I still use my 2024 Kindle Paperwhite for travel. It’s waterproof and has a warm light. But when I’m at home, sitting in my reading chair, I find myself reaching for something else: The 1st Generation Amazon Kindle.

I found this unit on Poshmark for $38, registered to a previous owner named “Paula.” It is in shockingly pristine condition—white plastic often yellows over 20 years, but this one looks like it just came out of the box.

Inside was a digital time capsule. A “personalized” letter from Jeff Bezos to Paula. A library jammed with Sue Grafton novels. And a frozen error message from 2010 where a credit card failed. Time warp time makes me happy!

Continue reading “Amazon Kindle 1st Gen Review: Is 2007 Hardware Worth It in 2026?”

This week’s Enter Safe Mode briefing looks at the “State of the Dumbphone” address, a physical brick that locks your apps, and the privacy-first device actually worth buying.

Continue reading “2026 Is Officially the Year of the Dumbphone”

I was deep in the weeds of Chapter 4 of my novel last Tuesday. The scene is set on a farm, and I realized I had used the word “barn” about fifty times in three pages.

I needed variety. I needed “pastoral.” I needed “agrarian.” I specifically wanted synonyms for “bucolic.”

Normally, this is the moment where I die. I hit CTRL + N to open a browser window. I type “bucolic synonym.” But while I’m there, I see a notification badge on Gmail. Or I spot a “Trending” headline about the Knicks.

Suddenly, it’s twenty minutes later and I have watched three videos of Billy Corgan talking about pro wrestling, and I have completely forgotten that I was writing about a farm.

It’s the Internet Tax. Every time you go online for something simple, you pay a toll in attention.

Continue reading “A Must-Have for Writers: The $7 Franklin MWD-1490 Electronic Dictionary”

How to turn a broken Zune into a distraction-free desk tool for deep work: tips on buying, setup, and more.

OK, so I bought an 8GB Zune on Poshmark for $22 because I wanted to try the Microsoft MP3 player I shunned back in the day. You know the one—wired headphones, retro device, looking mysteriously disconnected from the 5G grid.

I imagined pulling it out of my pocket before I long lunchtime walk, scrolling through the menu with that legendary “Squircle” touch pad, and enjoying 20 hours of battery life.

But when it arrived, reality hit me.

The battery was completely shot.

It holds a charge for exactly four seconds before the screen fades to black. It’s not a portable media player anymore; it’s a brick.

For a minute, I was ready to RePosh. I’ve never been a Microsoft fanboy—I wasn’t an iPod kid either. Maybe I was a Sansa dude? through and through. But holding the device, I realized something: I actually loved the feel of it. The matte plastic back, the weirdly futuristic typography, the “Hello from Seattle” etched on the back. It has personality.

So, I pivoted.

Continue reading “How a “Dead” 8GB Zune Became My Favorite Desk Accessory”

We live in an era of 48-megapixel phone sensors and AI-computational photography that fixes our skin before we even press the shutter. Everything is sharp. HDR-balanced. Basically, everyone is a perfect photographer.

Frankly, it’s boring.

The Kodak Charmera is some temporary relief. It’s a tiny, $30 camera sold in a “blind box.” You don’t know which of the 7 retro designs you’re getting until you lift the packaging. It shoots grainy photos that look like they were taken in the mid-2000s. And that is exactly why you need one.

Continue reading “Kodak Charmera Review: The Blind Box Digicam That Fits on Your Keys”