Issue 13
  1. A floating bookshelf
  2. A better (?) calendar app
  3. A minimalist desk organiser
  4. A lightweight and fast RSS reader
  5. A book that's also furniture
  6. A travel guide for digital nomads

Hey everyone!

3245 subscribers! Thanks so much to everyone who signed up and helped spread the word! To celebrate I've reached out to my indie publishing friends who generously provided free copies of 14 great indie magazines to give away (see below).

As an aside, I received an email last week asking me if I'm being paid to promote any of the products presented in The Modern Desk. While I probably will have one sponsor per issue in the future, right now I'm not generating any money from my recommendations. When I do introduce a sponsor that listing will be very clearly marked as such (as stated in the footer of each email that goes out). 

I'll leave you with my first read of the day: a brief list of tips for working remotely. Enjoy your week!

— Kai

 

3000+ Subscribers Give-Away!

I love giving out free magazines! And thanks to my indie publishing friends, I've got 14 of them. I'll randomly pick the winners' email addresses from the subscriber database later this week, so look out for another email from me.

Here's the list of the magazines up for grabs:

  • MCR1 — the magazine for redheads. 
  • LOST — a magazine about self-discovery through travel.
  • Future Perfect — a magazine with a uniquely Australian perspective on world news and culture.
  • The Cleaver — a Chinese food magazine.
  • POSTRmagazine — a quarterly poster size counter-culture chronicle.
  • Sidetracked — a tri-annual adventure travel magazine.
  • Firewords — an independent literary magazine.
  • Intern — a bi-annual magazine exploring intern culture.
  • Like The Wind — a magazine for runners, by runners.
  • Openhouse — the homes and spaces of creative people.
  • Hot Rum Cow — a magazine for people fascinated by beer, wine and spirits.
  • Structo — an independent, bi-annual literary magazine.
  • Another Escape — an outdoor lifestyle and creative culture publication
  • Delayed Gratification — a slow journalism magazine, revisiting the news stories of the last three months.

(If you're picked as a winner, I'll put you in touch with the publisher via email to organise shipping.)

 

This Weekʼs Line-Up

A floating bookshelf
01

Bring out your favourite books and present them in a whole new way. Umbra's collection of bookshelves lets you float your stack of favourite reads magically on your wall. Choose between different sizes and shapes.

 
A better (?) calendar app
02

To be honest, I've been using Sunrise on and off for the past year. The interface is beautiful and I enjoy browsing and adding events on my iPhone. But as a Mac app it lacks a lot of features that my menu-bar calendar Fantastical does with ease (like adding events through natural language input). In an ideal scenario, I could combine the design of Sunrise with the features of Fantastical, and use the same app across all devices. :)

 
A minimalist desk organiser
03

I'm all for more natural materials on our desks! Lifta is a simple little podium for your screen under which to hide your keyboard and mouse. Choose from four different wood types.

 
A lightweight and fast RSS reader
04

If you are an avid blog reader and are missing the good old days of the Google Reader to browse your RSS feeds, Feedbin will be an even better replacement. And it has a great indie approach too, as the founder writes on the blog: "Feedbin has one of those boring business models that actually works. Charging money for a good or service. Feedbin will never have millions of customers but that’s OK. It just needs you."

 
A book that's also furniture
05

Weird name, great idea: the Bookniture unfolds from a book to a multifunctional piece of furniture. Flip it open and turn it into a seat, a coffee table or a standing desk. The project emerged on Kickstarter (where else?!) with resounding success raising almost half a million dollars. Now available for pre-order on their website, too.

 
A travel guide for digital nomads
06

Do you carry your office on your back and move from place to place combining work and travel? Then Nomad List is a great starting point for building your next itinerary. Browse hundreds (?) of cities and find out about co-working spaces, Internet speeds, cost of living and renting temporary apartments, and much more. It's a pretty new project, so if you have info/experiences to share add them to the database!