
823: Is Cursor AI the VS Code Killer?
09/18/24 • 50 min
1 Listener
Scott and Wes serve up a discussion on AI coding assistants with a deep look at Cursor AI, exploring its unique features like multi-line auto-complete and Smart Rewrites. They also discuss why Cursor’s intuitive UI stands out and tackle the big question: is it worth the investment?
Show Notes- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 01:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
- 01:48 Handling objections around AI assistants.
- 02:55 Context windows and how they’re improving functionality.
- 04:08 Cursor’s UI.
- 04:51 This is cool, why is it not a plugin?
- 08:12 What makes the UI interesting.
- 09:13 Smart Rewrites.
- 11:44 It can create multiple files.
- 13:05 Using the chat interface.
- 16:32 Another chat example.
- 20:22 The main features of Cursor.
- 21:55 Multi-line auto-complete.
- 23:55 Using docs for additional context.
- 27:26 AI is here to help you, not replace you.
- 33:27 Is it worth it?
- 33:55 The pricing.
- 44:10 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs.
- Scott: The Iron Historian, Scott’s Salt & Pepper Mills.
- Wes: Oxo Salt & Pepper Mills.
- Scott: Syntax.fm Zed Theme.
Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Scott and Wes serve up a discussion on AI coding assistants with a deep look at Cursor AI, exploring its unique features like multi-line auto-complete and Smart Rewrites. They also discuss why Cursor’s intuitive UI stands out and tackle the big question: is it worth the investment?
Show Notes- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 01:16 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
- 01:48 Handling objections around AI assistants.
- 02:55 Context windows and how they’re improving functionality.
- 04:08 Cursor’s UI.
- 04:51 This is cool, why is it not a plugin?
- 08:12 What makes the UI interesting.
- 09:13 Smart Rewrites.
- 11:44 It can create multiple files.
- 13:05 Using the chat interface.
- 16:32 Another chat example.
- 20:22 The main features of Cursor.
- 21:55 Multi-line auto-complete.
- 23:55 Using docs for additional context.
- 27:26 AI is here to help you, not replace you.
- 33:27 Is it worth it?
- 33:55 The pricing.
- 44:10 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs.
- Scott: The Iron Historian, Scott’s Salt & Pepper Mills.
- Wes: Oxo Salt & Pepper Mills.
- Scott: Syntax.fm Zed Theme.
Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Previous Episode

822: Receipt Printer with JavaScript
Wes unveils his Hack-Week project —a thermal printer controlled by JavaScript that prints out Sentry.io errors in real-time. Scott and Wes dive into the nitty-gritty of how it works, from the ESC/POS protocol to tackling socket issues, and whether the project was worth the effort.
Show Notes- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 00:38 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
- 01:10 What is Hack Week?
- 01:41 The project.
- 02:40 Why a receipt printer?
- 03:55 How do these printers work?
- 05:20 Communicating with the printer.
- 07:24 ESC/POS Encoder.
- ESC/POS Encoder.
- 08:42 Socket issues.
- 09:56 Using Transformers.js to stop ‘toxic comments’.
- 10:48 Back to socket issues.
- 12:18 Integrating with Sentry.
- 15:01 Printing images with Playwright.
- 16:17 Was it worth it?
Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Next Episode

824: Taylor Otwell's opinions on PHP, React, Laravel and Lamborghini Memes
In this episode of Syntax, Wes and Scott talk with Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel. Taylor shares insights on his journey from creating Laravel in his free time to building a strong community and user base. He discusses Laravel’s growth, including the major features and tools that were developed over the years. Taylor also shares his outlook on the PHP ecosystem, productivity tips, and plans for Laravel Cloud, a new deployment platform for PHP and Laravel applications.
Show Notes- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax!
- 00:29 Laracon
- 03:13 Laravel’s inspiration and features
- 07:18 Why don’t we have a “Laravel for JavaScript”?
- 09:02 What parts of Laravel came first?
- 10:07 The Laravel ecosystem
- 12:29 Laravel Cloud
- 14:00 What parts of Laravel are Intertia and what parts are React?
- 15:57 How many people are using Laravel?
- 16:59 Taylor’s productivity and development philosophy
- 24:43 Brought to you by Sentry.io
- 25:19 What makes a beautiful API?
- 29:33 Taylor’s thoughts on typing PHP
- 30:41 Features Taylor would like to see in PHP
- 33:03 What people get wrong about modern PHP
- 34:22 PHP stacks and CMSs
- 37:30 Taylor’s thoughts on WordPress
- 38:14 Lambo memes
- 43:44 Taylor’s coding setup
- 45:36 Sick Picks + Shameless Plugs
- Taylor:
- Taylor: Laravel Cloud
Syntax: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
Wes: X Instagram Tiktok LinkedIn Threads
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