|
Over 80% of container spend is wasted. Here’s how to fix it. (Sponsored)
 |
Many teams over-provision containers, underuse spot instances, and have no visibility into which pods are burning budget. Get the eBook from Datadog, which covers five practical optimizations for Kubernetes and ECS environments with specific techniques your team can apply today.
You’ll learn how to:
Pinpoint idle containers, over-provisioned pods, and unused clusters draining your cloud budget.
Right-size CPU and memory with resource requests, limits, and automated cost recommendations.
Cut costs up to 90% with spot instances and savings plans and know exactly when to use each
This week’s system design refresher:
Why Everyone Should Know About AI Evals: The Fundamentals Explained (Youtube video)
MCP vs Skills, Clearly Explained
5 Way to Defend Prompt Injection
How the X Algorithm Works
Why Everyone Should Know About AI Evals: The Fundamentals Explained
MCP vs Skills, Clearly Explained
Both MCP and Skills extend what an agent can do. But they solve different problems, and picking the wrong one adds cost or complexity you don't need.
The diagram breaks down the five dimensions that matter.
 |
Integration: MCP is a client-server protocol that connects N agents to M backends through one interface. Agent Skills are folders with a SKILL. md that the agent loads on trigger.
Architecture: MCP runs as a separate process with its own runtime, speaking JSON-RPC. A Skill is just a directory: SKILL. md, optional scripts, references, and assets.
Invocation: MCP tools are called with typed parameters validated against a schema, and can be chained. Skills are invoked by the agent reading SKILL. md and running whatever commands it describes like bash, python, or curl.
Runtime: MCP servers often run in their own container or service. Skills run in the agent's own environment with no extra infra.
Where it fits: Use MCP to connect agents to live systems and data. Use Skills to give agents reusable know-how and instructions.
Over to you: What's the most interesting Skill you've come across recently?
IaCConf 2026: AI, IaC, and platform engineering (Sponsored)
 |
It’s 2026. Platform engineering is shifting. Your users aren’t just developers anymore. They’re AI agents. Plan for it.
Join IaCConf 2026 to hear from the people building this sh*ft. Hear from Corey Quinn on “AI Speaks Terraform Like a Tourist,” Matt Gowie on the move from IaC to agents, and Amin Astaneh on 10x code velocity and operational risk.
Plus: how teams replace Terraform workflows with policy-driven automation, deploy AI agents safely, and scale infrastructure with GitOps and Kubernetes.
Join IaCConf 2026, a free virtual event on May 14.