💊 Enhancement Pills
Welcome to your new favourite newsletter.
Welcome to the first-ever issue of Fwd:Fwd:Fwd: — a monthly email filled with the best of the Internet. Or at the very least, some cool things I found from the past month.
In case you're wondering, each issue gets its name from best/worst spam emails I've received over the years. I hope you enjoy Enhancement Pills as much as I do.
I'D TAB THAT
Stop drowning in browser tabs
I've been using Toby lately, and it's awesome. I actually used it to collect the links for this issue. Make it your 'new tab' in Chrome, then tear off the tabs you don't have time for right now and save them for later. It's free and syncs across all your Chrome installations.
Not convinced? Check out this video (Vimeo, 00:30 watch).
DECENTRALIZATION IS THE NEW BLACK
WTF is Ethereum?
To date, there are well over 800 cryptocurrencies in circulation. It's a lot to keep up with. Out of those 800+ currencies, Ethereum is the new hotness. On the off chance you don't already know about it, this awesome website takes a stab at explaining it to anyone from "an average person just trying to get by" all way to DJs and total nerds.
And for an overall crash course on cryptocurrencies, check out this podcast episode: The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency (The Tim Ferriss Show, 02:34:13 listen).
• WTF is Ethereum
• Cryptocurrency Market Capitalizations
FAILING IS GOOD
Originals TED talk
I really enjoyed this talk by Adam Grant. Especially the way it supports procrastination—that it's a tool to be harnessed, not something that holds you back.
• The surprising habits of original thinkers (TED, 15:25 watch)
BELT DRIVE OR BUST
A great bicycle
I'm a casual cyclist. I don't mountain bike, I don't do road races, and I definitely can't rebuild a bike from scratch. If you're like me, you just want a bike that has a few gears, a nice design, and is built to last.
I've been riding the Priority Gotham for about a month now and I would highly recommend it to anyone on the hunt for a new bicycle. No bells and whistles (but you can buy those here & here), a decent mid-range price, and a belt drive for lasting durability. It shipped in a box and took roughly 30 minutes to set up.
FORCE QUITTING IS FOR CHUMPS
You're iPhone-ing wrong
Someone has probably told you this before: if you swipe up and force quit the apps you aren't using, it will improve battery life/make things run faster/save the universe. I was drinking that Kool-Aid too, right up until I read this article. Now I feel pretty stupid more informed. Apparently—and this isn't an opinion, it's direct from multiple Apple executives and engineers—there is no need to constantly force quit apps on your iOS device. It actually makes things worse.
Think you're saving battery life? Nope. Think it will help you switch apps faster? Yup. Also nope.
The shortest answer? You only need to force quit an app if it becomes unresponsive.
• You Should Not Force Quit Apps on iOS (Daring Fireball, 02:30 read)
ACE (AFTER COLOUR ERA)
Reviving the hidden colour in ancient sculptures
In recent years, scientists and art historians have found that many of the ancient white marble statues were originally painted in full colour. Whoa!
Of course this has led to some more controversial viewpoints, with some people claiming it has caused a whitewashing of history.
• True colours of ancient sculptures (Museum of Artifacts, 01:00 read)
• Marble helped scholars whitewash ancient history (VICE News, 00:30 read + 03:50 watch)
A BRUSH WITH DEATH
Microsoft Paint is dead
Surprise! It's not. Don't worry, guys: all the cutting-edge features of Paint will be making their way into Paint 3D, the go-to graphics tool for any creative professional.
• Microsoft Paint to be killed off after 32 years (The Guardian, 01:00 read)
• MS Paint is here to stay (Windows Blog, 00:30 read)
RIP 3RD GEN. THAT I LEFT ON A PLANE
The iPod is also dead
This one doesn't look like it's coming back. iPod touch is still around for a bit, but iPhones have definitely taken over. Say goodbye to the Shuffle and Nano.
Here's every iPod model, for nostalgia's sake.
• Goodbye iPod, and thanks for all the tunes (WIRED, 01:00 read)