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Software for One

ajwaxman.com

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Re: Software for One

#141

Post by flymasterv »

morganf wrote: post #124

In my line of work, we convert words to numbers, and we have a codex that defines meanings for the numbers; that way, we can write publicly but (in making sure we choose words that, when converted to numbers, convert to numbers that have the second meaning we want) our public writing will only be understood on this second level with this second meaning only by those who use this system and codex. It's something like…

“Line of work”? I’m fascinated by this. Diner waitress? Cop? Carnie? Cockney bingo caller?

Re: Software for One

#142

Post by eloisius »

nonameiguess wrote: post #114
tptacek wrote: post #15

Things I've built in the last month or so: * A personal music player for Apple Music with an embedded agent loop, so I can say things like "I'm going to work in the wood shop, play woodworking-appropriate music and keep the playlist full and non-repeating indefinitely". * A calorie/protein tracker that takes 1-liner summaries of meals, resolves them to macros with GPT5 calls, and tracks them in SQLite. * A macOS menu…

I feel on the opposite side of a divide when I see these kinds of comments here about people creating bespoke software to address deficiencies they perceive in their daily lives. There's an engineer mindset that tools can solve any and every problem, but do they? Are you quantifiably any fitter than you were before? Better bloodwork, BMI, body fat percentage, anything? Are you creating better wooden goods? More woode…

> There's an engineer mindset that tools can solve any and every problem, but do they?

No. These people just spend more time fiddling with their computers instead of doing the parts of life that it supposedly frees them up to enjoy. It's IoT lightswitch automations all over again. There's no reason anyone would ever need to calculate their smoothie according to their Strava data and the positions of the planets on that day. It makes far more sense to spend more time knowing your body and learning to treat it well than trying to create an app that will do it for you.

Re: Software for One

#143

Post by JamesSwift »

latexr wrote: post #71
tptacek wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I played a bunch of music while doing woodworking stuff and asked for more like that. Things like this are easy with a simple agent loop. It's not picking random music out of the sky; it's working from my Apple Music library (and then expanding on it from the Apple Music catalog).

> Things like this are easy with a simple agent loop. To be fair, they’re also easy (trivial, even) without one. It’s not like “play more music like this” is something we ever needed AI for.

The true power of LLM powered interfaces is the malleability of the whole thing. Sure you can write traditional software to handle “more like this”, but how hard would it be to handle “more like this but uptempo”, “more like this but not the same artist”, ad infinitum?

I have a bunch of skills Ive created for random work that have “predefined interfaces” like a single url. I very frequently trigger these skills with freetext prompts instead and get all the intelligence of the skill while bypassing what it was actually designed for. This aspect of malleable API is extremely powerful and is probably the only reason I keep AI in the loop of some of my custom software vs removing it and avoiding the cost/nondeterminism.

Re: Software for One

#144

Post by morganf »

flymasterv wrote: post #141
morganf wrote: post #124

In my line of work, we convert words to numbers, and we have a codex that defines meanings for the numbers; that way, we can write publicly but (in making sure we choose words that, when converted to numbers, convert to numbers that have the second meaning we want) our public writing will only be understood on this second level with this second meaning only by those who use this system and codex. It's something like…

“Line of work”? I’m fascinated by this. Diner waitress? Cop? Carnie? Cockney bingo caller?

Hahaha! I love the list! Lots of professions have methods to send messages that simultaneously speak to various different audiences (while the bigger audiences don't know there are also other audiences as well, who will derive other meanings from the same message). The world is an interesting place full of surprises - and even to smart people, the text or image you are seeing might have meanings invisible to you, since you're not the intended audience for the secondary meaning.

Re: Software for One

#145

Post by [deleted] »

JamesSwift wrote: post #143
latexr wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Things like this are easy with a simple agent loop. To be fair, they’re also easy (trivial, even) without one. It’s not like “play more music like this” is something we ever needed AI for.

