How a tool gets logged
Every week, the tools desk opens somewhere between sixty and a hundred new products. Launch posts, changelogs, reader tips and the occasional overexcited thread all land in the same queue. Roughly one in ten makes it into an issue. The filter is not taste; it is time. A tool earns a row if it saves a typical reader at least ten minutes a week, works on day one without a demo call, and does not ask for more data than the job needs.
We test on an ordinary laptop with an ordinary connection, using a fresh account. If sign-up takes longer than the task the tool claims to speed up, that goes in the entry. If the free tier is a trial wearing a disguise, that goes in too.
Logged this season
Dispatch 118-02 · Whiteboard
Excalidraw
Open-source sketching in the browser. No account needed for solo use, files save locally and export to PNG or SVG. Catch: live collaboration links are shareable by anyone holding the URL, so treat them like a door key.
Dispatch 117-04 · Images
Squoosh
An image compressor from the Chrome Labs team that runs entirely in your browser. Drag a photo in, compare formats like WebP and AVIF, download the smaller one. Catch: one image at a time, which is either a feature or a chore.
Dispatch 117-06 · Notes
Obsidian
A notes app that stores everything as Markdown files in a folder you choose. Free for personal use; paid add-ons cover sync and publishing. Catch: the plugin catalogue is vast, and configuring it can replace the work it was meant to help with.
Dispatch 116-03 · Editing
Photopea
A layered image editor in a browser tab that opens PSD, XCF and Sketch files. Ad-supported free tier. Catch: the ads are real, and the interface assumes you already know a desktop editor.
Dispatch 116-05 · Archiving
Wayback Machine "Save Page Now"
The Internet Archive lets you snapshot any public page on demand. Useful before a policy page or price list gets quietly edited. Catch: pages behind logins will not be captured.
Dispatch 115-02 · Reference
Can I Use
Browser support tables for web features, long a staple for developers and increasingly handy for anyone wondering why a site looks different on a friend's phone. Free.
The free-tier test
"Free" covers a lot of ground online. Our rows sort it into three plain categories. Actually free means the core job works indefinitely without payment, as with Excalidraw for solo sketching or Squoosh for compression. Free with a ceiling means a generous limit that most individuals never hit, such as a note app that charges only for sync. Trial in costume means the tool becomes unusable after a set number of days or exports, which we flag in the first line of the entry so you can skip it.
We also note payment friction. If cancelling requires an email to support, a chat with a retention bot, or a phone call during business hours in a time zone you do not live in, that is part of the price.
When to skip a tool entirely
Some tools are good and still not for you. Our rule of thumb: if a new app duplicates something you already use daily and are not unhappy with, the switching cost almost always outweighs the gain. A slightly nicer to-do list is not worth migrating three years of tasks. The same goes for tools that demand access to your entire email inbox or cloud drive to perform a narrow task; a calendar helper rarely needs to read your attachments.
Finally, check the exit. Before investing hours, find the export button. Tools that let you leave with your data in an open format, such as Markdown, CSV or SVG, are tools that respect your time. Tools that do not, are betting you will stay because leaving hurts.
Coming up next issue
The desk is testing a batch of browser-based PDF editors and two calendar schedulers that promise to end the "does Tuesday work?" email chain. Results file Monday. If you have a candidate, send the desk a tip.