Heard about CSS Naked Day thanks to Andreas , thought it would be fun to participate as well! So break out of your RSS reader and view this site in it's full, naked glory! With how simple my new blog is, it works really well!
A recent Tildes thread about computer monitor usage made me wonder what kind of setup others are using, so I spun up a survey! I have a theory about what reader's of this blog will most likely respond, but very curious to see the reality. You can take the 3 question survey here: surveys.darnfinesoftware.com The survey will be open for ~7 days before it auto implodes and all responses are deleted. I'll post a follow-up on what the data looks like (or you can view yourself at the above link).
After nearly a decade of using Mac OS, and recently years of using Linux, I've come to realize I've been denying myself. I'm a Windows guy, through and through. I love Copilot, and only Windows puts it everywhere, including Notepad! I don't want to write words, that's so last year. Basic computing skills are a thing of the past, chatting with Copilot is the future. I get too comfortable with what I use day to day, and want recommendations on apps and services I should subscribe to. I love that Windows reminds me of things I could spend money on via the Start menu, the taskbar and the lockscreen. It's refreshing. I can't stand open source, it's terrifying. I prefer a closed platform. Why would I trust random contributors over a multi-billion dollar enterprise that has my best interests at heart? I love friends, so why wouldn't I want to make new friends by sharing my information with "advertising partners"? They'll make my life better, using complex algorithms to figure out exactly what I want to buy before even I know. I have a laptop with 32GiB of RAM and Ryzen 7 that go mostly unused on Fedora. What a waste. Windows will make sure I get my money's worth by filling that memory and running that CPU. Stability is boring, why would I want the same experience day in and day out? Look at how exciting Microsoft has made Github, every day is an adventure on the status page. I want that joy in my operating system. So there it is, the truth is out, Windows is my home. I'm nuking Fedora on my System76 Pang12 and installing Windows 11 (well, once I create Microsoft account and have WiFi so I can get through the installer). Now if I could just get past this blue screen of death that says "April Fools - Brought To You By Microslop". Comments? Email me !
Read this article from Heise this morning which basically says that all networking routers are now illegal to purchase in the United States. Well, actually it says all non-US made ones, but that's pretty much all of them. Now obviously this is some form of corruption, some government official is getting a big old paycheck from a US based company (Comcast?) that will benefit from this. Maybe the goal is to force all consumers to rent their equipment rather than buy. Maybe it's to shove government spyware onto routers. Probably it's both. Whatever the reason, all I can say is fuck this government. And yeah, in the grand scheme of horrible things they've done (started a war, run a secret police that kidnaps people on the streets, etc), this is small. But seriously, fuck everyone in power in the United States. People love to respond with "if you don't like it, get out". Man I would FUCKING LOVE TO. But guess what, it's not that easy. When you have a family, property, belongings, pets, careers, you can't just pack up and move. Also, most countries don't want US citizens, big surprise.
Recently I started the Columbus Vintage Computing Club, it's a group for nerds like me that enjoy classic computers and software. Our first meeting was a week ago and it was an absolute blast. We had a Tandy and Vic20 on display, and lengthy discussions down memory lane! While I was planning the group, I knew I needed somewhere to post about the club and see who was interested in attending. I've run groups before (previously the Frontend Columbus group), so I went to the platform I knew best, Meetup. The first thing I noticed was Meetup absolutely chugged on my laptop. A site for posting groups and events should not bring my laptop to it's knees, but I guess that's the JavaScript filled world we live in. The next thing I noticed (after investing the time in creating my group and event), was that as a free-tier peasant, I was only allowed to have 10 people RSVP to my event. Absolutely insane! Everywhere Meetup was shoving their subscription infront of me, begging for my cash, just so I can run a free event for computer nerds. So fuck Meetup, I built Kai. Kai is a free and open-source platform for posting groups and organizing events. Open to anyone, no ads, no tracking. You can check it out at KaiMeet.com . It's beta, it's rough around the edges, and I only loaded in support for U.S. cities at the moment (want to use it somewhere else, email me !). But it works for my club, maybe it'll work for yours? More features will be coming as needed for the club I host, or if people reach out and ask for things. You can also open a PR on Github . Kai will be run as Donationware (BuyMeACoffee link) . If ya like it, help me pay the server cost. Kai represents something interesting that, to be honest, I'm excited to watch: the fall of SaaS companies that have ruined the internet. I'm not saying Kai will be disruptive, but somebody's version of what I'm doing will be. And people will keep doing this now that creating software is accessible. Those services that pray on being the only game in town, that sell your data to advertising partners and shove subscriptions in your face? They should be freaking the fuck out right now.
