Tool reviews, with numbers.
Hands-on reviews of Cursor, Claude, GPT-4, WisprFlow, and other AI coding tools. Real performance benchmarks and workflow integration tips.
Vol. 8 · 3 issuesEssays when something ships
Modern Coding
Est. 2019Applied AI
Applied-AI essays written by someone actually shipping it. 5,000+ subscribers and counting.
§ N · Newsletter · Open to readers
The applied-AI reading list I actually wish I'd had in 2022.
No predictions. No hot takes. Essays written the week something real shipped — production RAG that earned its keep, an agent loop that failed informatively, a retrieval experiment that saved me six weeks. The parts nobody tutorials until two years after the hype.
5,000+ subscribersOne-click unsubscribe
What you'll get.
I.01 — I.04AI implementation guides.
Step-by-step tutorials on building with LLMs, embeddings, vector databases, and RAG pipelines. Code examples included.
Industry trends.
Analysis of the latest AI developments, new model releases, and emerging tools. Cut through the hype with data-driven insights.
Productivity hacks.
Voice-to-code workflows, AI agent orchestration, and automation strategies. 10x your development speed.
§ 02 · Start here
New to AI? Skip the learning curve.
I tested hundreds of AI tools so you don't have to. Here are the four that actually matter for running a business in 2026.
See the stack →§ 03 · The desk
Learn from someone building this stuff.
DeskModern Coding · Est. 2019
I'm Zachary Proser, a Staff-level AI Engineer with 13+ years shipping production systems. I've built RAG pipelines, vector-database features, and AI developer tools at companies you know.
I teach AI development through interactive machine-learning examples that break down complex concepts from the ground up — no prerequisites needed.
This newsletter shares what I'm actually using and building. Real benchmarks, honest tool comparisons, and technical breakdowns that skip the marketing fluff.
§ 04 · Career record14+ years · 6 companies
- Developer Experience Engineer@ WorkOS2025 — Present
- Developer Education@ WorkOS2024 — 2025
- Staff Developer Advocate@ Pinecone.io2023 — 2024
- Tech Lead@ Gruntwork.io2020 — 2023
- Senior Software Engineer@ Cloudflare2017 — 2020
- Software Engineer@ Cloudmark2015 — 2017
- Software Engineer@ BrightContext2012 — 2014
Recent episodes.
E.01 — E.03
Oct 2025
From Keyboard to Voice: The Future of Computing Is Talking
I just crossed 179 words per minute by talking. Voice-first computing changes how you think, what you build, and where you work.
Mar 2024
Episode 2: Interactive Machine Learning demos, vector databases compared, and developer anxiety
Introducing a new section of my site - interactive demos!
Mar 2024
Episode 1: Newsletter overhaul, Codeium vs ChatGPT and my first book credit!
Starting fresh with a new and improved newsletter experience.
Open· 5,000+ subscribers
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