Outer Wilds is really an amazing game. I highly recommend playing it without looking at anything online: when I started I reached for google every time I was stuck, just to realise I could have found answers if I has searched just a little bit more. After a while I stuck to a rule to never look at answers online, and it was such a bliss to finally crack puzzles after trying lots of different things.
In case you want to enjoy it anyway, I've got a recommendation: there are quite a few mods for the game, including one which quadruples the time limit, essentially making the time between major events 4 times as long.
In that configuration, the mechanic is still there but you aren't feeling on a clock anymore and can explore and play around with stuff at your own pace.
As someone hating any kind of timed missions in games, that's what made a frustrating game into a masterpiece for me personally.
Not sure I get what is better about this than simply using the month, like Documents/work/202606 (which also sorts nicely and does not need a conversion in my head to know what time of the year that must be)
Yup as far as the folder taxonomy thing ISO YYYYMM works fine too
Alphadec is just a timezone free UTC encoding that works down the millisecond so I also use it for snapshots eg
myscript.py.backup.2026_P5G6_328054_Aug06.txt
So then when I'm doing multiple revisions I don't have to worry about which revision of 20260806's day it was etc. Unix time in ms would work too but Alphadec is a little bit nicer to me than saying myscript.py.backup.1786086462604.txt
KOReader (mentioned in the article, an alternative OSS interface you can install on most ereaders) is really a marvellous piece of software. I was not sure about setting it up at first, fearing it would drain battery out of my Kobo and whatnot, but I never had any issue with it. The amount of stuff you can customize to your liking has no limit and I feel I have reached the endgame of reading comfort. If you own an ereader, I highly recommend installing it. I'm happy and grateful people spend time developing and maintaining it without being paid!
I don’t know man. Maybe it’s a great reader for those who really need to customize everything. However, I found it very hard to use. I can never find settings where I’d expect them to be. Is font or margins or hyphenation under the Gear symbol or the Document symbol or the Wrench symbol or the long-press book settings? Is it then under Typography, Display, Style, Text or Miscellaneous?
I had it on my ereader to check it out, but never got around to it. One time on a long flight I had a Gutenberg Project book that wasn’t rendering correctly and thought I’d give KOReader a try. Spent like 10 minutes trying to find how to disable hyphenation. And even if you get to the right menu, there will be a dozen options to scroll through on 1-3 pages. Maybe if I had internet to check where each setting is to set it up, but it’s not very intuitive to configure. I came from Kobo default reader where all the settings I care about are all front and center and you find them in the first place you look all grouped together.
Also, I realize this is a personal preference, I don’t like the “file explorer” view. I prefer a “library” view like Kobo or Kindle defaults to. If that makes sense.
> Also, I realize this is a personal preference, I don’t like the “file explorer” view. I prefer a “library” view like Kobo or Kindle defaults to. If that makes sense.
I'm with you, my reading device is something where I don't want to fiddle or be distracted by settings and options. I just want a stock, opinionated device with good defaults that just works and I have to charge once a month. That's it.
agreed, obviously reading a book itself is the simplest way to read a book. but the simplest way to carry around an entire library is technology. so id like to remove the fiddling or needing to interact with said technology as a barrier to me turning off my brain from life to get sucked into a book
It seems like you would only have to do this stuff once. So the main complaint is 'the settings menus need to be better organized'. That seems achievable.
Why? I'm using my old Kindle Paperwhite every day, for many years now and I haven't had any issues or "distractions" pop up ever. Rarely I have to plug it into my computer to send books to it with Calibre, that's my only interaction with this device.
Exact reason why despite having a jailbroken Kindle, I stick to the stock book browser. It's so tough to navigate on an old-gen Kindle with a low refresh rate.
One thing I really appreciate about KOReader is that it runs on so many devices. I like its stock experience, and I can have that experience on my Supernote and on my Kobo, and sync progress between the two.
Over the years I've gone from Kindle to Pocketboot to Boox to Kobo. Sometimes eReaders break, sometimes I hand them down to family members. Whenever I need to buy an eReader, as long as runs KOReader somehow I can pick the device purely based on its hardware instead of worrying about the stock software, compatible formats, etc.
