New Browser APIs, End of React Create App, Smuggling Data in Emoji and more with Rowdy Rabouw

What if you could smuggle data inside an emoji? Explore this and other surprising frontiers of the modern web platform.

#1about 7 minutes

Exploring new browser APIs in Interop 2025

Browser vendors are collaborating on new features like anchor positioning and view transitions, but framework adoption can delay their use in production.

#2about 3 minutes

Understanding the proposed Style Observer JavaScript API

A new proposal allows JavaScript to observe and react to CSS property changes, offering a potential performance benefit over constant polling.

#3about 4 minutes

Uncovering the hidden complexities of building a calculator app

Building a seemingly simple calculator app involves navigating security risks with eval() and handling JavaScript's floating-point math inaccuracies.

#4about 5 minutes

The importance of copy buttons for code snippet accessibility

Adding a copy button to code snippets significantly improves usability for people with motor impairments and is a better experience than manual selection.

#5about 8 minutes

React moves away from Create React App to frameworks

The deprecation of create-react-app pushes developers towards full frameworks, raising concerns about the learning curve for newcomers to the ecosystem.

#6about 3 minutes

The value of using mature and stable technology

Technologies that are considered "boring," like COBOL or PHP, are often the most stable and reliable choices for long-term projects.

#7about 2 minutes

Using AI-powered tools to generate regular expressions

New AI-powered generators can translate plain English into complex regular expressions, lowering the barrier for developers who find regex challenging.

#8about 3 minutes

Popover API is now baseline and how to securely dispose data

The Popover API has officially reached baseline support across browsers, and the UK government provides detailed guidance on securely erasing storage media.

#9about 2 minutes

Implementing cookie consent and privacy-first alternatives

While cookie consent plugins are available, a better approach is to avoid tracking cookies entirely by using privacy-respecting analytics and services.

#10about 5 minutes

Interactive tools for learning CSS and visualizing data

Developers can use interactive playgrounds to master CSS Flexbox and open-source tools to quickly visualize data from CSV files without complex libraries.

#11about 2 minutes

How to smuggle hidden data inside emoji characters

Because emoji are a container format in UTF-8, it is possible to hide text and potentially malicious payloads within them, raising security concerns.

#12about 4 minutes

Identifying the clichés of generic AI-generated content

Overly dramatic and formulaic phrases like "in the fast-paced world of technology" are common signs of low-quality, AI-generated content.

#13about 3 minutes

How TV refresh rates made a classic game unplayable

The Commodore 64 game "Impossible Mission" was unintentionally harder in Europe because its game loop was tied to the 50Hz PAL refresh rate, causing collision detection bugs.

#14about 17 minutes

Building music sequencers with the Web Audio API

The Web Audio API and libraries like Tone.js enable the creation of complex music tools directly in the browser, from simple synthesizers to full sequencers.