult terrain for the rest of the scene.

If the frame carrying this bomb is destroyed without expending it first the explosion is triggered in a burst 3 area on its destruction.

- limited 1 (fixed)

- Ordnance

- Full action

———————————————————————

Now on to making this an LCP… some things might change I’d love to hear feedback, be patient - there’s more to come :3c

Lots of love - Special agent flipper // Rabian

[xxxdragonfucker69xxx]

hi folks. its been a long week. but its time for HOUR IN BRASS

for those just joining us, a new exalted splat is being released; when this happens, i usually lose my shit and liveread through the charms; this time it's the alchemical exalted, golem-robot-communists inside the belly of the machine god autochthon. if you wish to avoid this, you will blacklist #hour in brass

first third of charms:

Howdy Mother Fuckers. its time for HOUR IN BRASS

starting with: the horniest chapter fiction so far

the alchemical paradigm is that you have only so many charm slots for active charms at a time, but that most charms have submodules that add on without taking more slots. they have to swap charms in and out with the rite of reconfiguration. their dice limit is Ess+Attribute BUT one of their biggest charms is going to make their math oh whatever here it comes

TRANSPUISSANT ATTRIBUTE UPGRADE aka transpussy assribute ultima. which raises your resting attribute by 1, starts to stack at higher essences, and comes with a load of submodules to let you swap what attributes are used for what. god im fucking excited to have these around. unwavering sniper calibration to snipe with perception, for example

actually they have a lot of wacky universal charms about integrating with hearthstones, artifacts, stuff like that. robots be customizing bodies. i do want to point out vat surrogate reweaving system, which lets you speed-swap charms once between reconfigurations. i read it and immediately thought camilla hect Go Loud and started cackling

yes alchemicals can still go colossus and eventually turn into cities. though metropolis play is not mechanically supported

ok appearance. starting with radiant iconography array: anima holograms, but they do stuff like become realistic illusions or huge legendary size stuff

emotive aesthetics of the body electric naturally bangs

patriotism-provoking display has many-is-one node and one-is-many node as submodules, whihc are fun

universal advisor comportment is fun, makes you feel sagacious and advisorly

beguiling aestheic perfection is fun, when you socially affect someone they suffer trying to beat your guile for the rest of the scene. i have suffered this irl many times

pheromone regulation system… i cannot make any jokes about this that arent crass. i once knew someone who was turned on by the smell of xbox exhaust

man the submodule tech is really realyl nice. this is a great fucking way for charms to work. you can flashbang people with blinding strobe projector and then on top of that you can choose to enter stealth, steal more initiative, or make it rainbow

its really interesting to me that appearance is getting so many teacherly charms. with illuminating inspiration beacon "The Alchemical’s faith in her students shines through in every aspect of her neon-limned visage"

damn, and from there is psyche-stabilizing beacon, where you radiate such comfort that it helps people resist brain curses

theotropic veneration mantle rocks. project a principle to the exclsuion of others, and those who share the principle see you as a holy figure

i sort of hate glistering obsession nodes. i dont want to glister. it makes people obsessed with me if they can't figure me out

ooh, disguises in appearance subterfuge. including stuff to appear human, or as a dfferent exalted

optical shroud, a classic, predator invisibility

apocryphal operative halo is really interesting, MIB neuralyzer

semiotic flare projector is a really cute concept. almost as cute as supreme icon of battlefield glory. when you kick ass on the battlefield your troops love it, and you can make your enemies hate it, and at e4 you can project it over the entire battlefield

alright, charisma. starting with effective leadership algorithm, both a great example of alchie flavor and of submodule tech bc its just a menu of submodules that let you decide what kinda rolls you use it on, whether youre using faction-building unity or overriding authority mode

oh synergy promoting upgrade is interesting. helps with bureaucracy if youre leadering, gets better if your group likes you, SPU: communal supremacy makes it better if its for a community, SPU: lifestyle cooperation paradigm makes your group like each other

hdkfghdfjsg universal authorization chevron. the cool s. intuitively recognized as a symbol of authority. UAC: axiomatic emblem means even gremlins/fae/undead recognize you with wary deference. UAC: perfected delegation emblem lets you hand out copies to deputies

heresy declaration beacon, lets fucking go

radiant emblem of integrity is interesting… if you speak the complete truth everyone knows that its the complete truth, and it can also authenticate replays of events projected with radiant iconography array. also if you tell the truth and it sucks, gain wp. fantastically built charm. oh the submodule lets you make it permanent and mandatory

electric fervor inspiration is a set of orichalcum electrodes implanted behind the alchemical's jaw. thats fucked up. oh it lets you reset social rolls thats differently fucked up

battle anthem of the alchemical exalted! made it in! oh this is just a menu of songs thats super neat. including thousand work shifts ballad… and double music

similarly with programming language eloquence "A breaker between the Alchemical’s frontal and temporal lobes filters unnecessary emotion from her communications…" im really having fun with this

damn propaganda interdiction signal: void-quelling chastisement means that gribblies can't call on principles to resist your influence to hangout with mortals

