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Build vs Buy

Marcus Bello

Marcus writes about when teams should build their own tools instead of buying.

Software Ownership
What Game Decompilation Teaches Us About Owning Software vs. SaaS
Marcus Bello · Sep 21, 2026 · 8 min read
A sealed opaque cube next to an identical cube broken into many small transparent blocks, illustrating software decompiled into its many separable component parts.
AI Tooling
AI Agent Chat Portability for Code: How to Avoid Vendor Lock-in
Marcus Bello · Sep 19, 2026 · 8 min read
A transparent connector block shows one channel of uniform pieces passing freely into many different ports while a tangled knot in a parallel channel remains stuck able to fit only one port, illustrating portable code versus non-portable reasoning in AI coding agents.
Build vs Buy
Run Local LLM vs OpenAI API Cost: The 2026 Break-Even Math
Marcus Bello · Sep 17, 2026 · 8 min read
A balanced-scale composition comparing a compact local LLM inference stack against a taller networked API server rack, joined by a level beam with a central pivot point.
SaaS Economics
Open Source AI vs API: What Self-Hosting Actually Costs
Marcus Bello · Sep 12, 2026 · 7 min read
An architectural diagram comparing a lattice of model-parameter blocks and a stacked column of GPU units against a single slender API endpoint node, illustrating the infrastructure cost of self-hosting an open-weight AI model versus calling a hosted API.
Build vs Buy
Buy GPUs or Rent Cloud AI? The Real Break-Even Math
Marcus Bello · Sep 11, 2026 · 7 min read
A single dense processing block balanced against a spreading grid of smaller identical modules, illustrating the tradeoff between owning fixed GPU capacity and scaling cloud compute on demand.
Shadow AI & Governance
How to Secure AI Agents and Skills Files
Marcus Bello · Sep 11, 2026 · 7 min read
A small blank card sits at the boundary of a larger open mechanical housing, its edge highlighted to show how a compact instruction file connects into a larger system's internal components.
AI Tooling
The Best Local Open-Source LLM for Coding in 2026
Marcus Bello · Sep 10, 2026 · 7 min read
A single GPU module feeding five interchangeable model tiles through a highlighted output channel toward an empty result frame, representing local open-source LLMs run for coding on one graphics card.
Software Ownership
Chrome Killed uBlock Origin. Here's What Enterprise IT Can Still Control
Marcus Bello · Sep 8, 2026 · 6 min read
A structural comparison showing open plugin modules connecting directly to a window frame on the left, while identical modules on the right are blocked by a solid, opaque layer, representing the restricted browser extension architecture of Manifest V3.
AEO Explainers
What Is Recurrent Architecture AI? GPT-6 Astra's Looping Explained
Marcus Bello · Sep 7, 2026 · 7 min read
Abstract illustration of a recurrent AI architecture shown as a single looping band of identical segments passing repeatedly through one processing gate instead of a tall stack of distinct layers.
Software Ownership
How to Block Network Trackers With DNS
Marcus Bello · Sep 6, 2026 · 7 min read
A central filtering cube governs a radiating ring of many identical query paths, some intact and some visibly severed, illustrating DNS-level tracker blocking.
Software Ownership
Local AI vs Cloud LLM for Enterprise: Why the Real Shift Is Happening Quietly
Marcus Bello · Sep 6, 2026 · 6 min read
Illustration contrasting a distant tall networked spire with a compact, self-contained hexagonal cluster of interconnected nodes, representing cloud-based versus locally hosted AI infrastructure.
Shadow AI & Governance
AI Agent Corporate Data Security Risks: Astra, Fable 5.1, and Apple's Lawsuit
Marcus Bello · Sep 3, 2026 · 8 min read
A schematic architectural rendering of autonomous peripheral processing clusters systematically extracting blank data tiles from a central corporate network topology.
Build vs Buy
AI Software Factory vs. SaaS: Why Building Wins in 2026
Marcus Bello · Sep 3, 2026 · 6 min read
An open automated fabrication cell continuously assembling and stacking identical modules, contrasted with a distant sealed, seamless cabinet fed by an external pipe, illustrating autonomous software generation versus opaque subscription systems.
AEO Explainers
What Hardware Do You Actually Need to Run LLMs Locally?
Marcus Bello · Sep 3, 2026 · 6 min read
A spatial diagram of computing hardware scaling up in size, from a single graphics processing card to a multi-board desktop workstation, and finally to a towering server rack, all linked by physical data traces.
