Laracon US 2026 Recap

Episode Notes: Text Editors & IDEsHosts: Dan Soppelsa, Caleb Brown, Chris Lemon, and Joe RaczIn this episodeAI coding costs: Token limits, subscription budgets, and weighing the cost of AI-generated work against the time it saves.Building videos with React: Dan shares his experience using Remotion to create animated visuals, with potential uses for reusable graphics and podcast clips.Exploring NativePHP: Chris discusses building plugins and end-to-end testing tools, and why a growing ecosystem offers opportunities to contribute to open source.A look back at coding tools: The team traces the evolution from early command-line editors to graphical IDEs, revisiting QBasic, Vim, Emacs, Turbo Pascal, Visual Basic, and the Java IDE era.Finding your editor: Personal journeys through Dreamweaver, Sublime Text, Atom, VS Code, JetBrains tools, and Cursor—and the trade-offs between speed, customization, and built-in features.The role of language servers: How the Language Server Protocol helps bring code intelligence, navigation, and diagnostics to different editors.The future of AI-assisted development: Ideas for tighter browser-to-code integration, visual tools for understanding application architecture, and AI workflows that feel more like pair programming.Key takeawaysCustomization can improve productivity, but maintaining the perfect setup can become a project of its own.Lightweight editors and full-featured IDEs increasingly overlap in what they offer.Faster code generation isn’t always better collaboration: smaller, explainable changes can make review easier and help developers stay involved.Future tools could connect prompts, code, and running applications more directly—not simply add another chat window.Tools & communities mentionedRemotion: remotion.devNativePHPPestGPUG and KWJS: Find upcoming events on meetup.com.Laravel Worldwide Meetup: meetup.laravel.com; streams at youtube.com/laravelphp.

00:00 Podcast Introductions00:44 Trip To Longhorn PHP01:04 Learned Liked Lacked Segment01:56 DuckDB Discovery04:48 AI Agent Memory Tools07:30 Claude Code PR Workflow09:50 Whimsy Side Projects13:24 Community Events Rundown16:13 Longhorn PHP Overview17:26 First Time In Austin19:16 Texas Capitol And Tex Mex22:56 Cybercab Ride Story29:15 Comedy Night In Austin29:38 Tutorial Day Begins30:11 Docs Plus Testing Tutorial31:00 Tutorial Format Explained31:47 AI Powered PHP Workflow34:00 Frameworks Across PHP Tech35:37 Rust PHP Extensions39:45 Austin PHP Lightning Talks45:28 PHP Foundation Update46:27 JSON Table And Threads50:43 Onboarding Staff Engineer52:46 NGINX Talk Reflections57:49 Tetris In PHP Talk59:25 PHPUnit Beyond Assertions01:03:27 Ethics Closing Keynote01:05:43 Austin Nightlife 13th Floor01:08:02 Conference Takeaways And Wrap

Torq’d Podcast: Browser History, AI Agents, and the Modern WebDan Soppelsa hosts the Torq’d podcast with Vehikl coworkers Joe, Ian, and Caleb. In a “learned/liked/lacked” segment, Caleb describes giving AI agents SSH access to an Unraid server to follow guides, spin up Docker Compose services, and manage configs; Ian and Dan discuss using AI to triage duplicate Jira tickets and to generate new tickets and acceptance criteria; Caleb mentions agents connected to Slack and Shortcut for status tracking and end-of-day updates; Joe describes unreliable client sandbox/dev environments and considers MirageJS or snapshots/mocking to reduce broken dependencies. Dan shares using Claude Design to create branding, a logo, and a homepage for a conference talk. They announce community events (GPUG Sept 30 in Waterloo; KWJS upcoming; Laravel Worldwide Meetup; Laravel London Oct 1; Longhorn PHP Oct 15–16, 2026 in Austin). The main topic covers web browser evolution from Tim Berners-Lee’s early web and NeXT machines through Mosaic, Netscape’s JavaScript and cookies, Microsoft’s IE bundling and browser wars, Firefox features like tabs/containers, Safari/WebKit, Chrome/Chromium consolidation, privacy/ad-blocking concerns (Manifest V3), and speculation about AI agents and cloud-based futures.00:00 Podcast Introductions01:23 Learned Liked Lacked02:20 Agents on Servers04:09 AI for Ticket Work07:10 Dev Environments Pain12:18 Claude Design Workflow14:03 Community Events Roundup16:41 Why Browsers Matter18:15 Browser Defaults and Search22:39 Early Web History27:32 Mosaic and Mozilla Origins28:35 Mosaic Origins29:55 Why Netscape Won30:34 JavaScript And Cookies35:20 Dial Up Memories36:06 Mozilla Name Lore37:17 Microsoft Enters40:45 Browser Wars Pain43:55 Firefox Features48:30 Safari And WebKit49:25 Chrome And Chromium51:01 Privacy And Manifest V354:41 Browsers As OS55:48 AI Future Wrap Up

