Kevin Yank

I’m terrified by the prospect of teams of engineers who stop learning from each other because #ChatGPT lets them stop talking to each other (by pretending they never need advice).

The onboarding flow for #ChatGPT should require new users to view a response to an obscure question about which they are a subject-matter expert before they can ask the model any other questions.

Until you’ve sat aghast at the sight of a confident, detailed, but completely wrong answer, you will have no understanding of the skepticism you need to apply to the guidance it provides. Already losing track of the number of engineers I’ve seen apply ChatGPT advice that turns out to be terrible.

Hopping in the car for an all-nighter, driving the support vehicle for #OxfamTrailwalker Melbourne team Back In Time that is approaching the halfway mark on their 100km journey to raise money to fight poverty! Donations welcome.

Team page: https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/back-in-time

Live tracker: https://live.trackmelive.com.au/twmelbourne2023/

Notes from tonight’s #MelbJS: https://kevinyank.com/posts/melbjs-march-2023/ #JavaScript #meetup

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Build the Web

Make pixels change colour with code, to create beautiful, accessible experiences.

As Director of Front End Engineering at Culture Amp, I lead a practice of about 50 engineers to build interfaces that help users create a better world of work. After more than 20 years in the field, I continue to learn and explore what is possible on the Web.

Featured article

Horizontal Scrolling

My new site design makes heavy use of horizontal scrolling on the home page, with scrollbars hidden. Horizontal scrolling can be accessible, but it takes some work to make it so. This article covers accessibility for keyboard and screen reader users, and users whose pointing devices simply don't support horizontal scrolling! It also breaks down several usability features I added to create a better experience than the native scrollbars they replace.

12 minutes → Read now
Screenshot of horizontally-scrolling content sections

Latest articles

  1. MelbJS March 2023 notes
  2. Fix System Beep on Move Editor into Next Group in VS Code
  3. Horizontal Scrolling
  4. Web Directions Hover 2022 Day 2 notes
  5. Web Directions Hover 2022 Day 1 notes
  6. How to test for screen reader accessibility with VoiceOver on your Mac
  7. Ally Beaton looks back on two years in the Kaizen design system
  8. Micro Front Ends, Strategy, and Blueberry Muffins
  9. CSS Selectors Redux
  10. Melbourne Web Developers Fireside Chat
→ All articles in web development

Know your tools

Technology is a superpower. Make it work for you.

One of the gifts of a career in software development is the ability to automate away your own problems with custom software. I love to explore the little-known features and extension points in the technology I use, particularly in the Apple ecosystem.

Featured article

Assume ChatGPT is Lying

In an industry where expertise is currency, a tool that lets us all pretend to be experts to each other is very dangerous indeed.

8 minutes → Read now
A confused-looking toy robot

Latest articles

  1. Assume ChatGPT is Lying
  2. New Mac Day One Installs
  3. Privacy & Security settings in macOS reset on reboot
  4. Twitter Archived
  5. Email apps on Mac, iPhone and iPad compared
  6. Shrink Videos With ffmpeg On Your Mac
  7. Introducing Screencast a Week
  8. Verbal Diarrhoea at Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Event
  9. Orbitkey + 1Password + Hazel = ♥
  10. Fix “format not supported by the iPad” error on transferring iTunes movie rentals
→ All articles in tech

The rest

Personal stuff. Highs and lows.

Latest articles

  1. Subspace Radio #24: Swearing in Star Trek
  2. Subspace Radio #23: Best Worf Moments
  3. Subspace Radio #22: Scenery-chewing Villains
  4. Subspace Radio #21: Star-crossed Lovers
  5. Subspace Radio #20: Star Trek: The Animated Series
  6. Subspace Radio #19: Hero Ship Sacrifices
  7. Subspace Radio #18: The Holodeck
  8. Subspace Radio #17: Character Flashbacks
  9. Subspace Radio #16: Contaminated Cultures
  10. Subspace Radio #15: The Borg
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