Build vs Buy
GLM-5.3-Flash vs Qwen3.8-Flash: Which One Should Run Your Internal Tools
Marcus Bello · Sep 3, 2026 · 7 min read
A mechanical diverter routing blank data cards into one of two identical parallel processing chambers, representing the choice between two flash-tier LLMs for internal tools.
Software Ownership
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra Makes the Case for Owning Your AI Compute
Marcus Bello · Sep 2, 2026 · 6 min read
A thick, square desktop computer sits at the center of a vast, precise grid of small blank tiles, with a single accented tile entering its front slot to represent a local AI inference query.
Software Ownership
The $13B Reason You Should Run Local AI Models
Marcus Bello · Sep 2, 2026 · 5 min read
A massive, sealed server casing contrasts with a compact, completely exposed modular logic board representing local AI inference.
Software Ownership
Local AI Models vs API Cost: The Real Break-Even Math
Marcus Bello · Aug 31, 2026 · 7 min read
A mechanical routing junction directing solid blank blocks either directly into a local finned processing enclosure or onto a long, elevated transit rail for external processing.
Build vs Buy
How to Self-Host an Internal Status Page for Your Tools
Marcus Bello · Aug 31, 2026 · 7 min read
An exploded structural view of a hardware chassis with a top routing manifold feeding into a grid of blank indicator pegs, representing a self-hosted status page and reverse proxy layer.
Software Ownership
How to Run GLM-5.3-Flash Locally on CPU (No GPU Required)
Marcus Bello · Aug 31, 2026 · 7 min read
A hardware schematic arrangement showing a massive parameter matrix routing directly through a primary CPU into expansive memory banks, bypassing any secondary coprocessors.
Shadow AI & Governance
Agentic Flooding: How to Protect Your Internal Systems from AI Swarms
Marcus Bello · Aug 30, 2026 · 7 min read
A cutaway view of a mechanical intake manifold using architectural baffles and rotary valves to filter a massive volume of unmarked spheres into a single, regulated sequence, representing an API rate-limiting gateway.
SaaS Economics
The Hidden Toll of SaaS Lock-In: What Data Retrieval and Platform Fees Actually Cost
Marcus Bello · Aug 29, 2026 · 6 min read
A mechanical chute extracts unlabeled data tokens from a sealed cube into an open framework, illustrating the process of data egress and retrieval from a closed platform.
SaaS Economics
The Race to the Bottom: What Plunging LLM API Costs Mean for SaaS
Marcus Bello · Aug 29, 2026 · 6 min read
A minimal architectural rendering showing dropping token chutes funneling into a massive base cubic block, while a razor-thin framework representing a SaaS wrapper sits detached on the surface.
AI Tooling
How to Use AI Coding Tools to Resurrect Legacy Internal Systems: A How-To Guide
Marcus Bello · Aug 28, 2026 · 6 min read
An open, organized geometric framework representing an AI coding tool maps and lowers a new structural patch into a dense, complex block representing a legacy codebase.
Software Ownership
Bricked Hardware and Missing Git Tags: Why Software Ownership Matters
Marcus Bello · Aug 27, 2026 · 5 min read
A single cylindrical commit node on a vertical spine, with a hexagonal locator tag detached and hovering just outside its lateral mounting slot.
Software Ownership
We Need to Talk About Who Owns the AI Training Data
Marcus Bello · Aug 26, 2026 · 6 min read
An exploded view of a one-way mechanical data manifold pulling scattered memory cards through an intake screen into a dense central core, illustrating an automated web-scraping pipeline.
Software Ownership
The Rise of the Self-Hosted Agent Factory: How to Self-Host AI Coding Agents
Marcus Bello · Aug 26, 2026 · 6 min read
An architectural diagram of a localized computing stack, featuring a top tier of dense processing nodes feeding into distinct, heavily partitioned execution bays below.
Software Ownership
Tuning Your Local AI: Why Self-Hosted Models Feel Dumber Than They Are
Marcus Bello · Aug 25, 2026 · 4 min read
A central hardware module featuring sliding tracks and rotary dials, representing the precise configuration and fine-tuning of local LLM inference parameters.
AEO Explainers
What is an AI Harness? The Infrastructure Behind Autonomous Agents Explained
Marcus Bello · Aug 24, 2026 · 5 min read
A smooth, opaque spherical module suspended within an intricately detailed, open mechanical chassis representing an AI execution harness.
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