Nostalgic & Fun
Source: Dev.to
Introduction
This is a submission for the New Year, New You Portfolio Challenge presented by Google AI.
I am Sonu Suresh, a Solution Lead who builds reliable, event‑driven systems using Node.js, Kafka, PM2, and BPM. My focus is on designing software that scales without turning into chaos.
Design Philosophy
- Prefer callbacks over tight coupling.
- Favor automation over manual effort.
- Choose simple architecture over clever hacks.
My approach is straightforward: break problems down, design clean flows, and write code that is easy to read, test, and maintain. Ship fast, but ship right. In short, I build systems that keep working at 2 AM without waking anyone up.
Technical Stack
- Frontend: Plain vanilla JavaScript, HTML, and CSS – zero frameworks, no shortcuts, no abstractions, just direct control over the browser.
- Server: Served through Nginx.
- Deployment: Deployed on Google Cloud Run, providing a secure, scalable, fully serverless backbone.
- Infrastructure: Built with Google Antigravity.
Architecture
The app looks like it’s from 1998 on the screen, but under the hood it runs on modern cloud infrastructure, delivering fast startup, reliable scaling, and production‑grade performance.
- Old‑school aesthetics with a new‑school engineering foundation.
- A dial‑up era interface powered by jet‑engine‑level resources.
Features
- Building a Desktop in the Browser
- The CRT Experience
- Interactive Easter Eggs
- Cloud‑Native Retro
Conclusion
The result is a mix of old‑school aesthetics with modern engineering: retro on the outside, cloud‑native on the inside—a time machine powered by containers.