something about vox populi broadcast really compels me. its just a charm to speak loudly but you can submodule it to communicate only with allies or to cut through magical silence.. and its speakers implanted in your throat

ideological override circuitry…

FEAR OVERRIDE DEVICE in warfare

homeguard reinforcement clarion… whip up that militia

dexterityyyy okay we're getting into the combat charms now

omg magnetic subdual coils to steal weapons. including a pulse blaster submodule, field projector, magnetron…

protosynthetic ammunition replicator, as expected, but thankully it is reloaded with "an articulated metal tendril". & btw dispersive flash-chaff cluster to make it a flashbang arrow, fulminating conduction charge to make it a stun arrow, concussive overpressure warhead to make it a knockdown, airburst grenade

being able to group all the "fast attack" charms in one place is fun, the submodules have a cute menu of extra ways to use it

damn, blinding velocity actuator upgrades you to a surprise attack if youre fast enough?

i like that gear-driven reflex automation is, past all the prereqs and flavor lines and stuff, exactly one line of charm. and then some fun submodules. wait damn withering counterattck at e3, with tactical reaction matrix

hacking multistrike accelerator to "enact pre-programmed motions" in pursuit of… erm… well… ok wait forget that this is a really cool charm. doesnt use all your initiative on the decisive, this feels like itd be real fun to fuck with espcially with the submodules

dsjksdks subluminous onslaught: kinetic launch catapult lets you like launch a fucking sword to short range. or your fists

ESSENCE PULSE CANNON. lets fucking go. again the submodules are really cool: concussive, focused, precision, de hey. Sieve Devastator Mode. its sheer heft provides her with heavy cover

skjfdsf autonomous assault processors makes (Dex-2) attacks, but dont forget you could be augmened enough for that to be 4 attacks at e2 anyways, 5 at e3 (if i remember the TAU rules right).

oh shitt transmodal rapid targeting system, bend that bullet. psychokinetic vectors. sdhksdfs this damage calculation is really funny. damn this is fully just children of the sun or whatever that game was. epic

TRANSFINITE ULTRAVIOLENCE DRIVE. time stands still. and then you bank attacks, which seems really fun. shjdskf and TUD: omnitactical processing core lets you add more withering attacks on top

oh huh accelerated response system: unwavering precision lets you not take onslaught if you successfully defend against lower init enemies. thats probably not that strong but it feels strong

casualty-minimizing equations is a damn good name

perfectly parallel defensive geometry…

oh light-etched interceptor barrier is fun. roll parry instead of static. and essence absorption screen lets you eat energy attacks with it

autonomous defensive drones AERIAL! actually theyre more like murderbot drones, they orbit and defend you. … damn, they cant be withered and theyve got almost as many hls as a starting character, theyre a pain to take out. their DO Parry is (Dex+1) so they're like fantastic for ranged fighters who dont parry or dodge

precalculated evasion system lets you bank dodge successes… kind of like light-etched interceptor but not. really interesting. hey what its simple?

omnisituational evasive equation is a fantastic name. ts the perfect dodge. OEE: hyperspatial geometry is really fun

cyclical velocity treads! heelies!!!

and then theres… oil slick dispenser nozzles… in your calves. i love wacky races

momentum-charged overdrive engine is a bangin name… a preprogrammed sequence of combat acrobatics

inclding jet boosters in optimized pursuit accelerator… ts really funny that al these red jade rush charms are also like "ugh fine you can also use these to run away if you have to"

transphase engine… walk through fucking walls

sjdflskdf digital precision effectors splits open your fingertips

covert telemetry mode…

counterharmonic scatter system is just like a really fun charm name. im having a lot of fun with charm names. displaces the sound of you

sdjlfsdf flicker-flare launchers are a flashbang to just immediately enter concealment

ooh matchless assassin protocols… reflexively stealth after a disengage or distract

hyperdextrous tentacle apparatus. can someone get astrakiseki on the phone

total perception negation field. if you see me no you didnt. ending, of course, in unseen deathblow calibration

and thats the first third. im like getting really alchemicalpilled rn. its hot

[vexwerewolf]

hey, I’m a friend of @bulletkin on discord and I was wondering if you have a good Enkidu build in mind. We are a team of five, with a risky close range (me, enkidu) a support (swallowtail) a long distance big guns (deaths head), a mid range NHP and pilot duo (Pegasus, it’s complicated but I am happy to elaborate) and a tech attacker (hydra). you may have noticed that I am the only (full) close range mech, and unfortunately I am really good at exploding. Do you have higher level Enkidu routes/suggestions? I’m trying to get my movement up and be more debilitating when in close combat. Thanks!!

