borosilicate

Nice. I like Nix because it allows me to build custom systemd services that just work. I was able to build a systemd service I call “homebeacon” which tells my laptop whether it's actually on my home network, cryptographically. A responder on my server signs a challenge with an Ed25519 key; the laptop checks four cheap network signals first, then does the handshake. The signature covers the server's address so it can't be relayed from outside.

The verdict raises or lowers a systemd target. NAS mounts arm when home and go inert when away, so the filesystem doesn't hang. Battery charges to 80% at the desk, 100% travelling. It doesn’t drive firewall rules, keyring unlock, disk unlock; Nothing a spoofed "home" could turn into access.

I like it because I have a super complicated setup where a NAS is mounted in multiple places and gracefully disappears when I’m not at home (all managed deterministically with systemd at boot). Otherwise, I’d have to write a bash script that runs on a cron job to check the mount points. The way I have it now is laughably superior to that old, manual, (IMO incredibly kludgey) way of doing it.

If we’re going to continue on this vibe slop timeline, I’d like to see LLM’s start working with formal methods and languages like LEAN4 or Roq to fully test the problem domain in a context that catches logic errors as early as possible. An LLM being supervised by a formally-verified compiler can’t hallucinate as easily because the compiler won’t let it most of the time.

Come 2027, you might even have to scan your face or upload a photo ID to prove you're a legal adult before you can use your computer.

Unlikely if you build your own OS from source.