Last month I noted my opinions on why we should stop using Grunt, Gulp et al. I suggested we should start using npm instead. npm's scripts directive can do everything that these build tools can, more succinctly, more elegantly, with less package dependencies and less maintainence overhead. The first draft of the original post was way over 6,000 words - because it went in depth into how npm could be used as an alternative, but I removed it for brevity - and because the point of that post was me expressing opinions, not a tutorial post. However, the response was pretty overwhelming - many people replied telling me that these build tools offers them features that npm cannot (or does not), some developers were brazen enough to present me with a Gruntfile and say "how could this be done in npm?!". I thought I'd pull out how-tos from the original draft and make a new post, just focussing on how to do these common tasks with npm.

npm is a fantastic tool that offers much more than meets the eye. It has become the backbone of the Node.js community - many, including me, use it pretty much every day. In fact, looking at my Bash History (well, Fish history) npm is second only to git as my most used command. Still, I find new features in npm every day (and of course, new ones are still being developed!). Most of these aim at making npm a great package manager, but npm has a great subset of functionality decidated to running tasks to facilitate in a packages lifecycle - in other words, it is a great tool for build scripts.

Framer.js is an open source JavaScript framework for rapid prototyping. Framer.js allows you to define animations and interactions, complete with filters, spring physics, 3D effects and more. It's bundled with Framer Generator, an application that allows you to import layers directly out of Photoshop and Sketch.

You need the potential to design something completely new. Prototyping shouldn’t limit you. Framer is a prototyping tool that uses code to make anything possible. Pioneer new patterns and make groundbreaking design. Find the best solution, not just the expected one.

Paperpile is like Gmail for your papers - a modern and efficient reference manager for the web.

Background images in HTML email have long been acknowledged as inconsistent in their rendering across email clients. For this reason, I've avoided them within our our own emails, as well as those we offer to our customers. However, this past year has witnessed a flood of premium, designer templates from our competitors that liberally use background images. Moreover, these competitors claim to have tested them in all major email clients. So, I began to wonder. Had support for background images improved? Had I missed an announcement for a reliable solution or hack? These questions persuaded my own little investigation into the current state of background image support in HTML emails.

With SPSS predictive analytics software, you can predict with confidence what will happen next so that you can make smarter decisions, solve problems and improve outcomes.

KeyCastr, an open-source keystroke visualizer.

Create prototypes that feel completely real, right from your desktop. Connect your iOS and Android device to preview your prototypes in full native fidelity. And the best part: Studio is completely free.

Ctrl+IJKL to move. Other keys toggle move behavior. You can move by characters, words, search results, and more.

An open collection of communication tools used in design processes that deal with complex systems. The tools are displayed according to the design activity, the kind of representation, the recipients and the contents of the project.

Our result is HuddleLamp, a desk lamp with an integrated low-cost depth camera (e.g. the Creative Senz3d by Intel). It enables users to compose interactive tables (or other multi-device user interfaces) from their tablets and smart phones just by putting them under this desk lamp.

Import a youtube video / playlist into VLC.

A sublime plugin to show difference between 2 files. It supports both Sublime 2 and 3.

Inklet allows your trackpad to emulate a pen tablet. When you’re using a Pogo or a Force Touch trackpad, Inklet even provides pressure sensitivity.

A comprehensive handbook on digital design covering much of our collective knowledge and process

A pure PHP library for reading and writing word processing documents

Best-in-class clipboard manager.

ImageUSB is a free utility which lets you write an image concurrently to multiple USB Flash Drives. Capable of creating exact bit-level copies of USB Flash Drive (UFDs), ImageUSB is an extremely effective tool for the mass duplication of UFDs. ImageUSB also supports writing of an ISO file byte by byte directly to an USB drive (*). ImageUSB can also be used to install OSFClone to a USB Drive for use with PassMark OSForensics™.

Unlike other USB duplication tools, ImageUSB can preserve all unused and slack space during the cloning process, including the Master Boot Record (MBR). ImageUSB can perform flawless mass duplications of all UFD images, including bootable UFDs.

imageUSB includes functionality to Zero a USB Flash Drive. This will replace the contents of the entire drive with 0s. Or alternatively to just Zero the MBR and/or GPT entries that exists on the drive. In addition, imageUSB has the ability to reformat even hard to format drives and reclaim any disk space that may be lost previously.

Scrolls other pane in Sublime Text. Usage: [Alt+PageUp] or [Alt+PageDown] when the 2-column-mode ([Alt+Shift+2]).

Use HoudahSpot to locate hard-to-find files and keep frequently used files within reach.