I was a product designer for a few years. I had switched careers to design after suffering burn out as a software engineer. During those years, my entire day was spent in Figma, building high fidelity mockups, leading workshops and creating prototypes. While Figma helped me move quickly, rapidly iterating after receiving user feedback, the engineer part of me always felt it was a throwaway step. You build something, only to then have somebody else build it again in code. I recently had to put on my design hat again, putting together interactive prototypes around a few redesign ideas. At first, I reached for Figma, but after fiddling around for an hour, decided to go a different route. While prototyping in Figma used to be faster than building in code, that’s no longer true. With Claude Code, building out frontend components is fast . Much faster than messing with layers, frames and symbols in Figma. Let me explain. Enterprise apps have well defined brand guidelines. Colors, type, scale. They are often built off an existing component library (think Bootstrap, shadcn). This means you can use Claude in a way that follows the look and feel of your application, and is constrained to the components the development team leverages. The rails help keep Claude from going off into the deep end. Design then becomes focused on solving the user’s problem through UX, less fiddling around with UI. I can open Freeform on my iPad, sketch something out, and prompt Claude to leverage our foundation to make my sketch a reality. Then, I can dig into the code and tweak things to be just right. The result is a more interactive, true to life prototype that gives your engineering team a head start with coded components. You get better feedback from users and stakeholders as it’s easier to visualize what the final product looks like. You discover pitfalls that might not have shown up until an engineer was halfway into the card. On top of all that, you move a lot faster, you’re designing and building in 1 step rather than 2, giving your engineering team a head start once designs are finalized. So then, what’s the point of Figma and Sketch? You can tell Figma is battling with this reality by pushing Figma make. The issue is, it’s too constrained and produces poor results. You can’t link it to existing coded components, Tailwind configs, etc. On the other hand, usin my approach requires a technical background. You need to guide with framework suggestions, foundational setup and be able to takeover and tweak yourself. That said, there in the shorter term there’s likely still a place for Figma and Sketch at the table. Designing using the method I talked about requires a technical background, otherwise your results will be all over the place, and small tweaks will be next to impossible. As the technology gets better though, I’ll be surprised if Figma and Sketch survive the next couple of years.
