The Leaderboard
Our ultra-fast Daily: Three takes on new products. Yesterday’s top ten launches. That’s it.
Work-life balance
Work-life balance matters. Possibly even more so when working from home as the lines between work and home-life can start to blur together.
BurnoutIndex claims to be the first science-backed burnout risk test designed for tech workers. The test assesses your risk level then offers tips to cool down if you are deemed at risk of burning out.
In light of World Mental Health Day this past weekend, and with WFH here to stay for many, here are some tools that aim to support remote workers:
WFH Care Package is designed for remote workers to boost morale and alleviate stress.
GrowApp is a self-care assistant for life balance and personal growth.
SanerJobs curate jobs ranked by a work-life balance score.
Trill is an anonymous mental health support community.
Sleeply utilizes Prayana techniques and sleep sounds to help you fall asleep.
CalmJobs list jobs from companies that care about their employees.s.
Doropomo is an inverted Pomodoro focused on a true work-life balance.
Remote Health is global health insurance for remote teams and individuals.
Zenbox For Remote Teams is an anxiety-free shared inbox for multiple inboxes and channels.
Skyrocket Your Team is an epic online escape room for remote teams.
BurnoutIndex claims to be the first science-backed burnout risk test designed for tech workers. The test assesses your risk level then offers tips to cool down if you are deemed at risk of burning out.
In light of World Mental Health Day this past weekend, and with WFH here to stay for many, here are some tools that aim to support remote workers:
WFH Care Package is designed for remote workers to boost morale and alleviate stress.
GrowApp is a self-care assistant for life balance and personal growth.
SanerJobs curate jobs ranked by a work-life balance score.
Trill is an anonymous mental health support community.
Sleeply utilizes Prayana techniques and sleep sounds to help you fall asleep.
CalmJobs list jobs from companies that care about their employees.s.
Doropomo is an inverted Pomodoro focused on a true work-life balance.
Remote Health is global health insurance for remote teams and individuals.
Zenbox For Remote Teams is an anxiety-free shared inbox for multiple inboxes and channels.
Skyrocket Your Team is an epic online escape room for remote teams.
The Gen Z 'Clubhouse' for your friends
Sending calendar invites to your friends feels kinda formal when all you want to do is chat and hang out.
Earlier this week Midas Kwant launched Rodeo, an app for casual voice-only (no need to check how you look) chats with friends - no calendar invite necessary.
Think of it as a Gen Z Clubhouse for your friends. Hop on the app, start a room and your friends will know you’re free to talk. Friends of the friends you’re talking to can join too, making it easy to meet new people.
Organizing virtual get-togethers on WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, even Houseparty to a certain extent, require some effort to organize. Instead of having to call your group or ask for time, with Rodeo, you and your friends can let each other know you're down to talk and chat by creating a room.
This app is about expressing when you're free, versus calling and asking if someone is free.
This subtle change can bring a whole new serendipitous world of communication to you and your friends.
Make room for more happy, accidental meetings across your friend network, by having conversations you didn't know you've been missing out on.
Earlier this week Midas Kwant launched Rodeo, an app for casual voice-only (no need to check how you look) chats with friends - no calendar invite necessary.
Think of it as a Gen Z Clubhouse for your friends. Hop on the app, start a room and your friends will know you’re free to talk. Friends of the friends you’re talking to can join too, making it easy to meet new people.
Organizing virtual get-togethers on WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype, even Houseparty to a certain extent, require some effort to organize. Instead of having to call your group or ask for time, with Rodeo, you and your friends can let each other know you're down to talk and chat by creating a room.
This app is about expressing when you're free, versus calling and asking if someone is free.
This subtle change can bring a whole new serendipitous world of communication to you and your friends.
Make room for more happy, accidental meetings across your friend network, by having conversations you didn't know you've been missing out on.
Festival from home
2020 has pressed the pause button on lots of plans, including live music events and festivals.
Oda brings live music performances to your home with wooded speakers and seasonal performances.
The shape of Oda may resemble a home speaker, but within its wooden panels lives a performance space without walls. These speakers are made of simple materials including wood, glass, cotton, and steel. Simply put: They're built like musical instruments.
Here’s what lead investor and early user, Alexis Ohanian, has to say “this is an experience you really need to FEEL (not just listen) to believe. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's transcendent. Listening to live performances feels as intimate as if the artist were there and even when you're using the speakers for Spotify, the sounds are goosebump-inducing... so good.”
When you can't attend Coachella, you can “Couchella” with Oda. See what we did there. 😜 You can expect performances from artists like Arca, Madlib, and Bradford Cox among many more.
