The sentence with a pulse
A scrap about humane software, waiting for the right ending.
A desktop that knows how to let go.
Jon tried WatchCat in 2006, asking it to hide windows after 600 quiet seconds. The clever bit was not merely removing clutter. It was choosing a reversible disappearance. This miniature conservatory speeds ten minutes into a few seconds so you can feel the difference between putting work to sleep and making it vanish.
WatchCat Botanical Works
Conservator No. 600Keeper is watching quietly
Three places for Saturday
Creek trail, bookshop, and the restaurant with excellent noodles.
if (idea) keep(idea);
The promising experiment is still running. Probably. One hopes.
A riff for later
Four bright chords, one suspicious transition, and room for Nathan.
4windows awake in the canopy
0ideas safely asleep
0things regrettably vaporised
The small design lesson: automation earns trust when its mistakes are cheap to undo. Hiding a window is a nudge; closing one is a verdict. Good tools should prefer the nudge, especially when they are guessing what we no longer need.
Inspired by Jon’s “Automatically hide windows after 10 minutes with WatchCat”.
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