Issue 93
  1. Essential electronics toolkit
  2. Encrypted project management and team chat
  3. Status updates for your desktop
  4. An organiser for your inboxes
  5. A poster for print lovers
  6. Your life in weekly boxes

Heya there!

Lots of events happening right now. Last week, I hosted the first ever Offscreen event here in Melbourne with a short morning talk by Rohan Gunatillake on 'Designing Mindfulness'. Later today I'm trying to sneak into Percolate for a couple of sessions. And then tomorrow I'm volunteering at CSSConf, a wonderful event organised by friends that I share an office with. 

In between I'm making progress on the next issue of Offscreen, currently trying to lock in sponsors, which is harder than usual because it's the end of the year and companies have depleted their marketing budgets. Wish me luck!

— Kai

Photo above: The Fulmer Group, by Joseph Mills Photography

 
 

This Weekʼs Line-Up

Essential electronics toolkit
01

The team at iFixit studied their past teardowns and determined that you really only need 16 different driver bits to open 99 percent of devices that consumers regularly use – and regularly break. This inexpensive toolkit has them all. 

 
Encrypted project management and team chat
02

Stackfield is one of the many project and task management and team communication tools out there – with one unique distinction: everything is end-to-end encrypted: "Data are encrypted directly in the browser and are also stored encrypted on our servers. Only your team can decrypt this data - no one else."

 
Status updates for your desktop
03

This thing may well be the ironic response to the breakdown of in-person communication between people at offices around the world. Not sure if we need a printed status update to turn people away. I use ear phones and a do-not-disturb look on my face when I want people to leave me alone. 😶 

 
An organiser for your inboxes
04

Alto is a new app (mobile and web) that collects emails across different mailboxes and providers, and re-organises them into stacks and cards. If you use lots of different accounts, Alto may be worth checking out.

 
A poster for print lovers
05

My friend Freddie was sharing this poster on Twitter today and I immediately ordered one – not for myself though. It makes for the perfect Christmas gift for my printer.

 
Your life in weekly boxes
06

"Life Calendar helps you visualize your life by breaking it down to weeks and displaying it in a grid. Each week is symbolized by a little box, and each box can be color coded. A note can be added to each week, and with it you can capture any thoughts, dwellings, feelings, or reflections you cherish during that time." An app clearly inspired by Tim Urban.

 
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
— Francis of Assisi