I recently spun up a SearXNG container on my home server. The goal, I guess, is to escape targeted ads and crappy search results—two things that I am regularly exposed to in my research-heavy, Google-heavy job as a "technology journalist." Anway, I'm slowly equipping this self-hosted search engine with Traefik and other integrations, but I'd like to know if our community has any suggestions for how to move forward. 

Every major Windows release is packaged with an iconic wallpaper. Images like Bliss—the default XP wallpaper—are among the most recognizable and beloved pictures in the world. But which wallpaper is your favorite? I lean toward XP because that's what I grew up with, but the Windows 10 wallpaper is a close runner-up. 

My girlfriend asks a question, I look up the answer, and I blurt out something that's so obviously wrong because I was too stupid to scroll past Google's AI Overview. No, a Big Mac meal isn't $3.11, you can't submit a new photo when you renew your driver's license online in Florida, and Kenan Thompson does not die from complications related to diabetes at the end of the Fat Albert movie. I know better than to trust random crap that I read on the internet, especially when that crap is AI-generated. Still, I and millions of other people expect to receive a correct answer when we look up a straightforward question. I can't be the only one who's getting tripped up by this busted AI thing—we're all sick of it, right?

Out of all the apps that I use on my Mac, Alfred deserves the most praise. It fills more roles than I can count—Alfred's Workflows system allows me to quickly interact with apps like Obsidian and Spotify, its Snippet tool saves me time when writing articles or responding to emails, custom Web Searches allow me to jump between websites without taking my hands off the keyboard, and File Search provides far more granular search controls than Apple's Spotlight system. I even use Alfred to open my work-related apps in the morning.  So, fellow Mac owners, I'd love to know how you use Alfred. Have you built your own Workflows, for example, and has Alfred replaced any tools on your Mac?

Since its inception, Bing has been treated as the butt of the joke. Yet, ironically, Bing is more popular than ever before. The Microsoft-owned search engine has over a billion active users and achieved 10% market share at the start of 2024, meaning that one in ten people who use a search engine choose Bing. Why do you use Bing? Do you find that the search results are genuinely better than that of other search engines, or are you in it for unique features like Microsoft Rewards and the dynamic homepage?

Thunderbird was, in my mind, the premiere desktop email client of the 2000s. It never disrupted Outlook's role in the corporate world, but it was a fantastically popular open-source application with a lightweight design and an unbeatable collection of extensions. I drove Thunderbird until the wheels fell off—it was practically abandoned by Mozilla in 2012, and I held strong until about 2016. Things are finally looking up for Thunderbird. The project resumed active development in 2022, reigniting the interest of old users and garnering a whole new generation of fans. I haven't had a chance to put the new Thunderbird through its paces, but I'd love to know what former users think of the refreshed, reanimated email client.