Book
Bootstrapping Computing
How the layers of computing are built, from binary up to the web, and the models of thinking that got us there; a short, technical book for curious, non-technical people.
Members of the Little Lab get a special discount.
Essays & Experiments
An introduction to my research — why it is what it is, why it matters, and what it’ll take to get right.
An itemized personal computing environment that uses time as its organizing principle — organizing all your things in one unified timeline.
Itemized personal computing timeline
From 2021 to 2023, I worked on and in an experimental personal computing environment that was organized into one interface construct: the timeline.
Dynamic documents for making plans; a reaction to the rigid interfaces and data silos in today’s modern app landscape.
With industrial research lab Ink & Switch.
Lab notes
What if interfaces were as easy to construct as queries, letting you spin up views “from scratch” as needed?
A plugin for Obsidian that demonstrates the concept in the prior lab note on cross-reference navigation.
What if the entire operating system were to work like a notes graph? What if every individual digital thing could be linked or backlinked in your overall digital graph?
Little Lab
Exploring the emergence of user conventions in a minimal system. Observations on living in the system, plus a demo you can try out yourself.
The lab is open: a behind-the-scenes tour
A quick tour of the little lab’s websites (including tech stacks and designs), and our research notebooks.
Towards a graphics stack for personal software
An exploration of what makes personal software unique, and how a graphics stack might support its creation and use.
Adding to the corpus of ideas, some observations on process
In this member essay, I share some observations and reflections on process.
Experimenting with spaced review in OLLOS
A first look at a new experiment, and how it could be improved.
Reflections and updates after the first year of a membership program
And how the core work is evolving in its next year.
For 2021, I tried an experiment: publishing all of my thoughts and ideas on the future of the operating system.
My core work is independent research in computing, here’s the how and why.
See more essays, experiments, and field notes in the Little Lab.
These essays are published for
Members of the Little Lab, occasionally made publicly available.
I think of my practice as a “little lab” — an indie research lab-of-one.
My work is graciously made possible thanks to funding from the community. You can support my work by becoming a Member of the Little Lab. Your membership helps me publish more lab notes, experiments, essays, and other work.
Plus, you’ll get access to the members’ portal with early demos, experiments, member essays, the field notes, and more.
Join 50+ Members of the Little Lab → Already a Member? Enter the Little Lab →
More
Does an itemized personal computing user environment have the potential to be a new medium in which software could “actually change the thought patterns of an entire civilization” (Kay, 1989)?
Lab Notes
As I explore the operating system of the future, I publish Lab Notes to “work with the lab door open,” inviting others’ thoughts along the way.
Open the Lab Notes→
Latest
Items
Item views
Item graphs
Item services
Item networks & devices
Item systems
Item interfaces
Space & Time
Past
was a radio-style show with songwriters, where we discuss and play their songs and the ones that inspired them.
1997
was a faithful remake of AOL Instant Messenger — the sounds, away messages, animated buddy icons, et al. — made available during 2020’s early lockdowns to connect the world’s socially isolated. You can readmy articleorthe Nylon articlefor more context.
Acquired by a new owner in 2021.
is a simple habit tracker with widgets for iPhone. You can readmy Twitter threadfor more context.
Want to purchase this project?
Products from earlier phases of my career:
was an email client that introduced new ideas to email which have since become common in most email apps. It reached the #1 top paid app spot in the Mac App Store, and was featured in The New York Times (David Pogue: “an ingenious new email service”), TWiT (Leo Laporte: “a good app, and well worth it.”), and numerous Macworld reviews over the years (Nathan Alderman: “a clean, impressive, often beautiful way to manage unruly email”).
is a service that is the home for emails which shouldn’t be in your inbox, using unique email addresses per sender.
Misc
Want to chat? Get in touch.
