NeuraLinux Bringing genAI to the Linux desktop

To those who think Linux users are eccentric and their software is archaic, I couldn’t agree more. Non-profit work from disparate programmers cannot match the polish of Big Tech products powered by the industry’s best engineers and their ultra-optimized neural networks. However, the fact that Linux servers power the state of the art of AI, yet Linux users don’t see a lick of the automation benefits, is possibly the worst trade deal of the Unix epoch /s.

I will incrementally bridge this automation gap by first articulating specific usability problems I encounter in James Mickens-style, and second solving them through simple open-source programs and generative AI applications that take advantage of existing, underutilized innovations. Join me as I spend a significant chunk of my life solving problems that most people have never thought about, albeit in some pretty clever ways. If you find a project that piques your interest, please consider getting involved and contributing!

Note: Most of my programs require an LLM. I reccomend locally hosting an LLM server with an OpenAI-compatible API to avoid paying. A convenient GPU-utilizing option is Ollama, for which my programs will use its REST API.


The desktop is missing crucial quality-of-life features

It was after I asked myself “why does setting the second bit of the keyboard controller’s port to high enable 21-bit physical addressability in x86 real mode?” that I realized my academic education had sunk too deep into the details. While architects of a field are crucial for constructing a solid foundation of knowledge and best practices, we need fresh dreamers to drive innovation beyond conventional boundaries and find better ways to solve old problems. It’s the reason Nintendo trusted Miyamoto, a complete outsider to game design, and now we have Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda, and Pikmin. Read more →

Enable Jarvis-like assistants by capturing your life in real-time

The road to creating Jarvis is fraught with scary technical, ethical, and legal problems. Such is the nature of a super-assistant that knows everything you know Read more →

Minimize setup time through smart, persistent workspaces

Life happens in the browser. For better or worse, user space has evolved past the neolithic era of files and native applications in exchange for cloud storage and web apps.... Read more →

Extend your laptop battery up to 1hr by dimming the screen when you look away

How often do you look at your phone or talk to your friend while your laptop is open? That’s battery down the drain, meaning you’ll have to charge it more... Read more →

Organize your Downloads into smart subfolders and archives

Dirty Rotten Cleaners follows a team of expert cleaners tidying the most cluttered, messiest houses you’ve ever seen. But they would probably pursue a career change after seeing your Downloads... Read more →

System package managers abstract too much from enthusiasts

People are so detached from the software they use that it reminds me of the American meat industry. No one cares about the chicken who lived for 6 weeks when you’re eating your breaded Dino nuggets. Similarly, no one cares about the long hours of non-profit programming and culture wars when you’re telling ChatGPT to do your homework so you can continue scrolling through TikTok. But like the vegan electric-car-driving liberals will tell you, you should care. Read more →

The meta-distro reproducible package manager

Linux distributions aren’t useful until they hit a critical mass of packaged software. Read more →

A Linux package set without GNU, X11, nor systemd

Linux distributions Description coming soon… Read more →

Programmers neglect the non-programming stuff

Aspiring programmers seem to perceive programming like a playing the guitar to serenade your love at first sight, in that they think of a fun song, immediately start writing, and play it. But in reality, its a concert. You have to collaborate with other musicians, secure a venue and setting (devops), convince people to come (marketing) and tell them how to get there (documentation), and hold dress rehearsals (testing). Otherwise, you’re just a bum playing your trombone in the streets with no one listening, except for the disgruntled apartment residents above you that are the source of the tomatoes. Read more →

Generate personalized documentation for users and developers of OSS

Learning new software is hard. Even though there’s an abundance of online resources to learn how to use open source software (OSS), it’s hard to find information that’s right for... Read more →

Unit test LLM prompts through embeddings

LLMs are non-deterministic by nature, which means our prompts can’t be traditionally unit-tested. Instead, assert that the similarity between the model’s output and your reference output is above your defined... Read more →

Linux shells have terrible UX

The UNIX command-line was clearly designed by the hardened programmers fabled in The Night Watch, who worked with rudimentary tools like pointy sticks and teletypewriters. They laid the groundwork of their OS with their bare hands and wrote textbooks when things went wrong. However, today’s command-line users get to wear their non-functional scarfs and sip tea while executing ./run.sh because of the hard work of those systems programmers before us. But boy did they leave us some unresolved baggage while designing these systems. Read more →

Autoconnect to eduroam during Linux bootstrapping

A common chicken-and-egg situation is connecting to institute WiFi during a minimal Linux installation. To download the tools you’re familiar with using, you need to have internet access. Secure networks,... Read more →