Patrick Kayongo
AI Isn’t Replacing Open Source
Andrew Baker, the current Group CIO at Capitec Bank wrote an interesting piece on AI and open...
4 days ago
Andrew Baker, the current Group CIO at Capitec Bank wrote an interesting piece on AI and open source, and how these tools that generate code according to one’s specification may replace the general reliance on open source implementations done by contributors around the world. I’d...
Patrick Kayongo
Software Praxis
The past few years have been an interesting time in the software developer zeitgeist. Each period...
27th Jul 2026
The past few years have been an interesting time in the software developer zeitgeist. Each period carrying its own set of talking points and controversies, which are almost completely forgotten in the next. In 2026, we find ourselves immersed in the tools and talking points of...
Patrick Kayongo
Of Price Tags, Gig Apps, and Dynamic Pricing
It is told that the modern price tag was developed in 1861 by one John Wanamaker, a merchant from...
15th Dec 2025
It is told that the modern price tag was developed in 1861 by one John Wanamaker, a merchant from Philiadephia, USA. Before this point, every transaction with every merchant one encountered was a negotiation. Someone who was wealthy would end up paying more because the merchant...
Patrick Kayongo
Technology & The Hollowing Middle Class
IT systems within large enterprises have done wonders to improve the efficiencies, resulting in...
18th Sep 2024
IT systems within large enterprises have done wonders to improve the efficiencies, resulting in great cost-savings, yet with unquestioned social effects. In his book Rhodes & His Banker, Richard Steyn narrates the founding and the early years of the bank we now know as Standard...
Patrick Kayongo
Substack vs Africa
The writing site, Substack, has taken the world by storm. At a time when everyone thought blogging...
30th Jul 2024
The writing site, Substack, has taken the world by storm. At a time when everyone thought blogging and online writing was dead, superseded by YouTube, Substack came along and solved the problems of discovery and monetisation. Their feed and recommendations have allowed many to...
Patrick Kayongo
The Fruitfulness of Grunt Work
I had an interesting software development problem the other day. I was working on a NodeJS...
30th Apr 2024
I had an interesting software development problem the other day. I was working on a NodeJS application, doing general maintenance work, which led me down an interesting rabbit hole. I could’ve used an online knowledge tool such as the various LLM-based tools available now. But...
Patrick Kayongo
Of Mountains and Hills
It’s hard to pinpoint where the cocktail Phakamani’s love, and fear of high places came from. The...
16th Mar 2024
It’s hard to pinpoint where the cocktail Phakamani’s love, and fear of high places came from. The love may have come from the views he found solace in during his years of sojourn in Cape Town. From the upper campus of UCT, he would take lunch walks to Rhodes Memorial to escape...
Patrick Kayongo
The vastness of the ocean
The vastness of the oceancan't fit in my phone.The sand through my feetthe smell of the airthe howl...
11th Feb 2024
The vastness of the oceancan't fit in my phone.The sand through my feetthe smell of the airthe howl of the breezehas nowhere to go. The pages of a bookcan’t fit in my phone.The texture of the pagesthe scent of the pressthe uncontested immersionhas nowhere to go. The tapestry of...
Patrick Kayongo
Fourways Mall
It’s Saturday at 1:37pm. I’ve been sitting in the 2nd floor parking trying to muster the energy to...
2nd Dec 2023
It’s Saturday at 1:37pm. I’ve been sitting in the 2nd floor parking trying to muster the energy to walk in there to do everything on my to-do list: buy bread rolls for the kids’ lunch, new school shoes for Khanyi, check on the price of a new iron, and maybe just maybe upgrade my...
Patrick Kayongo
River Flows
Crouched on the side of his bed, Tambu sat sobbing. He had slammed the door to his bedroom and...
11th Nov 2023
Crouched on the side of his bed, Tambu sat sobbing. He had slammed the door to his bedroom and needed time out after yet another fight with his parents. I really don’t belong here. They’ll never understand me. They’re so toxic and oppressive. I don’t know how much longer I can...
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