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Summer Is Over | ✉️ #76

Illustration for MKDEV Dispatch #76, featuring a bearded person speaking, a paper airplane graphic, and text "Summer is Over" on an abstract orange and gray background with repeating paper airplanes.
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Hey! 👋

August is slow. Beaches, half-empty offices, emails marked “deal with in September.” But tech doesn’t do gentle re-entries. The moment summer ends, it sprints.

The last months of the year are when the biggest shifts happen. Not because December has some magical energy — it’s because companies want to close strong, vendors want their launches remembered, and everyone suddenly notices their 2025 goals are about to expire.

That’s why September to December is conference overload. Salesforce gathers the AI-hungry at Dreamforce. Founders run out of pitch decks at TechCrunch Disrupt. Lisbon fills up with Web Summit crowds, New York gets React Summit, Las Vegas has re:Invent, and Tokyo hosts the Open Source Summit Asia. Every week, somewhere, the industry is trying to write the next chapter.

And what is that chapter about? Same themes as always — just louder:

  • Generative AI: from curiosity to default workflow.

  • Quantum computing: less theory, more headlines.

  • 5G and edge computing: finally useful beyond PowerPoint slides.

  • AR, VR, XR: glasses and headsets sneaking into training rooms.

  • Cybersecurity: because every new toy is another attack surface.

  • Sustainable tech: at least some people worry about the planet.

This isn’t just hype. It’s also hiring season. The mantra now is “AI skills over experience.” One year of GitHub Copilot might weigh more than three years of “regular” development in a CV. That’s unsettling for some, and exciting for others.

So yes, summer is over. But the next four months are where momentum is set. By the time January arrives, 2026 will already have a direction — written in keynotes, commits, and hallway chats you probably shouldn’t skip.

Better keep your eyes open.

What We've Shared

  • ​DevOps Accents are back with episode 62! Kubernetes Isn’t Enough with Mark Fussell from Diagrid & Dapr.

  • ​Will Cyber Risk Kill Your GenAI Vibe? While GenAI promises big productivity gains, it also amplifies serious cyber risks for businesses. This article by Paul Larsen, our Head of Data & AI, is an introduction to a series that will offer guidance to mitigate them.

  • ​Don’t Let Cyber Risk Kill Your GenAI Vibe: A Developer’s Guide. The second article in the new series by Paul Larsen explains how GenAI-assisted coding can amplify existing cybersecurity risks and introduce new ones—like data leakage, insecure code, prompt injections, and malicious dependencies—while offering practical steps for developers to stay secure.

The 77th mkdev dispatch will arrive on Friday, September 5th. See you next time!