Issue 7
  1. Wireless, weatherproof security cameras
  2. Drawing with plain text
  3. A clever-looking magazine rack
  4. Record your screen as a GIF
  5. De-grossify your gadgets
  6. Tidy your menu bar

Howdy friends!

Thanks for the kind words many of you sent in after last week's issue went out. We added more than 250 new subscribers since then!

With this issue I'm introducing something new: guest curators. Every now and then, I'll hand over the mic to another person and let them recommend some of their favourite tools and toys. I'm honoured to kick this off with Jason from GitHub, who has put together a great line-up. If you're interested in curating a future issue, please get in touch (reply) with some basic credentials that show me who you are and what you do.

In other news, I'm currently in Berlin where I'll be stationed for a few more days, checking in with my printer and catching up with friends. Later this week I'll head to Barcelona where I talk about Offscreen at the Internet Age Media Weekend. And if you are based in Paris, the local startup studio eFounders is hosting a cozy talk night with me next week on Monday. There are still tickets left to both events, so join us if you are in the area!

Kai

 

Our Guest Curator

Jason Long

Jason built his first website in 1994 and has been fascinated with the web ever since. He is now a designer/developer at GitHub working from his home in Columbus, Ohio.

 

This Weekʼs Line-Up

Wireless, weatherproof security cameras
01

Arlo cameras have no wires and attach with a simple magnetic mount, making them great for home or business security. And unlike Dropcams, these are weatherproof can be used outdoors.

 
Drawing with plain text
02

Sometimes you want to include a diagram or other illustration in a document, but you're limited to plain text. Monodraw lets you create graphics using ASCII characters and has some pretty sophisticated features.

 
A clever-looking magazine rack
03

Classy magazines deserve a stylish display. You can mark your current page when you put a magazine in, making this rack functional as well as beautiful.

 
Record your screen as a GIF
04

Looking at the site, you wouldn't realize what a gem this tool is. LICEcap is used heavily by GitHubbers for recording UI prototypes and, perhaps more often, bugs on the site. The GIFs it creates are small and relatively smooth. If you use a Mac, here's a slightly better icon.

 
De-grossify your gadgets
05

Despite the horrible name, this stuff is great for removing dust, lint, and even bacteria from the cracks and crevices of your keyboard and mouse. I've found it also does a good job on audio equipment and car dashboard buttons.

 
Tidy your menu bar
06

If you use a Mac long enough, you inevitably end up with a bunch of menu bar icons at the top of you screen. Bartender is a great little utlity that lets you tuck some of those away under a single icon and leaving you with a cleaner looking menu bar.