Recomendo

Google Dead Man Switch/Emergency key/Smart alarm

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Recomendo: issue no. 54

Google Dead Man Switch
If you suddenly die, your Google data — email, docs, contacts, tasks, wallet, etc. — will be inaccessible to loved ones who might need it. To make it easy for trusted people to access your account, use Google’s Inactive Account Manager. It will grant access to up to 10 trusted friends or family members after Google detects that you haven’t signed-in to your account for a specified number of months. — MF

Emergency key
Although it is less common to lock yourself out of your car with electronic locks and ignition these days, it happens often enough that I keep a spare key hidden in our vehicles. Grant Thompson (King of Random) has a great YouTube tutorial on how to make a key-hold big enough for modern fob keys — the kind that contain a transponder that work at a distance. This is the crazy-strong magnet I used for our hidden key-holds. It is cheap insurance compared to a locksmith visit. — KK

Record sounds while you sleep
Smart Alarm is a free sleep monitoring app (iOS) stocked with relaxing ambient sounds, and a progressive alarm clock that picks the perfect time to wake you up gradually. It also listens to you while you sleep and records any sounds or movements you make. Mostly it’s just a bunch of snoring, but one time it recorded something I hummed while dreaming. — CD

Kitchen knife gift
Everyone can use a perfectly balanced, lifelong kitchen knife. It’s an ideal gift. One I like to gift is the Kuma Chef Knife which gets rave reviews from kitchen knife aficionados who normally review two-hundred dollar knives, yet the Kuma only costs $25. It’s ergonomically optimized for your hand, easy to keep razor sharp, and will last generations. When I lift mine, I smile. — KK

Motivational data
I found Who Old Are You very inspiring. An interactive chart that compares your current age to the ages of famous artists, leaders and scientists at the time of their greatest accomplishments or important life moments. Reminds me it’s never too late to create. — CD

Favorite stapler
After watching 1999’s Office Space (directed by Silicon Valley creator Mike Judge), I wanted the red stapler belonging to the hapless cubicle worker. Soon after, Swingline started making a red model. I’ve had mine since 2008, use it daily, and it looks new. Amazon sells them for $11 . — MF

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-- Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder, Claudia Dawson 08/6/17

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