About

Started with .NET desktop apps in 2008, went through enterprise Java and Python data pipelines, and landed on tiny browser tools. Same instinct throughout: keep things small enough to understand completely — and keep user data on the user's machine.

I'm AnnMax — an indie developer somewhere between .NET dinosaurs and browser-tab minimalism. I've been paid to write software since 2008, and this is the short version of a long story.

The road so far

  • 2008 — desktop era. First jobs in .NET: WinForms, then WPF. Learned that shipping beats perfect — mostly by shipping imperfect things.
  • 2012 — enterprise Java. Large Spring systems, more meetings than code, and real lessons about software that must not fail.
  • 2016 — Python and data. Messy pipelines, patient debugging, and the habit of measuring before optimizing.
  • 2019 — back to the web. JavaScript, browser APIs — and the slow realization that the browser is the most universal runtime ever built.
  • 2023 — the turn. Manifest V3 landed, and I started building small browser extensions: one job each, local-first, under 20 KB. Seventeen of them now live on annmax1983.com.
  • 2025 — bigger surfaces. Ten installable PWAs and CertTrack Pro, a reminder SaaS for certificate expiry, equipment maintenance and inspections. Same instinct, larger scale.

Why this notebook exists

I write things down — build logs when a problem takes days, short notes when a lesson fits in three paragraphs, history pieces when an old bug explains a new one better than any release notes. In six languages, because the web is bigger than one language.

How I work

  • One tool, one job. If a feature can't be explained in one sentence, it doesn't ship.
  • Local-first. User data stays on the user's machine. No accounts, no analytics, wherever possible.
  • Small is a feature. Tools under 20 KB load fast, age well, and stay understandable a decade later.
  • Write in public. Build logs and changelogs are part of the process, not a marketing afterthought.
  • Keep the boring stack. Reliability is a luxury you buy with unexciting choices.

Say hello

Questions, bug reports, or a custom extension idea? Email support@annmax1983.com — I read everything. You'll also find me at annmax1983.com and on GitHub Pages, where the older technical writing lives.