The Real Neil.
@neilb.uk
Minding my own business. Would rather be riding my bike.
Founding member of the tofu-eating, guardian-reading wokerati.
Connect with me on all the places @ neilb.uk
Founding member of the tofu-eating, guardian-reading wokerati.
Connect with me on all the places @ neilb.uk
Pinned
The Real Neil.
@neilb.uk
· Jan 13
There's going to be a lot about AI in the UK press today. This is your reminder that AI does not equal LLMs and generative AI. They are a subset of a vast field but get a lot of exposure due to their accessibility. There are many other fields that have been providing practical solutions for decades.
I was looking through that list earlier, didn't see phone OSes. Will take another look although as others have said, banking apps don't like rooted/jailbreaked devices.
January 18, 2026 at 9:29 PM
I was looking through that list earlier, didn't see phone OSes. Will take another look although as others have said, banking apps don't like rooted/jailbreaked devices.
Yep, rely on banking apps a lot. It's a shame as I like the look of GrapheneOS.
January 18, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Yep, rely on banking apps a lot. It's a shame as I like the look of GrapheneOS.
Yep, can't be a rooted OS. GrapheneOS looks great otherwise.
January 18, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Yep, can't be a rooted OS. GrapheneOS looks great otherwise.
I've just posted similar. Any suggestions for moving away from Android? All my banking apps rely on either that or iOS so I'm stuck I think.
January 18, 2026 at 7:20 PM
I've just posted similar. Any suggestions for moving away from Android? All my banking apps rely on either that or iOS so I'm stuck I think.
Whilst it'd be a lot of faff, it should be possible to "de-US" all my tech. The biggest blocker would be banking apps. They all need Android/iOS. Is there a realistic phone OS alternative?
January 18, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Whilst it'd be a lot of faff, it should be possible to "de-US" all my tech. The biggest blocker would be banking apps. They all need Android/iOS. Is there a realistic phone OS alternative?
Reposted by The Real Neil.
european-alternatives.eu
For people who don’t want to depend on US technology
For people who don’t want to depend on US technology
European Alternatives
We help you find European alternatives for digital service and products, like cloud services and SaaS products.
european-alternatives.eu
January 18, 2026 at 1:18 PM
european-alternatives.eu
For people who don’t want to depend on US technology
For people who don’t want to depend on US technology
Reposted by The Real Neil.
Yes - 'mad' Polanski turned out to be WAY more rational and far-sighted than all the centrist media pundits who derided his Europe-Only defence force.
When we said NATO wasn't working we were derided.
When we said a nuclear weapons system relying on the US is dangerous we were called stupid.
The truth is the establishment are more interested in kissing US feet than keeping the UK safe.
It's time for a rethink.
When we said a nuclear weapons system relying on the US is dangerous we were called stupid.
The truth is the establishment are more interested in kissing US feet than keeping the UK safe.
It's time for a rethink.
January 18, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Yes - 'mad' Polanski turned out to be WAY more rational and far-sighted than all the centrist media pundits who derided his Europe-Only defence force.
We'll never know but I feel like we would have got those wins under Still anyway. Tonda just seems like a less experienced version of Still.
January 17, 2026 at 7:50 PM
We'll never know but I feel like we would have got those wins under Still anyway. Tonda just seems like a less experienced version of Still.
Reposted by The Real Neil.
Reposted by The Real Neil.
The most useful thing humanity has invented in recent times is the printed scissor lines on wrapping paper.
January 13, 2026 at 11:55 AM
The most useful thing humanity has invented in recent times is the printed scissor lines on wrapping paper.
Whilst I agree with your sentiment, I feel my pinned post is needed. If AI is going to be used to "fly planes, run nuclear reactors.." then it's not going to be someone using CoPilot (like the West Mids Police), it'll be (probably already is) a specific ML algorithm.
bsky.app/profile/neil...
bsky.app/profile/neil...
There's going to be a lot about AI in the UK press today. This is your reminder that AI does not equal LLMs and generative AI. They are a subset of a vast field but get a lot of exposure due to their accessibility. There are many other fields that have been providing practical solutions for decades.
January 16, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Whilst I agree with your sentiment, I feel my pinned post is needed. If AI is going to be used to "fly planes, run nuclear reactors.." then it's not going to be someone using CoPilot (like the West Mids Police), it'll be (probably already is) a specific ML algorithm.
bsky.app/profile/neil...
bsky.app/profile/neil...
Boom 💥
Didn't see this coming, excellent news 🥳
Didn't see this coming, excellent news 🥳
January 16, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Boom 💥
Didn't see this coming, excellent news 🥳
Didn't see this coming, excellent news 🥳
Reposted by The Real Neil.
January 15, 2026 at 9:28 PM
I swear the people making these acronyms do it on purpose. I mean CURD was right there too. Everyone likes curd.
January 16, 2026 at 1:25 PM
I swear the people making these acronyms do it on purpose. I mean CURD was right there too. Everyone likes curd.
Every day's a school day. Didn't know that's where the term came from.
On your first point, I had to justify my use of CRUD operations in a tech proposal once.
On your first point, I had to justify my use of CRUD operations in a tech proposal once.
January 16, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Every day's a school day. Didn't know that's where the term came from.
On your first point, I had to justify my use of CRUD operations in a tech proposal once.
On your first point, I had to justify my use of CRUD operations in a tech proposal once.
Reposted by The Real Neil.
Your terrible wages - billionaires
Unaffordable housing - billionaires
No Healthcare - billionaires
Unaffordable Energy - billionaires
People who will save your life or look after you in a care home - immigrants
Unaffordable housing - billionaires
No Healthcare - billionaires
Unaffordable Energy - billionaires
People who will save your life or look after you in a care home - immigrants
January 16, 2026 at 9:01 AM
Your terrible wages - billionaires
Unaffordable housing - billionaires
No Healthcare - billionaires
Unaffordable Energy - billionaires
People who will save your life or look after you in a care home - immigrants
Unaffordable housing - billionaires
No Healthcare - billionaires
Unaffordable Energy - billionaires
People who will save your life or look after you in a care home - immigrants
I'm still rocking Ventura. I only upgrade when I absolutely *have* to. Everything works at the moment and I can't afford for it not to.
January 16, 2026 at 10:38 AM
I'm still rocking Ventura. I only upgrade when I absolutely *have* to. Everything works at the moment and I can't afford for it not to.
Reposted by The Real Neil.
I feel obliged to share this masterpiece from my brother:
January 14, 2026 at 11:17 AM
I feel obliged to share this masterpiece from my brother:
I keep hearing an advert where when you buy a TV or something, you get cashback. This cashback is proclaimed as being "conveniently available in your Samsung wallet". Well Samsung, I think you and I have very different interpretations on the meaning of convenient in this case.
January 13, 2026 at 8:53 PM
I keep hearing an advert where when you buy a TV or something, you get cashback. This cashback is proclaimed as being "conveniently available in your Samsung wallet". Well Samsung, I think you and I have very different interpretations on the meaning of convenient in this case.
Timeline cleanse. Sound on 🔊
January 13, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Timeline cleanse. Sound on 🔊
Indeed. The danger is now that everyone is going to associate AI with generating fake images.
January 13, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Indeed. The danger is now that everyone is going to associate AI with generating fake images.
Exactly a year on from my pinned post, still relevant.
There's going to be a lot about AI in the UK press today. This is your reminder that AI does not equal LLMs and generative AI. They are a subset of a vast field but get a lot of exposure due to their accessibility. There are many other fields that have been providing practical solutions for decades.
January 13, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Exactly a year on from my pinned post, still relevant.