innioasis Y1 - Review

TL;DR— at $50, this digital audio player is good value. Sure, there are a few frustrating things, but for $50 you just look past them. There are many crappy devices out there at the same price point (or that cost more); this DAP gets most things right for the price.

In an attempt to remove my iPhone from my hand for a portion of my day, I picked up a Y1 for $50 online to see if I could revive my MP3 collection and focused music listening.

I read many of the reviews on Reddit regarding this device, and watched what YouTube videos I could find.  I found most reviews were either unnecessarily long, or too shallow to be useful. Having used this device for a week now I figured I'd share my thoughts in a review I wish I had of found.

Size: This is closer to an iPhone Nano in size than a Classic. Given I have larger hands, I would have preferred the latter. I would have like a little weight to the Y1, but I'm not complaining either because throwing this in my pocket or bag adds no weight at all.

Screen: The screen was scratched the moment it went into my pocket the first time. Given I'm not using the device to watch videos, I don't really care. With that said, the screen certainly is plastic and has a significant amount of give to it.

Speaker: Not why I bought the device, but the internal speaker is a nice feature. There are times when I don't want to have headphones on but I still want to listen to something; I've used the speaker more than I thought I would this first week.

Storage: I'm only at 50% of the capacity of the built in storage, but it's nice to know that the unit can easily be opened up and the SD card swapped for something larger.

Bluetooth: There's something about the Bluetooth setting that isn't jiving. Perhaps it's because I used too many different devices within a given day, but connecting and reconnecting to established devices always takes longer than it should and it isn't clear how to best make it consistently happen. Additionally, the Bluetooth settings screen doesn't scroll, so I'm having to delete devices to be able to see other already listed devices. A quirk, but at $50 I won't hold this against it.

UI: It's noted elsewhere but I will say it here again— the UI is the biggest shortcoming of this device. With a couple of minor tweaks to how the files are organized & sorted, and how the information displays on the Now Playing screen, this device would be top notch. If you're not using this as a 100% shuffle device, and if you don't know the names of the specific albums you're looking for then the ideal way to select music is to use the file navigation to locate the artist and album you're looking for— Music > Folders > Music

In the end, this device is worth the $50 I paid for it. With a SD card upgrade in the future, I'm still at less than $100 for a device that almost replicates the iPod Classic experience of my past. While at the gym, I'm much more efficient and focused without my phone to distract. Given that I have this on me all day every day, I'm listening to more music than I did before. We share a single Spotify account in my family, which has its time and place, but it's nice knowing that I won't be kicked off the Y1 when I'm deep into one of my favourite albums.

How a Coffee Shop Became My Refuge

When the simple act of being seen feels like home.
—

For all its faults, Starbucks is still a cozy place.

The warmth of the space, the music in my ears (when it’s not turned up way too loud), and the smell of coffee and baked goods make it inviting. The staff are usually friendly, and some create that Cheers-like vibe where regulars are welcomed by name and a smile.

There’s plenty to criticize about Starbucks— or big corporate food and beverage chains in general. A lot of those critiques are valid, though some feel over the top. Still, these places fill gaps in our day-to-day lives. They offer things we’ve lost— spaces for connection, like those that disappeared along with local landmarks or as economies shifted. Cozy spots like these, or the chance to build community, are part of what they provide.

I think of the Tim Hortons just down the street, barely out of sight from where I’m sitting now. Before it was renovated, groups of older men used to gather on its steps to chat, play endless games of chess, and support each other in whatever ways they needed. While that sense of community probably existed with or without Tim Hortons, the café gave them a common ground— a public space where they could show up, be seen, and be acknowledged. Watching those chess-playing men as I walked or drove by reminded me that community still exists— even if it’s on the decline ¹.

Steve MacDouell has written a lot about this kind of thing, usually focusing on locally owned coffee shops in his work with Strong Towns. But what Steve points out about the value of those spaces applies to places like Starbucks too. In some communities, Starbucks is the only option for a third place.

Of course, food and beverage spots acting as “third places” isn’t just about coffee shops. The Taco Bell Drawing Club is one example. And while it’s fictional, Cheers captured the essence of local bars that, for decades, anchored neighbourhoods across North America. These ideas aren’t new— they’re as old as time. Think of sipping coffee at a Parisian café or enjoying an afternoon drink at an Italian soda shop. These third places are what sociologist Ray Oldenburg called “great good places”.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt connected to any one place.

That’s a strange thing to admit, considering how much of my life I’ve spent trying to root myself in place (for example) or studying its importance (like this).

For the past five to ten years, though, I’ve felt increasingly disconnected from place. Owning a home has kept me anchored but away from the local sphere. Living just far enough from the city’s core means I’m not part of its daily energy. Getting older, along with former collaborators, has shifted priorities— family stability is now a necessity, not an option. And, let’s be honest, my energy isn’t what it used to be.