But you're absolutely right that finding the specific setting you're looking for is an unintuitive process.
Exactly my thoughts. But it all changed when i just put the tailscale proxy on kindle and allowed claude to ssh into it. Now i can just configure it remotely and never really need to do anything else except reading on kindle itself.
Ohhhh that's not a bad idea at all. I'd read the article and was still largely in the "but why do I care?" space, but hands off management makes a lot of sense.
For me Tailscale is what i setup for all my homelab services. This way my Kindle feels like just another homelab service exposed by Tailscale. I'm sure you can do it differently.
Feels like you have my problem: "I can not be bother to switch from another app".
When every one wants their e-reader with custom setup you get that long list of options. Since the beginning of computing I have always wanted a custom UI on apps, i.e. add an icon here that does these three things in the app, or "add this view to that window". Even browsers plugins have a hard time getting it right.
Yeah, the UI IMO is very confusing and I'm not sure it has any benefits for me or features over the stock Kobo interface. It also will understandably never support vertical writing too so it loses some more appeal there for me.
The UI can be confusing at first. Bu take some time to get familiar with it and it can be really nice. The main benefits for me is dealing with poorly formatted epub and sensible viewing of pdf on small screen (kobo libra 2). There’s also OPDS support to connect to my calibre server instance and get book that way.
There’s no benefits if you get your books from the stores. But if you manage your ebook library yourself, koreader is great.
KOReader + BookOrbit (or Calibe or whatever you like best) is awesome.
KOReader is finicky to configure but once you have it set up its hands down the best experience. I use BookShelf as my main UI and BookEnds to configure the header/footer. I also use KOAssistant which lets you select text and chuck it at an LLM to explain/translate/custom-prompt/etc.
It was so nice when reading the Horatio Hornblower series where the old references or nautical terms were foreign to me. Just select a phrase, hit Explain, and in seconds get an LLM response right there on my kindle. Just like how the dictionary works (though obviously the LLM isn’t running locally).
With BookOrbit tracking my reading/annotations and providing my ebooks I’ve reached my perfect reading setup. Using Claude to configure some ESP32-based e-Ink screens to rotate book quotes I’ve personally highlighted in KOReader is peak self-hosted, super custom just tor me.
I’m so glad my coworker encouraged me to go down this route!
I’m normally selecting snippets small enough that they don’t invite spoilers. I think the plugin gives the book author/title but I don’t know the full prompt (I should look). So far I’ve not hit any spoilers. For all I know the prompt says something about avoiding spoilers.
I’ve thought for a while about writing something that only gives the model access to the book as far as you are. Maybe some king of RAG but with page numbers associated so you can filter “< $currentPage” and being able to ask questions “who is this again?”, “how are they related to X?”. The “world knowledge” is the main thing I’d have to be wary of. It’s going to know Harry is a wizard before you get to that part in the books (albeit that’s early, just making a point).
For the Horatio Hornblower series it was mostly older English phrases that had the feel of a “saying” but I couldn’t be sure of the meaning. Getting a response like “in the late 1700’s this phrase was used to mean…” was really cool, better than having to pull out my phone or just guess.
woahhhhhh i had no clue about book orbit. i found calibre stuff to be a bit jank at times. This is super cool. gonna toss an instance on my server tonight
[1] This isn’t a “thing”, just Claude code on the CLI that has access to my obsidian notes, home assistant, Unifi, bookorbit, etc. My own, very limited “Claw”. “Speaking” home assistant automations into existence is a whole other topic I could on and on about.
What makes it so good for you? I'm very comfortable with installing stuff like this in general, but I've never felt the need to install KOReader since I don't experience any issues with the basic software.
The only thing I'd maybe like is syncing reading progress with TheStoryGraph, but I can't imagine what else I might want.
- More frontlight options. Ability to toggle on/off easily using corner taps,
- More page layout and typography options e.g. custom fonts,
- Ability to load from Calibre over WiFi (I never plug mine in via USB).
