🧱 AI Is Becoming Infrastructure (CES 2026)

Hey everybody,

In this week’s newsletter, we’re breaking down why CES 2026 mattered for developers, NVIDIA’s Rubin platform and the shift toward AI as infrastructure, and how AI-first editors and agentic tools are becoming the new default. We also look at what this means for engineering jobs and the skills that matter most, for you, in 2026, as well as my video of the week on migrating to a clean Linux + Windows dual-boot setup.

🚀 The Big Shift: NVIDIA’s “Vera Rubin” platform

Nvidia launches Vera Rubin at CES 2026
NVIDIA’s next-gen AI computing platform (Vera CPU + Rubin GPU, plus the surrounding rack-scale networking/security stack) is being positioned as a full system, not just a GPU. For builders, this is another step toward “AI is an infrastructure layer,” not a feature.

Why devs should care
Even if you’re not buying racks, this tends to cascade into:

• cheaper hosted inference

• more “always-on” agent workflows

• faster iteration loops for teams shipping AI features

Wired’s coverage frames Rubin as being “in production,” with early adoption signals and a strong emphasis on cost/perf messaging.

🎬 Video of the Week

You NEED To Try This Linux/Windows Dual Boot (Omarchy)
One of my main goals this year was to run Linux as my daily driver. But I still needed Windows for things like video editing, so I set up a clean dual-boot: Linux and Windows on separate drives, plus a shared NTFS drive for files.

In this video, I walk through the full setup, show the new (used) desktop, and break down the exact steps you can follow to do the same…👇

🛠️ AI & Tech News

AI code editors as the new default
Tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Continue, and Cline are no longer add-ons. They’re embedded into the core edit-run-debug loop, shifting developers away from boilerplate and toward higher-level design.

Vibe coding tools for 2026
Cursor, Claude Code, and similar tools act more like junior teammates than autocomplete, with whole-repo context and workflow awareness.

Python and developer tools roundups
Python and general programming blogs continue compiling most read features and tutorials from 2025, with topics like native JIT support, debugging tools, Django, and Python-centric design patterns.

AI Isn’t Replacing Developers (at least not yet)
A curated list of productivity and workflow tools, covering everything from AI assistants to documentation and CI/CD enhancements, aimed at helping dev teams pick what’s worth their time this year.

📚 Book Club (join us!)

🧠 Community & Trends

Shift from AI hype to real-world integration
A comprehensive January tech roundup argues that 2026 will focus less on flashy breakthroughs and more on AI reliability, governance, enterprise outcomes, and integrated workflows.

Entry-Level Skills Shaping the Market
Job market trends show AI literacy and prompt engineering joining Python as top entry-level tech skills employers want in 2026, reflecting how AI is redefining developer skill priorities.

Engineering Jobs Are Growing
Despite concerns about automation, global software engineering openings are surging, over 105K new roles projected as digital transformation and cloud/AI adoption accelerate.

⏱️ Try This in 5 Minutes

Copy a UI element’s exact React context for your coding agent

react-grab adds a dev-only overlay to your React app so you can point at any element and instantly copy:

• the file path

• the component name

• the line/column

• and the HTML snippet

Then paste it straight into Cursor / Claude Code / Copilot and say: “change this.”

1) Install (one-liner)

npx grab@latest init

2) Use it

Run your app in dev, hover any UI element, then press:

• ⌘C (Mac)

• Ctrl+C (Windows/Linux)

It copies something like:

<a class="ml-auto inline-block text-sm" href="#">
  Forgot your password?
</a>
in LoginForm at components/login-form.tsx:46:19

Result: You can tell your agent: “Update this exact link” (with file + component + location), instead of describing the UI and hoping it finds the right code.

More Reading

•  C# Wins TIOBE Programming Language of the Year (2025)

• Top Programming Languages of 2026

• Advice for New Developers Entering Tech in 2026

• AI tools on your PC are scaling rapidly with open frameworks like llama.cpp and ComfyUI lowering the bar for local model experimentation.

• Intel Core Ultra Series 3 debuts on 18A at CES 2026 – the first AI PC platform built on Intel’s most advanced process with broad OEM support.

• Nvidia reveals Alpamayo “reasoning” tech for self-driving

🗳️ Trivia Question (1-Click)

Until next week,

Travis.