Calm technologies that excite me
76 points by abhin4v
76 points by abhin4v
Delightful domain name
In Hindi, "abhi" means now. That makes the domain more fun.
Whenever I connect my kindle to the net, it deletes most of the files I put there with Calibre etc., so now I can never turn off airplane mode. I'm not sure if that's Calm or Terrifying, but it certainly keeps me from getting distracted when reading on my kindle :)
I haven't used mine in a long time, but wouldn't it be more practical to just make it forget known wifi networks?
My gripes are that a lot of these things demand a premium, whether because they are small production, or because they are marketed to over-busy rich people. I have a few things that I've adopted for cheap I'd like to share.
Fiio/Snowsky Echo MP3 player: a very cheap non-touchscreen audio player. Supports bluetooth, but then I feel like I'm wasting the better-than-phone DAC it has. But I'm also not willing to pay for good enough IEMs to appreciate it, because they're more expensive than the player. The UI is a little too minimalist, and I'm also too much a fan of Finamp (Jellyfin mobile music player) on my phone for playing my collection, so I don't always remember to use it.
XTEInk X4: 4", non-touchscreen eInk ebook reader. esp32-based, so it's a lot more limited than my main reader, a Kobo Aura 2. No backlight. The stock firmware is terrible, but Crosspoint is fine. Despite it being strictly worse as an ebook reader than my Kobo, it has the advantage of fitting in the same pocket as my phone, and thereby always being with me. I find myself using it a lot, and it keeps me off the phone. There's a new X4 Pro now which has a backlight, but also a touchscreen, which I don't want.
I'm building a writerdeck around a 10" LCD display, a typewriter-themed mechanical keyboard, and a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. It runs Debian with kmscon and no gui. While it runs Linux and Emacs, it's memory-constrained enough to discourage me from doing anything other than writing on it. I also plan on using it only for writing, and specifically going to a more powerful laptop if I need to do anything else.
InkOS Launcher for Android: I think you can see this on the Daylight Computer linked in the article, but basically it's just a monochrome, no animation, minimalist launcher that will also handle some functions like recent apps and notifications in a quieter way than Android's built-in methods. I have it on my phone, and have notifications off for everything that's not a person-to-person messaging app or my calendar.
I'd like to switch to a feature phone like the TCL Flip 2, but I can't really because of messaging and authentication apps.
But I'm also not willing to pay for good enough IEMs to appreciate it, because they're more expensive than the player
chi-fi IEMs are surprisingly good for the price! $15-25 ones are way better than anything using BT (and have easily-swappable cable)
XTEInk X4: 4", non-touchscreen eInk ebook reader. esp32-based, so it's a lot more limited than my main reader, a Kobo Aura 2. No backlight. The stock firmware is terrible, but Crosspoint is fine. Despite it being strictly worse as an ebook reader than my Kobo, it has the advantage of fitting in the same pocket as my phone, and thereby always being with me. I find myself using it a lot, and it keeps me off the phone. There's a new X4 Pro now which has a backlight, but also a touchscreen, which I don't want.
I've been trying to decide between a Kobo and X4. The fact that X4 pro is kind of expensive and doesn't have a USB-C charging is a bit off-putting.
InkOS Launcher for Android
Interesting one, thanks. I've been using Fokus launcher, https://github.com/luantak/FokusLauncher
I personally would not get the X4 Pro, simply because the touchscreen is not a good idea in such a small form factor IMO. A Kobo is going to be a better, more featureful reader (and can run KOReader), but the best ebook reader is the one you have with you, and it's easier to bring the X4 everywhere.
simply because the touchscreen is not a good idea in such a small form factor IMO
Mmm, did you test this theory in practice and didn't like it? I own a lesser-known OBOOK5 and the touchscreen for swiping pages or tap to open books is perfectly fine.
A Kobo [...] can run KOReader
There are caveats, I'm pretty sure my Libra Colour shipped with a firmware that is not yet supported by any of the homebrew enchancements.
The X4 is a great deal and I'd handily recommend it over any Kobo or Kindle. I have an X3 (the smaller one) because it fits my phone and I've read two entire books on it in the couple of months I've had it. I'd second the sibling comment's anti-recommendation of X4 because of the touchscreen: you don't want it and it's probably going to misfire all the time.
I've been using a pair of decent enough Fiio IEMs for the past 5 years (and counting) that I'm pretty sure cost me less than $50
Love this. It's sad that this kind of interface is becoming less and less common. Even e-readers mostly come with Android installed.
Your blog is beautiful by the way. Stylistic and simple at the same time.
It's actually becoming more accessible! Many of the products mentioned in TA are very recent and came out in the past couple of years and are super cheap. The Xteink X4 came out last year and is $50! There's also been huge leaps in similar tech, like retro handhelds, to the point where you can get a great handheld that can play everything up to PS1 games for ~$50. A sibling comment mentions the Fiio Echo, which came out just this year, retails for ~$50, and is delightful to look at. We're living through a revolution in single-purpose electronics and it's awesome.
I wish there was something along the lines of the PineNote but priced like XTEink. I'm ok with a more basic processor, don't need full Linux, but I want a bigger screen.
It's not a Clicks Communicator, but some weeks ago when my old phone's battery finally gave out, I ponied up for a Unihertz Titan 2 keyboard phone. It's honestly, genuinely been life-changing. I've struggled with two things for a long time: wasting too much time and brain-energy on scrolling sites like Reddit, and fighting anxiety around keeping up with and responding to messages. When I first got my Titan 2, I was kinda put off by the form-factor with the 1:1 screen (it's hard to understate just how wide this thing is), but now I'm 100% on-board. It's a device that's absolutely terrible at doomscrolling and excellent for communicating, which is the exact reverse of what my previous phones have been. Now, when I get the instinctual urge to pick up my phone, my attention is funneled toward checking in on friends or writing down my thoughts and plans, rather than into the infinite attention-sinks that big tech has built for us to lose ourselves in. I'm surprised by how much I don't miss it at all.
I was looking at ipod shuffle-like devices a while back for my kids. I bought a very cheap option on AliExpress, which used a micro SD card, but the build quality was quite poor. I then switched to a portable CD player which supports both micro SD cards, music CDs, and MP3 CDs. That is working much better. I also found that some headphones now support micro SD cards as well, so you'd copy your music, and the headphone has play/next buttons to navigate; but I haven't bought one of those.
I’m sure I would love this article, but because of the chosen font I just can’t get through it. It’s pretty, but it makes me feel a bit dizzy trying to read. Please let the browser choose the correct font to use, the web would be friendlier that way. (Yes, reader mode is an option, though iOS’ implementation seems to be horribly buggy which is a separate discussion. I think the point is mostly valid regardless)