10x Insights

This episode of 10X Insights , Kadi McKean and Steve Poole sit down with Tom Cools —Belgian Java User Group organizer and DevRel—to unpack what it really takes to grow as a developer during massive industry shifts. Tom shares his path from teaching into software development, why curiosity and “tinkering” are career superpowers, and how the current AI wave feels eerily similar to the early microser...

Join Kadi McKean and Steve on the 2026 edition of 10 X Insights as they discuss the integration of AI tools for podcast editing, changes from 2025, and optimistic prospects for 2026. They explore critical topics such as the importance of supporting end-of-life software, legislative impacts on software security, developer responsibilities, and evolving threats in the tech landscape. Anticipate futu...

In this episode of 10X Insights , hosts Kadi McKean and Steve Poole sit down with software engineer Jules May for a conversation that bridges the gap between today’s reliable code and tomorrow’s quantum possibilities. From airplanes to AI, Jules shares what it takes to build software that doesn’t just work —it lasts. Key Takeaways & Learnings: 🛫 Reliability > Speed: Building software for c...

What happens when anyone with an idea—and a little AI magic—can spin up an app in a day? In this episode of 10X Insights , Kadi McKean and Steve Poole sit down with Bruno Borges (Microsoft) to unpack the world of “vibe coding.” From building apps on a Friday night to discovering a real-world case of an insecure AI-generated school portal, Bruno shares both the thrill and the risks of letting AI do...

In this episode of 10 X Insights, hosts Kadi McKean and Steve Poole sit down with Java Champion Frank Delporte. Frank shares his incredible journey through the world of Java and Raspberry Pi, emphasizing the impact of technical writing on his career. From starting with a Commodore 64 to writing a book on Java and Raspberry Pi, Frank discusses his various projects, including open-source contributio...

On this episode of 10X Insights, Kadi McKean is joined by Steve Poole and newcomer to the pod, Baruch Sadogursky, for a deep dive into the intersection of AI and software development. From Spider-Man AI memes to developer productivity tools, we unpack the hype, the hallucinations, and the real-life utility of AI in your daily coding grind. We explore: Where AI is showing up across the SDLC (spoile...

Burnout: it’s the silent background process eating up all your system resources—and most of us don’t even realize it’s running until we crash. In this episode, we finally hit  Ctrl + Alt + Del  on a topic developers  don’t  talk about enough. Join Kadi McKean and Steve Poole as they speak with Java Champion Trisha Gee about what burnout  really  looks like in tech, how it sneaks up on even the mos...

In this episode, we chat with Jess Garson, senior developer Advocate at Elastic, who walks us through Elastic’s wild ride in the open source community. We discuss licensing decisions, community reactions, and how Elastic rebuilt trust while scaling telemetry and observability. As a bonus, we learn how Jess turns code into music. Yep, you read that right. If you're into open source, observability,...

What if you could measure and improve your software team’s performance with just four key metrics? In this episode, hosts Kadi McKean and Steve Poole are diving deep into the world of DORA metrics—the essential principles that drive DevOps success. Join us as we chat with Nathen Harvey (Google) and Tracy Bannon (MITRE, Real Technologists Podcast), where we’ll bust common myths, tackle culture shif...

In this episode of 10X Insights, host Kadi McKean and Steve Poole are joined by Justin Reock to discuss the 10X Developer concept. In this episode, we’ll journey back to the 1980s, tracing the roots of the 10X Developer myth, peeling away decades of misconceptions with discussion that highlights an often-overlooked truth: it’s not just the individual genius, but the powerhouse of high-performing t...