Everyday Tools

Everyday calculators we plan to build

This section is empty on purpose. It sets out the plan for the small calculations that come up away from a keyboard, and not one of them has been built yet.

The candidates are unremarkable, which is the point. Unit conversion that handles the awkward pairs correctly, including the ones where a US measure and an imperial measure share a name and hold different amounts. Splitting a bill that does not divide evenly, where three people shared the wine and one drove home. Working backwards from a salary to a real hourly rate, or forwards from an hourly rate to what a year comes to once unpaid time off is taken out. Date arithmetic that counts business days instead of calendar days.

The reason to bother is that most of the free versions are unpleasant to use. An interstitial before the result, a consent wall over the input, a layout that on a phone pushes the answer below three ad units and a video that starts on its own. These will load fast, fit a phone screen, and show the number without asking for anything first.

Frequently asked questions

• When will these be ready?

  There is no date. The developer tools came first because that is where the demand was measurable, and this section moves when interest here reaches something comparable. The signup below is how that gets measured, so it is a vote rather than a mailing list.

• Will they work properly on a phone?

  Yes, and the phone is the case being designed for, since most of these come up while you are standing in a shop or sitting at a restaurant table. Expect inputs large enough to hit with a thumb and a result that stays on screen while you edit the figures above it.

• Will there be pop-ups or a cookie banner?

  No. One promotional card sits below each tool. It does not follow you down the page, it does not open over what you are doing, and there is no consent banner because nothing is being collected to consent to.

• What counts as an everyday tool?

  Anything with a number in it that you would otherwise work out by opening the calculator app and hoping you typed it right. Tipping, splitting, converting, counting days, checking a percentage change. If it needs a spreadsheet it probably belongs somewhere else, and if it needs your bank details it does not belong here at all.