Scott and Wes chat with YouTuber and security consultant Matt Brown about breaking into IoT devices, extracting firmware, and decoding the hidden tech inside everyday gadgets. Matt shares his methods, the legal boundaries, and the wild stories behind his most interesting hacks.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:21 Curiosity in Hacking
03:28 Understanding IoT Devices
07:15 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
07:40 Linux vs Microcontrollers
10:11 UART Console Access
13:56 Firmware Extraction Techniques
14:19 Guessing Usernames and Passwords
19:22 Extracting Password Hashes
23:15 Legal Considerations in Hacking
30:06 Where does the inspiration come from?
31:20 Using Logic Analyzers
37:45 CAN Protocol in Automotive
45:42 Influence of Lewis Rossman
54:05 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs
Sick Picks
Matt: Key Person of Influence
Shameless Plugs
Matt:Matt Brown on YouTube, Brown Fine Security
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58:02
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58:02
962: The Home Server / Synology Show
Wes and Scott talk about their evolving home-server setups—Synology rigs, Mac minis, Docker vs. VMs, media servers, backups, Cloudflare Tunnels, and the real-world pros and cons of running your own hardware.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:35 Why use a home server?
07:29 Apps for home servers
16:23 Home server hardware
18:27 Brought to you by Sentry.io
20:45 VMs vs containers and choosing the right software
25:53 How to expose services to the internet safely
30:38 Securing access to your server
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Scott: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Randy: X Instagram YouTube Threads
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35:20
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35:20
961: Keeping Up With The Fast and Furious Web
Scott and CJ go live from JS Nation NYC to talk about how developers can actually stay current without drowning in the constant churn of new tools and trends. They break down how to see through the fluff, focus on why tech exists before adopting it, and build a healthier, curiosity-driven approach to learning in 2025 and beyond.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:39 Scott delivering a non-technical talk at JS Nation.
03:24 Lamenting the frequency of change as developers.
03:46 Understanding why things exist before deciding to learn them.
05:11 Learning styles are a myth?
07:41 First dates and psychology exams.
10:39 Discovering is step one, playing is step two.
13:32 Learn with a project that you actually want.
18:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
18:34 Cutting through the noise of new tech.
21:40 Using AI as a learning tool
25:12 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs.
Sick Picks
Scott: dbrand Ghost Case 2.0
CJ: analog watches
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28:02
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28:02
960: Reacting to the Weird + Creative Corners of the Web
Wes and Scott talk about the weird, creative corners of the web—from live-coded music with Strudel and wild Hydra visuals to shader wizardry, projection-mapping art, fully synced Christmas lights, and more.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
01:10 Strudel
https://www.tiktok.com/@dj_dave__/video/7541104277234748685
https://www.tiktok.com/@switch.angel/video/7542776528057257229
03:45 Hydra
https://www.tiktok.com/@spacetiger3000/video/7552354878635511095?q=hydra%20video%20synth&t=1762879433461
05:44 P5.js
https://www.tiktok.com/@julian_hespenheide/video/7408511121323248929?q=p5.js%20&t=1762879954031
https://www.tiktok.com/@m171148385929472638284/video/7544793538496679190?q=p5.js%20&t=1762879954031
08:03 ShaderToy
https://shaders.com/
https://www.shadertoy.com/view/ldlcRf
https://www.tiktok.com/@phi.graphics/video/6927475445059292421?q=shadertoy&t=1762879566343
https://www.tiktok.com/@fifi_cgi/video/7255109146062687494?q=shadertoy&t=1762879566343
11:13 Brought to you by Sentry.io
11:37 MadMapper
https://www.tiktok.com/@dfiftyd50/video/7556202990529563920
https://www.tiktok.com/@dfiftyd50/video/7569626387577965844?q=projection%20mapping&t=1762879388084
14:13 Touch Designer
https://www.reddit.com/r/TouchDesigner/
https://www.tiktok.com/@bedareveryday/video/7558850186601172246?q=Touch%20Designer&t=1762879652502
https://www.tiktok.com/@maze88196/video/7521311510488943894?q=Touch%20Designer&t=1762879652502
https://www.tiktok.com/@valen.bertol/video/7475117172847562039?q=Touch%20Designer&t=1762879652502
16:45 xLights
https://www.tiktok.com/@ravespotlight/video/7311729112425516320?q=lights%20christmas&t=1762879799384
https://www.tiktok.com/@thatlightguy_/video/7315199858338565418?q=xlights%20show&t=1762879927155
20:19 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs
Sick Picks
Scott: NeueCast
Wes:
6 Port 2.5G Unmanaged Ethernet Switch
UGREEN USB to Ethernet Adapter 2.5Gb
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27:33
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27:33
959: TypeScript on the GPU with TypeGPU creator Iwo Plaza
Scott and CJ sit down live at JSNation NYC with Iwo Plaza, creator of TypeGPU, to dig into how WebGPU is unlocking a new wave of graphics and compute power on the web. They chat about shader authoring in TypeScript, the future of GPU-powered AI in the browser, and what it takes to build a killer developer-friendly graphics library.
Show Notes
00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
00:32 What is TypeGPU? High-level overview and why it exists
01:20 WebGPU vs WebGL – the new era of GPU access on the web
01:47 Why shader languages are hard + making them accessible
02:24 Iwo’s background in C++, OpenGL, and discovering JS
03:06 Sharing graphics work on the web vs native platforms
03:29 WebGPU frustrations that inspired TypeGPU
04:17 Making GPU–CPU data exchange easier with Zod-like schemas
05:01 Writing shaders in JavaScript + the unified type system
05:38 How the “use_gpu” directive works under the hood
06:05 Building a compiler that turns TypeScript into shader code
07:00 Type inference, primitives, structs, and TypeScript magic
08:21 Leveraging existing tooling via Unplugin + bundler integration
09:15 How TypeGPU extracts ASTs and generates TinyEST metadata
10:10 Runtime shader generation vs build-time macros
11:07 How the AST is traversed + maintaining transparency in output
11:43 Example projects like Jelly Shader and community reception
12:05 Brought to you by Sentry.io
12:30 Does TypeGPU replace 3JS? How it fits the existing ecosystem
13:20 Low-level control vs high-level abstractions
14:04 Upcoming Three.js integration – plugging TypeGPU into materials compute shaders
15:34 Making GPU development more approachable
16:26 Docs, examples, and the philosophy behind TypeGPU documentation
17:03 Building features by building examples first
18:13 Using examples as a test suite + how docs shape API design
19:00 Docs as a forcing function for intuitive APIs
20:21 GPU for AI – browser inference and future abstractions
21:11 How AI examples inform new libraries (noise, inference, etc.)
21:57 Keeping the core package small and flexible
22:44 Building “TypeGPU AI”-style extensions without bloating the core
23:07 The cost of AI examples and building everything from scratch
23:41 Standard library design and future of the ecosystem
24:04 Closing thoughts from Iwo – OSS, GPU renaissance, and encouragement
24:34 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs
Sick Picks
Iwo: Perogies
Shameless Plugs
Iwo: Syntax Podcast
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Full Stack Developers Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski dive deep into web development topics, explaining how they work and talking about their own experiences. They cover from JavaScript frameworks like React, to the latest advancements in CSS to simplifying web tooling.