-- HA ENKIDU @ LL6 -- [ LICENSES ] HA Tokugawa 3, IPS-N Tortuga 3 [ CORE BONUSES ] Reinforced Frame, Heatfall Coolant System [ TALENTS ] Nuclear Cavalier 3, Hunter 2, Skirmisher 2, Combined Arms 1, Duelist 1 [ STATS ] HULL:4 AGI:2 SYS:0 ENGI:2 STRUCTURE:4 HP:28 ARMOR:0 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:10 REPAIR:5 TECH ATK:-2 LIMITED:+1 SPD:4 EVA:10 EDEF:8 SENSE:5 SAVE:13 [ WEAPONS ] Integrated: Plasma Talons Integrated: Fuel Rod Gun FLEX MOUNT: Torch FLEX MOUNT: Assault Rifle [ SYSTEMS ] Personalizations, HyperDense Armor, Deep Well Heat Sink

I call this one War Without Reason. It might not hit your "movement up" goal, but it will hopefully fix your exploding issue.

The maths works out like this: frames with 0 or 1 Armor don't benefit as much from the +1 Armor that Sloped Plating gives as much as they do from the +5 HP given by Reinforced Frame. We're going to pump Hull to 4, which in addition to +8 HP gives us that sweet +2 Repair Cap as well, and stacked with the +2 HP from Personalizations and the +3 HP you get from Grit, that takes us up to a truly absurd 28 HP.

Then, we use HyperDense Armor from the IPS-N Tortuga. This gives us Resistance to both damage and heat from all sources beyond Range 3 - which is the effective range of our Plasma Talons. Against enemies who don't have a way of Shredding us or otherwise bypassing Resistance, we effectively have twice as much HP. Sure, it leaves us Slowed, but once we get into the Danger Zone we have Speed 7 so it barely matters. It also protects us from heatgun enemies trying to slag our reactor.

Speaking of which, once we get into the Danger Zone - which we can do reliably and safely given that we have a Torch and our Overcharge never goes above 1d6 - our build really gets going. The first two ranks of Nuclear Cavalier turn on, we gain access to Plasma Talons and if we start a turn still in the Danger Zone, we gain Resistance to heat from Deep Well Heat Sink, meaning we can overcharge on the cheap and our Torch only gains us 1 heat.

We have two reliable sources of soft cover: whenever we're engaged with an enemy, we gain it, and whenever we take a turn without harming anyone, we gain it. This increases our survivability against ranged attacks.

We have Hunter 2 for one specific reason: you can now throw your fucking Plasma Talons at people, effectively extending their range by 2 spaces. Since Thrown weapons are still melee attacks, this doesn't violate the prohibition on ranged attacks from All Fours.

[mariacallous]

Artificial intelligence may be technology’s hottest topic—more important than electricity or fire, according to Google CEO Sundar Pichai—but another has a plausible claim to second. Digital public infrastructure, or DPI, does not loom as large as AI in the public or policymakers’ consciousness. Yet its recent adoption and impact—quieter, stealthier—are arguably as significant. According to Bill Gates, “DPI is revolutionizing the way entire nations serve their people, respond to crises, and grow their economies.” The United Nations Development Programme describes it as “a potential game-changer.”

Last October, a Global DPI Summit, the first of its kind, attracted more than 700 participants to the outskirts of Cairo; many were developing-world policymakers and entrepreneurs. They were drawn by a technology that has seen rapid uptake in countries as varied as Brazil, India, Ethiopia, Morocco, the Philippines, and Zambia. The spread of DPI has been especially noteworthy in the global south, where there are fears that the advent of AI could leave the region further behind the West in the realm of digital tech. Coming after a long litany of false promises and misapplied technology in the developing world, DPI may represent one of the first successful large-scale interventions to ease poverty, transform government services, and unleash innovation.

Beyond these specific benefits, DPI may also have broader, global ramifications. In an increasingly bifurcated technical landscape, characterized by superpower contestation and a crippling lack of cooperation, DPI offers something more constructive—the digital equivalent of the Non-Aligned Movement, perhaps, and a model for a more collaborative, inclusive digital ecosystem. The approach is not without its own risks and challenges; but done right, it could help revitalize that beleaguered and increasingly vilified phenomenon that we know as the internet.

Like many nascent technologies, DPI’s precise definition remains something of a work in progress. Conceived narrowly, the term relates to a set of publicly available tools for digital payments, identity, and data exchange, all combined in an integrated digital “stack.” More recently, a number of other domains and functions have been mooted as additions to this stack, including modules for education, agriculture, and energy conservation. Rather than a specific set of functions, then, DPI is perhaps most helpfully thought of as an approach—a “way of thinking,” as some have put it. In this broader conception, the goal of DPI is to shift certain core operations in the digital world—e.g., payments or authentication—from private to public management, so that they more closely resemble infrastructure. The World Bank calls DPI “common digital plumbing”; others draw analogies with roads or railway tracks. The underlying premise is that control of today’s digital ecosystem is overly concentrated in a handful of companies and states. DPI aims to redistribute the balance of power and provide a new foundation (“infrastructure”) for both public and private innovation.