Reading through Mike Swanson's article "Backseat Software" made me realize why I tend to gravitate to older platforms and software. Software used to be sold with the expectation that it would accomplish the goal you purchased it for. Now, software is all about keeping you engaged, on platform, etc so that you keep renewing your subscription (or even better, part with more money and data). Mike writes "Great tools get out of the way so the user can accomplish their goal". I've been in enough companies where the goal is the opposite. You can't let the user just hop on, finish their task and hop off, think of the metrics! If a user's task is accomplished, they won't realize the value and might not renew! Mike also writes "I don’t want to go back to floppy disks. I like fast updates. I like security patches. I like sync. I like crash reports when they help fix real issues", and to be honest, I disagree with this to a point. I'd love to go back to boxed software on a disc. If a company has to manufacture and distribute, they typically made sure the software was well tested to prevent the cost of reprinting discs. These days, it's a "ship first, fix later" mentality. Speed is all that matters to a modern software company. This mindset is even growing with the VCDLC (Vibe Code Development Life Cycle). Just this morning I found my childhood copy of KidPix Deluxe on CD. I know that, if I had a computer from the era, inserting that disc would result in a full, functional experience. No failed license checks due to offline servers, no gigs of updates and no online account. Instead, KidPix would load and be fun just like it was when I played it. I don't need new features. Software should be sold as is. While new features might come, what you purchased still accomplishes the goal you bought it for. When I run software on my Palm Pilot, it does exactly what it should. No tracking, no announcements, no updates. If a Palm Pilot app is buggy or lacking, you use an app from a different vendor. Quality was necessary to make sales. When you buy a hammer, you expect to be able to hit nails. You don't need a manual, just a good nail to hit. Years later the manufacturer might introduce a new carbon fiber hammer with a larger head that hits nails with 30% more accuracy. Your old hammer won't get these features, but it continues to hit nails just fine. And sure, maybe the new hammer fixed a design flaw with the grip occasionally shifting. But again, you've learned to live with it and it hits nails. The hammer doesn't define your life or act as a status symbol. It's not engaging or addictive. It's a tool, and it hits nails. Software should be like a hammer.
Man, I'm tired of tech. Like, really tired. I recently read Dave's post on A programmer's loss of identity and it resonated with me. Coding has lost it's status as a craft, and instead is seen as an impediment to progress. Gone are stories of engineering miracles like John Carmack's DOOM engine, instead startups are doing everything they can to automate away the field into oblivion. It's not a fun feeling, seeing the collapse of something you've been excited about since 12. The magic I felt building Atari 400 games in BASIC is long gone, corporate life and tech bro startups have beaten it out of me. When my kids get older, my advice will be "study whatever you want, except computer science". To be honest, that's a big reason I haven't been posting on here as much lately (well, that and 2 kids). My motivation to spend time on the computer isn't what it used to be. I now spend hours a day kindly asking LLMs to make features for me, then dealing with fire drills when things get sloppy. I tried to resist the technology as long as I could, but some things you can't control. And look, I'll be the first to admit my (forced) adoption of LLMs has had benefits, even outside of work. I've been able to handle freelance client requests that I previously had to turn down due to time constraints. But it's joyless, ya know? When I have a LLM build something, I feel no pride, no sense of accomplishment. I didn't achieve anything, or solve a problem, I simply prompted. At least the warmer months are around the corner and I'll have cycling back as a replacement hobby.
With the inevitable future of software being mass manufactured by overworked developers yelling at Claude to meet increasingly unrealistic deadlines ("you should be able to develop at 10X speed because of AI!"), I think we need an alternative. Let the masses consume slop software, but for those that care, there should be an "organic" option. Ethically sourced, high quality, priced at a premium. Organic software would represent the hardwork of software craftspeople, aka those that give a shit. Software that is free from data collection, LLM slop and enshiftication. Instead, it would be created with optimized, well tested code and features driven by the best interests of users. Software that is a delight to use . Where would this software be found? You wouldn't expect to find locally sourced vegetables and premium cuts of meat at the chain grocery store, rather you would look towards the local, multi-generational family owned grocery store. Similiarly, I predict discovery of well crafted software will become harder and harder on mobile and desktop app stores run by Microsoft, Apple and Google. As the priorities and ethics of these companies stray further and further from the craftspeople building great applications, those craftspeople will look for new platforms to develop on. My hope is that Linux becomes the family grocery store. You go in expecting to find highly quality, well made software and you accept that you'll have to pay a premium for it. As it is now, Linux users tend to expect things to be free as in freedom ✱and✱ beer. I hope this mindset can slowly change, and breed a platform filled with tools like Nova, Transmit, iaWriter, OmniFocus, CodeKit, Bike Outliner, BBEdit, TablePlus, etc. Tools built by small teams of passionate people (or even solo developers), offered at premium prices that support development. Honestly, I feel the mindset has to change. If it doesn't, I'm not very confident for the future of computing. Making a leather bag by hand takes time, experience and high quality materials. One expects to pay for that time and skill. On the other hand, if quality doesn't matter to someone, they can grab a pleather bag made in a factory for pennies on the dollar. If everyone goes for the pleather bag, there's no incentive for the leather craftsperson, and soon enough it will become a lost art. If the perception comes to pass that people will only use free, data harvesting, online only, LLM built software, the desktop is in peril.
