Build your own wheels

I recently bought an Anker A8340NA1 Hub. Then I ran into a bunch of bugs with DP display and connectivity. Fortunately, flashing their firmware doesn't require much complicated work. So I just used GPT + KM003C to investigate the data, then flashed the firmware I had fixed.

I did report it to the company, but based on my experience working in the software industry, reports usually never reach the engineering team. They just disappear.

It really is a great time to be alive. When a bug shows up, you can fix it yourself without waiting for the “manufacturer.”

For most problems people run into, unless they're especially serious or the customer is big enough, the odds of being ignored are basically sky-high. Open-source software, closed-source software, firmware, and so on—it's all the same.

For most of my software now, I have AI use existing software as a reference and then implement my own version. Things made by other people still can't fully match my needs or style, and they come with a pile of features I'll never use. Bugs are a hassle, reporting them is completely pointless, and then there are all kinds of supply-chain attacks.

It used to be: don't reinvent the wheel. Now my recommendation is: please build your own wheels.

Speaking of open source, back when I was a student, it was something sacred. Now, instead, I feel that open source is meaningless.