Still, even with all that, this Starbucks— of all places— has become a kind of refuge. It’s familiar. It feels like community. It’s a great good place.

As the seasons change— from summer to fall to winter— so do my morning drinks. I drink less coffee in the colder months, switching to big cups of tea. Tea brings a steady warmth that coffee can’t match.

One morning, I walked up to the counter, and the barista started ringing up my usual (grande decaf pour-over, black) without asking. I corrected them: “Actually, I’ll have a grande chai tea— just one bag.” They smiled, gave me a look of mock confusion, and said, “Oh, so now you’re changing your regular order after months of consistency?”

I’m not special— plenty of people order the same thing every day. My coffee order might stand out, but I don’t. And yet, being recognized by someone outside my usual circle, remembered for something small but personal, felt surprisingly meaningful. It was cozy.

MintBook

A 2024 take on the tiny netbooks of the past.

After some searching, I managed to find and secure what has quickly become my tiny little netbook of 2024. It feels like I took a trip to the past and brought back some of the best features of old tech—updated just enough for today.

Last month, when I reflected on the value of tiny little netbooks from years ago, I imagined what a 2024 version might look like for me. At the time, I didn’t think I’d actually purchase a tiny laptop so quickly—or end up using it as much as I currently am. ¹

Since most of my writing, web browsing, and general online activities now happen on this underpowered machine, I thought it might be worth sharing how I arrived at daily driving such a device.

Sourcing a Device

I started by scouring Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Kijiji for used Chromebooks under $100. I knew that to get the small form factor I wanted without spending much, I’d likely need an older education model with an 11" screen.

Initially, I looked for models with 8GB of RAM and an upgradable hard drive, but most were well beyond my budget. Sticking to my goal, I opted for a 4GB RAM + 32GB eMMC storage model with a microSD card slot for additional storage.

After finding a device that met my specs and price point, I confirmed that it could run a different operating system. One of the appeals of older Chromebooks is their ability to swap out Chrome OS for a Linux distro—if the right model is selected. A quick check on MrChromebox.tech confirmed I could flash the BIOS. That sealed the deal, and the Buy It Now button was clicked.

The device cost me $32 before shipping.

Even if this experiment was short-lived, I figured I’d get my money’s worth.

The Setup

When it arrived, I:

• unpackaged it immediately and marvelled at its $32 beauty,
• gave the exterior a thorough cleaning,
• opened it up to disconnect the battery ²,
• cleaned the surprisingly tidy internals,
• followed the MrChromebox.tech guide, and
• flashed the BIOS.

With the prep done, I installed a lightweight Linux distro for low-spec machines. After testing a few, I landed on Lubuntu. ³

Setting up the device—including installing key apps like Brave, QOwnNotes, and Apostrophe, along with custom keybindings—took me about 60–90 minutes.

In no time, I had turned an old education-focused Chromebook into my 2024 netbook.

Why This Tiny Machine Works for Me

This tiny, portable, and affordable device has exceeded expectations. It’s my daily companion and sees more use than my iPad Pro or ThinkPad T480s. Why? It fits everywhere—from my leather satchel to my GORUCK GR1. No more swapping devices just to change bags.

What Surprised Me Most

1. Battery life: It’s incredible. I rarely power it off and only charge it when the battery is completely drained. Even with frequent use, I get an estimated 13–18 hours of battery life per charge.
2. Desktop versatility: Plugging the MintBook (yes, that’s what I’m calling it) into my docking station transforms it into a desktop setup. Linux Mint handles dual displays far better than Windows, and I’ve noticed no performance drop.
3. Expandable storage: By remapping /home directories to the SD card, I’ve essentially eliminated concerns about running out of space. With media files and regular text documents easily accessible, the 32GB eMMC drive is no longer a limitation.

What Could Be Better

1. Lubuntu: Never again. It’s ugly and unintuitive, even for a lightweight distro. Mint is far better.
2. The touchpad: Garbage. It’s functional but clearly a cost-saving measure. Thankfully, the keyboard is surprisingly decent.
3. The missing DELETE key: This is a Chromebook quirk that still frustrates me. I’ve yet to map a workaround for it.

Final Thoughts

This device won’t win awards, but it does exactly what I need.

For under $50, it’s an absolute steal—perfect for reading, writing, project planning, and most browser-based activities. While it struggles with large datasets or too many browser tabs, that’s a trade-off I’m fine with.

It’s not quite on par with the best computer I’ve ever owned, but for the price, I’m not complaining.

Would I recommend this to others? Only if they can set realistic expectations. If you’re good with “just enough,” this device more than delivers. For me, it’s been a revelation.

