At The Orange Force, we like to understand new technology well before we recommend it. To actually understand where things can go wrong and where the real opportunities are, for us and for our clients. This blog is part of that: our honest take on the latest version of MAIA, Mendix’s AI assistant, based on […]
From Idea to App with MAIA: Our Take on MAIA Plan & Make in Mendix 11.8 Read More »
Part of what we do at The Orange Force is explore new tech before recommending it to anyone. So when my colleague Trong Tran spotted TOON as a “token-efficient alternative to JSON”, we had to take a look. Our first reaction: skeptical. Another format trying to solve a problem that JSON handles fine? Sure. But
We Tested TOON for Token Efficiency, and found some useful cases Read More »
We’ve rolled out Claude to everyone at The Orange Force. Every consultant now has an AI sparring partner to help them work more efficiently. The thinking is simple: we’d rather solve complex problems for our clients than spend hours formatting documentation or digging through old project notes. Claude handles that kind of routine work, research,
The AI-Infused Consultancy: Engineering Value at the Speed of Thought Read More »
Mendix & GenAI: From Builder to Conductor – A 2025 Retrospective and Roadmap for 2026 The holidays are behind us, and 2026 is officially underway. Hopefully, you had some time to recharge and reflect during the break. But now that we are back at it, this isn’t just a standard retrospective. While 2025 was the
Mendix & GenAI: From Builder to Conductor – A 2025 Retrospective and Roadmap for 2026 Read More »
From Microfoam to Microflow Part three: Brewing Data into Dashboards Debugging an Espresso Machine Finally, the moment was there to test the entire setup. Two weeks ago, when I hooked up all the components to the Gaggia Classic, it was showtime for the MQTT configuration. At first, everything looked promising—the Gaggimate connected nicely to my
From Microfoam to Microflow, Part three: Brewing Data into Dashboards Read More »
From Microfoam to Microflow Part two: Continuous Espresso Deployment Installing the Gaggimate Pro & Brewing in the Cloud A few days after hitting “publish” on Part 1, a small package arrived from Italy: my Gaggimate Pro modification kit. This is the point where curiosity meets commitment. If you read the first post, you’ll know I
From Microfoam to Microflow, Part two: Continuous Espresso Deployment Read More »
From Microfoam to Microflow Part one: Goodbye Isomac, welcome Gaggia! If you had told me five years ago that I’d be working my head around water temperature, extraction pressure, and brew ratios, I would’ve laughed and reached for a cup of Nespresso coffee. But things change—especially when you discover the joy of a well-brewed espresso
From Microfoam to Microflow, Part one: Goodbye Isomac, welcome Gaggia! Read More »
If you’ve spent any time in the Mendix ecosystem — either as a developer, manager, or trainer — you’ve probably noticed this pattern: someone completes learning paths, reads some documentation or blogs, watches a youtube video, probably passes an exam or two… and then freezes when they need to build something real. Why? Because understanding theory isn’t the same as being able to apply it.
From Theory to Practice — Why Hands-On Training Builds Better Mendix Developers Read More »
Hackathons, who these days hasn’t heard of them? Although originating in the 90s, hackathons have quickly gained popularity and are now used by both developers and organizations to discover new opportunities for their software. For enterprises, these sorts of events can also lead to new insights and business opportunities. For developers, taking part in a
What the Hack! How our developers use the Mendix Hackathons to challenge themselves Read More »
Being a lazy UX Designer might not sound like a great selling point, right? Well, in this blog post, I’ll explain why laziness is a good thing that not only helps me out but, hopefully, helps other people out too. Stuck on Repeat Throughout my career, I’ve worked on numerous Mendix UX projects, ranging from
Why I am a Lazy UX Designer (And Why That’s a Good Thing) Read More »
