Iterate Weekly - Issue 169
This week we're talking about using one remote to control everything, Rebind wants to change how we read, cutting down on tire pollution, super cool fabrics, and "Civil War"!
Welcome to issue 169 of Iterate Weekly.
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Thank you as always for reading!
🤖 Tech
Can we have one remote control everything in our homes?
Remember that awful Adam Sandler movie where he had a remote control for his life? Yeah, I hope you’ve forgotten it too, but perhaps we could soon have something similar for our smart homes.
A new remote from Switchbot hopes to be the closest thing we’ve ever had to a universal remote for your smart home.
Does it even seem possible or realistic for this to happen? For years, we’ve had to deal with a mess of different remotes to control all of our different appliances and media devices. Maybe we’re slightly past the peak of the remote days where every house had a basket filled with ways to control the TV, sound system, cable box, DVD player, etc. But this is still a problem in most homes.
And we thought that the simple answer would be that we’d just use our smart phones as a universal remote. If you’ve attempted this, you know it’s not that simple. You may still need to navigate several different apps without one universal interface. Over the years, I’ve tried using old phones or tablets solely for remote duty but it’s never been an elegant system.
This Switchbot remote could be a literal game changer. At only $59.99, it’s actually fairly affordable and it should speak to a majority (if not all) of your devices. Of course, in the list of compatible programs it lists Roku and GoogleTV as services that won’t be compatible at launch but should be added soon. Sadly, those are two pretty important remote options for me, so let’s hope that update comes soon. But the remote offers a simple screen and the ability to connect via Bluetooth and the Matter standard for smart devices. That should cover quite a few gadgets and gizmos in your home.
I’d love to test this remote out soon before I give it my full stamp of approval. If it can only help me tame the dozens of smart lights in my house, it would easily be worth the reasonable asking price.
Anyone else need a remote like this?
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Rebind could change the way we read books
Let’s face it, reading and comprehending complex books can take a lot of effort. In our fast-paced digital lives, people just don’t have the same attention spans that they once had.
That’s why a new service like Rebind makes a whole lot of sense.
It positions itself as a modern way to enjoy the classic books that you’ve been putting off for years. Rebind assigns each book a Rebinder. This is a professional of some sort who is an expert in that field or has an intimate knowledge of the book already. They act as your literary sherpa of sorts as you dive into the journey of reading (and more importantly understanding) the book.
Laura Kipnis from Wired offers a deep explanation of her personal experience with Rebind to give you a better sense of how it works.
They’re basically turning each story into a combination of text/multimedia/educational course and AI interaction to get the most out of each story. While there are video segments recorded by the Rebinders, the real magic here seems to lie in the AI conversations you can have while making your way through the books.
The ultimate goal here is to make you feel like you truly experienced and understood a book fully. This is not something you’d want for every self-help book or beach read that you tackle. No, it’s reserved for those lofty pieces that you’ve wanted to read for years but never had the time or motivation to get to.
Rebind is still invite-only at the moment and I find myself on the waitlist. This truly seems like it could be something big though. If they can nail the integration of the tech and keep up with a list of reputable Rebinders, it will become the trendy way to consume the classics.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
Cutting down on tire pollution
We all know that cars that run on internal combustion engines are bad for the environment right? We don’t need all that air pollution when there are perfectly suitable electric alternatives! But sadly, even if you’re driving around in an EV, your tires are likely giving off plenty of pollution.
Yep, those tiny pieces of the tire that inevitably get worn down will enter the atmosphere, the water supply, everywhere we don’t want them to be. There may be no easy solution to this, but a company called Enso is looking to develop tires that cut back on this pollution.
The UK-based company is looking to open up a factory in the US to make specific tires for electric cars. These tires are said to last up to 35 percent longer with less wear and tear. The ultimate goal is to reduce how quickly the microplastics and pollutants come off the treads of the tire. The technology may not be perfect, but even incremental improvements in this area could have huge benefits.
Enso also promises to offer a recycling program once its tires have reached end of life. That can be tricky as most used tires end up in the incinerator rather than finding a new life. This could be a nice perk in an industry that mostly relies on whatever tires come on the car when you buy it. Most consumers don’t take an active interest in the details as long as it gets them from point A to point B.
I’m eager to see how Enso does as it receives more funding and takes some of its lofty ideas into reality.
🛍 Grab Bag
Combatting heat with super cool fabrics
I just love it when technology finds its way into our clothes!
Personally, I still think that some of the most high tech fabrics we have are the ones that have been around for thousands of years. Wool, linen, ramie, flax, and hemp are all good examples.
But if you’re looking for something a bit more modern to help you stay cool in the heat, there are some new options that rely on plastics and silver to help the wearer feel more cool in hot temps.
What’s maybe most amazing here is how little of these materials are needed to be blended with more traditional fabrics to see a difference. In some cases it may take as little as silver layers that are a hundredth of the width of a single strand of human hair.
The simple explanation here is that these fabrics are working to reflect radiant heat away from the body. This obviously makes sense when you’re sitting in direct sunlight but could also be hugely beneficial in urban areas where buildings and ground materials could be trapping and emanating heat that passes directly to our bodies.
As the earth continues to heat up, we may soon need to unpack our silver-infused radiant cooling clothes each summer rather than just simple shorts and tank tops.
💬 Quote of the Week
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
-Thomas Edison
🎥 Content Recommendation
Civil War
This week felt like the perfect time to take in an action-packed summery action movie.
“Civil War” sort of fit that mold for me. I wouldn’t call it a traditional summer action blockbuster but it had some of the elements.
Set in a not-too-distant America that is in the middle of a civil war, it takes us on a road trip with a group of journalists as they attempt to capture the story behind rebel forces seeking to assassinate the President.
This movie is pretty intense from start to finish, and the cinematography and soundtrack are excellent. It feels both too realistic and outlandishly sci-fi at times. The acting is solid but it really capitalizes on the idea of a country that could continue to be so divided that it splits apart within our lifetime.
It’s definitely worth checking out especially as we move forward in a tightly-contested election year where everything seems to be hyper-polarizing.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
Hey! Could you use some help establishing healthy habits? Do you have a big project or new business that you want to get off the ground but could use some advice? Maybe you could benefit from hiring me as your coach. If you’re interested, read more about my coaching services here, or go ahead and book some time on my calendar to discuss further.
Iterate is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you should let me know that this writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless I enable payments at some point in the future. Think of it like an IOU in a tip jar.