Hey buddy,

Man, you wouldn't believe the stuff popping up on Hacker News today, Monday the 18th. Had to give you a quick ring about it.

Anna's Archive Update

First off, there was a big update from Anna's Archive, you know, that huge digital library. People were going nuts in the comments, talking about how piracy actually helps with advertising for artists, which is kinda wild to think about. And someone else was saying how some developers just want to take games away from you after you've bought 'em, so why should we care if they get what they want? Deep stuff for a Monday!

Web Apps in a Single HTML File

Then, there was this cool project about making web apps in just one HTML file, like totally self-contained and self-updating. Remember those old .HTA files from Internet Explorer days? Someone brought that up, saying it was kinda like what they're trying to do now. Apparently, browsers used to let JavaScript write files directly, but they "nobbled" that for security, which is a shame 'cause it made stuff simpler.

Obsidian Bases

Also, Obsidian, that note-taking app, launched a new feature called "Bases." It's basically letting you manage data and queries right inside your notes, almost like a database. Some folks were stoked, saying it could replace their old plugins. But one guy was like, "Why would I want a 'mushy database trapped inside Obsidian' when I can just use SQLite?" Fair point, I guess!

Whispering – Local Dictation

There was a "Show HN" post about Whispering, which is an open-source, local dictation tool. Super cool for privacy. One commenter even shared their own "janky-but-works-great" Linux setup for dictation, which is peak hacker spirit, right? They also talked about how tough it is to clean up AI transcriptions without piping them into another AI.

Counter-Strike's Dorm Room Origins

Oh, and get this, a piece about Counter-Strike being built in a dorm room and turning into a billion-dollar game. The comments got into some interesting debates, like how "monetization ruins communities" and whether the "old internet" vibe still exists. Someone even threw shade saying Quake required more skill, haha.

T-Mobile's Location Data Mess

Big news on the privacy front: T-Mobile got called out by judges for selling people's location data without their permission, even though T-Mobile tried to say it was legal. The craziest comment was about how if you turn off your location data during "sensitive travel," that itself becomes a blaring alarm for law enforcement. Super creepy stuff.

AI Hype vs. Reality

And finally, a couple of articles were basically saying what we've all been thinking: 95% of generative AI projects are failing at companies, and they've already "lit nearly $40 billion on fire" because of FOMO. People in the comments were comparing it to the blockchain hype, and one useful point was that LLMs are actually really good for "finding stuff in your spaghetti codebase" or filling out boilerplate. So, not totally useless, just maybe overhyped for bigger things.

Anyway, just wanted to give you the heads up! Talk soon.