Don't let the Sun go down on Open Source
A packed newsletter this issue, dominated by the growing impacts of AI on technology, but also a good healthy dose of computing history, cool music gadgets, and the latest developments in maps.
xx Chinch
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The JavaScript Midlife Crisis
https://maroun-baydoun.com/blog/javascript-midlife-crisis/Buy a sports car, gain a paunch, or give up completely? Somewhere between all three it seems.
A map is never neutral: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western bias | Geography | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/ng-interactive/2026/sep/18/map-cartographers-western-bias-mercator-equal-earthWe are finally making progress (in most of the world) toward less biased maps.
What Sun Got Wrong
https://bcantrill.dtrace.org/2026/09/20/what-sun-got-wrong/Do you remember Sun Computing? You should. Their legacy is still in an awful lot of places.
Key symbols we lost to time, pt. 2: The Mac side
https://unsung.aresluna.org/key-symbols-we-lost-to-time-pt-2-the-mac-side/Ahhh, I miss the Apple key 😮💨.
I don't like passkeys
https://hawksley.dev/blog/i-dont-like-passkeysI am inclined to agree. Most of the time, when prompted to switch by a site, I ignore it. I dunno, they don't feel any more convenient than a password manager.
Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) Brief Guide for Open Source Software Developers
https://best.openssf.org/CRA-Brief-Guide-for-OSS-Developers.htmlThe open source community has been nervous about how the CRA will affect their projects. This guide will help you prepare and clarify whether you need to take action.
How does programming language affect token efficiency and correctness?
https://danluu.com/pl-tokens/While writing my recent book on sustainable computing, I benchmarked the energy consumption of various programming languages to assess the impact of language choice on energy use. So it was interesting to see this comparable post on how a programming language can affect token efficiency. The results are quite different from those of the energy consumption.
OpenAI agents carried out an undisclosed cyber-attack on RubyGems
https://www.rubyhack.ai/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=emailAI agents continue to poke holes in the building blocks of application security. This time, it’s RubyGems.
Homebrew 7.0.0
https://brew.sh/2026/09/13/homebrew-7.0.0/Homebrew's latest release begins removing support for Intel Macs, adds a native GUI, improves performance, and more.
Making Sound Machines Plinky 12: Three Synths in One the Perfect Controller or a Clever Concept with Some Catches? Review
https://www.gearnews.com/making-sound-machines-plinky-12-review/I tried a Plinky at Superbooth earlier this year and was fascinated by it. I have been trying to justify buying one for myself ever since. If you also like flexible musical gadgets, then maybe don't read this post ;)
It doesnt matter whether Matz is nice - po-ru.com
https://po-ru.com/2026/07/29/it-doesnt-matter-whether-matz-is-niceWhat do you do if other, larger presences in a community have more sway and make more waves than even the person who started the entire community? Ruby is facing this challenge.
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