The true power of LLM powered interfaces is the malleability of the whole thing. Sure you can write traditional software to handle “more like this”, but how hard would it be to handle “more like this but uptempo”, “more like this but not the same artist”, ad infinitum? I have a bunch of skills Ive created for random work that have “predefined interfaces” like a single url. I very frequently trigger these skills with…

[deleted]

Re: Software for One

#146

Post by mynegation »

spot5010 wrote: post #134
tptacek wrote: post #15

Things I've built in the last month or so: * A personal music player for Apple Music with an embedded agent loop, so I can say things like "I'm going to work in the wood shop, play woodworking-appropriate music and keep the playlist full and non-repeating indefinitely". * A calorie/protein tracker that takes 1-liner summaries of meals, resolves them to macros with GPT5 calls, and tracks them in SQLite. * A macOS menu…

As a new father, just using so many apps sounds exhausting, let alone building and maintaining them. I would have been very excited about these maybe 10-15 years ago. Now I just want the ability to do things with my phone when my hands are tied up holding the baby.

Tell me about it. Holding a 4mo old right now, nap trapped :-) Speaking of which - Claude Code wrote me a web proxy for HN that rewrites CSS for the dark mode - precisely for this situation. Written and deployed with Claude Code remote control too, also while nap trapped.

Re: Software for One

#147

Post by [deleted] »

fragmede wrote: post #138
Diogenesian wrote: post #126

Thariq wrote "personal software was a bit early in 2020 but in 2026, it really can be as personal as a home cooked meal, or a handwritten letter." Excuse me??? Vibe-coding personal software is not a homecooked meal or a handwritten letter! It is [at best!] more akin to tastefully combining microwaved ramen with microwaved veggies and toaster oven chicken, or using ChatGPT to write a letter then editing it afterwards.…

If someone spends an hour in the kitchen making you food, and they choose to use the microwave to heat up the veggies because it's healthier than boiling them on the stove, that's devaluing the human experience? What's more human than listening to another person's problems and then making something to help them with that problem? It could be a chair or a meal, or now, a bit of software.

[deleted]

Re: Software for One

#148

Post by Schiendelman »

spot5010 wrote: post #134
tptacek wrote: post #15

Things I've built in the last month or so: * A personal music player for Apple Music with an embedded agent loop, so I can say things like "I'm going to work in the wood shop, play woodworking-appropriate music and keep the playlist full and non-repeating indefinitely". * A calorie/protein tracker that takes 1-liner summaries of meals, resolves them to macros with GPT5 calls, and tracks them in SQLite. * A macOS menu…

As a new father, just using so many apps sounds exhausting, let alone building and maintaining them. I would have been very excited about these maybe 10-15 years ago. Now I just want the ability to do things with my phone when my hands are tied up holding the baby.

Make yourself a dashboard that pipes everything you want into the area reachable by one thumb. :)

Or with voice. Or even face movement control, like via the camera.

Re: Software for One

#149

Post by ofjcihen »

tptacek wrote: post #64
kingkongjaffa wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snark aside, your GP took one module on nutrition in medical school, years ago. Doctors are not experts in nutrition. Most modern western diets lack fibre the most so eating more fibre is a sensible recommendation for basically everyone.

[flagged]

People are trying to tell you something that can literally save your life. Colon cancer rates are increasing at a breakneck pace.

Chill with the snark for a second and realize you may not be the smartest person in every room.

Re: Software for One

#150

Post by enraged_camel »

_dark_matter_ wrote: post #58
tptacek wrote: post #15

Things I've built in the last month or so: * A personal music player for Apple Music with an embedded agent loop, so I can say things like "I'm going to work in the wood shop, play woodworking-appropriate music and keep the playlist full and non-repeating indefinitely". * A calorie/protein tracker that takes 1-liner summaries of meals, resolves them to macros with GPT5 calls, and tracks them in SQLite. * A macOS menu…

This sounds like such a security risk. It just takes one bad library. Your phone and desktop are not a sandbox.

Lmao you're talking to someone who is an accomplished security engineer.
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