As we wrap up 2024, it's time to reflect on the technological innovations that have shaped my daily life and work. This year has been particularly interesting with advancements in AI, development tools, and hardware that have transformed how we approach software development.
The standout for me has been the evolution of AI coding assistants. While they were promising in 2023, this year they've become genuinely useful tools that enhance rather than replace human developers. The ability to have intelligent conversations about code architecture and receive contextually aware suggestions has significantly improved my workflow.
Of course the technology still has some ways to go, but I think we are already at the stage where you could use something like OpenAI's o1 to get you started on a project, or clarify the different options you might have when implmenting a feature. I imagine we will have even better models next year and that gets me excited for what is to come.
On the hardware front, the rise of ARM-based development machines has been fascinating to watch. The performance gains and energy efficiency improvements are significant. I have been using an M1 Mac Mini for the last few years already and it has been amazing. And Apple's new M4 series of chips are making me seriously consider upgrading.
I am the type of person who does not upgrade unless it is really necessary. Right now, I don't see any reason to upgrade, as the old M1 chip is still more than capable of running the latest and greatest in development tools.
I am sure that one day I will upgrade, but I will wait until the price of the new M4 chips comes down (or Apple releases the M5 series).