babb / tools for the frontier
build 2026.06.19 · --:--:-- UTC · rss
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Media | Tools | Technology
§ 01Front matter Babb / Products + Updates

Reporting from theworking world.Building tomorrow's tools.

Babb is a media outfit reporting from — the floors of feed lots, mills, branch offices, job sites and launch pads — and a product company dedicated to building things that last. The same field that shapes our coverage shapes our software and hardware: Workpads, Bitpads, .tel, and the stone goods.

§ 03Products Tools for the frontier
01 / 12
Workpads
A field notebook for the working world. Forms, photos, audio, signoffs — offline-first.
software · mobile + webv2.3 →
02 / 12
BitPads
Universal binary communication protocol. Self-describing frames from 1 byte to compound documents.
protocol · open specv0.1 →
03 / 12
BitLedger
Double-entry bookkeeping at the wire level. Balance enforced at encoding. 40 bits per transaction.
protocol · financialv3.0 →
04 / 12
Workwarrior
Five tools, one profile, zero bleed. Tasks, time, journal, ledger, bugs — CLI + browser.
software · CLI + browserv0.1 →
05 / 12
Works
An industrial compound for business information. Protocol + Compound Browser reference implementation.
standard + softwareactive →
06 / 12
BASICS
Business tool durability standard. Testable obligations for offline, constrained, long-lifecycle tools.
standard · CLI assessorv0.1.1 →
07 / 12
Clarkware
Manufacturing facility operations platform. Jobs, notes, real-time events, AI assistance.
software · manufacturingP1 V1 →
08 / 12
Telux
System for Group Exchange. OS layer unifying group identity, power management, transactional security.
system · researcharch →
09 / 12
Outstack
Security + power bedrock. Alpine Linux derivative. Security by physics, not by policy.
system · researcharch →
10 / 12
.tel
The connective layer. Identity, routing, and channels for people who do work in the world.
protocol · alphaspec →
11 / 12
SIMBA
Standard for long-lived, interoperable business systems. Century-capable by design.
standard · earlydev →
12 / 12
heybabb
CLI companion. Talk to Babb from the terminal. Offline knowledge base + optional AI mode.
software · CLIv0.1 →
§ 04One product at a time Read after scan
01 — Workpads

A field notebook that survives the field.

Built with the people we cover. Workpads pairs structured forms with audio, photo and signoff so a single pass through a site — a pen, a furnace, a branch lobby — produces a complete record. Syncs when it can; works when it can’t.

iOS · Android · Web
Offline-first sync
Audio + photo attached to fields
Open export (CSV, JSON, PDF)
Workpads →Field reports →
02 — Bitpads

One small piece of hardware. Weeks of battery.

An e-ink companion for Workpads. Sits in a pocket or on a clipboard. Reads tags, captures counts, prints to a small label run. Designed for places where a phone is the wrong tool — gloves on, cold weather, wet hands.

Rev C · firmware 0.4
Sub-GHz radio + BLE
~30 day idle
USB-C · field replaceable cell
Bitpads →Changelog →
03 — .tel

An identity layer for people who do work in the world.

.tel routes the noise away from the people who need to reach you, and toward the ones who actually do. A small protocol with a long view. Plants like infrastructure. Built to outlast a platform cycle.

Alpha · invite only
Open spec
Email · SMS · channels
Self-hostable nodes
.tel →Read the spec →
§ 05Telemetry The live wire · manually keyed
babb-telemetry — channel 01LIVE
printed continuously · pauses on hover · runs the session uptime 99.99%