Hello,

I have decided to get myself a laser printer.

My intentions are to have a working printer occasionally. So sometimes I will print a lot, but then it can be left unused for a couple of years and I want it to be usable in the instant I want it without having to go and get new whatever.

My question is are there any considerations besides the printer being listed at https://openprinting.github.io/printers that I should make?

I will not hunt down the most open (as in copyleft/libre soft- & hardware) printer but would not mind it being open.

More importantly is the expectation that I could find new toners (I think that's the word for "ink" in laser printers) in 5 years.

I don't really want color, but if it isn't that big of a difference I might as well.

(I could change my mind to get a different kind of printer, but you'd have to be really convincing.)

In all the hype and debate and excitement and frustration around AI, I think sometimes the fact that we've achieved something really cool gets lost. I want to talk about that a bit, which I'll try to do in a simple way, without too much math or computer science.

There's a surprising amount of intelligence encoded in applied language. To me that's the most remarkable insight in LLM technology. Except it's not really surprising at all. The whole point of language is to encode intelligence. Communication, at its core, is about sharing intelligence. LLMs agents are a way of turning the intelligence encoded in language, particularly written language, into useful work.

You might imagine that language is just the starting point when building LLMs. That it gets converted into computer stuff and then it's not language anymore. But in a way it's language all the way down. Distill language into math and then run gradient descent on it and the intelligence (for lack of a better term) bubbles out.

Forgive that hyperbole, but there is something a little bit magical about it, and the technology is entirely unmagical. The magic is in the language.

At the core the tech is pretty simple. First you go and get all of the language. Just completely idiotic amounts of applied language. Because there's a threshold: if you don't use enough language you don't get a useful result. The more language you use, assuming it's good quality, the more useful the result.

After you have all of the language, you convert it into tokens, which are essentially pieces of words represented as numbers. You also compute a compressed version of the relationships between the tokens. The frontier labs don't say how much this costs publicly anymore but it's safe to say hundreds of millions in compute are required for this process. Each time you do it.

Once you've determined the token relationships, you've pre trained an LLM. You have the initial weights. At this point your LLM can output credible prose pretty reliably when you run inference on the weights. Meaning that you can take a given set of language tokens (a prompt) and determine which token should come next, over and over again, until you have a response. The fluency of the prose can be uncanny, and there are latent tendencies towards useful output, but you can't really do much with it yet.

The next step, fine tuning, modifies the weights in order to nudge the inference towards useful things like instruction following, tool use and reasoning. Or a simulacrum of reasoning. Fine tuning is a massive, multi step, iterative process that turns your LLM into a useful tool that can do more than output believable prose.

Something that's really fascinating to me about fine tuning is that what you're training is still the language relationship weights, and what comes out during inference is still language. But now it's language that is more likely to result in useful output and behaviors. Language is the substrate that LLMs reason through. A model that's more likely to infer the words "but what if I look at it another way" is more likely to consider multiple possibilities. A model that reliably infers language around tool use in appropriate situations is an agent. The behavior is encoded in the language.

After tens of millions in fine tuning costs, assuming you got it right, you have the core of a LLM that can function as an AI agent. You can put it in a harness and ask it to do things in the language of your choice and it will actually be able to do them a shockingly high percentage of the time. It can even do things that weren't explicitly part of the training. That's something which has never happened before outside of science fiction. Until recently it was one of those computer sciencey things that was probably going to happen someday, after we were all dead.

It sucks that this tech revolution is being driven by the capital class, and that it's happening as a mad dash for market domination and golden IPOs. In a more perfect world technology derived from collective human intelligence would be a public good rather than a profit driver.

But nevertheless, the ability to imprint some part of human intelligence into an autonomous agent is a remarkable achievement. One that we can't yet see the full size of. And it's possible not because we typed instructions into an interface, but because we've spent centuries encoding our intelligence into language.

