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Tech trends: LeftBrain’s #coolstuff highlights

Whether it’s the latest advancements in AI, game-changing tools that streamline our workflows, or techy gadgets that make life a bit more fun, here are some finds shared on our #coolstuff Slack channel.

LeftBrain · September 16th 2024
Close-up of a sleek, silver server rack with multiple network cables plugged into ports, LED indicators lit in blue and orange, and a “Dream Machine” and “USW Pro Max” label visible.

It goes without saying: we love all things tech…

Whether it’s the latest advancements in AI, game-changing tools that streamline our workflows, or techy gadgets that make life a bit more fun, we’re always sharing our finds in the LeftBrain #coolstuff Slack channel. And now, we’re bringing some of our discoveries directly to you on the LeftBrain blog.

Please note: LeftBrain doesn’t necessarily endorse these technologies, we just think they’re cool.

Hand-drawn diagram of a 24-port patch panel labeled in three sections: ports 1–8 (wired devices), 9–16 (cameras), and 17–24 (outlets). Green lines indicate wired connections, red lines show couplers or empty ports. A legend below identifies wired devices (printer, HA Green, Synology, Hue) and outlet locations (e.g. DA1–4 = Office, DA6 = Living Room, etc.). Blue text marks ports with 2.5G connections.

Fatih Arslan on building a dream homelab with UniFi

An epic homelab setup where concrete walls and Wi-Fi signals clashed. The author, Fatih Arslan, started with TP-Link gear but later switched to Ubiquiti Unifi devices for better performance and control. Featuring multiple access points, cameras, and creative solutions like custom mounts, it’s a masterclass in optimising home tech. VLANs, dual WANs, and network tweaks makes this a dream setup.

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Screenshot showing a game development prompt and Python code preview. The prompt lists game rules involving a strawberry and a squirrel with specific behaviours and image files. Below, Python code using Pygame is shown, including imports and initialisation, followed by constants for screen size, icon size, and character speeds.

Coding video games with OpenAI o1

OpenAI has unveiled its new AI model, OpenAI o1 (previously known as Project Strawberry/Q*), which can now code entire video games from a single prompt. The model excels in reasoning, math, and programming, improving its performance the longer it “thinks.” It ranks in the 89th percentile on competitive programming challenges and successfully solved 83% of the problems on a qualifying exam for the International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO), making it a breakthrough in AI capabilities.

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Screenshot of the Zoom Developers API documentation for “Get a meeting summary.” It details the GET request endpoint, prerequisites (Pro user plan, AI Companion enabled, not for end-to-end encrypted meetings), required scopes, and rate limit label (LIGHT). The left sidebar lists various Zoom API endpoints under "Meetings," and the right pane shows path parameters including meetingId and accountId, with examples.

Zoom Meeting Master API

The Zoom API now makes it possible for developers to extract detailed AI meeting transcripts and summaries, enabling us to automate the process of capturing information from team calls. This has already been a game changer for us at LeftBrain. The API records stats like number of attendees, meeting duration, and participant engagement. It can then pull these summaries into various applications, making it easier to integrate Zoom meeting data with project management tools, CRMs, or any other custom systems, providing a streamlined way to process and analyse meeting outcomes.

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Screenshot of a code editor with a play button overlaid in the centre and the text “See Cursor In Action – 1 Minute.” The background shows a coding interface with version control highlights (green and red), code suggestions, and Rust syntax. A tooltip at the top left reads, “Don’t make the upgrade.” On the right, instructions outline how to add TLS update methods to a TransportStackBuilder and Listeners structure.

Cursor: code with AI

Cursor is a product that includes a powerful autocomplete that predicts your next edit. Once enabled, it is always on and will suggest edits to your next code across multiple lines, taking into account your recent edits. The chat lets you talk with an AI that sees your codebase and add particular blocks of code to the context. It also lets you write code using instructions, and update entire classes or functions with a simple prompt.

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Project dashboard interface displaying visual metrics. Top left shows a line graph of "Today P0 bugs." Centre shows a stacked bar chart of "Tasks by person" with a large cursor pointing to the highest value (130 tasks). Top right shows a colourful donut chart titled "Task categories" with a total of 493 tasks. Bottom section contains a line chart titled "Tasks completed by week" showing fluctuations over time.

Notion Charts

We’re pretty pumped with the new Notion Charts, that allow you to turn any database into a chart with just one click. You can add a chart to any Notion page or database, by typing /chart and picking your source. They are customisable, and can trigger an action when a task is marked ‘high-priority’.

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