☠️Killed by Microsoft, Encrypted Messaging, and CloverCities
Make ur Web 1 page
How’s it going this fine Monday? We’ve been having some really nice weather the past few days here in Franklin.
This weekend was pretty fun - I went down to the NFT Nashville meetup and had a ton of fun! I met a lot of other NFT enthusiasts and made some new friends.
It’s been at least three years since I’ve been to any meetups - and I’ve really missed the scene.
I haven’t really “degenned” into any new projects - other than snagging a Not Today Club and doing some passive staking on sphere.finace
I watched the Netflix movie “How it Ends” - which ended up being a pretty solid movie until the last 15 minutes or so. It was a pretty interesting view of a possible apocalypse - but before you know it you’ll be browsing websites like this in no time.
Yeah - I couldn’t resist throwing in a Dying Light Gif. I still need to finish the second one . . . .
Recently, inflation has been pretty intense for gas and groceries, hasn’t it?
If your grocery budget is beginning to feel the pain, Budget Bytes is a great website for smaller grocery budgets. It has a ton of great recipes!
Well, let’s dive in - shall we?
☠️Killed by Microsoft
We often talk about all the services that Google has killed over the years - but what about Microsoft?
I discovered the “Microsoft Graveyard” - which is just like the famous “Google Graveyard” website.
Let’s take a look through some of the notable ones.
Skype For Business
Slated to die in October 2025, it’s hard to believe that Microsoft didn’t win the video meeting wars of the pandemic. Yes - the focus is now Microsoft Teams, butttt normal Skype still survives! Dooh dah dooh dooh da . . . .
Windows Phone
Remember them?? The “Blackberry” of the 2010’s, the line finally died in 2019. I wonder if anyone is still using them? My friend used to have an old Windows phone - and game developers were the only ones still playing creating anything new.
I’d like to point out that Windows had widgets like a decade ago and it’s only been in the last two years that they’ve gotten popular on Windows and the Google Pixel.
Here - Watch this nostalgic ad.
The Zune
Pour one out for the poor old Zune. It’s been dead and gone for 11 years now. Microsoft could’ve kept the system alive - and triumphed in a space that’s practically nonexistent now. Noo - they decided to give up on it instead of battling against the iPod.
People still use their Zunes, even soldering cable adaptors to use in the car. That’s dedication!
Looking back in time, the Zune HD (the last Zune) had a pretty epic interface. Watch this little review. There were some really cool minimalist effects.
I may just keep my eyes out for an old Zune. 🤔
Dive on into other dead Microsoft projects at the link!
📱Encrypted Messaging
Have you ever run into one of those situations where you don’t trust someone enough to give them a phone number or social media contact, but need to have a live chat?
Suppose that you want to have a clandestine conversation with a friend in a park. If you secure any nearby shrubberies then you can be confident that no one will be able to eavesdrop on you. And unless you’re being secretly recorded or filmed you can be similarly confident that no one will be able to make a permanent, verifiable record of your conversation. This means that you and your friend can have a private, off-the-record exchange of views. (source)
Don’t remind me about the time I randomly offered to give some dude through Reddit a tour of Franklin without knowing who they were. Yes - I had several friends planning to go with me, don’t worry. No - they never showed up.
Maybe for selling that Craigslist couch after chatting through the email . . .
There’s a cool little site called Throwaway.sh that makes encrypted one time only conversations a breeze.
throwaway is an in-browser messaging app. It’s specifically for single-use, one-to-one, e2e encrypted messaging. This means your messages are encrypted in your browser, and they are only decrypted when they reach your recipients browser. The messages disappear permanently once both browser windows have closed. You can never recover a throwaway chat; once the window is closed, it’s gone forever. (source)
It works pretty well too - and lets you know when someone has joined or left the chat.
As long as you have the chat window open - you can continue the conversation. Once you leave the chat - the page no longer works.
Check it out at the link!
CloverCities Web 1
The good folks over at Cloverapp have created a really cool lead magnet. (Yeah this fun little project is a AWESOME giant lead magnet for the nonlinear notion alternative Clover App).
Clovercities is a brand new Geocities clone. I’m not even sure how many people remember that neocities exists - so I think it’s a brilliant idea to bring back the concept.
Here’s how it works.
It claims to generate some of your page through AI - Here’s what I put in.
Here’s what I got. It spits out a few things it thinks may be related to your interests.
It looks mega trippy - if a bit chaotic.
There’s a surprising amount of settings available on Clover Cities - not the least of which is mouse effects.
THAT’S RIGHT
Who doesn’t want snowflakes and smiley faces following their mouse?
When it comes to building a new page, the UI/UX takes a bit of getting used to. The page is structured in terms of containers - but it’s not obvious at first glance.
Oh - and to remove something, you need to backspace.
For a free product, it’s very well thought out. With a bit of work, you could easily make a very trippy 90’s style landing page - complete with a visitor counter and guest book.
Heck - you could use this as your personal landing page builder if you really wanted to.
Go check it out! Send me a link if you build something dope. :)
The Land of Random
Let’s. Get. Randommmmmm.
Halo 3 Menu
Miss the ole menu? Relive its glory - make this your screensaver.
The Internet Story Tale
You know letting the Internet write whatever it wants to for a collaborative novel is a crazy idea - so why not put it into action? Caution. The writing can be pretty offensive and nonsensical.
I watched the whole thing - twice
I can’t stop laughing
DVD Screensaver
When will it hit the corner?
Museum of Endangered Sounds
Many of these sounds will be extinct in out lifetime.
Shadow Credit Scores
This interesting article dives into the shadowy world of those “credit scores” that determine whether you can get into apartments or not. It’s a disturbing read.
Super Creepy Vibes
I saw this creepy video from 2009 and now you have to. You’re welcome.
TikToks You Can’t Miss
I want this Batman show
This is me on a spiritual level
Fancy a trip to the backrooms?
Why doesn’t Disney make a fun Star Wars show like this
Bravery is defined as eating this
I miss playing Bioshock. I might replay it . . .
That’s all for this week! See you next time. :)