Insights
Engineering notes from production work
Technical guides and field notes on IoT, fleet tracking, and full-stack systems — each one written from an architecture I run or have shipped, not from other people's blog posts. New articles land as the underlying work earns them.
How are these articles organised?
They cluster around four areas of production work. Each cluster pairs practical guides with the decision pieces people actually search for when they are choosing between two approaches.
- IoT and connected systems — MQTT broker integration, Raspberry Pi data logging and Spring Boot ingestion, what a full-stack IoT developer actually does, and what custom IoT development costs.
- Fleet and logistics — Traccar customization and API integration, and the honest comparison between custom software and subscription platforms.
- Mobile and desktop — Flutter against React Native, the same comparison narrowed to IoT applications, and when Electron beats a native desktop build.
- Healthcare and compliance — what custom Legionella monitoring software has to handle when regulatory records meet sensor telemetry.
What makes these different from the usual search results?
Each article is written from an architecture I have run or shipped, which means the failure modes are the ones that actually happened rather than the ones that sound plausible. The comparison pieces are written by someone with nothing to sell you on either side of the comparison — I am not a Flutter shop, and I do not resell fleet platforms.
Where an article recommends against custom development, that is the genuine recommendation. Several of these end with some version of “buy the subscription product”, because for a good number of readers that is the correct answer.
Where should you start?
If you are scoping a build, start with the cost and comparison pieces — they will tell you fastest whether custom work is justified. If you are mid-project and something is failing, start with the technical guides; they are organised around the specific problem rather than the technology. If you are evaluating me rather than the topic, the case studies are the better read, since they show the same thinking applied to systems that had real deadlines and real constraints.
What a Full-Stack IoT Developer Actually Does — and Why the Role Is Rare
The IoT stack is longer than the web stack, and most projects die in its seams. What one accountable developer across hardware, backend, and interface changes.
· 9 min readRead IoT & Connected SystemsHow to Integrate a Raspberry Pi with a Spring Boot Backend
A practical architecture for getting Raspberry Pi sensor data into a Spring Boot backend — MQTT transport, ingestion, persistence, and the production pitfalls.
· 8 min readRead IoT & Connected SystemsMQTT Broker Integration: A Production-Minded Guide
Choosing, configuring, and securing an MQTT broker for real deployments — topic design, QoS trade-offs, and the hardening steps most guides skip.
· 8 min readRead IoT & Connected SystemsRaspberry Pi Data Logging to the Cloud: A Field Guide
A field-tested pattern for logging Raspberry Pi sensor data to the cloud — local buffering, transport choices, storage, and what fails in the field.
· 8 min readRead IoT & Connected SystemsHow Much Does Custom IoT Development Cost? An Honest Breakdown
What published IoT development price ranges really mean, the five drivers that move them, where budgets leak, and how a solo consultant changes the math.
· 8 min readRead Fleet & LogisticsTraccar Customization Services: What a Developer Can Build on the Open-Source GPS Server
What Traccar customization actually covers — protocol decoders, integrations, dashboards — and when you need a developer, from a 200+ vehicle production deployment.
· 8 min readRead Fleet & LogisticsTraccar API Integration: Building Custom Dashboards and System Integrations
How to build on Traccar's REST and WebSocket APIs — authentication, live positions, streaming, and when to use forwarding — from a 200+ vehicle deployment.
· 8 min readRead Fleet & LogisticsCustom vs Off-the-Shelf Fleet Management Software: An Honest Decision Guide
When subscription platforms like Samsara or Geotab are the right call, when custom Traccar-based software wins, and the arithmetic that decides it.
· 9 min readRead Mobile & DesktopElectron vs Native Desktop Apps: How to Choose Without Regret
When Electron's web-stack convenience wins, when native desktop (C#/.NET, JavaFX) is worth it, and the three questions that decide — from a practitioner.
· 8 min readRead Mobile & DesktopFlutter vs React Native in 2026: An Advisor's Comparison
Where Flutter and React Native actually differ in 2026 — architecture, UI philosophy, teams, and longevity — from an advisor with no framework to sell you.
· 9 min readRead Full-Stack IoTReact Native vs Flutter for IoT Apps: What Connected Devices Change
Choosing an app framework for a connected product — BLE, background limits, vendor SDKs, and real-time data — where IoT constraints rewrite the comparison.
· 8 min readRead Healthcare & ComplianceCustom Legionella Monitoring Software: From Compliance Records to IoT Sensors
What custom Legionella compliance software looks like — auditable risk assessments, sampling records, role separation — and how IoT sensors extend it.
· 8 min readReadWorking on something these articles touch? Tell me about it.
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