Keyboard Builders' Digest / Editorial
Behind the scenes #144
Last hours to join the giveaway, quick news, top secret project.
Published November 19, 2023
Hey y'all,
Most importantly: These are the final hours to join the giveaway! I'll shut down the form on Nov 20.
Time is running out so all I could think of for today's listening is Tempus fugit by Yes (1980):
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Welcome back for another weekly recap and behind-the-scenes write-up.
If you are new to kbd.news, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.
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Some posts I thought are worth sharing:
- Created by graphic design student Nate Kearney, NKEY is a print magazine concept with some kbd.news interviews as its backbone. Read about the short story behind this project – since the first publication, the post has been updated with some Q&A.
- Kazik is a cute 30% keyboard by monokēēbs – with versatile PCB, XIAO RP2040, and Japanese duplex matrix!
- Sebastian Stumpf's Swepp is a splayed Sweep, a split keyboard with 34 keys.
- Tarneo shared a small and portable sub-10x10 cm ergo split called Triboard.
- Beekeeb's Leo announced Allium58, a low-pro split based on the Lily58 Pro.
- Protieusz shared a standalone trackball along with an open-source trackball module: Starship Bubu-01 and OmegaSupreme.
- Magnetic case and tenting for the Sweep keyboard: Msweep by Runningtarrens.
- Typioca is a terminal based typing speed tester created by Lukas Bloznelis.
- A filterable list of splits by YellowAfterlife.
- 3D: A custom Zaphod case by llpamies.
- AccidentalRebel combined the two halves of a Velvet case and added more keys: UniVelvet44.
- Closed source or N/A: Majin Drift, a 68-key split designed by Timception with the Thai alphabet in mind. A one-MCU Dactyl by samodostal. A parametric monoblock created via CadQuery by mryndrzionek. A big low-pro ortho by slayerkitten13.
- Weekly Diderot-effect: zord is an artisan toy case by Min Khant Kyaw.
Giveaway update
As already told, I'll shut down the application form in a few hours on late Nov 20. Join the giveaway now if you haven't done so yet.
Give me some time to do the raffle and contact the winners. Hopefully, the first round will be relatively quick thanks to the preferences entered in the form. However, once the top prizes are taken, I'll have to contact you one by one.
Thanks to all the vendors who offered prizes for this event:
Bastard Keyboards, Capsule Deluxe, Chosfox, Custom Keyboard Co., Cyboard, Dangkeebs, FalbaTech, Goblintechkeys, Green Door Geeks, Heavymetalkeyboards, Keeb.supply, KEEBD, Keebmonkey, Kemove, Keyboard.io, Keycapsss, KEYGEM, KHOR, Kinetic Labs, Krome Keycaps, Little Keyboards, Mechanicalkeyboards.co.id, Mechboards, Mechbox, Mintlodica, Momokai, Turtlekeebs, Upgrade Keyboards, ZSA Technology Labs.
Donations
- No new donors this week.
- Many thanks to everyone who helped this project thus far, especially to regular supporters. Without you, this project wouldn't have survived for 3 years.
There are some new donation options. Some of you hate PayPal and think it's a big barrier. That's why I've added Stripe, PayPal, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee and Patreon now. You find all the links on the donation page.
Personal projects
I haven't built anything from scratch for a very long time but it seems I'm going to build a pretty custom Apple keyboard on Monday. I was nicely asked by a coworker and the parts are already on the way.
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Still with me?
If I ever find the doctor who screwed up my limb replacement surgery I’ll kill him with my bear hands.
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That's all for today. Thanks for checking by. As always: Keep learning and building!
Until next time,
Tamás
Published on Sun 19th Nov 2023. Featured in KBD #144.
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