https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ Everything here grows out of what I actually ship — build logs, platform field notes, tech history, and thinking. Long when it needs to be, short when it does not. en Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/two-years-of-ai-in-my-editor/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/two-years-of-ai-in-my-editor/ Two years of AI in the editor, solo dev edition. What got faster (scaffolds, regex, tests) and what got slower (reviewing plausible wrong code). Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/gofullpage-alternatives/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/gofullpage-alternatives/ People search for a GoFullPage alternative because heavy tools annoy them. Browsers already screenshot full pages — so why a 20 KB extension? Three ways compared. Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-email-still-wins/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-email-still-wins/ Push notifications compete for attention; email waits quietly and works everywhere. The case for email-first reminders — and what deliverability takes. Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/hosting-a-static-site-on-edgeone-pages/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/hosting-a-static-site-on-edgeone-pages/ This notes site runs on Tencent EdgeOne Pages, domain annmax.de5.net. Auto-build from Gitee, edgeone.json config, custom domain and certificate, and two pitfalls that differ from Cloudflare Pages. Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/google-authenticator-vs-a-browser-vault/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/google-authenticator-vs-a-browser-vault/ Google Authenticator is a phone app. For TOTP codes on a desktop you have three options: phone app, password-manager TOTP, and a browser generator. Here is how they trade safety for convenience. Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ada-lovelace-and-the-first-program/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ada-lovelace-and-the-first-program/ In the 1840s Ada Lovelace wrote what many call the first program — for a machine never built. Her real insight: a number-cruncher could also manipulate symbols. Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/vanilla-js-in-2026/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/vanilla-js-in-2026/ No framework, no build step, no 300 MB of node_modules. A defense of vanilla JavaScript for small tools — and when I would still reach for a framework. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/my-first-paid-line-of-code/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/my-first-paid-line-of-code/ In 2008 my first programming job meant fixing .NET WinForms code — shaky hands, a mentor's line, and the day I learned 'runs' is not 'usable'. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/download-all-images-from-a-page/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/download-all-images-from-a-page/ Downloading all images from a webpage is still hard in 2026. Lazy loading, srcset, CSS backgrounds and cross-origin get in the way. Three ways compared, plus my tool. Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-hot-water-thing/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-hot-water-thing/ Why hot water is the default drink in China, where to get it for free, and how the habit quietly makes travelling and everyday life a little easier. Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/authy-desktop-shutdown-and-what-now/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/authy-desktop-shutdown-and-what-now/ Authy's desktop app was retired by its maker. If you are moving your 2FA tokens, here are the questions worth asking before you pick a replacement. Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/what-ai-still-cannot-do/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/what-ai-still-cannot-do/ What code assistants can’t own: product taste, reconstructing a bug from three days ago, deciding not to fix, cutting for a 20KB budget, ethical lines on data. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/three-habits-for-desk-workers/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/three-habits-for-desk-workers/ Your body keeps the log your calendar does not. Three small habits — a timer, an eye break, a screen at the right height — that make long days cheaper. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/export-html-tables-to-excel/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/export-html-tables-to-excel/ Exporting an HTML table to Excel should be one copy-paste. It isn't: merged cells, hidden columns and thousand separators explode. Three roads compared, plus my tool. Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-readme-is-the-product/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-readme-is-the-product/ Nobody reads your code before they read your README. The first five lines decide whether anyone runs your tool — lessons from 17 tiny extensions. Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/small-tools-long-projects/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/small-tools-long-projects/ A 20 KB extension I have maintained for three years taught me that small tools and long projects are not opposites. On compound interest in both directions, and what maintaining 17 extensions actually looks like. Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/certificate-expiry-tracker-spreadsheet-vs-app/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/certificate-expiry-tracker-spreadsheet-vs-app/ A spreadsheet is the most common start for tracking certificate expiry. Here is where it breaks, and when a dedicated reminder service like CertTrack Pro earns its keep. Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-i-built-reminder-saas/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-i-built-reminder-saas/ Certificate and inspection deadlines never announce themselves. Why I built CertTrack Pro, a reminder SaaS that emails before the deadline, not after. Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/unescapable-text-and-the-right-click/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/unescapable-text-and-the-right-click/ Sites that disable right-click and block copy catch no one they should and annoy everyone else. Why the block fails, my stance on reading, and the LiteCopy fix. Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/gitee-vs-github-in-2026/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/gitee-vs-github-in-2026/ Two accounts, one person: I have used both GitHub and Gitee for years and no longer treat them as rivals. GitHub as identity and collaboration, Gitee as the reachable, buildable landing where EdgeOne Pages imports from. Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-500-mile-email/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-500-mile-email/ The famous 500-mile email story: a misconfigured value made mail fail beyond about 500 miles, with no error at all. What it teaches about silent limits in systems we run. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/calendar-reminders-arent-enough/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/calendar-reminders-arent-enough/ Calendar reminders attach to a person, not an asset. For maintenance and expiry tracking that bond breaks on staff change. Here is the model asset-based alerts need. Sat, 03 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-ai-search-squeeze-on-small-sites/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-ai-search-squeeze-on-small-sites/ When search answers with AI, small sites lose clicks. Not a lament: the countermoves are exclusive experience, RSS, email, and a brand people remember. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/one-big-suite-or-small-tools/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/one-big-suite-or-small-tools/ One fat browser extension suite or 17 small tools? I chose small. Judged on permission surface, size, failure radius, review and maintenance — with the suite's real upside. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/a-boring-system-for-passwords/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/a-boring-system-for-passwords/ Unique passwords, one manager, 2FA everywhere, printed recovery codes. Not exciting — and that is exactly the point of a password system. Fri, 02 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-enterprise-years/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-enterprise-years/ In 2012 I worked inside large Spring systems where meetings beat code. What change review, rollback plans and observability taught me, and how they still save my solo projects. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/pairing-with-ai/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/pairing-with-ai/ AI writes the first draft; you still own the judgment. How I use coding assistants across 27 small products without letting the code become a black box. Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/pwa-vs-native-app-for-small-tools/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/pwa-vs-native-app-for-small-tools/ Should a small tool ship to an app store? Comparing PWA and native on install, updates, offline, permissions, discovery, and review cost — and where native still wins. Wed, 30 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-this-site-lives-on-a-subdomain/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-this-site-lives-on-a-subdomain/ AnnMax Notes lives on its own subdomain, annmax.de5.net, not inside annmax1983.com. Subdomain vs subdirectory SEO: weight concentration, isolated deploys, penalty isolation, six-language structure. For pure SEO I would pick a subdirectory. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/two-years-seven-platforms/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/two-years-seven-platforms/ GitHub, Gitee, the Chrome Web Store, Product Hunt, Hacker News, Reddit and Chinese dev communities: what shipping on each one really feels like. Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ai-writes-code-you-must-be-able-to-delete/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ai-writes-code-you-must-be-able-to-delete/ AI made writing nearly free, so cost moved to reading, changing, deleting, and owning. My rules for not shipping debt you did not authorize. Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-y2k-was-quiet/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-y2k-was-quiet/ Y2K barely happened — not because the problem was fake, but because the world spent years and a vast sum fixing it. The quiet success of prevention, and why unglamorous maintenance is the same today. Sun, 27 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-job-i-was-not-ready-for/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-job-i-was-not-ready-for/ The first time I owned a module that could not go down, I was sure I was out of my depth. How writing down the unknown, finding the one fragile line, and asking well got me through. Sat, 26 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/hreflang-and-the-six-language-problem/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/hreflang-and-the-six-language-problem/ One site, six languages (English at root, zh/ja/de/es/fr in folders): the hreflang mistakes that break multilingual SEO — reciprocal links and x-default, canonical not all English, real language-switch links, per-language sitemap and RSS. Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/where-solo-devs-get-discovered/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/where-solo-devs-get-discovered/ Launch spikes fade; search compounds. Notes on Hacker News, Product Hunt and Reddit from the outside — and the boring SEO I now trust more than launch day. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-apprentice-that-never-sleeps/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-apprentice-that-never-sleeps/ Treat AI as a tireless apprentice: grunt work, mistakes, acceptance criteria, and you knowing the business better. How to write it a task brief. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-million-dollar-typo/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-million-dollar-typo/ A few famous bugs — a probe lost to mixed units, a rocket lost to reused code — show how one wrong assumption becomes a fortune lost. What type systems and small code really defend against. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ship-the-smallest-version/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/ship-the-smallest-version/ Momentum beats perfection. Why I ship the 20% version and let real usage pull the roadmap — the habit behind 17 extensions, 10 PWAs and a SaaS. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-quiet-return-of-rss/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-quiet-return-of-rss/ After algorithmic feeds wore people out, RSS — I decide who I follow — is worth saying again. Why every indie author should ship a feed, how to write one that validates, and how it splits with email. