My name is Dimitrios, and I always wanted to be an inventor. Many years after graduating in electrical engineering (and a few other subjects), I found myself looking back at a long career in project management. I have been tinkering and building things for all these years but kept most of my creations for my family and myself. After all these years, the dream is still alive, and turning ideas into products is more accessible and affordable than ever (although inventors are now called makers). I built this site to share my creations with the world and pursue my childhood dream...
When I first created FriendlyStack Reminder, it was simply a tool for myself to keep my tasks under control. Despite being aware of various digital and analog solutions, I found myself constantly resorting to using sticky notes and sending emails to myself. It dawned on me that many others were doing the same, so I set out to create something better by combining these two approaches. What started as a personal tool quickly evolved into a product. Initially, I attempted to produce my own hardware. However, I soon realized that to share FriendlyStack with the world, I would need to handle production, quality assurance, certifications, logistics, and other tasks typically associated with project management rather than invention. This prompted me to devise what I call "distributed manufacturing and logistics." I made the decision to forgo my own hardware in favor of a low-cost, mass-produced, and globally distributed microcontroller module, which could be paired with web-based software installation and a 3D printable case, resulting in a highly customizable and affordable product. This approach allowed me to focus more on creative activities rather than the more tedious aspects of the process.
Part of the fun is doing things yourself. Being a one-man show, this is not always possible and sometimes unnecessary as someone has already done it (likely better than I could have done it myself). While FriendlyStack Reminder is not open-source, it has contributed to some of the open-source libraries it is using. The following open-source projects are used by FriendlyStack Reminder: