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diff --git a/memos/WM-066.txt b/memos/WM-066.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bf52da9 --- /dev/null +++ b/memos/WM-066.txt @@ -0,0 +1,130 @@ + + + + + + + +Document: WM-066 P. Webb +Category: LLM 2025.03.27 + + Spitball with Claude + +Abstract + + LLMs are fun for idea validation + +Body + + One of my favorite things to do these days is to take half‑formed + thoughts/ideas to Claude[1] (my LLM of choice) and use its responses + to gain better understanding about whatever. If you've been following + me online for awhile, you know that I am OBSESSED with the modular + Jonathan Computer[2], a concept from Apple created in the 1980s that + was never officially released. It was definitely ahead of its time. + It could run Mac *and* DOS software!! Anyhoo, it's currently 2025 and + I believe there's a wide open market for such a thing. + + Amongst tech‑minded folks the general consensus around computing + seems to be: + + - Windows is _terrible_ and Microsoft is intent on making it worse + - macOS is buggy enough to be a problem and boy, it sure would be + great if we had a Snow Leopard‑esque release (no new features, just + bug fixes) + - Linux lacks suitable replacements for what I do on Windows/macOS + + You know what I'm suggesting (applicable XKCD here[3]): let's make a + new thing! + + But before that, let's get into Desktop Neo[4], the OS interface I'm + also obsessed with. The concept was made by Lennart Ziburski in 2016 + under the CC Attribution 4.0 license. If you've seen my homepage, + it's clearly been inspired by it. The tiles in Desktop Neo are + application/system windows and the entire UI scrolls horizontally. I + think that's pretty cool. The only issue I see with it is…how do I + code within this new paradigm? I currently just tab switch between my + text editor, terminal, and browser so I guess my tabbing would just + scroll the UI? Or maybe it'd be like using Spaces[5] on macOS. I + currently keep my mail app in fullscreen to the left space, my social + apps to the right space, and everything else in the center (main + space). I guess I answered my question. + + Anyhoo! I asked my AI buddy to meld the two concepts of hardware and + software into something I'd pay **stupid** amounts of money for. The + name Claude gave it? Neo Jonathan. Not bad, but I prefer **system¹** + (I registered `system1.computer` as well because why not?). I won't + bore you with the 3000 words of our convo thus far, have some + highlights instead. + + Creating an operating system from scratch is a monumental task, even + for people who have decades of experience writing low‑level code. + Instead, it's better to build upon what already exists, like Linux. + With that in mind, a customized Linux distro with a minimal kernel + config should be the base upon which the desktop interface (written + in Tauri) would launch. The boot process overview is thus: + + 1. **Initial Boot**: Fast Linux kernel boot (optimized to <3 seconds) + 2. **Minimal Init**: Loads only essential services + 3. **Display Server**: Lightweight Wayland compositor starts + 4. **Application Launch**: Your Tauri application + launches automatically + 5. **Complete Environment**: User sees and interacts with the + Neo interface + + The trick is making this process invisible to the user and this + should be doable via extensive tweaking of the boot process. + Alpine[6], Void[7], and Debian Minimal are the Linux distros Claude + recommended for testing. + + As for hardware, my only requirement is that the OS is able to run on + the most capable Raspberry Pi 5[8]. It supports PCI express (which + means you can attach super‑fast SSDs to it) and the best + configuration comes with 16GB RAM. Good enough, I think? I grew up + with less in the early 2000s! + + So cool, you can run this on a RasPi. As I sit in front of a Mac + Studio and Apple Display, I cannot help but imagine this Neo Jonathan + sitting on my desk. A few NAS drives, two or three operating systems + to swap between, a cellular modem? Floppy/MiniDisc drives? Idk, what + else would you snap into your deck? Your own LLM, perhaps? + + Framework Computer[9] proves that having an open platform is not only + possible, it's profitable. System76[10] sells hardware and maintains + Pop!_OS[11]. In a world of services and apparent obsession with + "customer sat" (hi, Tim Apple), the actual **quality** of what we're + given is hella lacking. + + I'd love to end this "Spitball with Claude" with an announcment like, + "Good news! This idea has been funded by Sequoia, Paradigm, and angel + investors who believe in a better computing future, blah blah." Sorry + to disappoint you, I didn't graduate from Stanford, I know no one in + Y Combinator, and I don't play golf or whatever tech CEOs do + these days. + + I am powered by delulu and a tireless LLM that validates my + wild ideas. + + 🕸️ + + 2025.04.17 EDIT: Someone DM'd me about an issue the Vivaldi browser + has with my homepage and ended it with a request to not use our convo + within an LLM, based on my enthusiasm in this blog post and I gotta + ask…WTF do y'all be on? I understand the inherent distrust around the + training of LLMs but why would I use my online communications + VERBATIM as training fodder? I need y'all to relax and take off the + tinfoil hat to let your brain breathe. Good grief. + +References + + [1] <https://claude.ai> + [2] <https://512pixels.net/2024/03/apple-jonathan-modular-concept> + [3] <https://xkcd.com/927> + [4] <https://desktopneo.com> + [5] <https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/work-in-multiple-spaces-mh14112/mac> + [6] <https://www.alpinelinux.org> + [7] <https://voidlinux.org> + [8] <https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-5> + [9] <https://frame.work> + [10] <https://system76.com> + [11] <https://system76.com/pop> |