CALE.es is a screen administrator where you can mix the content of different APIs and generate output images for your WiFi displays (Epapers / TFT)
An idea that starting taking form when I started playing and building epaper WiFi displays using ESP32 “system on a Chip” boards back in November 2019. I needed a web-service to get a simple image URL and test my epaper builds. That triggered the idea to build something more powerful where you can configure APIs, like Google Calendar, iCal or weather and use this outputs to compose your Screens. The idea flourished into a full pfledged website and web-service that is currently used by 60 developers to feed their WiFi screens.
All this part is slowly getting new features and functionality, both in the web-service side (PHP / Symfony 4) and on the ESP32 Firmware (C++ both for arduino-esp32 and ESP-IDF Firmwares)

So far I can call it a success project. It was online 99.9% of the time and the users seem to stick to it with about 20 % of them using it for their online Calendars, epapers and other displays. You can also use it to generate a JPG image that is added into your Website.
But of course all this also generates a cost. Not only domain name per year that is minimal, but also AWS server costs and my own maintenance and development costs. Even if I do it because is my hobby and I like it, I could be working this time for other clients for paid projects, so I count also the aprox. 14 to 20 hrs that I spent on it as if it was a job that somehow needs to generate something. And also the 1500€ that where spent in hardware and electronics, for example buying epapers and 3D-printing materials, in order to built at least 12 test displays that I partly own and others where sent to testers and clients.

After spending countless hours in projects that at the end where not successful or went into the project cemetary after months of the launch day I become wiser. So this time I had to find a better alternative to self-finance this project on it’s own.
I’ve explained openly how this project was going to be financed, and also added CALE Ethereum address in my github repositories, to receive donations from users that use the Firmware in their businesses. In all this about turning to Ethereum to finance the project I made a mistake, that was to start a mining server, since it’s not a wise idea to do it in a country like Germany where the electricity is expensive. But overall it was a good idea to receive mini-donations and also to stack my crypto assets in a platform like YouHodler where you can receive 4.5 % annual interest rate.

I researched quite a lot before taking this decision to see if Youhodler was trustable enough to do this operation and this is what I found:

1. YouHodler is a member of the BlockChain Association and the Financial Commission. This independent Association will ensure all YouHodler users have an outlet for dispute resolution outside of the YouHodler platform. If you think YouHodler fails to meet your expectations, feel free to submit a complaint and you’ll get a quick, unbiased and non-binding resolution.
2. YouHodler Trustpilot review is Excellent.
3. They are a young company but with a deep knowledge in Financials and the persons that appear in the about us section are real, linking to their LinkedIn profiles, with proved experience in the sector.
4. They hold at least more than half a billion dollars in Ethereum and more in Bitcoin. I don’t think that there is any interest in disrupting that trust, since that would be the end of their reputation in any other company.

At the end is all about trust in this. And this is just my risk but at least is a way that this site can be working free of charge for everybody. Not all the other projects that I started had the same luck!

I would like to ask my readers and followers:
What is your experiency with Cryptocurrency?
Can be this the key to future financial freedom?

Related blog posts

• How to generate a passive income with your Crypto
  In CALE project we are storing part of our own Ethereum and stablecoin assets in YouHodler to generate up to 12% year interest and finance the web-service on it’s own.