Despite its recent prominence, DPI has arguably been around for at least a decade (even if it wasn’t always called as such—the term has really gained currency only over the last two or three years). India, the country most commonly associated with the approach, launched Aadhaar, its identity scheme, in 2009. Today, more than 1.3 billion Aadhaar cards have been issued, making it one of the more remarkable adoption stories in global technology. Estonia created X-Road, its widely adopted data exchange layer, in 2001. Brazil, another country frequently associated with the approach, launched its digital payments system, Pix, in 2020. DPI’s slow, incremental build has recently accelerated. According to a DPI map produced by David Eaves and colleagues at University College, London, over 100 countries now have (or are in the process of implementing) various forms of DPI.

There are many reasons for the enthusiasm. Policymakers have long looked to digital payments as a way to reduce “leakage” (a euphemism for corruption and other inefficiencies). By some estimates, DPI has saved the Indian government $34 billion by cutting out middlemen and reducing red tape. Advocates of DPI also cite its potential to foster inclusion—for example, by bringing the unbanked into the formal economy and enabling low- or zero-fee micropayments for small businesses. DPI has also benefited from good timing: Its star rose considerably during COVID, amid a general move toward a cashless economy.

Perhaps the biggest, if often unrecognized, catalyst for the approach has been a shifting geopolitical climate, especially as it has affected global technology governance over the last decade or so. Once upon a time, decisions about the internet were primarily reached through technocratic consensus, at bodies like the Internet Engineering Task Force, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), or the International Telecommunication Union. This largely—if not entirely—depoliticized approach meant that technical standards and frameworks were chosen mostly on their merits, rather than because of national or ideological interest. (ICANN’s early 2000s adoption of international domain names to support non-Latin scripts was a good example.) That approach has all but broken down. Technology is increasingly central to public life, and technology policy has by extension become an instrument of statecraft. The internet and its underlying infrastructure are today subjects of heated geopolitical contestation, battles between what Columbia law professor Anu Bradford calls competing “digital empires.”

China and the United States are the biggest of these empires (Bradford also lists the European Union), and their increasingly zero-sum struggle to dominate virtually every aspect of technology—from standards to chips to privacy—has resulted in something of a digital Cold War. A new “virtual Berlin Wall” has arisen, forcing countries to choose sides between the unregulated mercantilism of American Big Tech and a statist, surveillance-based Chinese model. Beijing offers the developing world favorable financing and subsidized equipment, but these gifts (part of the country’s Digital Silk Road initiative) come laden with perils such as a loss of privacy and national autonomy. The alternative is often hardly more palatable: American tech companies pose very much the same risks. As Patrick Achi, the former prime minister of Ivory Coast, recently explained, countries like his are caught on the horns of a dilemma. “We are like subjects, without good choices,” he said. “Our digital futures are being determined in the big power centers.”

On this scorched landscape, DPI offers a welcome alternative—a potential “third way,” as the Dutch politician and commentator Marietje Schaake recently put it, a means for countries to chart their own course when it comes to managing data, digitizing government, and customizing applications to local needs. A budding ecology in Bengaluru now offers countries open-source modules and technical assistance to implement locally managed DPI solutions. These include the Modular Open Source Identity Platform, which allows countries to repurpose code for digital identities, and the recently launched “DPI-as-a-packaged-solution,” or DaaS, designed for “plug-and-play” implementation. Estonia’s open-source X-Road is likewise used by over 20 countries, including Cambodia, Brazil, Namibia, and Madagascar.

Such examples of modular, customizable, and domestically controlled software are particularly useful for smaller countries that have less technical and financial capacity. (Trinidad and Tobago, for example, is the first country to implement DaaS.) They make it easier to digitize economies, and they reduce the risks of superpower dependency. Because many of the tools are open source and interoperable, they also foster collaboration. Regional groupings such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Caribbean Community have implemented or are considering cross-border integrations of identity and payment systems. India’s Unified Payments Interface has likewise been adopted in countries as varied as Nepal, Singapore, and France.

Technical integration is often symbiotic with political cooperation. By strengthening regional blocs and alliances, DPI may challenge the existing geopolitical order. For developing countries thus far at the mercy of superpowers and Big Tech, it holds out the prospects of achieving the much sought-after (yet often chimeric) goals of “digital sovereignty” and “digital independence.”

The DPI movement is young, still inchoate. As the approach gathers steam, its own limitations and challenges will become more apparent. Detractors point to the possibility of data breaches and other privacy violations, the risk that greater digitalization of public services could marginalize populations lacking technical literacy, and the danger that public investment could distort competition and markets. Every technical intervention represents a delicate balance of risk and opportunity; advocates of the approach argue that the right policies and governance frameworks can help bring out the positive potential of the technology.

The stakes of getting the balance right are huge—for the developing world, of course, but perhaps for the entire global digital ecosystem as well. The advent of AI has intensified geopolitical rivalries, and with them the risks of fragmentation, exclusion, and hyper-concentration that are already so prevalent. The prospects of a “Splinternet” have never appeared more real. The old dream of a global digital commons seems increasingly quaint; we are living amid what Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister, calls “technofeudalism.”