11 years ago my wife and I moved to Columbus, the first step in our post-college life. I had started my first "real" job as a software engineer, and my wife had joined a research lab at one of the hospitals. During a work day in the first couple of weeks of my new position, I remember ducking into the hallway to take a call. My wife told me she had found a very small kitten. He had been meowing non-stop in the bushes outside of her work, no signs of other cats around. I of course knew what that meant, and sure enough I was greeted by a cute ball of fluff when I got home that evening! We were cautious introducing him into our already full apartment (especially when you considered our leasing terms). The last thing we wanted to do was have our dog or other two cats scare the poor kitten. To that end, we setup a little fenced area in the spare bedroom and loaded it with toys. We slowly introduced the other animals and, after a few days, they seemed to welcome him. I had recently traded my old Toyota Yaris for a Chevy Volt and was all aboard the EV train (heck my pumpkin that year was carved as the Chevy logo). So when the question of a name for our new family member came up, I threw Sparky into the ring, and that's what we landed on. And boy did he live up to that name, so full of energy! Sparky was fast and so playful. He was easily the highest jumper in the world too. I remember we bought a toy that was essentially a stick with some wire and something on the end for him to bat at. He would scale walls to reach it, jumping halfway or higher up the wall before bouncing off. He would play so hard he would start panting, but still wouldn't be done! Sparky and I became inseparable, literally. He would ride around on my shoulder and sleep on my chest. At night, he would plop on my head and groom me for hours. He tended to get a bit too into his grooming though, leading to him biting my ear in the middle of the night! While full integration with the other 2 cats of the household took awhile, they eventually developed a deep bond. Bongbong, our older male cat, would get into grooming wars with him. They would both curl up together, taking turns grooming each other. This would escalate into "who can groom the best", until one of them finally ended it with a "boop" to the head, after which they would typically snuggle back up. Sparky became the de facto leader of the small group. The other cats would typically let him go first when it came to meals or catnip. All this to say, Sparky was a very, very good cat. 2 years ago a vet visit resulted in a cancer diagnosis for Spark. The vet gave him a few months, maybe a year if we were lucky. But the little guy was a fighter. I remember going to a checkup last year and the vet being shocked he was in such good shape. That winter his fur grew so puffy he looked healthier than ever. But we knew the inevitable would come. Last night Sparky took a turn for the worse, we knew the time had come. I said my goodbyes to him, telling him how much I loved him, and that he was a great cat. Just after 11:00PM Sparky passed away. We're all going to miss you little guy, you were a great friend.
Silly project time! What if you could have an entire discussion thread entirely within RSS? Well now you can with DiscuRSS ! Here's how it works, every so often I post a new topic to kick off the discussion. This action generates a blank RSS feed with the topic as the first entry. Visitors can then join the conversation, with each comment being added to the RSS feed. Is it silly? Definitely. But it might be fun! Subscribe to the DiscuRSS RSS Feed to follow the discussion. Add your thoughts to the thread with this form .