With current restrictions on in-person activities and events, we’ve seen a rise in livestream home concerts, and Oda is taking it to the next level with dedicated hardware and exclusive performances.
Here are some other products bringing live music to your home:
CrowdSurf.tv is like channel flipping for live concert videos.
Dope Livestreams curate, well, dope live music to stream.
Endlesss Studio is a live collaborative music studio and social network.
SYQEL turns your house party or casual hangout into a fully immersive experience.
CoronaLive curates high-quality live streams to enjoy during the lockdown.
For someone who misses the shivers of real performances, this might be the solution.
Oda brings live music performances to your home with wooded speakers and seasonal performances.
The shape of Oda may resemble a home speaker, but within its wooden panels lives a performance space without walls. These speakers are made of simple materials including wood, glass, cotton, and steel. Simply put: They're built like musical instruments.
Here’s what lead investor and early user, Alexis Ohanian, has to say “this is an experience you really need to FEEL (not just listen) to believe. I'm not exaggerating when I say it's transcendent. Listening to live performances feels as intimate as if the artist were there and even when you're using the speakers for Spotify, the sounds are goosebump-inducing... so good.”
When you can't attend Coachella, you can “Couchella” with Oda. See what we did there. 😜 You can expect performances from artists like Arca, Madlib, and Bradford Cox among many more.
With current restrictions on in-person activities and events, we’ve seen a rise in livestream home concerts, and Oda is taking it to the next level with dedicated hardware and exclusive performances.
Here are some other products bringing live music to your home:
CrowdSurf.tv is like channel flipping for live concert videos.
Dope Livestreams curate, well, dope live music to stream.
Endlesss Studio is a live collaborative music studio and social network.
SYQEL turns your house party or casual hangout into a fully immersive experience.
CoronaLive curates high-quality live streams to enjoy during the lockdown.
For someone who misses the shivers of real performances, this might be the solution.
Calling all app developers 📢
Today’s newsletter was crafted by us and sponsored by our friends at DigitalOcean.
Yesterday’s drop from DigitalOcean wants to help apps get to market faster. The App Platform is a ‘Platform as a Service,’ (PaaS) that could help you build, deploy, manage and even scale your apps, all from one place.
To deploy your code, point to your Github repo, and App Platform will manage the infrastructure, app run times, and dependencies for you.
It supports Python, Node.js, Go, PHP, Ruby, Hugo, and static sites, or, if you have an app in another language, you can create a Dockerfile, and App Platform will do the rest.
You can deploy dynamic apps starting at $5/mo (or free for static apps). DigitalOcean is keeping costs low for developers by handling the infrastructure in-house built on DigitalOcean Kubernetes.
The idea is that you can spend more time on what’s important; building new apps. 📲
Makers Chris and Jon hosted a good discussion on the post page during their launch. Here are some initial reactions from the community:
"Had loads of fun beta testing the DO's App Platform. I believe this to be an excellent offering that makes a lot of sense for the current state of the web community." - Ahmed
"Congrats! I've been waiting for this for a long time." - Pierre
DigitalOcean is offering a free trial with a $100 credit for 60 days to Product Hunters to get started.
Yesterday’s drop from DigitalOcean wants to help apps get to market faster. The App Platform is a ‘Platform as a Service,’ (PaaS) that could help you build, deploy, manage and even scale your apps, all from one place.
To deploy your code, point to your Github repo, and App Platform will manage the infrastructure, app run times, and dependencies for you.
It supports Python, Node.js, Go, PHP, Ruby, Hugo, and static sites, or, if you have an app in another language, you can create a Dockerfile, and App Platform will do the rest.
You can deploy dynamic apps starting at $5/mo (or free for static apps). DigitalOcean is keeping costs low for developers by handling the infrastructure in-house built on DigitalOcean Kubernetes.
The idea is that you can spend more time on what’s important; building new apps. 📲
Makers Chris and Jon hosted a good discussion on the post page during their launch. Here are some initial reactions from the community:
"Had loads of fun beta testing the DO's App Platform. I believe this to be an excellent offering that makes a lot of sense for the current state of the web community." - Ahmed
"Congrats! I've been waiting for this for a long time." - Pierre
DigitalOcean is offering a free trial with a $100 credit for 60 days to Product Hunters to get started.
The next Shopify?
Shopify stock has skyrocketed since the e-commerce giant went public 5 years ago. We talked about their growth in more detail earlier this year.
E-commerce is having a moment right now with more businesses turning to online selling.
Swell, launched last week, offers a powerful ‘headless’ e-commerce platform for modern brands, startups, and agencies.
