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- 90% of hacking isn't what you think
90% of hacking isn't what you think
Who's ready to rethink security? Most people picture fancy code and terminal tricks, but attackers spend 90% of their time on reconnaissance and passwords. We're also exploring how Mellea closes the gap between small models and production with model-agnostic pipelines and local inference, how Don introduced a young neighbor to Linux with astronomy, chess, and paint software, and four things you should be doing with JSON, from schema validation to one-line JQ queries.
On the podcast, Hendrik shares his theory on who actually wins as vibe coding tools lose steam, and it's not who you'd expect. This is edition #72 of the We ❤️ Open Source newsletter. Made and curated by Jason & Todd.🙂
This week we'll look at...
Join us in the RTP for The State of Tech Jobs
August 5 • The Barn at Bandwidth’s RTP Campus
One year ago our meetup focused on The State of Jobs in tech and open source and the impact of AI - and interest was through the roof. This month, we'll revisit the same topic one year later as things continue to change and evolve rapidly. Programming will feature speaker Taylor Desseyn, VP of Global Community @ Randstad Digital/Torc, a panel discussion featuring Hiring Managers and Jobs experts, as well as an onsite Jobs Board with active, open jobs. The meetup is free to attend, but an RSVP is required.
Articles
 | The gap between small models and production isn't the weights anymore. It's the scaffolding. Mellea closes that gap with model-agnostic pipelines, calibrated RAG adapters, and local inference that turns budget conversations into engineering problems. The full guide is worth your time. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Small models are already production-ready with the right harness. Mellea proves it. Run the notebook yourself. |
 | When his neighbor was injured and stuck indoors, Don gave him something unexpected: A Linux Mint laptop loaded with free educational software. Stellarium for astronomy, PyChess for strategy, TuxPaint for creativity. Simple gifts that proved profound. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Don proves a single act of kindness opens doors to discovery and learning. |
 | Most people think hacking is fancy code and terminal tricks. Learn Linux TV interviews Casey Erdmann, author of Red Team Engineering, who reveals the unglamorous truth: passwords, reconnaissance, and social engineering win. Discover why legacy systems are security nightmares and how to learn ethically. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Casey reveals attackers spend 90% on reconnaissance and passwords, 10% on exploits. The movies lied. Watch to learn more. |
What's in your technology toolbox?
You learned JSON in your first boot camp project and probably haven't thought about it since. Lawrence Lockhart walks through three superpowers that change how you use it, from schema-based data validation to one-line JQ queries to structured AI prompts that actually produce consistent results. This one is hands on.
WHY WE ❤️ IT: The JQ live demo is the highlight. Watch how one line of terminal magic replaces 11 lines of JavaScript.
From the We ❤️ Open Source Podcast
 | Vibe coding tools are losing steam. Hendrik has a theory on who actually wins next, and it's not who you'd expect. He also opens up about building real communities in open source, buggy code and all. Catch the full episode now. WHY WE ❤️ IT: Watch for Hendrik's blunt take on who AI is really built for. |
Featured podcast shorts
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Wrap Up
If you've made it this far (thank you!), check out everything we do, our YouTube channel with 1000's of open source talks, the many meetups we host around the southeast and NYC, the All Things AI spring event we co-host, and of course All Things Open, the largest open source tech conference on the US east coast.
We hope you learn something new this weekend!
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