willemlaurentz

Wife loves it ("takkeherrie" /s) - but those who use mechanical keyboards probably understand what I mean with that there is a sort of rhythm in the feedback a mechanical keyboard provides. I wrote this post on it.

For all of you / us who enjoy reading on e-ink. Plus source code (NodeJS epub-gen, Pandoc and LaTeX)

AI got me thinking lately, why would one still want to work? Imagine everybody has access to a near perfect AI. Combine that with robotics and we'll be left wondering what to do next. Some fairies and Gin-Tonic pointed me to a possible answer.

Just for folks reading this and being unfamiliar with Apple's options, here are some of their capabilities that sets them apart in a UX way:

AirPods: can simultainiously be paired with iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and Mac. The switching between the audio you hear is fully automated and generally "just works" using sensors on both the AirPods and your 'source device'. e.g. listen to audio from your mac, but get a call? You can 'just pick it up' without any Bluetooth hassling or switching.

AirDrop: the hardware Wifi chips in your device actually gets configured in a peer to peer mode that enables (very) high capacity transfers. Think of pushing multiple gigabytes. It does not require any configuration, the devices can figure it out themselves if nearby and unlocked. It also works between Mac's, iPads and iPhones.

Find My: It's not just for devices, you can share your location with family and friends, with reasonable control over things like 'for how long'. You can set alerts for leaving or arriving a particular location (Apple informs both parties of such geofencing). It also integrates with the workout app or navigation app, e.g. keeping folks updated on the ETA.

This, plus one important addition: How many people actually got killed or injured _because_ of iPhone or Watch? Think about it: using screens in traffic or in other situations where your attention to the world is critical.

All the best to the folks who where saved by any device, but given the large volume of devices sold - one has to assume there is a flip side to this coin, too.

Following the book "The Power of Strangers" I once did an experiment with talking to random strangers, it is amazing what you'll learn from random conversations: https://willem.com/en/2023-10-13_hello-stranger/

More than 50% of the Apple Podcast app's homescreen is dedicated to content I didn't request, just look at it:

https://willem.com/en/2025-01-27_podcast-downloader/i_00_Lef...

I really wanted something simpler and following a simple podcast downloader script in bash I made a native Android app that plays these files.

Its party trick is that it remembers where you've left, useful if you like deep dives like the Lex Fridman podcast (multi hour listening).

Post on the player: https://willem.com/en/2025-08-29_auscultare-podcast-audioboo...

Post on the script: https://willem.com/en/2025-01-27_podcast-downloader/

I have written the app and the post by hand, for those who are curious, the original manuscript is available for download: https://willem.com/en/2025-08-29_auscultare-podcast-audioboo...

This is the way to do it, good work and great that you posted this. The first release of my 40 million download app was held together by proverbial ducktape - yet the lessons learned from actually releasing it got me to come up with much better updates: https://willem.com/en/2018-02-21_updating-snake-97/

I don't think handwriting will go away, it might become a "proof of work" in an age of artificially generated texts. I recently started including the manually written manuscripts (that I make on my reMarkable) with my blog posts to show folks I actually wrote them. See https://willem.com/en/2025-08-19_android-photo-library-app/

When everybody is jumping towards AI and digital texts, what remains may become more valuable. I don't know, but am keen on finding out.

After extensive search and trying various apps I found the libre/free Aves Gallery app to be really good. I am curious about what you use or prefer.

As a metaphor aficionado (book tip: Metaphors we live by), I figured random images would be a lovely way to allow visitors of willem.com to discover stories. Before I knew it, I was in the rabbit hole. Released under AGPL (backstory: https://willem.com/en/2025-08-11_willemstagram/)

Warning for those running Debian and Dovecot under stable.

In this new stable release, an update to Dovecot will break your configuration: https://willem.com/blog/2025-06-04_breaking-changes/

When things come to a grinding halt if you skip reading the upgrade docs. Learn from my mistake and save yourself some stressful after hours work.

One thing that most non-cyclists may not realise, is that (because of your lower speed) it is actually an advantage to keep your cargo sight when riding through an urban area. (You don't want people steal your cargo while waiting for the traffic lights.)

Or, when transporting kids, you want to be able to see them, talk with them, keep an eye on them. I have cycled over 30,000 Kilometers in and around Amsterdam on various bikes - and written many different posts on it: https://willem.com/blog/bike/ (including on cargo bikes like Babboe)

Yesterday I finished the Leiden Marathon, it was the hardest 42K I ever completed due to the temperature. Sunny with a clear sky, temperatures climbed to 25°C. Several runners collapsed from heat exhaustion, and one even required resuscitation. When you push your limits, sometimes you actually reach them.

Similar sentiment here: https://willem.com/blog/2025-04-15_vibe-coding/

Its power is as great as its putfalls and the outcome totally depends on how you choose to use it.

It can spot the things you tell them to spot. But, natural language (used to tell the AI what to do) is imprecise and lacks unambiguity. Makes me remember Dijkstra's words: https://willem.com/blog/2025-04-15_vibe-coding/

Spot on. Decided to get myself a ThreeJS book instead of vibing my way through. Wrote this post on it: https://willem.com/blog/2025-04-15_vibe-coding/

After Pieter Level's success with his flight simulator, I wondered what we could learn from using code generation like he did. What is the power and what dangers lurk in using the LLM's?

No ads, no installs, no accounts. Just play. (don't complain about the lost hours, though...)

:-)

More is to follow, but I’ve decided to open-source Gran Fondo, my iOS app for tracking runs and rides. What started as a subscription-based tool will be shedding its paywall and be released under a free software license. Read this post for full rationale and the greater idea behind it. Hope to make some friends and allies!

Just made the switch here to /e/OS on Fairphone: https://willem.com/blog/2025-03-05_durable-smartphone/

Handwritten, vanilla HTML with a self-self built static site generator (reading the HTML files and doing some fancy 'find and replace'). Get's the job done: https://willem.com/blog/2025-03-05_durable-smartphone/

Let's rethink frequent upgrading, celebrating wear and tear like a good patina. The phone runs Google Free /e/OS

Cool! This resonates with my "Offline Music" approach (fed with my own CD collection): https://willem.com/blog/2022-07-17_offline-music/

Check out this, it might help you with downloading podcasts to the filesystem: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42841416