Worth nothing that KOReader doesn't replace the default Kobo firmware. It's easy to install and you launch it from the Kobo firmware so it's easy to quit and go back to normal.
> Worth nothing that KOReader doesn't replace the default Kobo firmware. It's easy to install and you launch it from the Kobo firmware so it's easy to quit and go back to normal.
Ah, that's definitely something I missed, sounds like a good reason to give it a try!
+1 to this. KOReader acts like an always-on "app" opened from the regular kindle launcher. I believe there may be a way to make it auto start on boot, but it doesn't replace the base OS.
In addition to stuff mentioned by others, things I like:
- Fully customizable status bars, top and bottom (I like book progress at the top, chapter progress at the bottom, various indicators like remaining time, brightness level...)
- Custom dictionaries (like reader.dict, very complete), and choice over how to display them
- Advanced typography stuff (override publisher font if you like, add all the ligatures...)
- Book map: see a schematic view of the whole book, with chapters / subchapters length (gives me a feeling of how much I've read and is left to read, as would a real book)
- Page number / count that "just works" (epubs on kobo don't count actual page flips which I find annoying)
It's very configurable and extensible. As some have mentioned, the interface can be a bit confusing at times but once you're used to it it's mostly out of your way. I like that I can run it on both my Kobo and android phone and sync progress. I also self host an opds server but you can also connect to calibre, syncthing, or cloud storage to pull down books. There's even a plugin to sync my progress to hardcover, which is a more open alternative to Goodreads.
The overwhelming thing I hear about KOreader is once people use it for their way of reading (including doing things they coudlnt) they can't use an ereader any other way again.
Going from EPUB to KEPUB requires conversion (I believe KEPUB has XHTML directly embedded into it, right?). It's Kobo's proprietary format to "support" fast scrolling with preview, reading time estimates, etc.
Yes, Kobo can potentially read EPUBs natively, however the support is intentionally gimped to try and push you towards KEPUB/their own store.
Ah, I had not considered that the limitations of epubs were due to the device rather than the format. Having said that, Calibre does does the conversion on the fly when I upload my books, so I don't really experience any issues there
Same on my kobo. The only thing I was missing was the kobo like Home Screen where it shows all your books no matter how deeply nested. But of course there is a plugin for that: https://github.com/AndyHazz/bookshelf.koplugin
The only thing I’m missing now is a stylesheet or something to make a spot on the right edge be free of text as that’s where my external page turner clips (for hands free reading) and it hides part of the book’s text otherwise. If anyone has any clue on how to do it, lmk!
A similarly awesome ebook reader on Android is Librera. The package on F-Droid is the full version but one may also buy it on the play store the support the Ukranian developer.
I wanted a nice car, so instead of racking up mega debt on a $70,000 mustang I bought an old classic car and learned everything. After 5 years I fully restored it on the cheap (less than $10k) and now I've pivoted my career to that.
A long-ago colleague got a junk classic car and took night classes at the local community college to learn how to fix/restore everything. He finished the degree and quit the tech job.
Anyone currently with a tech job can pay for it out of pocket and barely notice. If it’s something someone thinks they may want to do, they should just do it. Nobody says you have to switch jobs at the end.
And tools have never been cheaper. The knock off chinese clones are used by professionals too. I have tons of automotive friends and they all vary in their level of access to things. I have friends who built their cars on the public road infront of their house, and some friends who took a year long college course.
I'm unconvinced that car mechanic pay is anywhere near programming but either way I'd say you have a pretty select and valuable skill set if you know cars and computers, given how computerised modern cars are.
Maybe 10 years ago. Now you have to fight 300 other applicants for an entry position that pays $50k in NYC.
The biggest thing for me that pushed me over the edge was thinking, how will I get a mortgage? All this applying, 100s of applications, even if I land a job it's not stable. Maybe it pays more, but I'll be laid off in a year or 2. Then back to 100s of applications while my mortgage is ticking away.
