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Cool tools really work.
A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
Small, strong magnets for managing the weekly flotsam and jetsam of scribbled notes, coupons, bills, cards, receipts, tickets, postcards, photos, takeout menus, psa flyers and other ephemera.
DIGITAL
FOSS, free open source software, for ad-free, mostly free or pay-what-you-can or -want, creative, quirky-fun utilities (aneko, f-droid.org) and games (kumquats, f-droid.org); and an ebook reader that can reflow text/pictures in OCR'd PDFs.
The pinetime $27, water-resistant, dustproof smartwatch: the basic features have all that I need - a step counter, heart rate monitor (a bit wonky), 5-day weather (just added); a work-in-progress with a charge that lasts for 2 days or more depending on settings configuration. Other apps included that I don't use daily: doodle app, flashlight; games; alarm, music controller; notifications
INVISIBLE
Living in a walkable city, where everything you need is a few minutes' walk away.
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