Why C is not going anywhere (but Rust might replace it anyway)
Join Seve (founder of tscircuit) and Matt (founder of atopile) as they venture deep into the rapidly changing world of electronics, where hardware is finally catching up to software.
This episode tackles the growing movement of designing circuit boards using code, not schematics, and explores how compiler-style toolchains are revolutionizing firmware, FPGA workflows, and hardware reliability. They also explore:
* Wi-Fi HaLow: A deep dive into the 900MHz standard that offers kilometer-long range for drones and IoT, and how it challenges LoRa.
* The “Monks” of SQLite: Why the SQLite team is considered the “monastery” of open source and their commitment to no API breaks until 2050.
* Semver vs. Reality: Why Semantic Versioning breaks down in TypeScript environments and Seve’s “Pragmatic Versioning” alternative.
* The Future of Connectivity: How Starlink’s direct-to-cell technology is effectively placing cell towers in space.
* AI & DSLs: Whether LLMs will end the era of new programming languages in favor of Domain Specific Languages or TypeScript supremacy.
Whether you are a firmware engineer looking at Rust, a hardware designer interested in long-range wireless, or a developer managing complex dependencies, this discussion offers a fresh perspective on the intersection of code and hardware.
00:00 Hiking Yosemite and the Adirondacks
06:28 Rust in firmware
07:06 Truth Discovery
10:21 Safety in Embedded: Rust vs. C/C++
12:42 Airbags & Real-Time Constraints
14:55 Haskell, OCaml, and Functional Programming
16:44 Why Semver doesn’t work for TypeScript
17:51 Ecosystem development: 200 Releases a Day
26:42 Using OCaml for FPGA Design (Jane Street)
29:29 The “Monks” of SQLite & 2050 Compatibility
33:40 Will AI stop the invention of new languages?
39:05 Wi-Fi HaLow: 900MHz Long-Range Wi-Fi
43:50 Wi-Fi HaLow for Drones & Antenna Physics
48:07 Starlink Direct-to-Cell Technology
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit electronics.dev (https://electronics.dev?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
30 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
Why Reversible Computing Could Save Moore’s Law [Mini Episode]
Seve (founder of tscircuit) and Matt (founder of atopile) unpack one of the most radical ideas in modern electronics: reversible computing. As Moore’s Law slows down, the biggest bottleneck is heat — but what if computation itself could be rethought to conserve energy instead of wasting it?
In this episode, they explore:
* The principles of reversible/thermodynamic computing
* How MOSFET charge recycling offers a real-world analogy
* Why reinventing chip architectures (CUDA, ISAs, RISC-V) is so challenging
* The promise and pitfalls of open-source hardware ecosystems
* Lessons from Meta Connect’s failed demos and the future of hardware/software integration
* Why “hard tech” founders still matter in a software-driven world
For hardware engineers, embedded developers, and anyone curious about the future of chips, this episode connects deep insights into electronics with the big questions of computing’s next era.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit electronics.dev (https://electronics.dev?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
22 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT
Why the iPhone Air is Basically an Apple Watch with Extra Battery
Apple’s new iPhone Air might look like a futuristic, ultra-thin smartphone, but under the hood, it’s closer to an Apple Watch strapped to a giant battery. In this episode, Seve (founder of tscircuit) and Matt (founder of atopile) break down the wild engineering behind making phones slimmer than ever:
iPhone Air Deep Dive:
* Why the iPhone Air’s PCB layout looks more like a smartwatch than a phone
* How Apple carved down the circuit board to a tiny “plateau” under the camera
* The real limits of *batteries, casings, and glass thickness*
* Why reducing *just 1 mm* of thickness is brutally hard
* Tricks like *embedded resistors* inside the PCB stack-up
* Why thinner phones aren’t just aesthetic — they change the entire board design
Beyond the iPhone — Startup Life & Silicon Valley:
* What “honest tells” are — from biology to founder culture
* The strange power moves of Silicon Valley investors and founders
* Why outfits are status signals in tech * Lessons from Reddit’s messy founder history
* How investor–founder dynamics shifted in the past 15 years
* The psychology of saying “no” to meetings (and why it makes you work harder)
If you’ve ever wondered how Apple keeps packing a supercomputer into a device smaller than your wallet or what it’s really like building hardware startups in Silicon Valley, this episode blends both worlds.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit electronics.dev (https://electronics.dev?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)
Inside a recent episode
Why C is not going anywhere (but Rust might replace it anyway)
Published 26 Nov 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] Now, other people have obviously spoken much more deeply about Rust, but specifically in an embedding context is It's funny because at some point you just have to write to a register, right, on a microcontroller. It's at a fixed address. You're literally given a number in the data sheet and they're like, stick these bits in this register. And so at some point you do have to get unsafe with things still. Yeah, absolutely. But it's an interesting way to go. Well, if you can prove out your drivers, right, which contain the unsafe direct access code, then everything else can be relatively safe about what you're doing. […]
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