Torq’d Podcast: Laracon US 2026 Boston Recap, AI Workflows, and Community EventsDan Soppelsa hosts the Torq’d podcast with coworkers Chris Lemon and Joe Racz, introducing a “liked, learned, lacked” reflection segment focused largely on AI’s impact: Chris likes building mobile apps with NativePHP, learned to build a Kotlin/Swift plugin with Claude, and notes AI increases workload and organization needs; Dan likes Claude Code Artifacts for turning plans and explanations into shareable interactive HTML, but worries AI-generated code can weaken developers’ mental models; Joe uses AI to reduce decision paralysis and for design/feedback, but found it easy to overinvest in optional work. They share upcoming community events (GPUG monthly, KWJS monthly, Laravel Worldwide Meetup, Laravel Toronto, London ON Laravel, and Longhorn PHP where Dan and Chris will speak). The main topic is Laracon US 2026 in Boston, including Laraprom, the industrial venue, the after-party, and “Ship or Die” pitches where Chris presented his Collect Shine smart record-shelf concept and received Laravel Cloud credits. 00:00 Podcast Kickoff00:40 Liked Learned Lacked02:09 Chris on NativePHP03:22 AI Speed and Focus06:48 Dan on Mental Models08:44 Claude Artifacts and Sharing12:14 Joe Uses AI for Design15:42 Community Events Roundup16:07 GPUG Meetup Updates18:00 More Meetups and Laracon Lead In21:52 Laracon US 2026 Begins22:54 Arrivals and Boston First Impressions24:53 Houseboat Airbnb Adventure27:02 Fenway and City Exploring28:38 Boston Waterfront Walks29:20 Laraprom Party Highlights31:06 Dodgeball and Night Zero31:42 Sowa Power Station Venue34:52 Day One Talk Takeaways37:10 After Party Food and Vibes38:38 Day Two Standouts40:40 Ship or Die Pitch Show43:31 Collect Shine Smart Shelf50:35 Conference Wrap and Swag

On July 22-26, 2019, the Vehikl team will be attending the largest LaraconUS to date! With over 900 attendees showing up to the Playstation Theatre in Times Square, NYC, it will surely be an incredible experience! Join us as we speak with returning guest, Adam Frank! We’ll discuss upcoming talks, things to do in and around NYC, and what we’re looking forward to at this year’s conference. We’ll be in the main lobby of the theatre at our booth! We’ll have t-shirts to give away as well as other swag items, so make sure to stop by before they’re gone! Links and Resources: LaraconUS website: https://laracon.us/ LaraconUS Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaraconUS Laravel website: https://laravel.com/ NYC PHP Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/new-york-php/events/262484765/ Vehikl Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl Adam Frank's Twitter: https://twitter.com/frankyfraaank Contributions: Guest: Adam Frank Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Audio Editing: Nick Down Recording Facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

On March 25-27, 2019, we will be travelling to Tampa, Florida for VueConf US! During today’s episode, we’re going to talk about this year’s schedule, last year’s conference in New Orleans, and all the fun things we’ll be doing on our trip! Our guest speakers for this episode are Brian Hogg and first-time guest Natalie Mastracci! They’ll be talking about some of the things they’re looking forward to as first time VueConf attendees, and lots of other interesting things! Join us as we chat about fun facts and activities to do while we’re in the area. Vehikl will have a booth at the conference, so if you plan to attend VueConf US this year stop by and see us in the Florida sunshine! Links and Resources: VueConf US: https://us.vuejs.org/ Brian: https://brianhogg.com Natalie on Twitter: @NMastracci Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en Contributions: Guests: Brian Hogg and Natalie Mastracci Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

