Daily issue / 2026-05-15
Useful things that surfaced in Hacker News discussions on 2026-05-15. Open the context to see why each one caught our attention—or jump straight to the original thread.
What we found
Free ebook library with better book feeds and text-friendly reading.
Source discussion: Project Gutenberg – keeps getting better
Editorial paraphrase
HN commenters called the new-books feed a goldmine and mentioned using AI models and e-readers with Gutenberg texts.
Read the original threadOpen-source team chat that a longtime user still relies on daily.
Source discussion: The Zulip Foundation
Editorial paraphrase
The thread included a direct praise note from a long-time user saying they use Zulip daily.
Read the original threadSingle-image tool that generates 3D scenes, meshes, and SFX.
Source discussion: Image-blaster: Creates 3D environments, SFX, and meshes from a single image
Editorial paraphrase
Replies called it cool as hell and linked to Photosynth, WorldLabs, and Uthana as nearby references.
Read the original threadRetro Wikipedia browser wrapped in a Windows XP-style desktop.
Source discussion: Explore Wikipedia Like a Windows XP Desktop
Editorial paraphrase
Commenters said things like “I love it”, “Very cool”, “Super nice”, and “Impressive”.
Read the original threadLocal-first planetarium that makes Earth's rotation feel immediate.
Source discussion: Zenith: a live local-first fixed viewport planetarium
Editorial paraphrase
Comments described the effect as amazing and said it made Earth’s motion feel immediate and visceral.
Read the original threadPackaging helper for making Feedr easier to ship to non-technical users.
Source discussion: Feedr v0.8.0 – a TUI RSS reader, now read the full article from your terminal
Editorial paraphrase
The strongest concrete recommendation in the thread was to use Trolley to package Feedr for non-technical users.
Read the original threadGit-based code forge built for sovereign, decentralized collaboration.
Source discussion: Radicle: Sovereign {code forge} built on Git
Editorial paraphrase
Replies emphasized that no single entity controls the network or user data.
Read the original threadASCII and manuals archive from Jason Scott’s textfiles project.
Source discussion: ASCII by Jason Scott
Editorial paraphrase
Commenters pointed to the manuals archive and highlighted the scale of the collection over time.
Read the original threadBook on Steve Jobs's NeXT years and the discipline they forced.
Source discussion: A new book on Steve Jobs at NeXT
Editorial paraphrase
Comments said the NeXT years gave Jobs space to rethink product focus and learn from failure.
Read the original threadPaper on high-dimensional geometry’s role in faster MRI reconstruction.
Source discussion: High dimensional geometry is transforming the MRI industry (2017) [pdf]
Editorial paraphrase
Replies discussed weaker magnets, information gain, and iterative linear-program approaches.
Read the original thread