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Topics /
Tools & Productivity
The most popular blog posts about tools & productivity on Hacker News. 6,503 posts.
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How I automated the boring parts of life
I have a bad habit: waiting until the last minute to do things. Like, last month I had to fly to New York to run a 193 mile relay race. I knew about the trip for almost 6 months, but didn’t buy plane tickets until 3 days before, at 4x the cost. True ...
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What I Use Instead of Google
I made a goal for myself in January 2020 to stop using Google products by the end of the year. That might sound like way too generous a timeline, but…
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Emacs, naked
When it gets too cold, you can always put on more layers of clothing. But when it gets too hot, after a while you can't take off any more. -- RMS This is GNU Em...
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Malleable software: Restoring user agency in a world of locked-down apps
The original promise of personal computing was a new kind of clay. Instead, we got appliances: built far away, sealed, unchangeable. In this essay, we envision malleable software: tools that users can reshape with minimal friction to suit their unique needs.
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Hints for writing Unix tools
The workaday world of a modern programmer abounds with Unix tools, stitched together in myriad ways. While good tools integrate seamlessly with your own environment, bad ones will constantly frustrate your efforts. Good tools have a seemingly limitless application, constrained only by your own imagination. Bad tools…
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Using a Raspberry Pi to add a second HDMI port to a laptop
A step-by-step tutorial you can follow along, featuring ffmpeg, xrandr, tcpdump and a dhcp server running on a Raspberry Pi
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Firefox 55 and Selenium IDE
The bad news: from Firefox 55 onwards, Selenium IDE will no longer work. The reasons for this are complex, but boil down to two main causes: Browsers are complicated pieces of software that are con…
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Parsing JSON at the CLI: A Practical Introduction to jq and more
JSON is everywhere you look these days. The `jq` tool makes it easy to slice, dice, and transform JSON from the command line. It can be hard to map the official manual to real-world applications, so let's look at some practical examples of `jq` and its cousins that handle YAML & HTML!
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Mise-en-place for knowledge workers
Knowledge work is unique among skilled professions in that we lack a culture of systematic improvement. Other skilled trades – from carpenters to welders
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A minimalistic desk to handle cables and electronic clutter elegantly
Bookmark Tweet I wanted a desk that could elegantly handle (2) computers and its peripherals (3 displays, 4 external hard drives, tens of cables ). I...
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Build It Yourself
We need a vibe shift on dependencies in programming.
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I am mesmerized by our new robotic vacuum (2019)
Disclaimer: this is more a rant than anything else. Maybe more #crazydudewontstoptalkingavoidthewate...
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Thunderbird 68.0
Thunderbird is a free email application that’s easy to set up and customize - and it’s loaded with great features!
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Windows Package Manager Preview
We are thrilled to announce the Windows Package Manager preview! If you’re already familiar with what a package manager is, feel free to skip this
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Fixing the volume on my Bluetooth earbuds
A bit of reverse engineering goes a long way
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Fake it until you automate it
A pragmatic way for you to start automating deployments of a Legacy system.
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Chrome Devtools Tips and Tricks
Lately I’ve spent more time than usual using the Chrome Developer Tools. Along the way I found a couple of nice features that I had previously missed (or at ...
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Auto mode is now the default in Claude Code
Claude Code will soon run auto mode by default for Pro, Max, Ultra, and Team plans, enabling longer-running autonomous work, and catching more dangerous commands.
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How to improve Python packaging
There is an area of Python that many developers have problems with. This is an area that has seen many different solutions pop up over the years, with many different opinions, wars, and attempts to solve it. Many have complained about the packaging ecosystem and tools making their lives harder. Many beginners are…
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Setting up an electronics workshop
A minimalist, non-commercial take on a handful of indispensable workshop tools.
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How often should I rotate my SSH keys?
Learn why rotating your SSH keys is essential for preventing credential theft. Discover best practices for SSH key rotation and how to protect your systems from potential breaches.
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Annoying A/B testing mistakes
Running experiments is equal parts powerful and terrifying. Powerful because you can validate changes that will transform your product for the better…
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Experiments on a $50 DIY air purifier that takes 30s to assemble
You can make a DIY air purifier in 30s. To test if it works, I generated smoke, and measured how well it removes tiny particles.
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Tools for Thinking
Tools & hacks I use to do complex processing with my brain.
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De-smarting the Marshall Uxbridge
This is the story of a commercially unavailable stereo pair of thebi-amped Marshall Uxbridge, with custom-built replacement electronics:active filters feedin...
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Interactive Go programming with Jupyter
Introduction of a new feature-rich golang Jupyter kernel
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A study of Google's code review tooling (Critique)
A study of Google's code review tooling (Critique), AI-powered improvements, and recent statistics
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Review of /e/ – Android-based alternative for mobile phones
A review of the /e/ OS Android-alternative operating system for mobile devices, as used on the Teracube 2e smartphone.