--- date: '2025-11-30' --- ## free with tech ### Wrist-first experiment I changed my cellular provider to begin a new era on my journey towards living free with tech. I've covered this in my 3 latest videos on [YouTube](https://fwt.wtf/yt) which I bundled as [Phone Stays Home](https://fwt.wtf/phone-stays-home), [Deferred Complexity](https://fwt.wtf/deferred-complexity) & [Did I Really Need This](https://fwt.wtf/did-i-really-need-this). TLDR is that my Apple Watch is now my primary digital device in contrast to using the phone default. ### Apps maintenance mode I've updated [fwt. axis](https://fwt.wtf/axis) & [fwt. joex](https://fwt.wtf/joex) so my humble user base can enjoy a more stable app experience. Not only that, but there are some small new features as well. If you happen to be one of my lovely users, feel free to check out the changelos on respective App Store pages to learn more. ### Mindset shift After 10 months of work on my lifestyle business called [free with tech](https://fwt.wtf), I've decided to lower the gear and this way the pressure I put on myself. How? I've invested 21 hours into the job hunt process in November alone. I came to certain conclusions that I cover in my most recent reflection in [this article](https://samuelpitonak.com/articles/40-weeks-38-videos-published). ### Chat Control passed in EU This is a sad story for privacy in Europe. I intentionally skipped video for [fwt.wtf](https://fwt.wtf) last week (that I mention in my latest [blog post](https://samuelpitonak.com/articles/40-weeks-38-videos-published) too), but I should've covered this news given it's implications for digital freedom. Living free with tech is also about embracing digital sovereignty as a primary value and this policy is going to make it much less accessible for the default path. ## Hobby projects ### "Samuel AI" app I've created ChatGPT that tries to emulate me. This fun little hobby project of mine uses my website contents as memory so anyone can talk to me 24/7. If this sounds interesting to you, feel free to check it out at [chat.samuelpitonak.com](https://chat.samuelpitonak.com). I built it using [Supermemory](https://supermemory.ai) & [OpenAI Platform](https://platform.openai.com) on the backend. ## Website refresh ### Huge photos grid refresh My website homepage now randomizes 5 photos on each visit. It uses an album of 21 top photos that I personally shot since the beginning of 2022 (roughly 1 photo per 2 months). Not only that, but it also slides on smaller screens and slowly reveals the photos that are currently visible. I call it the [theater effect](https://x.com/sampittko/status/1993307527816388778). It also respects users that prefer reduced motion. ### Handcrafted playlists freebies I've added this new "freebies" section to the homepage so that anyone can have a listen to my 2 handcrafted playlists that I listen to every day. I use them to put myself into the flow state whenever creating on the PC. I constantly refine them so if you don't like the selection today, it may change in the future! ### Yearly Review articles have distinct names 2025 is nearing it's end and with that, I also updated names for my [Yearly Review](https://samuelpitonak.com/articles?tags=yearly-review) articles. I've realized that every year of my journey, that I also document here on this website, presented such a unique challenges that it was easy to create unique names for them: Naive Courage -> Parallel Paths -> Hard Lessons. Stay tuned for 2025 in review that is coming in December. ### Shareable URLs with filters After reading this [amazing article](https://alfy.blog/2025/10/31/your-url-is-your-state.html) on URL as state from Ahmad Alfy, I've decided to update my filtering architecture on [articles](https://samuelpitonak.com/articles), [projects](https://samuelpitonak.com/projects) & [speaking](https://samuelpitonak.com/speaking) pages. Now, I can easily point people to specific groups of articles, projects & speaking appearances just by selecting filters and copying the URL. --- © 2026 [Samuel Pitonak](https://samuelpitonak.com/about.md). All rights reserved.