I'm looking for a new laptop as my current one is falling apart, and one option that seems quite tempting at the moment is getting a desktop machine, leaving it running away in the background, and then accessing it using remote desktop software from a laptop (or even tablet) most of the time. My logic is that I want a fairly decent device for programming on and occasional games, but I also want something portable that I can carry into every room of my flat. I've also been experimenting more with Tailscale and using my laptop as a remote development machine and my phone as a dumb terminal while traveling abroad, and that's worked fairly well, so I'm interested in how far I can take this concept. Plus the idea of also being able to use my main device as a small homelab is kind of appealing as well.

The plan would be:

• Framework Desktop sits somewhere at home and is on all the time. My wife has a Framework laptop that she's quite impressed with, I realise the value proposition for desktop computers is less given there's already so much possibility to configure and upgrade, but I've never built a PC myself before and I don't want to complicate this setup too much.
  '* A dumb terminal device that I can carry around with me. For now, that'll probably be my current laptop as long as it lasts, but in the future maybe a cheap Chromebook or even a tablet that I can connect a keyboard and mouse to.
• Moonlight/Sunshine setup for the remote desktop side of things. From what I can tell, this can stream both individual applications but also the whole desktop, and works with various clients.
• Tailscale to access all of this outside the home. This is less important but it would be convenient. And if I go down the homelab direction, also for being able to access my self-hosted services remotely or running my personal website off my own hardware.

Things I'm concerned about:

• German connection speeds are, broadly speaking, poor, especially with upload speeds. I'm looking at maybe 300M down, 50M up. Inside my local network that won't affect me, but if I did want to take my laptop with me, I don't have a good sense of whether the remote desktop aspect is really feasible.
• The Framework desktop - I like the company, and I like the idea of a repairable desktop that's still sold as a single unit and not something where I need to buy everything myself. But I also don't have a good sense of how much of a premium I'd be paying here, vs either building something completely from scratch or buying a more typical desktop
• The laptop would probably live in the living room because that's where all the other technology (in particular the modem) in our house lives. It's fine if it makes a noise while I'm actively using it to watch things, but I'd need it to be very quiet the rest of the time. Framework does sell a fan that is specifically designed to be quiet, but I'm not sure if this is "it's quiet compared to having a normal computer fan on" or "it's quiet compared to having turned all my devices off for the night".

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of setup, and is this something that would reasonably work, or am I completely missing something obvious that makes this a terrible awful idea that nobody should do?

Thanks in advance!

I'm curious about people's experiences with Opera GX, particularly because it seems to be largely absent from broader discussions about web browsers despite being probably one of the most advertised online.

I tried it for a while, but I didn't find that it performed noticeably better than other browsers. My main impression was that it felt somewhat clunky, and that many of its more unusual settings and customization options added complexity without improving the actual browsing experience. I can understand the appeal of its visual style and gaming-oriented branding, but in practice, those features mostly felt unnecessary to me.

I've used Firefox for the past couple of years and have been happy with both its performance and general usability. More recently, I've started using DuckDuckGo's app on my phone, and I'm considering trying the desktop version as well.

For people who use Opera GX regularly, what does it offer that keeps you using it? Are there features that become more useful over time, or is its appeal mainly the interface and customization?

I'm also interested in why it rarely appears in browser recommendations or comparisons. Is that because of technical concerns, Opera's reputation, privacy considerations, or simply because it occupies a fairly specific niche?

When uploading an app I got this email:

ITMS-90068: MinimumOSVersion too low - This app has a MinimumOSVersion of 13.0. Starting in Spring 2027, all iOS apps must have a MinimumOSVersion of 15.0 or later in order to be uploaded to App Store Connect or submitted for distribution.

These are old iOS versions, so this policy isn't going to affect many people but I thought I'd post anyway. I still have an old iPad with iOS 12 that's usable for reading and media. I think some apps are still supported and getting updates surprisingly. As a dev I still update Three Cheers for Tildes to support iOS 12 and up. No idea if anyone other than me uses that old version though.

I like supporting the older iOS version because it means I can keep using this old hardware. Also knowing something runs on those old devices with okay performance, means it will be buttery smooth on any moderately recent iPhone/iPad. I mean, I can probably still install apps on it for my own personal use, just not distribute on the App Store.

