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Chris Chinchilla

@chrischinchilla.bsky.social
238 followers 23 following 249 posts

Independent technical content creator by day. Fiction, games, and music by night. 🇬🇧🇦🇺🇩🇪🇪🇺🗺️

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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 20h
Also: Cubase 15, LANDR buying Reason Studios, Rocky Linux forking OpenRadioss, and a site that predicts Bending Spoons' next acquisition. Full issue here: chrischinchilla.com/newsletter/...
chrischinchilla.com
Full disk regrets
Sovereignty, efficiency, acquisitions, and AI tools go rogue (again)
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 20h
New newsletter's out: Full disk regrets. This week: AI coding agents quietly grabbing full-disk access, Europe's push for digital sovereignty, and why chip shortages are making performance cool again.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
With the component shortage, I've heard a lot from developers focused on performance again. So I have an appropriate plug! 😬 Even if you're not focused on sustainability, my book with Ines Akrap, "Building the Sustainable Web", is full of efficiency advice. chrischinchilla.com/books/build...
chrischinchilla.com
Building the Sustainable Web
A guide to designing, building, and hosting digital products that respect people and the planet, covering infrastructure, backend architecture, frontend performance, UX, content strategy, and marketing practices that reduce environmental impact while improving performance and accessibility.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Two new anthologies with stories of mine in them: Collective Verses Volume VI and In a Flash Volume IV, both from the Storytelling Collective. If you're into short fiction and poetry, take a look :) chrischinchilla.com/books/colle... chrischinchilla.com/books/in-a-...
chrischinchilla.com
In a Flash Volume IV
A collection of flash fiction under 1,500 words, written during the Storytelling Collective's month-long Flash Fiction February challenge.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
We get into how that protection actually works under the hood, and why this corner of fraud is only getting weirder now that scammers have AI tools too. chrischinchilla.com/podcast/ai-...
chrischinchilla.com
AI powered protection from digital fraud with Guardian
In this episode, I speak with Rita Barbosa of Guardian Labs, who is working on an Europe-based AI-powered scam protection app that pulls in up-to-date scam data to help prevent vulnerable phone users from being scammed.The simplest way to host & share your work onlineYou can use tiiny to share over 100 different types of documents, files or projects online.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
They're building an AI-powered app that uses live scam data to protect people, especially the more vulnerable among us, from phone fraud.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New episode of Tech Lounge is out. This time I sat down with Rita Barbosa of Guardian Labs.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
“Sorry I can’t work right now, an ai is using my computer”
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
After living with both for a while, I also wonder, do you need a dedicated device at all given how good on-device AI is getting on phones? Read or watch my review here: Blog: chrischinchilla.com/blog/2026/t... Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0S...
youtube.com
AI note recorders compared: Plaud Note vs EurekaMind
I compare two phone-attachable AI recording/transcription devices, ...
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The hardware is nearly identical, but Plaud's software is the more polished platform (speaker detection, templates, even MCP/CLI tools now). Pricing works differently: Plaud gives 300 free minutes a month, EurekaMind's Pro tier is unlimited.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I've been testing two AI note recorders: the Plaud Note and EurekaMind.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I spent time with the community in Berlin recently and wrote up a rundown of the projects and activities: chrischinchilla.com/blog/2026/l...
chrischinchilla.com
What's new for LF Energy in 2026
A tour of Linux Foundation Energy's project portfolio, and a look at what was announced and demoed at LF Energy Summit Europe in Berlin.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
European grid operators and utilities are deploying these projects in production, not just experimenting with it, making Europe's grid more resilient and more flexible.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
LF Energy is the Linux Foundation's umbrella for open source projects working on the power grid. It's everything from grid modelling and simulation tools like PowSyBl and Dynawo, to EV charging infrastructure like EVerest, to the software running inside substations.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Energy is one of the more interesting and applicable corners of open source, and one I don't think gets talked about enough.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The best new audio gear worth paying attention to: youtu.be/Onj_cXZUbR8 A miscellany round — input devices, smart plants, e-ink phones, and more: youtu.be/J7oNAXIzRt4 Summary blog: chrischinchilla.com/blog/2026/i...