DPI suggests it doesn’t have to be this way. The approach’s emphasis on loosening chokeholds, fostering collaboration, and reclaiming space from monopolies represents an effort to recuperate some of the internet’s original promise. At its most aspirational, DPI offers the potential for a new digital social contract: a rebalancing of public and private interests, a reorientation of the network so that it advances broad social goals even while fostering entrepreneurship and innovation. How fitting it would be if this new model were to emerge not from the entrenched powers that have so long guided the network, but from a handful of nations long confined to the periphery—now determined to take their seats at the table of global technology.

[missrommydolly]

Title: Rommy's Digital Love Campaign

Fandom: Welcome Home

Relationship: Wally Darling/Rommy Dolly

Type of Fanfic: Chatfic, Humor, Romance

Trigger Warning: None! Just pure silly antics between the neighbors

Rommy Dolly wasn’t a tech genius. But when her hopeless romantic heart was on the line, nothing, not even her lack of computer skills. Was going to stop her from hacking the neighborhood system.

The plan was simple: hack Welcome Home’s group chat that connected all the neighbors for daily updates, events, and Howdy’s never ending “SALE! SALE! SALE!” announcements. It wasn’t just a chat, it was their virtual town square. Rommy was going to take over the whole thing and transform it into a personal message board to woo Wally Darling.

“I just need some privacy,” Rommy muttered to herself, typing furiously on her laptop, which was balanced precariously on an uneven stack of romance novels. “No distractions, no Sally screaming about artistic integrity, and definitely no Howdy spamming me with deals.”

--------------------------------------------------

Step 1: Access the System

Rommy started with an intense Google search: "How to hack a system if you have no idea what you're doing."

Click. Click. Click. She skimmed articles, ignoring the ones that seemed illegal (most of them). After hours of research and about twelve “Are you a robot?” CAPTCHA tests, she had gathered enough random knowledge to cobble together her master plan.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, mostly copying and pasting random codes she found online. To her shock and amazement, it worked. The system opened up before her like the gates of heaven.

“Ha!” she cackled, throwing her arms into the air. “They said I couldn’t do it! They said I was just a lovesick romantic who cries at rom-coms! But look at me now! I AM A TECH GODDESS!”

--------------------------------------------------

Step 2: Rename the Group Chat

The first thing she did was change the name of the group chat from friendly gossip to Rommy & Wally’s Love Nest.

The system immediately notified all the neighbors of the change.

--------------------------------------------------

Frank: Who changed the name?

Julie: Aww, that’s so cute! Wait… why does this feel suspicious?

Eddie: ROMMY, IS THIS YOU?!

Rommy: Mind your business, bestie.

--------------------------------------------------

Step 3: Kick Out the Nosy Neighbors

With a few clicks, Rommy began her purge.

--------------------------------------------------

Eddie: what are you going to do, rommy?

Rommy: sorry bestie! Nothing personal! Now shoo-shoo ♡

(Rommy kicks eddie out of the chat)

Howdy: Wait, what? Where did Eddie go?

Rommy: Oh, don’t worry about him, Howdy. You’re next!

Howdy: Next?! But where will I promote my sales?! The group chat is vital to my business!

Rommy: Somewhere else, lovebug.

Howdy: DON’T YOU LOVEBUG ME, ROMMY!

(Rommy kicks Howdy out of the chat)

Sally: Rommy, are you serious right now?! You can’t just hijack the group chat!

Rommy: I absolutely can, sally.

Sally: This is chaos! This is anarchy! You’re stealing my audience! I can’t let this happen!

Rommy: Bye, Sally!

(Rommy kicks sally out of the chat)

Julie: Rommy, sweetie, don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?

Rommy: Julie, sweetie, don’t you think you’re a little too nosy?

Julie: I just think this isn’t very fair!

Rommy: Life isn’t fair, Julie.

(Rommy kicks julie out of the chat)

Barnaby: Rommy’s gone rogue! But I'm very interested in what will happen next

Rommy: Oh, Barnaby, you’re too funny for your own good.

Barnaby: Aw, thanks, doll.

(Rommy kicks barnaby out of the chat)

Frank: Stop this madness at once. This is highly inappropriate!

Rommy: Frank, Frank, Frank… Always so serious. You don’t understand the power of love.

Frank: I don’t care about the power of love!

(Rommy kicks frank out of the group chat)

Poppy: Oh, dear… Am I next?

Rommy: Poppy, you’re a sweetheart. I almost feel bad about this.

Poppy: Oh, thank you! That’s so kind of you

(Rommy kicks poppy out of the group chat)

Wally: Hey, I'm back online. What did I miss? 😁

Rommy: Oh, it’s just a VIP zone now. Only you and me, Wally.

Wally: Oh! That sounds fun! But what happened to everyone? Are they okay?

Rommy: They’re fine, don’t worry about them. I just figured we could use some alone time. You know, to talk… just the two of us.

Wally: Alone time sounds nice! We can talk about anything! What do you want to talk about?

Rommy: Oh, I could talk about you for hours, Wally. You are so fascinating. We could talk about the stuff we like!