Today we're discussing what's going on at the London Vehikl office! The London team has recently moved into a new building. The building is a beautiful and modern location. Caryn and James work in the London office and join us to tell us what it is like to work there, and what it's like working for Vehikl for general. The London location is hiring developers. It is a nine person team and looking to grow. Caryn and James walk us through their on-boarding process and tell us what they look for in a new team member. We also discuss the flourishing Dev community in London. Caryn tells us about the local meetups, conferences, and potential partnerships the London office may consider further down the line. Some of the meetups and conferences James and Caryn mentioned today are: Fanshawe Reactr Program UX Centre Stage Explode Conference DevLondon meetup Links and Resources: Caryn Humphreys on GitHub: https://github.com/LadyCarni James Abell on GitHub: https://github.com/jamesabell Torqd Podcast: http://podcast.vehikl.com/ Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en Visual Studio (VS) Code: https://code.visualstudio.com/ Tech Alliance: http://www.techally.com/ Fanshawe: https://www.fanshawec.ca/ Fanshawe Reactr Program: http://www.reactr.ca/ Dev London: https://devldn.ca/ UX Centre Stage: https://ltux.ca/ Explode Conference: https://explodeconf.com/ Contributions: Guests: Caryn Humphreys and James Abell Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

Welcome to our first episode of the new year. Today’s episode is the start of a new series we are calling Vehikl: Under the Hood. We sit down with Colin DeCarlo and Brian Hogg and discuss some exciting developments in the London, Hamilton, and Waterloo offices. Vehikl is hiring new talent and we have many growth opportunities. We also talk about upcoming meetups and conferences that Vehikl is involved in and what we’re looking forward to in 2019. The meetups we feature today are: Dev London -- London office, January 29th. Speed Networking Night -- Conestoga College, January 29th. GPUG -- Waterloo office, January 30th. KWJS -- Waterloo office, February 20th. We plan to attend two conferences this year, here’s where we’ll be: LaraCon Online -- March 6th. Vue.js Conference US -- Tampa Bay, FL, March 25-27th. LaraCon 2019 -- New York City, NY, July 24-25 Links and Resources: Brian Hogg on GitHub: https://github.com/brianhogg Colin DeCarlo on LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/colindecarlo Discover HamOnt: https://discoverhamont.ca/ Dev London Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/dev-london/ GPUG: http://meetu.ps/c/qCPs/vR6J7/f KWJS Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/kwjavascript/ Vue.js Conference US: https://us.vuejs.org/ LaraCon Online: https://laracon.net/ LaraCon 2019: https://laracon.us/ Vehikl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vehikl?lang=en Vehikl email: [email protected] Contributions: Guests: Brian Hogg and Colin DeCarlo Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://vehikl.com.

What does "serverless" really mean, and how do you get started working with it? Why is serverless infrastructure becoming a popular option? Join us as we have first time guest, Jesse Carter, a talented developer here at Vehikl, talk about his vast experience working with serverless architecture. Links and Resources: Jesse Carter on LinkedIn: https://goo.gl/ujj3PV Amazon Aurora: https://goo.gl/qF7MSc AWS Lambda: https://goo.gl/gsJLjv Cosmo DB: https://goo.gl/2xUdDk Docker: https://blog.docker.com/ EVault: https://goo.gl/4N8auP Express: https://goo.gl/VEP2qZ Google Functions: https://goo.gl/cnfsqX Laravel Forge: https://goo.gl/tuh74H Kubeless: https://goo.gl/crQNsA Microsoft Azure: https://goo.gl/JYiMUn Serverless Framework: https://goo.gl/XB8fVU Twilio: https://goo.gl/yVGVp7 Vehikl on Twitter: https://goo.gl/RxfNMD Yan Cui: https://goo.gl/hSZGXR Zeit Now: https://goo.gl/6wK6Y3 Zeit Now 2.0: https://goo.gl/3MQKsc Contributions: Guest: Jesse Carter Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/DGS78p

We take a look at Uncle Bob’s (Bob Martin) book The Clean Coder and discuss the topic of software professionalism. We have varying degrees of experience that we share with each other and the audience. We walk chapter by chapter through the book and give some general impressions of what we took away from it. We discuss work/life balance, time management, client communication, and many other aspects of the coding lifestyle. No matter if you are a beginner or a veteran of the software industry, The Clean Coder is key for personal professionalism. Links and Resources: Lucas Gladding on LinkedIn: https://goo.gl/dPdWZo Brian Hogg on GitHub: https://goo.gl/7ZiX4T The Clean Coder - by Robert (Bob) C. Martin: https://goo.gl/67EmWV Exercism: https://goo.gl/TcGyow Vehikl on Twitter: https://goo.gl/PgrYof Contributions: Guests: Lucas Gladding and Brian Hogg Hosts: Dan Soppelsa and Margaret Tavares Music and show art: Adam Frank Recording facilities: Vehikl (Waterloo) Special thanks for the help and support from the entire Vehikl team. Check out Vehikl online: https://goo.gl/8LGjAU