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Comment by runjake | Hacker News Reader

In the true sense where you're militarizing and committing acts of sabotage on others' property (so-called "monkeywrenching")? And then, getting suppressed and eradicated/killed by the government?

No.

I prefer the "Calm Technology"[1] approach as espoused by Amber Case[2]. I think this is the saner path forward.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calm_technology

2. https://a.co/d/02kdlV3p

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What are some of your favorite devices/software that follow this idea? I can list mine:

- Supernote by Ratta https://supernote.com

- Air Lab by Networked Artifacts https://networkedartifacts.com

- Xteink X4 (or equivalent) https://www.xteink.com

- Zeroink Writer - my kids use it to practice typing and write letters I can print out. Essentially digital typewriter. https://www.crowdsupply.com/zerowriter/zerowriter-ink

- Readwise - enables me to review highlighted passages and ideas from things I read

- Obsidian - I dump text files into it, it syncs it around for me to review or edit.

I love and use a few of those products and would agree, but I think a bigger component is our relationship to technology.

IMHO, calm technology is both a property of a product and a way of relating to a product. And I think it's quite personal. For example, digital note-taking tablets are anything but calm for me (but I recognize they may be for others!). OTOH, I practically live in Obsidian.

I ask myself:

- Can I have a calm relationship with this product?

- Does the product respect my agency? Can I decide when and how this technology enters my attention?

- Is it configurable? Can I turn off notifications, feeds, recommendations, badges, autoplay, algorithmic prompts, and so one, without crippling the useful parts?

- Is it intentional? Can I open it to get something done and then leave, rather than being pulled into continued use?

- Does it improve my well-being? Am I generally better off? Am I more informed, capable, connected, productive, or am I merely more stimulated (eg. dopamine)?

Some other perhaps non-sexy products: Amazon Echo Dot, my various air sensors, my more reliable home automation components that are already setup and just work, my Kindle and Xteink.

Yeah, calm home automation stuff is the best.

Water main valve robot, Flume water usage sensor, and Eve water sensors near supply lines is super reassuring when traveling or out of the house. So is having a electrical panel that I can check if the oven really was off.

My favorite is a notebook and pen. I tried all ways to write notes digitally and it only adds stress and friction for me. No batteries to charge, no files to backup, no bluetooth to sync.

Same. While recognizing this doesn’t necessarily hold true for others.

Ugh. Writing with pens has always been so uncomfortable for me. (Yes, I've tried good quality pens and different writing techniques.) Typing on a keyboard is so much faster and easier.

Same. I usually sketch diagrams and jot down quick pieces of info. Everything else goes into Obsidian normally.

Though its kind of funny, with my frequent use of agents, my communication skills and ability to articulate ideas has improved quite a bit, so now I use voice dictation a lot more and it's beginning to be faster than keyboard.

To add to this:

- Playdate (https://play.date) - fun little portable console with an rLCD screen

- Daylight (https://daylight.computer) rLCD paper-like tablet

- Envy (https://envynote.app) - Obsidian without the plugins, local only

- dumb phone (https://dumbphone.so) - make your iPhone dumber, on purpose

- xteink x4 pro (https://www.xteink.com/products/xteink-x4-pro-pocket-ereader) - great, small reader

hope people enjoy!

My kind of Renaissance. Sign me up!

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