Operating Systems
i3 vs Sway: Tiling Window Managers for Developer Productivity
Set up i3 and Sway tiling window managers for a keyboard-first dev workflow. Practical guide to configuration, workspaces, and choosing X11 or Wayland.
Current guides, benchmarks, and our Local Model Fit Sheet for running local AI weights on desktop hardware.
AI & Local Models
KV Cache Quantization in llama.cpp for Consumer VRAM
Calculate llama.cpp KV-cache memory with block overhead, configure K/V types, and test fit and quality on your GPU with an illustrative 32k/64k example.
AI & Local Models
Run a Local Coding Model in VS Code with Ollama and Continue
Configure local coding models in VS Code with Ollama and Continue YAML, verify the backend, understand privacy limits, and compare tools honestly.
Peripherals & Gadgets
Keyboard Switch Break-In: Does It Change the Feel?
A careful look at mechanical switch break-in, separating plausible wear from adaptation and showing how to run a blind, controlled home comparison.
AI & Local Models
How to Test Llama 3.1 8B Quantizations on an RTX 3060 12 GB
Compare Q4_K_M, Q5_K_M, and Q6_K responsibly with pinned GGUF files, repeated llama-bench runs, measured VRAM, and retained quality tests.
AI & Local Models
Grounded Local PDF Q&A with Ollama, LangChain, and Chroma
Build local PDF Q&A with current LangChain packages, labeled source chunks, validated citation IDs, retrieval tests, and honest hallucination limits.
AI & Local Models
Faster-Whisper vs whisper.cpp for Local Speech-to-Text
Compare Faster-Whisper and whisper.cpp with current installation commands, built-in VAD options, hardware backends, and a repeatable audio test plan.
AI & Local Models
Ollama on a Cloud Server: Costs, Sizing, and Security
Plan a private CPU-based Ollama server with current DigitalOcean pricing, realistic memory limits, SSH-tunneled access, and repeatable measurements.
AI & Local Models
Running Open-Source LLMs on Mini PCs: Intel N100 vs. Ryzen 5 with Ollama
Compare Intel N100 and Ryzen 5 5500U mini PCs for Ollama using official CPU specifications, system-specific buying checks, and a repeatable benchmark.
AI & Local Models
How to Benchmark Local LLMs on an RTX 4070 12GB
Build a reproducible RTX 4070 local-LLM benchmark with pinned models, separate prompt and generation tests, saved outputs, and honest quality scoring.
Software Development
Convert All Your Video Files to HEVC x265 (or Anything): Bash Scripting
Convert your entire video library to HEVC x265 with a bash script that recursively transcodes files. Learn Linux, ffmpeg, and hardware acceleration.