Links worth reading #003

31 July 2024 ·

I find this technical insanity so fun to read. I appreciate all the engineering effort put into this free Wi-Fi on an airplane.
Athlytic.app is an excellent app that I started using to improve my running. I’m using the app to track my progress towards an 18-week running plan that I’m currently following.
The power of online community is an article by Lou Plummer that captures the essence of communities: Connections based on genuine interest.
Radio Kootwijk is an article (in Dutch) on ‘Radio Kootwijk.’ It’s worth a read if you are Dutch and appreciate history.
Blueprint is a beautifully designed wallpaper initially created in 2010.
Om Malik has a good post on social media fasting. I noticed that in my little bubble on the internet, more and more people want to go on such diets.

Earlier link dumps can be found here:

Links worth reading #002

28 June 2024 ·

How I built one of the biggest BIN lookup sites in the world, and how it was killed. Before doing Product in HR and Payroll I did product in payments. In payments, your BIN is a thing; the BIN is used to identify your credit card’s issuer and the country it’s originating from. Matt Birchler has a nice story about how he built a product on top of the Binlist API and how it evolved and eventually got killed.
The Clean Industrial Revolution has arrived. Bill Gates blogs about the Breakthrough Energy Summit and what promising climate tech is on the horizon to address five challenges behind the planet’s highest gas emissions today.
The paper tablet. I’m still thinking about getting myself a reMarkable 2 digital notebook. While I have an iPad Pro for work, I don’t like writing on it, as I miss the feeling of writing on paper. The reMarkable 2 seems to come close to the writing-on-paper experience.
Kiosk. Mass-produced from the 1970s to the 1990s, modular kiosks like the seminal K67, designed by the Slovenian architect Saša J. Mächtig, and similar systems – including the Polish Kami, the Macedonian KC190, and the Soviet ‘Bathyscaphe’ – could be found anywhere throughout the former Eastern Bloc and ex-Yugoslav countries, from bustling city squares to socialist-era housing estates. They served as hot dog and Polish zapiekanka joints, farm egg and rotisserie chicken vendors, funeral flower shops, newsstands, car park booths, currency exchange offices, and more. (Via Kekness.nl)

Earlier link dumps can be found here:

Linkverzameling #001

Links worth reading #001

22 June 2024 ·

RSS: The forgotten protocol that still matters. I think I have been using RSS since it was introduced in WordPress. It’s still a technology I rely on daily, and it will continue to be with the new Reeder.app and Tapestry.app on the horizon. It’s pretty cool how RSS, a technology from the late 90s, still powers so much of the internet today, including your podcast feeds.
Slashpages.net. You can add slash pages to your website, usually with a standard, root-level slug like /now, /about, or /uses. Slashpages.net has an excellent overview of common pages you can set up yourself.
aboutideasnow.com. It is a great way to find people with similar interests as myself, but don’t post content on large social media platforms. For example: Runners or Photography enthusiasts.
Chat Control Must Be Stopped. More background information on the ‘Chat Control bill’ that is supposed to be passed in the EU Council and why this bill isn’t a good idea is needed.
HDMI Display Emulator. I ordered this little USB-C device earlier this week after seeing a colleague use a similar device. This is ideal for people like us who often need to do presentations from their laptop without an external monitor nearby. With this device you emulate a second monitor in the OS giving you the opportunity to share the virtual second screen in Teams, Zoom or Webex while seeing the speakers notes yourself. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

How I stay productive and go through my tasks

25 January 2024 ·

I received a text message from a former colleague and friend about how I stay productive and avoid procrastination. This colleague is not the first to notice my strengths in this area and ask for tips, tricks, and book recommendations. So here I go.

First things first, there is no silver bullet to doing things right. Many things that work for me might or might not work for you. Ultimately, you need to design a system that works for you. Staying productive in my work and private life comes down to building habits, being consistent, and optimizing what needs improvement.

How I use iOS focus modes

24 January 2024 ·

I’m a fan of iOS focus modes, and I use them every day for different activities.

Recently, some people around me noticed this setup on my phone and started asking questions about it. Instead of explaining it offline only, I thought it would be better to write a post about it, too, so that it can be shared with others.

I’m curious to know if you use focus modes, too, and if so, what you do differently from me.

Focus modes that I use

My current setup includes different focus modes for the following activities. I will explain each of them below.

Personal
Work
Do Not Disturb
Fitness
Sleep
Travel

Personal and Work Focus

The most used focus modes are Personal and Work, both of which are time-activated. These modes help me focus on work during work hours and keep work out of sight during times when I shouldn’t think about it.

Personal Focus

From Monday to Friday 18:30 – 08:00
From Sat till Sun 00:00 – 23:59

Work Focus

From Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:30

The power of focus modes lies in the fact that you can assign custom home screens and focus filters to each of them. I do both when I activate these modes.

By activating specific screens on my iPhone and Apple Watch while in Personal Focus mode, I’m able to get work apps and work notifications out of my immediate sight when not working. The other way around, I’m able to do the same while working. During workdays and work hours, I see no personal apps, email, or personal browser tabs while using my phone. During ‘personal’ hours, it’s the other way around.

Next to these two profiles, I have two different phone numbers registered with my phone: one business number and one private number. By consistently sharing the right number with the right people, I’m able to filter incoming calls from phone numbers that are not in my contacts.

I’m quite happy with this setup (focus mode, different home screens, focus filters, and separate phone numbers) as it enables me to do everything with just one phone without constantly being distracted by apps, notifications, or calls during times when I don’t want to be distracted or reminded by them.

Do Not Disturb

This is a manual-activated focus mode that does what it says it does. It blocks out disturbances and doesn’t allow calls to come through except from the people in my favorite contacts list or from anyone who calls twice within 3 minutes (e.g., an urgent call).

Fitness

Fitness mode is activated when I start an activity on my Apple Watch or when I launch the Nike Run Club app on my phone or watch. When activated, all notifications are blocked, including calls, as I can’t pick them up when exercising anyway.

Sleep

In the Health app, sleep focus mode is activated based on my sleep schedule. The schedule is different on weekdays and weekends. All notifications and calls are blocked, except for calls from people in my favorite contacts list. Sleep mode also activates a different home screen, one that has dark wallpaper on a very small group of apps. The intent of this home screen is to make using the phone during off-hours not attractive at all.

Travel

Travel mode is location-activated, and I added new locations to this focus mode while traveling. This is usually a train station or airport that I expect to visit more often. The primary purpose of travel mode is to activate different home screens on my iPhone and a different watch face. The screens and watch face bring the essential widgets and apps upfront while traveling. These include the latest flight details from Flighty.app and details from my calendar so that I don’t forget about the other things that I need to do while traveling.