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| 1 | +Tue, December 10, 2024 • Niall Maher |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +# 🔎 Murder Mystery for Developers + Career Advice |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +It's the end of the year season, and a lot of people are doing their end-of-year reviews. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +Remember that fantastic bug fix from six months ago? |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +The one that saved the company thousands? |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +No??? |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +That's the problem. |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +Every developer has been there -- it's performance review season, or you are updating a CV, and you're struggling to remember all the amazing work you've done over the past months/years. Projects blend, achievements become fuzzy, and those small but significant wins disappear from memory. |
| 16 | + |
| 17 | +This is why I started keeping a brag document years ago, and it's transformed how I approach my career development. |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +I wrote [this article](https://www.codu.co/articles/building-a-brag-document-rllnfdad) to outline what a "brag document" is and how to get started. |
| 20 | + |
| 21 | +## 📚 This Week's Picks |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +**[Creating An Effective Multistep Form For Better User Experience](https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2024/12/creating-effective-multistep-form-better-user-experience)** (13 min)\ |
| 24 | +What we don't often discuss is designing good-form experiences beyond validation. That's what Jima Victor discusses in this article |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +**[Using Transformers.js for AI in the Browser](https://www.raymondcamden.com/2024/12/03/using-transformersjs-for-ai-in-the-browser)** (5 min)\ |
| 27 | +A practical guide to implementing browser-based AI using Transformers.js, demonstrating sentiment analysis and image object detection with real-world examples and code. |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +**[CSS Wrapped 2024](https://chrome.dev/css-wrapped-2024)** (lots of examples in here)\ |
| 30 | +The Google Chrome team made this fantastic article/mini-site showcasing all the great features introduced into CSS this year. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +**[React v19](https://react.dev/blog/2024/12/05/react-19)** (release)\ |
| 33 | +And what you need to break into the role. |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +**[Nine pillars of great Node apps](https://changelog.com/jsparty/347)** (podcast)\ |
| 36 | +This podcast lays out nine principles for doing Node.js right in enterprise environments. |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +**[Cursify](https://cursify.vercel.app/)** (library)\ |
| 39 | +I can't ever see myself using some of these animated cursors, but I do love seeing people's creativity. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +**[Deno v. Oracle: Canceling the JavaScript Trademark](https://deno.com/blog/deno-v-oracle)** (3 min)\ |
| 42 | +Did you know Oracle formally owns the 'JavaScript' trademark? Could that change because of Deno? On November 22, 2024, Deno petitioned officially the USPTO to cancel Oracle's trademark for "JavaScript." |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +**[Why Open Source UI Sucks](https://www.darrenhorrocks.co.uk/why-open-source-ui-design-sucks/)** (4 min)\ |
| 45 | +Explores why open-source software tends to have less polished interfaces than commercial applications, highlighting some key factors. |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +## 📖 Book of the Week |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +**[The Product-Led Playbook](https://amzn.to/4is4QTc)** |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +Last week, I suggested [Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself](http://amzn.to/3Vip2gg). Since then, I have found out the second book in the series, "The Product-Led Playbook," is a thing. The playbook focuses on the how rather than the why outlined in the previous book. I read this in a few days because I found it so interesting and useful. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +This is one of the most practical books I have for anyone hoping to launch a SaaS product or improve their thinking about product development for self-service customers. |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +## 🛠️ Something Cool |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +**[SQL Murder Mystery](https://mystery.knightlab.com/)** |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +Yup, you read that right. |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +Use your SQL skills to solve a murder mystery. |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +It's quite possibly the nerdiest way to test your SQL skills. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +## 🔗 Quick Links |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +- [Codú TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@codu.co) |
| 68 | +- [Our YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@codu) |
| 69 | +- [Find us on Twitch](https://www.twitch.tv/codudotco) |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +If you have any ideas or feedback, reply to this email. |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +Thanks, and stay awesome, |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +Niall |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +Founder @ [Codú](https://www.codu.co/?ref=newsletter) |
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