mdswanson
Re:Show HN: FFmpeg WebCLI – Full FFmpeg in Browser, Offline PWA, No Up...
on Thursday June 04, 2026 @07:40PM (#48406166)
I find it fascinating that we keep trying to build things that already exist, but on top of another app (web browser). I mean, it's cool to see, and it will have its use-cases, but I wonder where we'd be if we didn't have to do this.
Re:Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling – Alex Plescan
on Monday May 18, 2026 @01:23PM (#48182557)
FYI that if you have the right kind of Dell monitor, you can download their Display Manager software to do the same thing (and more): https://www.dell.com/en-us/lp/ddpm
Re:I'm going back to writing code by hand
on Monday May 11, 2026 @03:18PM (#48099440)
I refer to this as "disposable architecture." Not that architecture doesn't matter, but that the architecture that worked yesterday doesn't necessarily need to be the architecture that works today.
Re:Show HN: How context engineering works, a runnable reference
on Sunday April 19, 2026 @09:30PM (#47829364)
Re:The Last Quiet Thing
on Monday April 06, 2026 @07:03PM (#47668525)
Sounds like: https://blog.mikeswanson.com/backseat-software/
Re:Descent, ported to the web
on Sunday February 15, 2026 @12:18AM (#47021270)
Yeah. Same. Looked all over for an option to flip the controls!
Re:Shades of Halftone
on Saturday February 14, 2026 @02:08PM (#47017311)
Fantastic article! I went down this same rabbit hole in 2011 and built a shader for my iOS app called "Halftone." It took the CMYK route and included factors like ink bleed, paper texture, etc. It was the whole reason for the app! Yet...I received constant e-mail from users who asked "how do I remove the dots?"
Re:Scaling long-running autonomous coding
on Wednesday January 14, 2026 @07:46PM (#46626345)
Over the past year or so, I've built my own system of agents that behaves almost exactly like this. I can describe what I'd like built before I go to bed and have a fantastic foundation in place by the next day. For simpler projects, they'll be complete. Because of the reviews, the code continually improves until the agents are satisfied. I'm impressed every time.
Re:My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated
on Sunday January 11, 2026 @12:59AM (#46573062)
Also much lower power and heat.
Re:Intro to BirdNET-Pi: Eavesdropping on my feathered friends
on Sunday October 05, 2025 @06:08PM (#45485723)
Another BirdNET option if you don't want to build your own: https://www.birdweather.com/
Re:Aphantasia and Psychedelics
on Wednesday October 01, 2025 @11:46AM (#45439149)
An aphantasia "beginner's guide" for those who aren't familiar or just want to learn more: https://aphantasia.com/guide/
Re:Civil War in 3D: Stereographs from the New-York Historical Society ...
on Thursday May 29, 2025 @04:47PM (#44130256)
Not too many steps away from this: https://blog.mikeswanson.com/spatial/
Re:The Next Chapter in Swift Build Technologies
on Saturday February 01, 2025 @03:36PM (#42901992)
Tim is a unicorn.
763-Day Legal Quest Against a Call of Duty Permanent Ban
Re:Reverse Engineering Call of Duty Anti-Cheat
on Tuesday January 21, 2025 @12:18AM (#42776885)
A 2-year legal battle with Activision to overturn a false permanent ban. Activision showed up with zero evidence of cheating and lost: https://antiblizzard.win/2025/01/18/my-two-year-fight-agains...
2-Year Call of Duty False Permanent Ban Reversed by Court Case
Re:Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro
on Friday December 20, 2024 @06:36PM (#42476227)
Unfortunately not. I hope we learn more before WWDC25!
Re:Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro
on Thursday December 19, 2024 @07:26PM (#42467180)
Thanks! Indeed, there are other formats (like OMAF) that describe some of this. In fact, I helped to author one a long while back called OPF.
Re:Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro
on Thursday December 19, 2024 @07:25PM (#42467170)
Thank you! I really appreciate the feedback.
Re:Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro
on Thursday December 19, 2024 @12:43PM (#42463881)
I've described what kind of video this camera is intended to capture: https://blog.mikeswanson.com/apples-mysterious-fisheye-proje...
Re:Kevin Langdon's 'Omni Magazine' unsupervised IQ test (1979)
on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @01:37PM (#42453421)
You'll find it interesting that people with aphantasia (I have total, multi-sensory aphantasia) counterintuitively score better on mental rotation tasks: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105381002...
Re:Getting to Two Million Users as a One Woman Dev Team
on Tuesday December 17, 2024 @12:37PM (#42443340)
My one-person indie company released many apps, and one of them (Halftone) had over 6 million users by the time I shut it down. It's definitely possible.
Re:My Brand New Digitizing Workflow Using a 25 Year Old Film Scanner
on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @05:44PM (#42312468)
Likewise, I run my Nikon Coolscan on my Windows 11 machine with no special adapters. Works better than my Epson 750 Pro and Sony A7RIII with the right lenses, mounts, and lighting.
Re:My Brand New Digitizing Workflow Using a 25 Year Old Film Scanner
on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @05:42PM (#42312448)
I also run a Nikon Coolscan and Epson 750 Pro on my Windows 11 machine. I also shoot slides using my Sony A7RIII with appropriate lighting and mounts. The Coolscan consistently gives me the best results.
Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game
on Friday November 22, 2024 @07:08PM (#42218370)
It is. Or at least it was for some of us. I didn't care if the candidate ever got the right answer. I cared about the thinking, the questions, the strategies, and the conversation.
Re:Defender Sound Studio
on Tuesday October 22, 2024 @11:52PM (#41921637)
One of my all-time favorites, and wow, this brought back some fantastic memories! What great sounds!
Immersive Video Production Tips
Re:Hobby's algorithm for aesthetic Bézier splines
on Thursday May 02, 2024 @08:32PM (#40242821)
Indeed. And this is where arc-length parameterization would help by linearizing t so you can then overlay it with various timing and easing functions.
Re:Moviecart – Full length color movie and audio cartridges for stock ...
on Saturday April 27, 2024 @12:38PM (#40181288)
Now, if we just add Sloot's compression technique, we can include an entire movie library on a single cartridge! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloot_Digital_Coding_System