Your Terminal Is Getting Smarter with Ben Holmes

Your Terminal Is Getting Smarter with Ben Holmes

Author: Skill Issue Studios April 10, 2025 Duration: 55:49

This week, Robbie and Chuck talk with Ben Holmes—Astro core team alum and now at Warp—about the rapid evolution of developer tools, the promise and quirks of AI-powered coding, and why he’s betting big on terminal UX.

In this episode:

  • (00:00) - Intro
  • (02:09) - Warp and dev tools
  • (04:20) - Whiskey intro and rating: Heaven Hill Grain To Glass Kentucky Straight Rye
  • (15:47) - Hot Take: inferred types vs explicit types
  • (17:11) - What Cursor AI gets right (and wrong)
  • (23:12) - Pros and cons of Windsurf
  • (25:02) - Hot Take: git rebase vs git merge
  • (27:27) - Vim Motions and The Vim Gym
  • (30:45) - Hot Take: sidebar on the left or right in VS Code
  • (34:40) - Specialize or generalize?
  • (44:01) - Frameworks vs doing your own thing
  • (48:21) - The MBA journey
  • (52:06) - Ben's connection to Peloton
  • (53:12) - Plugs


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There's a certain alchemy that happens when you combine deep technical expertise with the warmth of a good conversation, and that's exactly what you'll find in Whiskey Web and Whatnot. Hosts Robbie Wagner, Charles William Carpenter III, and Adam Argyle bring decades of collective experience to the table, but they leave the lecture format at the door. Instead, each episode feels like pulling up a chair with colleagues who are just as passionate about the craft of building for the web as they are about the nuanced flavors in a glass of whiskey. The discussion naturally flows between the concrete details of modern development-like navigating JavaScript frameworks, CSS architecture, or the practical realities of agentic AI and new coding tools-and the broader, human aspects of a software engineering career. This podcast from Skill Issue Studios is built on the idea that the tools and the people who use them are equally important. You'll come for insightful, grounded advice on developer productivity and emerging technologies, but you'll stay for the genuine camaraderie and the occasional spirited debate about which whiskey bottle truly earns a spot on the shelf. It’s a refreshing blend of substance and personality, making complex topics accessible and reminding everyone that there's always a story behind the code.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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