Every Day Stack Updates (Q1/2025)

Welcome to the twelfth edition of my Every Day Stack Updates.

Single purpose devices and eInk all the way.

Off we go.

Todoist: After three months of them not fixing the iOS widget’s custom tint support I gave up. I’m not sure how their 100+ employees ship exactly zero features a quarter but it must be either a really fun or really terrible job.
GPD Pocket: I’ve been trying to build this small dashboard concept I’ve had for my desk for a long time. I got pretty close with the GPD Pocket, but after about six months its screen started to give in. I replaced it with the M5Paper S3 in the next section.
Apple Watch: Unfortunately my rare use case of only wearing the apple watch when I exercise clearly isn’t covered by any of Apple’s test cases. Nothing seems to be correctly synced or downloaded ahead of time like I wanted, even leaving it powered on the charger and connected to wifi permanently. So it just got in the way when I’m ready to go for a run, which is the last place I want to have friction in my life. For now I’m back to running with my Ultrahuman Ring and phone to track the exercise.
iPad Mini: Used exclusively as an ebook reading device. But, as you’ll see in the next section I’ve gone back to eInk because it is just better.

M5Paper S3: I discovered this eInk prototyping / Arduino-type device on Twitter and it turned out to be exactly what I wanted. It would have taken me a while to learn C++ well enough to code up the dashboard that I had in mind as it can’t just “run a website”. But, we’re in the age of AI so I managed to prompt my way there in a day or so. Nothing but vibes.
Under desk treadmill: Walking the last two months of the dark winter away while on long meetings has actually been really good. My knees are much happier so now I can run my usual 5k without pain as well.
InkPalm 5 Mini: I need MOAR eInk in my life. The M5Paper reminded me just how fantastic a technology it is so I decided to ditch the iPad mini and switch my eBooks to the first Android device I’ve purchased in 11 years. I really like the device, even with the Chinese-market-only quirks. I posted some notes on how I set it up.
STAX: I had the opportunity to go to a listening event in Cape Town at a high-end audio boutique when I still lived there and ever since then I knew a pair of STAX ~~headphones~~ earspeakers were my audiophile endgame.

Yes these are obscenely expensive (like buy a car money), and delicate, and need a special ~~amp~~ energiser, and very Japanese in every way, but all you have to do is listen for a minute or two and it all makes perfect sense.

Linear: I mean it’s okay? I don’t really get all the hype. They don’t have the widget I want either but at least they have Graph QL so I could write my own with good old Scriptable.
iPod Classic: A healthy dose of nostalgia paired with actually peak product design. Also, they are heavily moddable now, so you can have all the lossless music in your pocket with no ads or tracking or nonsense. Ditch the smartphone and hit the town with a wallet and an iPod like it’s the early 2000s.
Cursor: Like Cline, but slightly better because it automatically indexes your codebase so you don’t have to specifically point out everywhere the AI needs to look for relevant information and context.

That’s all for now, see you in three months. maybe

Thanks for stopping by

Jacob.Earth 👨🏻‍🦰🌍