The platform offers unlimited product options, flexible discounts, subscriptions, customizable checkout, and multiple integrations.
With so many e-commerce platforms on the market, it can be difficult to compete with established household names. The creators of Swell believe that headless e-commerce with a no-code editor is the way to go.
In case you’re wondering what headless means, Michelle Teo, one of the makers, explains, “The front end and back end are completely separated, which means brands get freedom of expression to build whatever and however they want.”
Here are some early impressions from the community:
“Eric, Joshua, and the rest of their team are so thoughtful when it comes to the future of the space. Swell is going to crush it, love what they have built.” – Taylor Clauson
“Looks like Shopify Plus on steroids. Really nicely done. And those illustrations are just so captivating.” – Jake Disraeli
“Really impressed by the performance and speed. I've checked out some websites that use swell, and they're quite fast. Good stuff.” – Celik Nimani
If you were waiting for a sign to start selling online, this may be it.
E-commerce is having a moment right now with more businesses turning to online selling.
Swell, launched last week, offers a powerful ‘headless’ e-commerce platform for modern brands, startups, and agencies.
The platform offers unlimited product options, flexible discounts, subscriptions, customizable checkout, and multiple integrations.
With so many e-commerce platforms on the market, it can be difficult to compete with established household names. The creators of Swell believe that headless e-commerce with a no-code editor is the way to go.
In case you’re wondering what headless means, Michelle Teo, one of the makers, explains, “The front end and back end are completely separated, which means brands get freedom of expression to build whatever and however they want.”
Here are some early impressions from the community:
“Eric, Joshua, and the rest of their team are so thoughtful when it comes to the future of the space. Swell is going to crush it, love what they have built.” – Taylor Clauson
“Looks like Shopify Plus on steroids. Really nicely done. And those illustrations are just so captivating.” – Jake Disraeli
“Really impressed by the performance and speed. I've checked out some websites that use swell, and they're quite fast. Good stuff.” – Celik Nimani
If you were waiting for a sign to start selling online, this may be it.
How normal is your face? 🤔
If you’ve ever wondered how “normal” your face is, you can now find out using AI.
Last weekend, project SHERPA released an AI-powered analyzer titled How Normal am I? The tool creates an interactive documentary about your face and reveals how average it is.
Enable your webcam to start a live video showing how different algorithms, (beauty, age, gender, emotion, BMI, and life expectancy) assess your face, and how companies use this to make judgements (good and bad) about you.
SHERPA is an EU-funded project that analyses how AI and big data analytics impact ethics and human rights.
While the project provides interesting insights into the world of AI algorithms, one score, in particular, has triggered the most discussion; ‘how attractive am I’?
Here are some reactions from the community:
“This is incredibly interesting, informative & fun. Glad to have tried it and figured out my level of cloud-attractiveness ;)” – Merlin Laffitte
“That was fun! I'm a 5.5 in attractiveness 😆” – Jon Jones
“No way Beauty is 8.4... creepy but fun!” – David Villalón
No need to worry about data collection. According to the project creators, no data is sent to the cloud, it is all processed within your browser.
Find out how ‘normal’ you are.
Last weekend, project SHERPA released an AI-powered analyzer titled How Normal am I? The tool creates an interactive documentary about your face and reveals how average it is.
Enable your webcam to start a live video showing how different algorithms, (beauty, age, gender, emotion, BMI, and life expectancy) assess your face, and how companies use this to make judgements (good and bad) about you.
SHERPA is an EU-funded project that analyses how AI and big data analytics impact ethics and human rights.
While the project provides interesting insights into the world of AI algorithms, one score, in particular, has triggered the most discussion; ‘how attractive am I’?
Here are some reactions from the community:
“This is incredibly interesting, informative & fun. Glad to have tried it and figured out my level of cloud-attractiveness ;)” – Merlin Laffitte
“That was fun! I'm a 5.5 in attractiveness 😆” – Jon Jones
“No way Beauty is 8.4... creepy but fun!” – David Villalón
No need to worry about data collection. According to the project creators, no data is sent to the cloud, it is all processed within your browser.
Find out how ‘normal’ you are.
Look ma, no hands coding 🙌
Earlier this week, Tommy MacWilliam and team launched Serenade, a tool that turns natural speech into code. Use it to take a break from typing, eat chicken wings, mix up your workflow, or abandon typing for good.
Most developers will agree, wrist pain sucks. This tool aims to help people with injury prevention, as well as helping those with existing injuries or disabilities.