chrischinchilla.com
IFA 2026 trends - local AI boxes, open back headphones, e-ink, and more
I spent some time on the show floor at IFA 2026 in Berlin looking at mini PCs, local AI devices, headphones, speakers, input devices, smart plant sensors, and e-ink phones. Here's what caught my attention.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Wrapped up my IFA 2026 coverage this week. Three videos and one summary blog post if you want to see my highlights from the show floor in Berlin. Mini PCs, local AI devices, and AI NAS boxes: youtu.be/GHohnveeItY
youtube.com
IFA 2026 trends: mini PCs, Local AI devices, AI NAS devices
More coverage from #IFA. This video covers the trends I noticed in ...
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Worth a listen if you're thinking about how autonomous agents fit into security operations. Listen below, watch on Youtube, or wherever you get your podcasts: chrischinchilla.com/podcast/aut... youtu.be/OfrTw7UgAo8...
chrischinchilla.com
Autonomous security in the agent age with Enclave
I speak with Enclave, which is building an autonomous security team for the enterprise with always-on agents that map your attack surface, find attack paths, repair weaknesses, and verify the path is closed.The only writing app you'll needThe Ultimate Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone: Powerful features and a pleasant, focused writing experience combined in one...
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
New episode of Tech Lounge is out. This time I sat down with the team at Enclave, who are building always-on security agents — systems that continuously map your attack surface, find attack paths, patch the weak points they find, and then verify that the fix actually held.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Do I have the heart to tell the drunk English men in Berlin dressed in Oktoberfest costumes that pretty much the only people who wear that in Berlin are drunk English men? Or just let them carry on…
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In this patch release, user issues
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Free Community tier covers the basics, Pro adds the rest for $249.99/year. Read or watch my review here: Blog: chrischinchilla.com/blog/2026/a... Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2Q...
youtube.com
adoc Studio 5: What's new in this AsciiDoc Editor for macOS & iOS
adoc Studio is a native AsciiDoc authoring app for macOS, iPad, and...
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The key features: multilingual includes that automatically pick the right language file, AI-assisted translation (translated a doc into French for about 5 cents), a new CLI for scripting your docs pipeline, and accessible PDF export for EU compliance.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I spent some time with adoc Studio 5, the latest version of the native AsciiDoc editor for Mac and iOS.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Grab them from the marketplace, or if you have auto-updates enabled, you have them already :) Vale: marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemN... Pandoc: marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemN...
marketplace.visualstudio.com
vscode-pandoc - Visual Studio Marketplace
Extension for Visual Studio Code - Renders markdown through pandoc
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Shipped v1.2.1 updates to both my VSCode extensions this week. Vale extension: relative paths in your CLI config work now, plus a glibc detection fix and dependency bumps. Pandoc extension: fixed a bug with unicode file names, and added a setting to skip the overwrite warning if it annoys you.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Ahh, YouTube. You spend hours and hours putting together a long hands on video and get some reasonable views. Spend ten minutes putting together a short about some robots and off it flies…
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Then I have a few days off, start a new job, and stay put for a while, so if you want to say hello in the next month, let me know! chrischinchilla.com/events/
chrischinchilla.com
Events
I have spoken at and reported on hundreds of events around the world.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
- Startup Revolution in Skopje, 2nd-5th October - Open Source Summit in Prague, 7th-9th October - Bircon in Berlin, 10-11th October
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It's conference season! So if you want to say hello in the next month or so, here's where I'll be: - LF Energy in Berlin, 15-16th September - Human X in Amsterdam, 22nd-25th September - Then I am on vacation in Bordeaux and Rioja the week after, if you happen to be around 🤷‍♂️
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I love the two people in red in the first photo
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
chrischinchilla.com/blog/2026/a...