I have a friend who worked at Adobe for 5+ years as a senior AI researcher. Has a PhD in compi sci majoring in AI. He got laid off last year and couldn't find any work. I witnessed it. He gave up and started doing a side hustle thing on a video game. It's just not stable, and thats not how I want my life.
I don't see much overlap between mechanics and cars honestly. Everything in a car is modular. If it doesn't work, you replace it. Car tuning has some level of tech. Kind of. But that's an entirely different field that people specialize in, typical mechanics cannot do that.
That's really inconsistent with my experience. Are you a game dev maybe? I can believe it for them. Or maybe a web dev. I think if you do anything a bit more technical and "boring" like firmware development or data engineering there's tons of highly paid work, at least in the UK (which has lower salaries than the US for skilled work).
> Everything in a car is modular. If it doesn't work, you replace it.
Doesn't it require some skill diagnosing what isn't working using CAN tools? Plus there's all the coding of parts now. I guess to be fair, you're kind of limited by what tools the manufacturers are willing to sell you and it's probably difficult to go outside that unless you are a university level researcher.
Honestly, I think the biggest enjoyment I got from this thread is that programming culture is often toxic in ways that people aren't really ready to admit on this site which is dedicated to computers and programming.
I can hear them now: "Surely, you can't be happy with your decision, Mr. Ralo. You're leaving so much money on the table!"
I just downgraded the skillset needed and moved back down to dedicated IT. It's so much easier and I have zero job-related stress 95% of the time. I already worked a flashy job with big name recognition. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. I want no extra hours or responsibility. It's great.
It depends? It's certainly not gonna be more than you'd make as a SWE/SDE at a big tech company. But for semi diesel specifically you can probably clear $100k+/yr, so you might be making more than some entry level programming jobs that don't pay as well.
It's kinda like law. A mechanic doesn't make more than someone in the right side of the bimodal lawyer pay where 3Ls with the right clerkship or internship walking into a biglaw job paying whatever that is now ($200k?). But a mechanic might make more than the other tranche of lawyers fighting for the rest of the scraps who don't yet (and may never) have a good practice set up.
As a mechanic at the local quick lube, not much pay. But if you can get positioned as an expert in any car-related field, the pay can be huge. I know several people who are local experts in various car related professions who cater to the very rich automotive enthusiasts who have basically no budget limits, once they trust your work, you can name your price.
Is this working seamlessly? Iirc you needed to switch settings to bypass the contacts only thing. Plus Apple can of course create more adversarial hurdles to lock other vendors out.
And, of course this only solves the phone - phone, and not even all of them. Desktops & laptops have less hope.
One thing I don't get with this workflow, and all the ones we see in similar articles: do the authors run their agents in YOLO mode (full unchecked permission on their machine)?
It seems their agents have full edit rights (scoped to a directory, which seems reasonable), but can also run tests autonomously (which means they can run any code), which equates to full read/write access on the machine? I mean, there are ways to sandbox agents in dedicated containers, but it requires quite a bit of setup, and none of these articles mention it, so I guess they are YOLOing it?
Claude has a sandbox mode that uses bubblewrap to build a lightweight filesystem sandbox that only exposes the project directory: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/sandboxing
It's disabled by default though, and in general (especially with other agents) you very much still have to get out of your way to get any sort of reasonable access control indeed.
In principle though, just running the agent CLI in something like firejail would get you very far if you know what you're doing.
It depends on the type of flash being used and the controller managing it. That he did not even identify the chips should inform you of the extent that these results can be trusted.
All I can say for sure is that you should not trust any flash for long term storage, thumb drive or otherwise. In serious enough, high usage, high heat enviornments where everything working without problems or delay is part of what they are paying us to be responsible for, it is standard practice to clone fresh images to nvmes every time, with multiple spares that can be swapped out in minutes when they inevitably fail anyways.
It depends on how the flash modules are maintained and their quality, but yes having freshly written data will imply better data consistency on flash media.
Flash media relies on recharging, which may or many not happen often enough.
Also your website (https://zulip.com) is so fast and snappy, I was surprised to see everything load instantly when clicking around. I have not tried the app yet, but seeing a static website like this is quite refreshing.
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