While it may be hard to break a typing habit, Serenade can be used on top of your current setup across programming languages (Python, Java, JavaScript) and editors (Atom, VS Code, Chrome). Use it to create custom voice commands to automate any workflow, from compiling code to running tests. Win-win.
The developers promise to keep the free version of Serenade available forever with upgrade options for enterprise projects.
Some early reactions from the community suggest this product has piqued curiosities;
“Would be interesting to compare how much time it can save.” - Андрей
“Seems useful for non sighted programmers“ - Alice
“Curious to see how well it performs and which lines you have to declare vs which lines are automatically detected.” - Merlin
We’re seeing more developer tools like these making tech more accessible and creating more opportunities for less-abled makers.
Try turning your voice into code.
Most developers will agree, wrist pain sucks. This tool aims to help people with injury prevention, as well as helping those with existing injuries or disabilities.
While it may be hard to break a typing habit, Serenade can be used on top of your current setup across programming languages (Python, Java, JavaScript) and editors (Atom, VS Code, Chrome). Use it to create custom voice commands to automate any workflow, from compiling code to running tests. Win-win.
The developers promise to keep the free version of Serenade available forever with upgrade options for enterprise projects.
Some early reactions from the community suggest this product has piqued curiosities;
“Would be interesting to compare how much time it can save.” - Андрей
“Seems useful for non sighted programmers“ - Alice
“Curious to see how well it performs and which lines you have to declare vs which lines are automatically detected.” - Merlin
We’re seeing more developer tools like these making tech more accessible and creating more opportunities for less-abled makers.
Try turning your voice into code.
NEW from Google
Google joins the 5G game.
Yesterday, Google unveiled the much-anticipated Pixel 5 and other products at its pre-recorded half-hour virtual hardware event.
Here’s a short version of everything ICYMI:
Pixel 5, Google's flagship smartphone now comes with 5G, 100% recycled aluminum body, a better camera with an ultrawide lens, and built-in reverse wireless charging that you can use to charge other devices. You can pre-order it from $699.
Google Pixel 4a with 5G essentially is an upgraded Pixel 4a with features similar to Pixel 5 and a lower price tag. Pre-orders start from $499.
Google Nest Audio (evolved from Google Home) is the all-new smart speaker promising more bass and volume. Pre-orders start from $99.
Chromecast with Google TV brings you an updated interface unifying streaming and TV services, 4K support, Google Assistant, and a remote controller. Also, you won’t need a phone anymore to play content. Available for $49.
Other noteworthy improvements include updated Google Duo, which will let you screen share with whoever you’re chatting with, and a new Google Assistant feature, Hold for Me, that waits on hold for you and lets you know when someone's on the line.
TLDR; Yesterday, Google debuted the Pixel 5, announced the less expensive Pixel 4A 5G, revealed Chromecast with Google TV, and unveiled the Nest Audio smart speaker.
With the iPhone 12 rumoured to drop this month, are you team Android or iPhone?
Yesterday, Google unveiled the much-anticipated Pixel 5 and other products at its pre-recorded half-hour virtual hardware event.
Here’s a short version of everything ICYMI:
Pixel 5, Google's flagship smartphone now comes with 5G, 100% recycled aluminum body, a better camera with an ultrawide lens, and built-in reverse wireless charging that you can use to charge other devices. You can pre-order it from $699.
Google Pixel 4a with 5G essentially is an upgraded Pixel 4a with features similar to Pixel 5 and a lower price tag. Pre-orders start from $499.
Google Nest Audio (evolved from Google Home) is the all-new smart speaker promising more bass and volume. Pre-orders start from $99.
Chromecast with Google TV brings you an updated interface unifying streaming and TV services, 4K support, Google Assistant, and a remote controller. Also, you won’t need a phone anymore to play content. Available for $49.
Other noteworthy improvements include updated Google Duo, which will let you screen share with whoever you’re chatting with, and a new Google Assistant feature, Hold for Me, that waits on hold for you and lets you know when someone's on the line.
TLDR; Yesterday, Google debuted the Pixel 5, announced the less expensive Pixel 4A 5G, revealed Chromecast with Google TV, and unveiled the Nest Audio smart speaker.
With the iPhone 12 rumoured to drop this month, are you team Android or iPhone?
Twitch for homework
The Global EdTech market is set to reach $404B by 2025 according to a report by HolonIQ. Even at this level, EdTech and digital expenditure will only make up 5.2% of the $7.3 trillion (yes, you read it right) global education market in 2025. 🤯
EdTech is big business and with 2020 posing more challenges than ever before for students to access classes safely, online learning is having a real - and necessary - moment.