There was a thread recently on tildes.net about New Year resolutions. In one comment the poster mentioned how they choose a new "name" each year the represents what they want to embody. The idea of picking a new name for yourself stuck with me.. Instead of prescribing to set goals and feeling deflated when you miss them, you define what you want to become and figure out what that means throughout the year. For me, I immediately thought of "Calmness". I've always been an anxious, relatively negative person. I live a somewhat hectic life between 2 kids, 2 dogs, 3 kids, working at a startup, doing freelance work and managing 2 rental properties. I almost always have a physical feeling of anxiety in my chest, something that used to be regulated to the night before tests in college has become a constant companion. This year, I want to embody calmness, regardless of the situation. I don't know exactly what this looks like, and that's kind of the idea. I want to make decisions and react based on what it means to be calm, rather than dictate meaning beforehand. In pursuit of discovering what calmness means to me, I plan to get back into researching non-secular Buddhism and meditation. Before my son was born, I really dug into Buddhism and enjoyed what I learned, but after the birth that faded away. There was also an incident of joining a local sect that turned out to be internationally recognized as a cult, but hey shit happens! Another aspect I've been thinking a lot about is my tendency to see things in absolutes. A big example of this has been AI/LLMs. I've been nothing but critical and vocally anti AI, to the point I quickly dismiss any ability to see a positive side. This week I returned to work and (much as I expected) AI has integrated itself into every workflow. Following my new mindset has allowed me to see there are true benefits, even if that is a renewed interest in technology from my teammates. Whereas previously I would have dismissed and moaned, I'm now listening and learning. Now don't worry, this site will still remain LLM free, but maybe I'll stop complaining about the technology so much. Maybe. The final supporting piece I've discovered (so far) for my new mindset has been daily journaling. I've tried to pickup journaling before, but was always too serious and prescriptive about it. This time, with the help of the excellent DayNotez program on Palm OS, I've been writing multiple times a day. These have been short entries that help me process events or get my thoughts onto "paper". There is a lot to be said about writing your thoughts and seeing them laid out in-front of you. It sparks new ideas and frees space in your mind. Realizing that we are only 6 days into the new year, I admit things will change and I may even forget this whole adventure. But so far, embodying the "name" of Calmness has helped me navigate a number of things (including a crisis with one of our rental properties). I hope I can look back in a year with a deep understanding of how to approach situations with calmness. I'd love to hear what resolutions or goals others have for 2026, maybe we can help keep each other accountable! Feel free to shoot me an email . Stay calm and carry on!
I stumbled upon this interesting read from the past while searching for Palm Pilot stuff (found on Giles Turnbull's website ), thought others might enjoy it. A few things really struck me: it's going to make a whole bunch of unknown people millionaires, eventually. Maybe a few billionaires too. What an unfortunate understatement... I thought, happily, flopped on the couch, Pilot in hand. This is the way the Internet was meant to be used-- whenever I want, wherever I want-- not tethered, stuck in some room, unable to move. Swap emails with Tik-Tok scrolling and it's a perfect predicition of today. Best of all, the Pilot stripped out all the banner ads and graphics, leaving me what mattered most-- the words, just the words. I love this, still so relevant today.
A quote to live by for 2026: "Don't take life too seriously, nobody makes it out alive." Found on a memorial park bench at Prairie Oaks Metro Park in Columbus, Ohio.
