Issue #236 | Subscribe

I came across a very interesting project on social media that I can't wait to try this weekend.

Android TVs are getting frustrating to use as they are being riddled with bloated apps and intrusive ads.

Fed up with this experience, a guy used Claude and the TV's Android Debug Bridge system to rebuild a clean launcher that only shows the installed apps and makes the entire experience faster. As the TV should have been in the first place.

I didn't even imagine this to be possible with an AI model over a Wi-Fi connection.

I love this sort of project where we can solve real-life frustrations with a $20 AI model over a couple of hours.

Here's the GitHub page containing the prompts and crowdsourced examples that will help you get started with this experiment, if you're interested.

But before you do, understand that this might void your TV's warranty or introduce bugs. Tread carefully.

P.S.: A few weeks ago I announced a significant discount for the Hulry Plus lifetime membership, limited to 10 seats in total.

Four of those seats are still available. So, if you're new here or haven't had the chance earlier, you can join the community now at this reduced pricing.

In Today's Cover: The iconic Sydney Opera House was inaugurated around this time in 1973.

Now, before you move on to the rest of this newsletter issue, here are a few words from:

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Your Next Read

Social

Vibe

Adam Grant, one of my favourite authors, is back with a new book about building meaningful connections with the people around us. At a time when humans are becoming more distant, this is a timely read.

Apps & Services

‎Mochiboard

A powerful canvas app for your ideas

This fun canvas app is a nice place to brainstorm ideas, create moodboards, and even plan complex projects. It has all the bells and whistles a good canvas needs, and you can even create a canvas within one for nested organisation. Connect Claude to have Mochi do most of the work for you. Available on macOS and the Web for free.
Tinycast

An open-source Raycast alternative

If you have been seeing performance lags or other UI glitches in Raycast recently, try this minimal, open-source port of the app. The UI and functions are familiar, and you can run existing Raycast extensions in it. It even has an import functionality to pull your configurations from Raycast. Available on macOS for free.
Refine

An offline grammar checker for Mac

I’ve tried quite a few offline Grammarly alternatives, but none of them worked well enough to replace the incumbent. This one did. I’ve been using it in place of Grammarly for a while and it works great, especially with the Gemma 4 model. Processing happens locally unless you connect a cloud AI API key. Available on macOS and is free to start.

Handy Shortcut

⌘

Shift

\

Quickly peek at all open tabs in Safari on macOS.

Interesting Reads

How to Have More Time to Do What You Want

24 min read

Longform

I wrote this piece a while ago about some of the systems and techniques I use to find more time to do the work and projects I want. They worked well for me then, and they still do after all these years, and the system remains largely unchanged. Try these out if you're feeling strapped for time.
The Tiny Tasks Til Ten Method

2 min read

If you’ve ever sat in front of a desk feeling too lazy to start the day or dig into the task right ahead, this technique can help get things rolling. I start my mornings differently, but this approach seems interesting.
How to Be More Ambitious: A Tutorial for Humans with Models

10 min read

This short piece by an engineering manager at Anthropic gives an overview of how to achieve better results with generative AI models by reframing the problem from different perspectives. I’ll be experimenting with the altitude of my problems.
Karl Bushby’s Incredible 28-Year Walk Home

26 min read

Karl Bushby, the man who set on a challenge to walk the earth, is now back home to England after 28 years since the start of his adventure. This piece is a nice, compressed look into his epic journey.

Watch Next

A good introduction to using NFC tags for setting up tiny automation in daily life.

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