--------------------------------------------------

(Meanwhile, in the Group Chat Eddie has created…)

Eddie: Rommy has lost her mind!

Julie: She kicked all of us!

Howdy: She even called me lovebug! THE NERVE.

Frank: I’m creating a plan to take back the group.

Barnaby: I say we let her have it. This is hilarious.

Sally: NO, THIS IS AN ACT OF WAR.

Poppy: Oh dear, what should we do?

--------------------------------------------------

Wally: i like apples :)

Rommy: Me too! We have so much in common! We should totally go and fetch some apples together

Wally: That sounds nice! I’m sure we’ll find the juiciest ones. Maybe we could use a big basket? 🍎

Rommy: You’re such a good planner… I bet you’d be great at picking out other things, too. Maybe… hearts?

Wally: Hearts? Are you talking about the apples again? I know they’re shaped like hearts sometimes. 🍎❤

Rommy: Oh, sure, apples. But you know, I think the heart part is more important than the shape...

Wally: Oh, I see. Well, I’m happy to share some apples with you, Rommy!

Rommy: Sharing apples... that’s just the start, darling. There’s so much more we can share, if you know what I mean 😉

Wally: Oh, what else could we share? Maybe some funny stories or maybe... a big bunch of apples?

Rommy: Hmm, maybe we could share some moments too. Like, just the two of us... alone. In a field full of apples… 🍎💫

Wally: Alone? That sounds nice. But I think everyone else would like apples too. We could all go! 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Rommy: Oh, but we’re already alone here, aren’t we? Just you and me... and our apple plans.

Wally: I guess so! But I really like sharing with everyone... it makes it more fun.

Rommy: I love how kind you are, Wally. You always think of others. But maybe… just for today, you could think about us?

Wally: Oh, okay! I’ll think about you and me and apples... a lot of apples. Hehe.

Rommy: That’s my Wally. Always thinking ahead. Maybe one day, you’ll be thinking about me in other ways too… 💭💖

Wally: That’s so sweet, Rommy. I think it’s nice that we can make each other happy.

Rommy: Nice? It’s more than nice, darling. It’s perfect. I think we make a great team, don’t you? 😉

Wally: A great team, yeah! We work well together, like… like puzzle pieces!

Rommy: Puzzle pieces… I love that. And you know, sometimes the pieces fit together so well, they just click. 💖

Wally: I think we’d make a really nice pair! I’m glad we’re friends, Rommy. You’re always so kind to me.

--------------------------------------------------

Rommy sighed, staring at the screen. Her plan was coming along. Sort of. She had gotten some nice, flirty moments in, but Wally still seemed to be in his sweet, oblivious bubble. No mention of romance, no hint that he might feel the same way.

Before she could dive deeper into her thoughts, there was a ping.

--------------------------------------------------

Frank: Rommy, what have you done to the group chat?!

Rommy: Oh... um, hey, Frank.

Frank: I’ve fixed it. You kicked everyone out! And now you’ve got some crazy chats going on about... you and Wally?

Rommy: It wasn’t like that! It’s just a little... fun. Everyone was talking over us, and I wanted some alone time to bond with Wally.

Frank: Fun? This is a mess, Rommy. You’re lucky I can fix this. Everyone's back in now, alright?

--------------------------------------------------

Frank didn’t waste another moment, his fast fingers typing away and returning the neighbors to the chat with a few quick clicks. One by one, the familiar faces popped back into the group chat

Rommy stared at the screen, watching as everyone flooded back in with their usual chaos. But through it all, Rommy’s gaze drifted to Wally’s name. She had been so focused on getting closer to him, pulling all these tricks and stunts, that she hadn’t considered what it really meant. The truth was, maybe Wally didn’t need to see all these bold moves

She had pushed too hard, trying to force something that wasn’t ready. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. Rommy let out a long breath. There was no rush. She wasn’t going to give up on Wally, but she wasn’t going to manipulate her way into his heart. If it was going to happen, it had to be natural.

--------------------------------------------------

Rommy: Oops, I guess I got carried away there... sorry, everyone! 😅

Eddie: You bet you did, Rommy!

Howdy: Next time, you better warn me before you turn this chat into a mess again!

Barnaby: Well, at least the drama was fun for a while.

Wally: I think it’s great that everyone’s back! Now we can all talk together again. I missed you guys!

--------------------------------------------------

Rommy's heart fluttered, but this time, it was because of the simple joy she felt. Wally’s words were warm, comforting, and genuine. There was no need for hacking or flirting to make her feel special. Wally made her feel that way just by being himself.

[owenthetokencishet]

I don't really know where to put this in the bigger story so you get it here how just because

Upon seeing the armoured giantess, Segala’s oculars nearly exploded.

“I know what you are!” She screamed in a unique blend of glee and fury. “You are one of… his.” The last word like the growl of a dying engine.

The marine turned to face her, “excuse me?”

“Cawl, what have you done?” She gasped upon seeing the woman’s face, “they will -//hang//servitorize//deactivate//- you for this!”

Camina could see very clearly that the tech-priest was testing Morrow’s patience.

