Calvin Merrin

Born and raised in the former Communist bloc, Cal lived through the shift from analog scarcity to digital hyperabundance. He’s experienced dial-up on Soviet-built phone lines and now lives in an EU country with some of the fastest fiber speeds on the continent. That transformation fuels his editorial lens: skeptical of hype, allergic to oligarchs, and curious about how tech actually affects real people—not just shareholders.

Before journalism, Cal spent over a decade in retail, selling everything from motor oil to hardware. Those years shaped his BS detector and gave him an appreciation for functional tech that doesn’t waste your money or your patience.

Editorial Focus
Cal’s beat is where innovation meets reality: AI, privacy, Linux, gadgets, open-source tools, and the startups claiming they’ll change the world by next quarter. He cares deeply about user autonomy, repairability, digital rights, and calling out late-stage capitalism when it tries to sell surveillance as a feature.