What I like about Firefox and its community-driven open source nature really coincides with a lot of what I like about Python. There are always like-minded people trying to solve a problem that is often too niche for other browsers. Having said all the that, Safari, as a browser platform, lacks that community attention yet. I often found myself trying to find which “slop” is the real extension I am looking for.
From App-to
App to Manage Documents DB
Back in 2000s, when I got my hands on Intel Mac for the first time, there were two things that immediately caught my attention: Spotlight, the functioning search tool on OS, and DevonThink, the highly regarded documents management software beloved by many Mac users. Some even called DevonThink to be the savior of Macintosh lineage — otherwise there would be no space left for OS X.
App to Replace Built-in VPN Server on Router
I suppose it needs some context to explain what even is a “VPN server on a router” for home and small offices. If you have a home lab, DIY projects, or even a simple NAS, chances are, you don’t want to have them all exposed to the internet. Prudence dictates every device should have its security, especially with the coming days of IPv6; however, many security advices I read online and still abide by always recommend keeping them behind the locked door — the router. A VPN server, therefore, lets users connect to LAN, just like a VPN in a…
App to Override CSS User Drag or Select on Websites
As I am still doing migration projects from Pi (the hardware) to everything hosted on NAS, there were few things I wanted to try. One of which is open-source community-backed DBs. So far, not all of them were as good as I thought, but every projects I had seen so far showed the signs of efforts on the developing communities’ part. Now the pleasantries are out of the way, there is one area these databases suck at — collecting metadata of niche contents automatically.
App to Create Synology SSD Pools on M.2 NVMe Slots
As I am migrating from Pi setups to one NAS, one of the immediate upside and downside was HDD. I get more storage out of the physical machine, but HDDs are still slower than microSD cards on Pi. Fortunately, I had some old NVMe drives sitting around and decided to make use of it. The only problem was, DSM 7.* currently does not allow creating a pool from NVMe drives for my model.
App to Backup Raspberry Pi over Network
I’m still in the process of retiring old projects. While I’m at it, I wanted a backup solution that will work over network. Putting a USB stick to a working Pi is a solution, only when that Pi is not headless (i.e. stuck away in a network closet). As far as I know, and this is a common enough warning seen in most Pi threads I’ve read, microSD card is the weakest link in Pi hardware. And once it fails, unlike HDD, there is no rescue.
App to Download YouTube Videos
There are many web-based YouTube downloaders out there, but I thought to share one that is known to work locally. Instead of worrying about which button is the real “download” on the web, I thought why not use a program that runs locally and possibly from more reputable sources.
App to Read X (Twitter) Threads without Logins
I still have an account from Twitter days, I rarely it. X, or formerly Twitter, is simply not my style. While I appreciate some official communications done through X as a backup in rapid response (e.g. service status), I wouldn’t mind it if the same memos were written on Bluesky, or else. In fact, I would very much prefer it if these services had simple blogs instead for us to infer to.
App to Display Subtitles and CC on iOS YouTube PiP
The official YouTube app is mostly hit-and-miss on mobile devices. I can’t speak for all experiences, but on iOS, the YouTube app does not support subtitles or CC on PiP, or picture in picture. I had tried using YouTube Premium for this very purpose, but it was up to no avail. For the records, it is not that iOS does not support subtitles on PiP players, there are other media players that display subtitles on PiP. YouTube simply does not support it.
App to Download BitTorrent on Synology NAS
Synology offers an official version of BitTorrent client, Download Station, but it lacks many features I would consider given in this day and age: a. it would need comprehensive web UI to manage BitTorrent traffic, and b. it would need VPN or proxy support natively. Neither were the case when I gave Download Station a look on DSM 6, — it may have been updated since — and I already know some clients do offer exactly what I would want.
App to Add Third-Party Packages on Synology NAS
Synology had a rough year in 2025 with its new policy — now retracted — on HDDs, but it didn’t outright kill the consumer NAS brand. In fact, when I did some research into what could be the possible alternatives to Synology as a platform, there weren’t many that offered community supports and different builds one could try for themselves. Raspberry Pi came close, but as the hardware was never meant to be a NAS, most of the builds and softwares were geared toward performance and had the appearance of rat’s nest.
App to Create Scroll Screenshot on iOS
I have covered an iOS app with similar features named Tailor, but the app in question hasn’t received any updates recently; iOS 26 seems to have completely broken the app. It is frustrating when an app no longer receives an update, but it happens regardless.
App to Create Scroll Screenshot on macOS
Though many browsers already support exporting a webpage as a long screenshot (or a scroll screenshot), from my experience, it doesn’t help the fact that it is filled with non-essentials. It’s a fact of all media. If you are saving only certain part of the post, exporting the entire page into PDF or JPEG is likely a step that will produce quite a lot of waste. And unlike iOS, screenshot tools on macOS are generally too expensive for one feature.
App to Check Your Password in Security Breaches
I suppose it’s a playlist of cybersecurity for this week. This is yet another good usage of searching through known breaches covered yesterday’s post. If you are not using a password manager, like it or not, you are most likely guilty of reusing the same password. If you are not using a random password generator of any kind, at least a writer’s dice, human mind is not the best device of generating randomness.
App to Check Your Email Address in Security Breaches
Since I just covered a website tracking app related security breaches, I thought to add the old-fashioned one — the one tracks by your email address. Traditionally, service providers and security researchers had released their findings separately, per case basis. If you were a customer of 100 different services, you had to look out for each and every one of them. Although the standard practice mandates the leaked service provider to reach out the affected users, it was an optimistic outlook to believe all the users would be notified promptly.