“How are you -//ERROR: STACK OVERFLOW//-” the tech-priest nearly fainted, bracing herself with a mechadendrite. She slumped over for a moment before a motor inside her whirred back to life and she stood back up, giggling. “I have your dirty little secret, Cawl. You are all-”

“Secret? My existence is no secret,” the Space Marine explained, “The Primaris project has already been fully integrated into the Adeptus Astartes, by the order of the Lord Primarch.”

Segala’s speech became incomprehensible binharic static, growing louder with each passing second.

[defjux]

50 of my favorite Hip Hop releases of 2023 i know it's a few months late, but i'm still posting this for whoever might find it useful. maybe there's something on here that went under the radar for you, or something from earlier in the year that you mightve forgotten about. the albums titles are all hyperlinked to the bandcamp or spotify page where you can hear them. i could also do a list for non hip hop albums from 2023 if anyone would be interested in seeing that. as always, i also want to know what your favorite releases were & what came out last year that's still in rotation for you? i'm talking any genre, not just hip hop. let me know! Chart with album titles included

billy woods & Kenny Segal - Maps

Aesop Rock - Integrated Tech Solutions

Armand Hammer - We Buy Diabetic Test Strips

MIKE - Burning Desire

AKAI SOLO - Only The Strong Remain

Fatboi Sharif & Steel Tipped Dove - Decay

King Kashmere & Alecs Delarge - The Album To End All Alien Abductions

Blockhead - The Aux

Aj Suede & Televangel - Parthian Shots

Sunmundi & Āthmaan - Midnight Oil

McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?

Theravada & Zoomo - Waste Management

KILLVONGARD - Life Is a Masterpiece.

Skech185 & Jeff Markey - He Left Nothing for the Swim Back

Onry Ozzborn - BlvckBeachBoi

Defcee & Messiah Musik - The Golem of Brooklyn Original Soundtrack

R.A.P. Ferreira - LILAC DIESEL

Unsung - Hand Painted Model Trains

Stik Figa & The Expert - Ritual

Anwar HighSign & Giallo Point - Whatever The Case May Be

Mary Sue & psychedelic ensemble. - CACOPHONOUS DIGRESSIONS

King Vision Ultra - SHOOK WORLD

Jack Jetson & Illinformed - CAMOGODSKIN

spectacular diagnostics - Raw Lessons

Bloodblixing - Sodom And Gomorrah (Gangsta Edition)

Backwoodz Studioz - High Bias

Fly Anakin & Foisey - Skinemaxxx

yungmorpheus - From Whence It Came

Earl Sweatshirt - Voir Dire

Ja'king the Divine & Javi Darko - Fear & Loathing In Long Island

Tomcantsleep & KILLVONGARD - The Sun is Yellow

Oddisee - To What End

Onoe Caponoe - Concrete Fantasia

Lukah - Permanently Blackface (The 1st Expression)

Open Mike Eagle - another triumph of ghetto engineering

Real Bad Man & Blu - Bad News

El Michels Affair & Black Thought - Glorious Game

Danny Brown - Quaranta

H31R - HeadSpace

Zilla Rocca & Jason Griff - Stacking Chips

Navy Blue - Ways of Knowing

Wiki & Tony Seltzer - 14K Figaro

Supastition - Every Last Word

Noname - sUndIAl

Skyzoo & The Other Guys - The Mind of A Saint

Nappy Nina - Mourning Due

G's Us - WHAT THEM DOGS DON'T KNOW THEY KNOW

illingsworth - i'm not supposed to be here

Jehst - Mork Calling Orson

Budamunk & Ill Conscious - Sakanoue

[salesforcetech]

Complete Guide: Asana to Salesforce Integration

Asana is one of the most widely adopted work management platforms, trusted by over 85% of Fortune 100 companies to manage team workflows. Meanwhile, Salesforce stands as a global leader in customer relationship management (CRM), empowering more than 150,000 businesses worldwide.

Although both platforms shine in their individual domains—Salesforce for CRM and Asana for task and project management—many organizations fail to recognize the true benefits of Salesforce and Asana integration. Using them in silos can limit productivity and lead to communication gaps.

If your teams rely on both platforms but haven’t integrated them yet, you could be missing out on a major opportunity to streamline processes, foster better collaboration, and accelerate your business goals. This blog explores the power of Asana to Salesforce integration, highlighting key features, benefits, and how to make the most of both platforms.

Overview of Asana and Salesforce

Asana is a flexible, intuitive project management solution designed to help teams track progress, delegate tasks, and stay aligned. It creates a centralized workspace where communication, task tracking, and project timelines are managed efficiently.

From team communication to task tracking and reporting, Asana empowers project managers to drive accountability while reducing inefficiencies and delays.

Salesforce, on the other hand, is a leading cloud-based CRM platform built for businesses of all sizes. It unites marketing, sales, and customer service efforts under one roof. Its powerful tools streamline lead management, automate workflows, and provide a 360-degree view of the customer journey.