It's New Year's Eve and I figure I should probably reflect on the past year. A lot happened this year, but at the same time it flew by! Of course the defining event of this year was my daughter being born in November! We're a month into having 2 kids, and let me tell you, people are right when they say 1+1 = X where X > 2 (okay that was a really nerdy way to write that). Our daughter is beautiful, healthy and very curious. Our son is filled with an absolutely endless amount of energy and also very curious (which means a lot of "no you can't take the baby to play" and "no she doesn't need to eat cheerios with you"). It's been a tremendous amount of work, and I'm sure it will get even harder, but it's also incredible and exciting to see what kind of people they will both become. Also, I now have enough players for a full game of Mario Party on the 64 (if I can convince my wife to play in 4 years when my daughter gets a little older)! At the beginning of this year my wife and I got a little break and spent 2 weeks in Australia visiting family. We started in Tasmania and then Melbourne to spend Chinese New Year. Australia was incredible, the beauty of Tasmania can't be understated and Melbourne was such a vibrant, walk-able city. I was lucky enough to hire a gravel bike in Melbourne to cafe hop, it was a great time! Given the shit show in our home country of the United States, my wife and I tried applying for a visa to Australia when we got back, but unfortunately we are too old to really qualify. This summer I rejoined my cycling groups for the second year. I discovered cycling last year and fell in love. It's been an incredible escape and enjoyable way to stay in shape. The unexpected part of cycling has been the social aspect, I have multiple group rides I attend weekly that have led to meeting a lot of awesome people in my community. It will definitely be hard to find time to cycle this year (heck I've already fallen off of Zwift), but I'm hopeful I can at least stay on with my groups (one ride is at 5am, so the kids should still be sleeping). Professionally, this year was a lot more stable than last. I had 4 W2s and freelance work last year, whereas this year I stayed with 1 job. I think the longest I've ever stayed at a job is 2.5 years. There's a lot of reasons behind that, but I'm not going to get into them publicly. I turned down a lot of freelance work this year as my main job was incredibly busy. I still hold onto my dream of working for myself, and will keep my LLC around in that vein, but it's looking harder and harder to reach. From a hobby perspective, I started this blog and began writing regularly. I've always wanted to have a long running blog, but typically gave up within a month or two. I've really enjoyed writing and tweaking my blog here and there. I've also fully switched to Linux from Mac OS, switched from iOS to Android and started daily carrying a Palm Pilot in an effort to reduce phone usage. I picked up reading again and went through a lot of books. "Hell Yeah or No" by Derek Sivers was the defining book for me this year. It got me back into reading and gave me focus on being more present for my kid. "Digital Minimalism" by Cal Newport was the runner up, I took a lot of his advice to heart and made an effort to implement it in my daily life. Finally, "Record of a Spaceborn Few" by Becky Chambers is absolutely my top choice for fiction this year, I loved the character/world building and happy endings. In support of reducing phone usage, I started collecting CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays. I picked up a 5-disc CD player and Blu-Ray player from thrift shops, and put RockBox on an old iPod that I now carry everywhere (I definitely get some looks at that gym). It's been great feeling more connected to my media. I didn't realize how much I missed physically browsing cases at the store! My son has also really enjoyed renting movies from the library as well. Makes me wish Blockbuster was still around! I think that pretty much sums up everything interesting that happened this year. There of course was a lot of boring, mundane stuff (primarily the 9-5 grind), but I'm happy to be closing out the year on paternity leave and focusing on what actually matters, my family. It's just unfortunate my 5 weeks are just about up (again, screw the US, 2 of those weeks are vacation time too). As for next year, I'm not really sure what my focus will be. I'd like to stay consistent with the gym (as cliche as you can get, but hey at least I already have my membership) and find ways to spend more time with my kids. Anyways, Happy New Year to everyone!
Okay, this one is going to reek of old man yelling at the clouds, but ya know what? That's kinda where I am in life. The past couple of times I've been at the gym, something has really bugged me. People occupying machines, doing either nothing or the bare minimum. Instead of focusing on improving their physical fitness (ya know, the point of a gym), they scroll tiktok. They'll be sitting at the weight machine, walking on the lowest speed on the treadmill or even standing in the pool holding their phone. It's insane to me! a Of course this isn't limited to the gym. Every time I stop at a traffic light and look around, 3 out of 5 people have their heads down, catching up on social media, occasionally glancing up to see if they are supposed to be doing something seemingly less important (like driving a death machine on wheels). It makes me wonder if civil engineers take into account distracted drivers when designing an intersection. I've seen lights that are so short, nobody has gotten to move because the lead car was on their phone and missed the whole light. I've sat behind cars going 15 under the speed limit, bouncing off the curb as the person's head is down the whole time. I think you have to assume driving is a second or third priority for people behind the wheel. You go to a park, every parent is on their phone while kids beg "please play with me". The parents are effectively signaling to their kids "this short form video is more important than whatever you're doing". And when those kids grow up, they'll have learned that behavior as the norm. It's just frustrating. How is it so hard to leave your damn phone in the locker, glove box or at home? Also get off the damn bench press, I need to use it. Go ahead and get off my lawn while you're at it.