On the other hand supporting iOS 12 is just not practical and not really a good use of developer time, so this had to happen at some point.

Just got this email from Framework:

Dear Valued Framework Customer,

We are writing to inform you of a data breach at our business intelligence database provider Metabase that resulted in an attacker accessing customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses. Your information was in the database that was accessed in this breach. This breach did not include order or payment information.

We have full details on the incident below. We are deeply sorry for this breach of information, and are reviewing and improving our methodology for data storage in external database vendors.

We are also in the process of notifying the regulatory authorities in each region where relevant regulations exist. Note that while regulations in most regions do not require notification for breaches of names, email addresses, phone numbers, and addresses, we are sending this email to you regardless to ensure you have visibility and can take any actions needed.

What happened?

On August 6th, 2026 at 9am Pacific Time, Metabase notified us of a breach of their systems with the following email message:

On Monday, August 3, we discovered that Metabase Cloud was attacked by someone utilizing an unknown (“0-day”) security vulnerability in versions 1.58 and above. We immediately blocked the endpoints used for the attack, then quickly identified and patched the vulnerability. We notified law enforcement, and we have engaged with a third party forensics firm to conduct an independent investigation.

Your instance of Metabase was vulnerable to this 0-day. Therefore, to protect your company, we recommend you:

Rotate the credentials for every database connected to your instance; and

Review the admin accounts on your instance and remove anything you don't recognize.

We also discovered that the attacker was able to gain access to your instance. We created a report on the actions we believe the attacker took on your instance, which includes log files, and which you can get from the Metabase Store at [removed url].

(If you do not have access to the Metabase Store, are having issues accessing the report, or do not want to click on a link in an unexpected email, you can log into your instance directly and reach us at Help > Get help in the grid menu in the upper right hand corner. We'll confirm this message is from us and email you the report.)

This report is based on our own application logs. We did not query or read the data in your connected databases.

Depending on the jurisdictions in which you operate and kinds of data your instance connects to, you may have notification obligations under applicable laws. If you have concerns in this regard, we recommend you assess potential notification obligations with your company’s legal or compliance experts.

We regret any inconvenience this incident may cause you, and we are here to support you. If you have questions, please reply to this email or email us at [removed email address], and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.

Sameer Al-Sakran

Founder and CEO

Metabase

We immediately investigated the logs Metabase provided to us and confirmed that our database instance was accessed by the attacker. We confirmed that the following information was accessed:

• Full name
• Email address
• Login IPs
• Billing and shipping address information
  • Country
  • Address
  • City
  • State
  • Zip code
  • Phone number
  • Company

For Framework for Business customers, we are investigating whether the following information may additionally have been accessed:

• Company
• Phone
• VAT
• EIN
• Billing Email
• No other personally identifiable information, order information, or payment information was accessed.

Note that Metabase has additionally flagged:

Important: This is a preliminary update based on our current knowledge.

We are working with a third-party forensic investigation firm to understand the full nature and scope of the event.

We are providing you this interim update in advance of completing our investigation to allow you to better understand any potential impact and secure your data.

Our investigation is ongoing and the information shared now is preliminary.

Please look at the application logs as well as the queries executed that are provided as separate files in the zip file for detailed activity and a potential timeline.

We’re providing you notice of the breach in the meantime to ensure you have the earliest possible visibility. In the event Metabase notifies us of additional information that impacts you, we will send a follow-up email.

What was done to resolve the issue?

After we were notified of the breach by Metabase, we rotated credentials on all databases associated with our Metabase instance and confirmed that there were no changes in admin access or access to systems outside of Metabase.

What steps have you taken to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future?

We are evaluating the breadth and depth of data shared with business intelligence platforms, and scoping down their access to only the columns required for analysis.

Nirav Patel and the Framework Team

I could still turn it on for now but there's a warning that it's no longer supported. I have ADHD and I can't live without cosmetic filtering. (I'm not tech-oriented enough to know if that's the right term for it. I mean the ability to point at elements on a page and say "take this off for me".)