Digital Ghosts

When digital footprints fade to static.

I've been thinking about simpler online times lately. Not just pre-Twitter or pre-Facebook, but the golden age of blogging—2002 to 2007. Back when we wrote for ourselves and each other, without metrics or engagement scores hanging over our heads. Nostalgia hit hard this week. I found myself revisiting old digital haunts, checking blogs of people I once knew intimately through their words. People I'd crossed the country to share drinks with, whose lives I'd followed through carefully crafted posts and late-night comments.

These weren't just blogs; they were windows into authentic lives. Raw, unfiltered, and refreshingly real. Spelling errors and profanity included, because that's who we were. No polished personal brands or carefully curated content strategies—just people writing about their lives.

But here's the thing about digital archaeology: it often reveals more absences than artifacts. Most of these blogs sit dormant, frozen in time somewhere between 2009 and 2012. Of the ones that haven't completely vanished or gone private, I found exactly one with a post from the past decade. A single post.

Let's pause for a moment to appreciate Blogger. Yes, it's Google's forgotten child, but it persists. Before the era of feature-bloated platforms and over-engineered CMSes, Blogger offered something precious: simplicity. Even now, finding a platform that just lets you write is surprisingly difficult. While I've found my solution in Chyrp Lite, Blogger remains one of the purest options for someone who just wants to start typing.

The Canadian blogging community I remember was tight-knit—a continuous conversation spanning years and provinces. Now those voices are silent. Some final posts mention new domains (long dead), others acknowledge extended absences (never to return), and many simply... stop. Like abandoned Facebook profiles, they exist in digital limbo, neither alive nor quite dead.

I went looking for traces of myself too, but came up short. Between my own efforts to erase a former digital life and time's natural erosion, those old stories—full of cigarettes, whiskey, and self-deprecation—have largely vanished. Maybe that's for the best.

What I miss most isn't the platform or even the specific people—it's the honesty. We wrote ourselves into existence, sharing local stories that somehow formed a national community. Today's blogs often feel like performances, each post carefully aligned with some greater purpose or brand. Back then, blogging was simply an extension of self, digital amplification of who we really were.

I'm not sure what I hoped to find in this digital archeological dig. Maybe glimpses of my former self, or pictures of those almost-close connections from before the world shrank into our phones. Whatever I was searching for remains elusive, lost in the digital ether of abandoned domains and expired hosting plans.

Tiny Little Netbooks

I try not to regret many things in life. I hold this aim very true, except for a couple of very bad choices in my youth. Outside of those specific experiences, I believe that the decisions I've made were the right ones given who I was and what I knew at the time.

Of all the places where I'm certain to not hold any regrets is when it comes to 'stuff.' Things bought and never used, things discarded only to be repurchased later. When it comes to 'stuff,' that's all it is—replaceable, unnecessary, and mostly meaningless.

Yet here I am, regretting having ever sold my 11-inch Macbook Air. That was the best computer I ever owned

Hear me out.

In 2019, as my aging Macbook Pro was failing, I decided to try an iPad Pro as my personal device. With Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard in tow, I thought I'd found my solution.

I was wrong. Office documents were a headache, file management was a nightmare, and app feature parity was laughable compared to desktop versions. The device itself was bulky, rarely fitting comfortably in my bags except for my Goruck GR1's laptop compartment.

Five years later, I switched to a used Thinkpad running Linux (Zorin OS) - one of my best tech decisions ever. But I still miss having a truly portable computing device for daily life.

My iPhone 13 mini? That's strictly a tool for communication and media consumption. I don't read or write on it beyond quick notes.

This is where that 11-inch Macbook Air shines in memory. It was so portable I'd forget it was in my bag until I needed to read or write. Small enough to carry everywhere, yet powerful enough to never feel limiting.

Recently, Patrick Rhone quipped:

"Remember when those tiny little netbooks were all the rage with the geeks and you could hack them with Linux and have a small cheap cute little underpowered laptop you could throw into a bag?

I kinda miss those."

That 11-inch Macbook Air was essentially my netbook. Now that I'm using Linux, I'm dreaming of another tiny computer - maybe another 11-inch Macbook running Linux, a modified Chromebook, or even an upgraded netbook.

I've spent the last month scouring Kijiji, Ebay, and FB Marketplace with a $100 budget. My requirements are simple: ideally 8GB RAM (will settle for 4GB), 32GB storage minimum, and an 11-inch screen. But finding the right device is proving challenging. Classic Eee PCs are expensive, ideal Chromebooks like the upgradeable Acer C710 are rare, and newer Chromebooks often fight Linux installation.

Alas, my search continues for my Goldilocks device.