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Software for One

ajwaxman.com

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Re: Software for One

#191

Post by tptacek »

YesBox wrote: post #179
tptacek wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an odd response, because fundamentally all I'm doing is making my computer work the way I want it to. It's the opposite of exhausting to me.

Most people want the convenience of things just working at the tap or click of a button. LLMs are not going to change that.

Most of the apps I've built take the form of "something I was doing with a long-running note in Notes.app that is now much simpler to deal with because there's a purpose-built program for it". That's what computer programs, like, are?

Re: Software for One

#192

Post by tptacek »

dist-epoch wrote: post #112
jedbrooke wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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". how is AI (or a human for that matter) supposed to know what “woodworking-appropriate music is”? I had the same thoughts when spotify released their “let AI make a playlist for you”. Like, we…

> we already have recommender algorithms, why do we need to get a LLM involved and we had autocomplete for coding (IntelliSense), why do we need to get LLM involved? LLMs are at a whole different level than recommender algorithms tried it with GPT: > A steady mix of instrumental grooves, classic rock, and bluegrass—styles commonly favored in woodshops. Green Onions - Booker T. & the M.G.’s Up Around the Bend - Creede…

2 of those acts are in my woodworking rotation.

Re: Software for One

#193

Post by tptacek »

eloisius wrote: post #142
nonameiguess wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 th…

My running joke for the past couple years has been "there's nothing a software developer hates more than computer science". But I guess there was one too many words in that sentence!

Re: Software for One

#194

Post by latexr »

embedding-shape wrote: post #182
latexr wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you even talking about? No, of course music recommendation systems had nothing to do with LLMs two decades ago (which is obviously the crux of the discussion), that is insane. And no one has said anything about a “full-stack dev's afternoon”, I’ll kindly ask that you don’t straw man. No goal posts are moving, that fallacy does not mean “argument I don’t like or understand”. What happened to good faith discus…

> What are you even talking about? No, of course music recommendation systems had nothing to do with LLMs two decades ago (which is obviously the crux of the discussion), that is insane. Of course not, but just some years ago, when people talked about "AI" in ML circles, they weren't exclusively talking about LLMs, which you seemed to have automatically and exclusively associated "AI" with. It's much larger than just…

So, in other words, you read what one person (you’re not talking to some vague notion of “people” in the past) wrote, associated it with other arguments you’ve seen (and quite possibly misinterpreted) before and decided to lump everything together and answer those different arguments and be kind of snarky about it.

That attitude is exactly why online (and offline) discourse has gone in the gutter. Instead of addressing what was said and understanding nuance, you instead took the comment, labeled it in a preconceived box in your head, then attacked that group instead of engaging in good faith with the person you were talking to.

And by the way, I’m very much aware of the difference between AI and LLM, but whether you like it or not the terms are conflated today and being pedantic about it is a losing battle. In this case it was patently obvious what was meant. You’re (presumably) not an automaton and are thus (presumably) capable of understanding the difference, meaning you are definitely able to choose to steel man instead of straw manning.

Re: Software for One

#195

Post by mithr »

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.

As a father of two young children, LLMs have been kind of amazing. I’ve historically been someone who has project ideas and has fun building them. But for a few years now I just haven’t had the headspace for it — all I’ve wanted to do in the evening is relax for a bit.

In the past month I’ve completed a home dashboard idea I’ve had for years, I’ve built a house management system, a travel planning tool, a guitar chord annotator… it’s been very liberating. I’m not doing the coding, which was fun, but I am doing all of the system design and iteration, which I also really enjoy.

Re: Software for One

#196

Post by slim »

wartywhoa23 wrote: post #120
whateveracct wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's sleep training it is insane and unnatural but it is also common fundamentally capitalist concept contact napping to beyond 1yo is deeply natural and special

Let me share an anecdote from my soviet childhood. Like most soviet children of the 80s, I was outsourced to my kindergarden each mom's workday. I abolutely loathed everything about it, but the most fascist thing to my infant mind was the post-afternoon nap. For the life of me, I just couldn't make myself fall asleep, and had to pretend, making extraordinary efforts to really look like sleeping. We were literally sca…

it's interesting that the cult of work common to capitalism and communism has no appropriate "ism" by itself

Re: Software for One

#197

Post by DANmode »

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…

What if by using custom software I’m not pissed off by my tasks anymore, or no longer surveilled while doing them?

What if I just like making my own stuff?

Surely that’s plenty.

Re: Software for One

#198

Post by kaechle »

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.…

You're arguing semantics; maybe missing the point entirely. The writer is using the analogy to emphasize personalization, not quality, or some other nebulous characteristic applicable to artisanship.

Re: Software for One

#199

Post by rpdillon »

YesBox wrote: post #179
tptacek wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an odd response, because fundamentally all I'm doing is making my computer work the way I want it to. It's the opposite of exhausting to me.

Most people want the convenience of things just working at the tap or click of a button. LLMs are not going to change that.

I was talking to my wife about this a little bit, that the promise of computers has never really been realized in the sense that we don't put power in the hands of the end user.

Like one of the most obvious things that a computer can do is run a task periodically at a time to go maybe fetch information and process it. And yet, the average computer user using any commercial operating system does not understand how to set up a recurring task. Operating systems don't really advertise it or talk about it as a feature. I think this is a good example of the disempowerment of end users by software companies.

LLMs have the potential to change this by allowing people to simply ask their LLM to invoke the right incantation to schedule the task or produce the program. That seems like a great change. I'd like to see more power in the hands of the end users rather than less.

For people that don't want to put in the effort, of course, this will change nothing. But for those that are willing to explore a little bit, I think it can be a big improvement over the software ecosystem that's emerged in the era of the app store.

Re: Software for One

#200

Post by EEBio »

faangguyindia wrote: post #105
EEBio wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the smartwatch data isn’t precise enough to estimate energy expenditure, what data does your website use that is so much better? Also, how much better it is? How do we even know it’s better? (I am not necessarily doubting it’s better, I am just interested in metrics you used)

Method is explained here: https://macrocodex.app/knowledge/rethink/adaptive-tdee/ The actual method used in the app is a bit more complex than this, but I think this explanation is good enough to convey the core idea for now. Later, I plan to publish a more detailed write up. >Also, how much better it is? How do we even know it’s better? Very simple! If a car salesman tells you that they use space technology in the e…

Thank you! That’s s very thorough explanation on the page you linked and the comment. I’ll certainly look into the app more in the future. Thanks again for taking time to explain and for making the app!
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