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/china-runs-on-qr-codes/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/china-runs-on-qr-codes/ Scanning is the default interface of daily life in China: ordering, paying, transit, parcel lockers — and what a first visit actually feels like. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/from-employee-to-indie/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/from-employee-to-indie/ Leaving employment to build your own products sounds like freedom. The real costs: no requirements, no acceptance, an ugly income curve, and finding users yourself — plus the narrow freedom I value. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/what-offline-really-means/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/what-offline-really-means/ Offline is not an error state to apologize for — it is a design constraint that makes software honest. What ten offline-first PWAs taught me. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/everything-has-an-expiry-date/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/everything-has-an-expiry-date/ Passports, warranties, insurance, smoke detectors — life admin fails quietly. A folder-and-reminder system that keeps documents from expiring unnoticed. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/eighteen-years-of-editors/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/eighteen-years-of-editors/ Eighteen years of editors, from heavy IDEs to light tools. The dozen switches taught me little about names — but three habits stayed: keyboard first, read more than write, script the repeat. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-i-built-an-offline-authenticator/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-i-built-an-offline-authenticator/ Cloud-synced authenticators can lock you out of your own accounts. Here is why my TOTP authenticator is a local-first browser extension, under 20 KB. Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-app-graveyard/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-app-graveyard/ Dozens of apps installed, abandoned, reinstalled. Tools do not build habits — systems survive, and the right tool is the one you keep. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/paying-in-china-as-a-visitor/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/paying-in-china-as-a-visitor/ A practical map of paying in China as a visitor: linking a card in the two big payment apps, where cash still works, and the habits that save friction. Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/quiet-phone-defaults/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/quiet-phone-defaults/ Badges, autoplay, and infinite feeds are tuned for the phone, not for you. The ten-minute settings pass I run on every new phone. Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/surviving-web-store-review/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/surviving-web-store-review/ Rejections are a design review you did not ask for. The permission checklist and single-purpose habits that carried 17 tiny extensions through review. Sat, 05 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-20kb-rule/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-20kb-rule/ Every extension I ship is lighter than a single photo. The 20 KB budget is a design tool: what it forces me to cut, and why users feel the difference. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/food-delivery-and-parcel-culture/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/food-delivery-and-parcel-culture/ Thirty-minute meals and parcel pickup: China's everyday logistics, and how visitors can use them with the same two apps. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-my-ten-apps-are-pwas/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/why-my-ten-apps-are-pwas/ App stores tax small tools. Why I ship installable web apps instead: two-click install, offline-ready, no review queue — plus the honest limits of PWAs. Sun, 23 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-mother-of-all-demos/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/the-mother-of-all-demos/ On December 9, 1968, Engelbart demoed the mouse, hypertext and video calls in one sitting. What that legendary day teaches about showing unfinished work. Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/how-to-ride-china-high-speed-rail/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/how-to-ride-china-high-speed-rail/ A first-timer's guide to China's high-speed rail: booking with a passport, the station flow and security checks, seat etiquette, and smooth transfers. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/read-code-like-a-tourist/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/read-code-like-a-tourist/ You do not need to understand a whole codebase to learn from it. Reading code like a tourist — including store extensions — made me a better developer. Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/pack-like-a-protocol/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/pack-like-a-protocol/ The same list on every trip: a rule set that survives late-night packing, and the offline apps that make airports less painful. Mon, 10 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/grace-hopper-first-bug/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/grace-hopper-first-bug/ In 1947, a moth stuck in a relay became the first actual case of bug being found. What that logbook page still teaches about debugging and humility. Thu, 06 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/a-tour-of-a-chinese-wet-market/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/a-tour-of-a-chinese-wet-market/ What a Chinese wet market is really like — the stalls, the weighing, the QR payments — and why an early-morning walk there is worth an hour of any trip. Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/browser-habits-worth-building/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/browser-habits-worth-building/ Tabs, shortcuts, reader mode, screenshots — small daily habits in the tool I use most, and the tiny extensions that quietly save real minutes. Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:00:00 GMT https://annmax.de5.net/notes/from-dotnet-to-browser-extensions/ https://annmax.de5.net/notes/from-dotnet-to-browser-extensions/ How a developer who started with .NET desktop apps in 2008 ended up shipping 17 privacy-first browser extensions, ten PWAs and a reminder SaaS. Sun, 26 Jul 2026 08:00:00 GMT