Key Features of Asana

1. Communication Tools Asana fosters effective communication across teams. With built-in comment threads, task discussions, and image feedback features, teams can communicate clearly and act on tasks directly. Managers can post updates using rich-text fields, improving clarity.

Asana supports global teams with multi-language support including English, Spanish, German, Italian, and more. Meanwhile, Salesforce also enhances communication by offering a unified platform for customer and internal interactions.

2. Work Management Capabilities From subtasks to timelines, dependencies to custom fields—Asana covers it all. Its task structuring features ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Pre-built templates and task approvals also help teams launch and manage projects with ease.

3. Reporting Tools Asana offers robust dashboards and real-time project tracking. Teams can align daily tasks with company-wide goals, while stakeholders stay informed with live status updates and exportable reports.

4. Team Collaboration and Control Asana enables seamless team collaboration through shared calendars, access permissions, and real-time updates. Whether you want to keep a project private or accessible to your full team, Asana’s controls give you the flexibility you need. Its real-time dashboards offer at-a-glance insights into project health—making it easier to catch delays before they become problems.

5. Easy Integration with Existing Apps Asana connects with over 300 popular apps, including Google Drive, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more. This makes it a flexible solution that complements your existing tech stack without disrupting workflow.

Benefits of Asana to Salesforce Integration

Integrating Asana with Salesforce enhances workflow visibility and aligns customer-facing and project execution teams. Here's how your business can benefit:

1. Smoother Post-Sales Processes Once a deal is closed in Salesforce, teams can automatically trigger onboarding workflows in Asana. Attachments, notes, and tasks can be shared instantly between customer success and service teams, reducing handoff friction. Templates in Asana help create consistent onboarding experiences, and Salesforce Service Cloud connects teams from pre-sale to delivery.

2. Workflow Automation via Flow Builder Salesforce Flow Builder allows you to automate routine tasks in Asana, reducing manual errors and ensuring important steps aren’t missed. Automation between the platforms keeps both systems synchronized and ensures real-time updates. This not only improves efficiency but also enhances data accuracy between teams.

3. Visibility Into Business Goals With the integration, your Salesforce data can be tied to Asana goals—enabling better decision-making and transparency. As deals move through the pipeline, teams get visibility into how individual tasks impact larger objectives.

4. Better Cross-Team Alignment The integration breaks down silos between departments. Marketing, sales, and service teams can view the status of tasks, upcoming deadlines, and customer-specific projects in real time—reducing miscommunication and delays.

Final Thoughts

The Asana to Salesforce integration enables your teams to do more with less effort—automating routine work, reducing data errors, and bridging gaps between departments. If you're looking to boost productivity and collaboration, now is the time to act. 👉 Choose MultiSync Made Easy — the best tool to integrate Asana with Salesforce seamlessly.

[mygrowthcrafter]

Future-Ready Courses for BTech/BCA Students – Learn. Build. Grow.

My Growth Crafter is your gateway to mastering tech with AI-powered online learning. Built for students in BTech, BCA, and MCA programs with Skill development for students, our platform bridges academic theory with industry-practical knowledge. We don’t just teach—we guide you to become creators, problem solvers, and innovators.

Our platform offers comprehensive courses in Machine Learning, App Development, and MERN Stack Web Development. What sets us apart is our unique integration of Artificial Intelligence that personalizes your educational journey. Every module is tailored based on your progress, strengths, and areas for improvement, ensuring a smoother and smarter way to learn.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to upskill, we provide both theory sessions and hands-on project training. You’ll build real apps, intelligent websites, and working ML models—gaining more than just knowledge. You’ll walk away with a portfolio that proves your abilities.

We also conduct free tech workshops for students, where participants get to experience live learning with expert mentors, industry insights, and access to recorded content. These workshops are open to all students who want to experience AI-driven education without upfront costs.

The world is moving fast, and employers are hiring for future-ready skills. My Growth Crafter helps you stay ahead by offering certifications, live mentorship, and AI-enhanced feedback. You’re never alone—we help you grow with structured support and community collaboration.

As a trusted student learning platform, we’ve helped thousands of learners across India build meaningful careers. From personalized dashboards to weekly projects and quizzes, our ecosystem is built for deep, engaged, and long-term learning.

Our mission is simple: Deliver quality education that adapts to you. We combine expert teaching with cutting-edge technology to help you become the kind of professional today’s companies want to hire.

No matter your background, if you have the passion to learn, we have the tools to teach. With My Growth Crafter, you’ll gain not just technical skills, but confidence, mentorship, and direction.

Get started with AI-powered education designed for you. Choose a course, join a workshop, and begin your journey toward career success—today.

My Growth Crafter: Learn smart. Build better. Grow faster.

[mobcoderai]

How AI Integration Enhances Existing Systems and Workflows?

Maximize your current tech stack with seamless AI Integration that improves system intelligence and performance. From CRMs to ERP platforms, integrating AI enhances automation, data accuracy, and user experience. This service allows companies to add advanced capabilities to existing systems without disrupting operations, enabling more efficient and innovative digital transformation.