chrischinchilla.com
How I sync applications between Macs using Homebrew
How I attempted to sync applications between Macs using Homebrew and Brewfiles.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Two scripts handle the rest. One pulls and installs from git on a schedule, the other flags anything installed outside the Brewfiles. launchd runs both daily.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I somewhat solved a mild annoyance… syncing apps between my Mac mini and MacBook Pro without including apps a machine doesn't need. I used Brew bundle, split things into three Brewfiles and used a bit of Ruby to auto-load whichever machine-specific file matches the hostname.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
One of the things I like about drum kits is that you can replace and upgrade individual parts. Now I have a new fancy mesh snare and sound unit. Before and after…
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Listen here: chrischinchilla.com/podcast/the... or search for “Tech Lounge” wherever you get your podcasts. Watch here: youtu.be/Qn0iciS-mIk
youtube.com
The world's largest conference for mobile developers with Greg Fawson
I speak with Greg Fawson of next.app dev con, the largest mobile ap...
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The latest tech lounge episode is out! Slightly late as it's been back to back events, which is coincidental as it's with Greg Fawson of Next app dev con, the largest mobile app development conference in the world, right here in Berlin!
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
At least the uk has a reasonable compensation scheme though 🤷
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
If you're here for Berlin Write the Docs next week I'll see you there! If you feel like some writing on Saturday morning, come to my Shutup and Write meetup. www.meetup.com/shutupandwr...
meetup.com
SU&W In-person Mitte, Sat, Sep 5, 2026, 11:00 AM | Meetup
Come along, grab a coffee, shut up, and write! We will do at least two sessions of each 45 minutes of writing and two breaks. We will start the first writing session at 11:
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Busy couple of weeks in Berlin! If you're here for #ifa2026 let me know, I will be at a few press events and mostly running around booths on Friday!
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Narrow it down 😅
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemN...
marketplace.visualstudio.com
vscode-pandoc - Visual Studio Marketplace
Extension for Visual Studio Code - Renders markdown through pandoc
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
But it also has a new pre-release version (1.1.0) available in the marketplace with loads of new features and fixtures that I would appreciate any hands on testing from people who use it, or indeed, who would like to use it :) You can enable the pre-release version in the extension interface.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Another major VSCode extension update. Oddly my Pandoc VSCode extension is way more popular than the Vale one, but I have very little visibility into the community.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
I have closed almost all open issues and made a lot of changes, with more to come. Some are more common uses, some more niche, so I’d appreciate some testers, please! github.com/chrischinch...
github.com
GitHub - ChrisChinchilla/vale-vscode: A Visual Studio Code extension for the Vale CLI.
A Visual Studio Code extension for the Vale CLI. Contribute to ChrisChinchilla/vale-vscode development by creating an account on GitHub.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
It adds a lot of changes, which you can see in the changelog or the readme, but before the main release, I will spend time polishing these to make them clearer and also generally overhaul the extension docs anyway.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Users of the Vale VSCode extension for open source and offline language linting. I have a pre-release version of the extension, 1.1.0, available if you switch to using the pre-release section in the extension interface.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Latest Tech Lounge podcast is with Luca Belli the author of "Hidden Influences", how algorithmic recommenders shape our lives Out soon on Manning Listen or watch below or search "Tech Lounge" wherever you get your podcasts. chrischinchilla.com/podcast/the... www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w9...
youtube.com
The hidden influences behind the algorithms that run our lives with Luca Belli
In this episode, I speak with Luca Belli about his forthcoming Mann...
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Thanks to all the interviewees and the article's editor. Thanks to Aalto University Nokia public archive that prompted version 2 of this piece . For all the older folks, enjoy this trip down memory lane. For all the younger folks, "feature phones" are making a comeback. This is where it all began.
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Chris Chinchilla @chrischinchilla.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I pitched this idea to a business magazine, and it never went anywhere. I then pitched it to IEEE Spectrum as a more technical piece, and over a year later, it's finally published online and in print. With amazing photos and layout, it looks great! spectrum.ieee.org/nokia-phones...
spectrum.ieee.org
How Nokia’s Feature Phones Lost to the Smartphone Era - IEEE Spectrum
How the iPhone and then Android killed the feature phone
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