I use the function to remove YouTube shorts, recommendations, the block that nudges me to get Premium and probably a gazillion other bells and whistles that I've already forgotten about. I wouldn't use YT at all if I couldn't do this. Same deal for Reddit.

I also use it to remove moving graphics and other things on some web stores that break my focus. I wouldn't be able to get through my workday without that option. I have to source countless small items for my business from sites that are already complex enough to navigate without any additional distractions. The site designers likely have no clue how much worse their animated banners etc. make my day. That's okay. They can't take everything and everyone into account at all times. But I must be able to adapt environments to be kinder to my brain if I am to retain my executive function so I can do my job.

Are there other similar options out there that you guys can recommend? Another extension I absolutely have to have is called "You're fired". It removes everything I don't like from my YT feed based on search terms. It's perfect because interacting with the unwanted stuff doesn't seem like a good idea (at least it doesn't remove it from my feed even if it's supposed to). I don't have to interact, just add a search term one single time and it'll be gone for good. That extension wasn't widely available for other browsers last I checked so I'd like to keep using Brave if possible.

Asked in ~comp thread, figured it should be its own post.

Thinking about whether I want to do some upgrades to my 10 year old PC or buy new. I could bump RAM to 16 without breaking the bank since its DDR4, and maybe splurge on a new processor, but I'm not sure if I'd just want to go with a new machine at that point, thoughts?

AMD Ryzen 3 1300
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR4
MSI B350M PRO-VD PLUS
4GB ATI Radeon RX 480

Edit: To follow up some questions about what I'm using this computer for, not a whole lot at the moment. I was thinking of making it into a media server or a Steam OS console now that it's available to download, but it's more of a whim and a project itch to keep my mind off of personal and global events.

Not sure where this goes but I am looking for an app to help fill in between other reading practice we do with our 5 year old.

This won't be the main tool to help them learn, just trying to find something fun to help learn a bit. Does anyone have recommendations for fun and educational reading apps?

Hopefully the Tilderen aren't completely sick of the topic of AI writing.

To summarize my take: I think LLM agents are profoundly useful. And problematic. And I really really dislike AI writing when I encounter it outside of documentation. It's not only that it usually has a poor signal to noise ratio and a lot of annoying tropes, it also breaks a contract that has existed since writing was invented. And I dislike that it displaces human writing. Human writing is beautiful, we need more of it, not less.

By breaking a contract I mean that human writing implies an investment. The author invested time in creating it and has (sometimes) invested their reputation by publishing it. Whereas LLM prose requires minimal effort and thought. One great summary is:

"If you didn't take the time to write it, why should I take the time to read it?"

But it's not just about time or preference. We rely on signals of investment and competence to judge the value of information both personally and professionally. LLMs short circuit that completely. They incorporate signals of effort despite there being no effort involved. Signals that we could once rely on that someone has a deep understanding of a subject, or did extensive research, or is reasonably intelligent, or interesting, don't have any meaning when it's LLM prose.

Recently, while investigating Fable failure modes (while working in Claude Code), it outputted a summary that I think captures the situation really well: "My polish costs nothing".

Which is to say that LLM prose folds in signals of authority, competence, rigor and insight without any of those things needing to be present in the content. A fluent human is often worth listening to while a fluent LLM is just the default, the fluency carries no information. I think that's part of the reason for AI psychosis, I think it effectively uses, now outdated, expectations to hijack perception.

The reason that I sometimes take the time to investigate why an agent went wrong is partly to refine the scaffolding and partly to remind myself how dumb they are. Each generation is a little bit better, confidently right a little more than it's confidently wrong, so I make a point not to let myself fall into the trap of trusting their output too much.

I suppose I'm just posting to pass on the reminder.

I prefer physical buttons and something that does not have a large screen and looks simple enough that it could be OEM. Does anything like this exist? All options seem to be cheap and ugly with flashing lights, or a giant touch screen.