I've mentioned a few times on my blog about daily driving a Palm Pilot. I've been using either my Tungsten C or T3 for the past 2 months. These devices have taken the place of my smartphone in my pocket. They hold my agenda, tasks, blog post drafts, databases of my media collection and child's sleep schedule and lots more. Massive amounts of data, in kilobytes of size. Simply put, it's been a joy to use these machines, more so than my smartphone ever has been. I've been thinking about the why behind my love of Palm Pilots. Is it simply nostalgia for my childhood? Or maybe an overpowering disdain for modern tech? Yes to both of these, but it's also something more. I genuinely believe the software on Palm is BETTER than most of what you'll find on Android or iOS. The operating system itself, the database software ( HanDBase ) I use to track my child's bed times, the outline tool I plan projects with ( ShadowPlan ), the program I'm writing this post on ( CardTXT ) and the solitaire game I kill time with ( Acid FreeCell ), they all feel special. Each app does an absolutely excellent job, only takes up kilobytes of storage, opens instantly, doesn't require internet or a subscription fee (everything was pay once). But I think there's an additional, underpinning reason these pieces of software are so great: constraint. The device I'm using right now, the Palm Pilot Tungsten T3, has a 400MHz processor, 64MiB of RAM and a 480x320 pixel screen. That's all you have to work with! You can't count on network connectivity (this device doesn't have WiFi). You have to hyper optimize for file size and performance. Each pixel needs to serve a purpose (there's only 153,600 of them!). When you're hands are tied behind your back, you get creative and focused. Constraint truly is the breeder of innovation, and something we've lost. A modern smartphone is immensely powerful, constantly online, capable of multitasking and has a high resolution screen. Building a smartphone app means anything goes. Optimizations aren't as necessary, space isn't a concern, screen real estate is abundant. Now don't get me wrong, there's definitely a balance of too much performance and too little. There's a reason I'm not writing this on a Apple Newton (well, the cost of buying one). But on the other hand, look at the Panic Playdate. It has a 168MHz processor, 16 MiB RAM and a 400x240 1-bit black & white screen, yet there are some beautiful , innovative games hitting the console. Developers have to optimize every line of C code for performance, and keep an eye on file size, just like the Palm Pilot. I've experienced the power of constraint myself as a developer. My most successful projects have been ones where I limited myself from using libraries, and instead focused on plain PHP + MySQL. With a framework project and composer behind you, you implement every feature that crosses your mind, heck it's just one "composer require" away! But when you have to dedicate real time to writing each feature, you tend to hyper focus on what adds value to your software. I think this is what powers great Palm software. You don't have the performance or memory to add bloat. You don't have the screen real estate to build some complicated, fancy UI. You don't have the network connectivity to rely on offloading to a server. You need to make a program that launches instantly, does it's job well enough to sell licenses and works great even in black & white. That's a tall order, and a lot of developers knocked it out of the park. All this has got me thinking about what a modern, constrained PDA would look like. Something akin to the Playdate, but for the productivity side of the house. Imagine a Palm Pilot with a keyboard, USB C, the T3 screen size, maybe a color e-ink display, expandable storage, headphone jack, Bluetooth (for file transfer), infrared (I REALLY like IR) and a microphone (for voice memos). Add an OS similar to Palm OS 5, or a slightly improved version of it. Keep the CPU, memory, RAM all constrained (within reason). That would be a sweet device, and I'd love to see what people would do with it. I plan to start doing reviews on some of my favorite Palm Pilot software, especially the tools that help me plan and write this blog, so be on the lookout!
