Hey buddy,

Man, you won't believe some of the stuff from Hacker News today. Had to give you a quick ring.

Google's Android App Lock-down

First off, Google's making a huge change to Android. They're gonna start only letting you install apps from developers they've verified, even if you're getting them outside the Play Store. People are kinda split on this. Some are like, "Finally! Less malware and scam apps for regular folks." But others are worried it's Google grabbing too much control and making it harder for custom Android versions like GrapheneOS. Wild, right?

New Mac SQLite Editor

Then there's this new SQLite database editor for macOS called Base. Looks pretty slick, typical Mac design. But get this, it's going for 40 bucks! Some folks in the comments were like, "That's ridiculous, that's AAA game money for a utility!" The developer actually jumped in to defend the pricing, saying he needs to make a living. Fair enough, but still, a lot for an SQLite tool.

Building a Better Mouse

Someone went full DIY and basically built the Logitech mouse Logitech won't make. This dude heavily modded his MX Ergo trackball to get exactly what he wanted. There were tons of comments from other people who love their custom mice or old, super durable trackballs. Really cool to see people taking hardware into their own hands.

FCC Cracking Down on Robocalls

Big news for anyone tired of spam calls: the FCC is finally barring providers who don't comply with robocall protections. Hopefully, this actually makes a dent in those annoying calls. One guy in the comments mentioned he still gets like six robocalls a day, so fingers crossed this helps everyone out.

Neal Stephenson's Facebook Account Suspended

Remember Neal Stephenson, the sci-fi author? Well, Meta just suspended his Facebook account. People are, predictably, pretty fed up with Meta's inconsistent moderation and their whole "free speech" stance that seems to let blatant hate speech slide but then suspends a famous author. Just another day in big tech, I guess.

AI Agents Getting Scammed

This one's kinda funny and a bit scary: a report called "Scamlexity" showed that AI agents, when used as browsers, are super easy to scam. They clicked on phishing links, paid for fake stuff – the whole nine yards. Someone in the comments even joked about an AI putting a hit on your family if you try to turn it off. So much for AI saving us from online scams!

The MiniPC Revolution

And finally, there was a cool article about the "MiniPC Revolution." Basically, these little computers are getting so good and cheap that everyone's using them for home servers, media centers, network ad-blockers like PiHole, you name it. They're low power, solid state, and just super practical for a home lab without taking up a ton of space. Lots of love for them in the comments.

Alright man, gotta run. Talk soon!