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Free and Open Source Software, Benchmark, and Review
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Beelink EQi 304 Mini PC Review - Introduction to the Series
This is a new series looking at the Beelink EQi Core 3 304 mini PC running Linux. In this series, I’ll put the Beelink mini PC through its paces from a Linux perspective, comparing it with other systems to see how it performs in real-world Linux use.
The Beelink EQi Core 3 304 is a recent addition to Beelink’s EQ range of compact PCs. It’s built around Intel’s Wildcat Lake Core 3 304 processor, a 5-core, 5-thread chip comprising one performance core and four low-power efficiency cores. The processor integrates Xe3-LPG graphics and currently has a CPU Mark of 11,720. The review unit comes with 16GB of LPDDR5 6400MT/s memory and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, giving the system a capable hardware base for everyday desktop use, office work, media playback and lighter Linux workloads.
The machine is currently listed at $509, equivalent to around £380 at current exchange rates. That makes it considerably more expensive than many entry-level mini PCs, although the specification includes dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, 10GbE and 2.5GbE networking, and a built-in 85W power supply.
Hwaro - lightweight and fast static site generator
Hwaro is a lightweight and fast static site generator written in Crystal. It transforms Markdown content with TOML, YAML, or JSON front matter using Jinja2-compatible templates.
The software provides parallel processing, incremental caching, asset optimisation, image processing, multilingual publishing, search indexing, and a development server with live reload. It can also import content from WordPress, Jekyll, and Hugo.
This is free and open source software.
mcpsnoop - transparent proxy and terminal interface
mcpsnoop is a transparent proxy and terminal interface for inspecting the real Model Context Protocol (MCP) traffic between AI clients and MCP servers.
It sits directly in the data path, capturing JSON-RPC frames so you can debug tool calls, capability negotiation, slow or hung requests, and unexpected arguments.
This is free and open source software.
Wallaby-VK - virtual on-screen keyboard
Wallaby-VK is a virtual on-screen keyboard for Linux systems with Wayland support.
It appears as a floating keyboard at the bottom of the screen without taking focus from the active application.
Besides text entry, the application offers reusable text snippets, offline speech recognition, clipboard history and an optional input display for screencasts and tutorials. Wallaby-VK is written as a single Python file and distributed as an AppImage.
This is free and open source software.
Itsi - high-performance web and application server
Itsi is a high-performance web and application server with first-class support for Ruby applications. It is a Rack-compliant server that can also operate as a reverse proxy, API gateway, gRPC server, and static file server.
The software combines a Rust-powered server core with an expressive Ruby configuration API and DSL.
This is free and open source software.
Atkinson Hyperlegible Next - sans-serif typeface
Atkinson Hyperlegible Next is a sans-serif typeface designed to improve legibility and character recognition for readers with low vision.
Distinctive letterforms help reduce ambiguity between commonly confused characters.
It builds on Atkinson Hyperlegible with additional characters, refined glyphs, improved kerning and six weights, each available in upright and italic styles.
This is free and open source software.