Yesterday, maker Jared Hsu launched StreamWork, a video streaming service for students (think Twitch - but for homework).
StreamWork is an academic live-streaming platform for A+ students to tutor classmates and friends. You can tune in to educational live streams, study collaboratively, get homework help, and receive donations.
While most students spend half their time setting up Zoom and trying to learn how to learn-from-home, makers have been building innovative solutions to replace and augment real-life experiences.
We’ve seen dozens of creative educational products launch this year including:
Speakeasy offers online talks and workshops led by top professors, authors, and performers.
Whiteborb is a shared online drawing surface you can use as a whiteboard.
Epihub is Shopify for tutoring, training, and teaching anyone online.
The Examiners is a quiz and flashcard generator for bioscience and medical students.
Virtually is a fully-customizable solution for teaching online and building an online school.
Trickle is a microlearning and personal knowledge management platform for lifelong learners.
Programiz is a free programming learning platform that provides beginner-friendly tutorials.
PictoBlox is an interactive AI education app for kids.
Attendance automatically tracks student attendance on Zoom classes.
EdTech is big business and with 2020 posing more challenges than ever before for students to access classes safely, online learning is having a real - and necessary - moment.
Yesterday, maker Jared Hsu launched StreamWork, a video streaming service for students (think Twitch - but for homework).
StreamWork is an academic live-streaming platform for A+ students to tutor classmates and friends. You can tune in to educational live streams, study collaboratively, get homework help, and receive donations.
While most students spend half their time setting up Zoom and trying to learn how to learn-from-home, makers have been building innovative solutions to replace and augment real-life experiences.
We’ve seen dozens of creative educational products launch this year including:
Speakeasy offers online talks and workshops led by top professors, authors, and performers.
Whiteborb is a shared online drawing surface you can use as a whiteboard.
Epihub is Shopify for tutoring, training, and teaching anyone online.
The Examiners is a quiz and flashcard generator for bioscience and medical students.
Virtually is a fully-customizable solution for teaching online and building an online school.
Trickle is a microlearning and personal knowledge management platform for lifelong learners.
Programiz is a free programming learning platform that provides beginner-friendly tutorials.
PictoBlox is an interactive AI education app for kids.
Attendance automatically tracks student attendance on Zoom classes.
Monetize your tweets 💸
The passion economy is reportedly now worth over $38 billion globally according to a report in Verdict.
OnlyTweets (we see what you did there 😜) launched yesterday as a new way to support your favorite creators on Twitter. An experiment from Stir, (a group of makers developing tools for creators) OnlyTweets helps creators monetize their content natively on Twitter through paywalled accounts.
In recent times we’ve seen the rise of paid newsletters through products like Substack and Ghost, as well as paid Zoom classes, video courses, and online coaching. This trend has been further amplified this year with shelter-in-place prompting people to explore alternative ways to safely make a living from home.
Here are some more tools from the community that help creators monetize their passion:
Current pays you to stream your favorite content.
Buy Me A Coffee gives your audience a way to thank you for creating content.
Cent is a network for Universal Creative Income featuring lots of amazing artists to support.
LiveKlass is an on-demand virtual classroom platform.
Glow offers a no-code way for indie podcasts to make $ through memberships.
Drip is a Patreon competitor by Kickstarter built to back creators.
Curious Fictions is a Patreon for professional authors and writers.
Flattr is an automatic way for creators to make money from their online content.
Supercast makes podcast monetization simple by adding a paid membership to your podcast.
OnlyTweets (we see what you did there 😜) launched yesterday as a new way to support your favorite creators on Twitter. An experiment from Stir, (a group of makers developing tools for creators) OnlyTweets helps creators monetize their content natively on Twitter through paywalled accounts.
In recent times we’ve seen the rise of paid newsletters through products like Substack and Ghost, as well as paid Zoom classes, video courses, and online coaching. This trend has been further amplified this year with shelter-in-place prompting people to explore alternative ways to safely make a living from home.
Here are some more tools from the community that help creators monetize their passion:
Current pays you to stream your favorite content.
Buy Me A Coffee gives your audience a way to thank you for creating content.
Cent is a network for Universal Creative Income featuring lots of amazing artists to support.
LiveKlass is an on-demand virtual classroom platform.
Glow offers a no-code way for indie podcasts to make $ through memberships.
Drip is a Patreon competitor by Kickstarter built to back creators.
Curious Fictions is a Patreon for professional authors and writers.
Flattr is an automatic way for creators to make money from their online content.
Supercast makes podcast monetization simple by adding a paid membership to your podcast.