A family member was nice enough to get me a Commodore VIC-20 for Christmas! I grew up writing BASIC on an Atari 400 (despite being born 12 years after the release), but have always want to get my hands on a Commodore. The system needs a bit of work before I can use it though. First thing is a power supply, which shockingly seem to be $80+. I also need a video cable, but I think my Sega Genesis one will work (it fits at least). The "0" key is missing on the keyboard, so I think I'll need a new stem and keycap. I should probably buy a recap kit as well. Finally, I'll need something to load up software. Kung-Fu Flash or SD2IEC seem like good choices. Eventually I'd also like to get it online and connect to a BBS, but one step at a time! I'd love to find a way to write a blog post from it as well! For the Commodore enthuaists out there, let me know any hardware/software suggestions or thoughts on what I can do once I get the system up and running!
Recently I wrote about my frustrations with big tech. I was (and still am) angry with the continued erosion of privacy, the push to buy instead of repair and the loss of tech/software/media ownership. In that article, I promised to do something . I wasn't sure what it would look like, and to be honest, I'm still not positive, but today I'm starting somewhere . We Own Our Tech is an online publication that will be focused on advocating for tech ownership through guides, articles and educational materials that cover topics such as: repairability, self-hosting, open-source alternatives, revitalizing vintage technology and moving off of big tech platforms. My goal is to provide inspiration and resources so that others can discover a different outlook on technology have a starting point to take back the technology in their life. I hope to grow this into a community of more than just myself. In addition to the website, I see building out an online forum and hosting in-person events. I've also considered the idea of spinning up a non-profit. But for right now, I'm focusing on finding the voice and writing style that works best. The level of detail people are interested in, and the content that best serves We Own Our Tech's goals. All that said, We Own Our Tech's first article went live today. It's a piece on why one should consider vintage compact digital cameras over smartphones cameras. You can read the article at We Own Our Tech here: https://weownourtech.org/ . I want to keep this project separate from my personal blog, which might be a struggle at first (as tech ownership is a huge passion of mine, and what I often write about), but I'll figure it out over time. Please bear with me! For those of you subscribed to my RSS, you might be interested in We Own Our Tech's feed as well. Finally, thanks to everyone that reached out regarding this project. The enthusiasm I received has helped me get something off the ground. Please continue to reach out and let me know what you don't like so I can iterate and improve. I'm building this because I feel like we are at a critical tipping point in the tech space. Rampant enshittification along with the continued stripping of privacy, right-to-repair and ownership rights has rapidly degraded a space I've been in love with since I was a child. While one little movement will never have a louder voice than the billions of marketing dollars big-tech has, I hope it can help at least a small number of people fall in love with technology again.
Mail day and an early birthday present to myself! My new-to-me Tungsten C arrived today, and let me say, it is an absolute joy to use! The C has a smaller screen than my T3, WiFi instead of Bluetooth and is a bit heavier. The build quality is solid, par for the course when it comes to Tungsten devices. The CPU is similar to the T3, but seems noticeably faster (especially in Acid Freecell). Without a doubt, the keyboard is the killer feature. I had forgotten how much I prefer a chicklet, physical keyboard to poking at a touchscreen. It's fast, easy to hit keys, and has a great clicky feeling to it. On the Wi-Fi front, I have yet to successfully connect to a network. My guess is my UniFi APs and Pixel Phone Hotspot use newer bands than the C supports. I might have an older router somewhere to give a shot later on. All in all, this is a great little device that will replace my T3 as my pocket carry. The keyboard just makes it such a productivity beast, even when compared to a modern cell phone! This post was, of course, written on my Tungsten C. Update on Wi-Fi Seems my Wi-Fi chip might be shot. Trying to do a system update errors saying that the radio ROM is corrupt. I have a new battery coming in the mail, so I'll see if there's anything obvious that needs soldering while I'm in there.
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