FEB.01.2025 - #09

Lunar New Year šŸ§§, tech resurrections, enigmas, and mysteries abound!

Hi all šŸ‘‹, welcome to clicks 'n clacks issue #09. This week I've been celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year, which began on Wednesday with the first new moon, and will end in 15 days with the first full moon. Celebrations for this event include: giving/receiving red envelopes (lucky money), spending time with family, wearing red, and eating traditional foods. I love this article by Gastro Obscura which outlines and explains the importance (and wordplay) behind the food typically consumed during this time. I highly encourage you to give this a readā€”I particularly love the belief that drives these celebrations, which is that words/names are real and have ā€œmagical resonanceā€ that connect them, and their associated actions together.

In other Lunar New Year news around the internet: Hibi has released some snake-themed keyboard accessories, Osume is releasing a new keycap set, Craft docs is offering a new year sale, the Reddit community r/MechKeys has users showing off their new year boards, NYT Cooking is celebrating with Dumpling Week, heck even the hit video game Among Us is getting in on the action.

Wishing everyone a Happy Lunar New Year šŸ§§ā€”may the Year of the Snake šŸ bring you luck, happiness, abundance, and prosperity!

Additionally while writing this issue, I've been unbelievably hyped about Google finally making PebbleOS open source. Pebble watches were some of my favourite smart-devices I've ever owned and I was so sad when they went away, so I'm super excited to see what the future now holds for Pebble. I've also been reading all the news about Bookshop.org rolling out support for e-books, which grants users the ability to purchase e-books from their local bookstore. I love seeing someone take on Amazon directly all while supporting and keeping local bookshops alive.

Onto the list of clicks and clacks of this week!

clicks šŸ”—

  • Into the unknown

    ā†’ First up is a neat website I discovered called ā€œWikenigmaā€. This site, inspired by Wikipedia, tracks and documents all the ā€œfundamentals gaps in human knowledgeā€. These are questions, topics, or phenomena we are aware of, but don't fully comprehend or have an answer forā€¦ yet. It allows you to randomize all of their articles and spend some time falling down a rabbit-hole of the unknown. Eventually, one may spark your interest and lead you down an even further rabbit-hole to decipher and uncover the truth. I love little discoveries like this because it's always eye-opening and fun to explore topics I've never even considered before.

  • Steamā€¦ Brick?

    ā†’ Next up is a DIY project by Reddit user u/Crastinator_Pro. Motivated by the need to make their Steam Deck (an already reasonably sized device) even smaller to fit into a backpack, they decided to remove the screen and the controller. Yep, all components that make the Steam Deck a handheld, goneā€”hence the name ā€œSteam Brickā€. This new creation certainly lives up to its name and is operated solely by connecting a Bluetooth controller and AR glasses. This project is not so much of a DIY follow-along, more of a ā€œhere's how it was doneā€, and as for why? I think it's said perfectly by u/Crastinator_Proā€” ā€œI was so preoccupied with whether or not I could that I didnā€™t stop to think if I shouldā€.

  • Pebble has risen from the dead

    ā†’ For this last click, I want to pull an article out from the archives of Eric Migicovsky's (founder of Pebble and Beeper) blog. This relates to the announcement regarding PebbleOS I mentioned above in the ā€œwhat I've been up to this weekā€ section. Reading Eric's insight, in retrospect, about why Pebble ultimately failed is very interesting now that we know the smartwatch is making a return. Much of what Eric stated in the article still remains trueā€”Pebble did ultimately failā€”but I see hope for the new iteration of Pebble because of what was learned from the demise of the old Pebble. Overall, I feel this reflection reads very differently now that the smartwatch/product landscape has changed drastically since the end of Pebble. As I stated before, I couldn't be more excited for what is to come next from Eric and Pebble.

clacks āŒØļø

  • Can't stop this keeb

    ā†’ Here to lead the pack of clacks this week is the Photon by Cannon Keys. This budget-friendly, poly-carbonate, and wireless keyboard is going live for pre-order today, February 1st, on the Cannon Keys store. This board's claim to fame is its flexibility in gasket-mounted styles and superior wireless battery life, all for a reasonable price. Cannon Keys claims this keyboard can last for over 6 months of daily use with the RGB turned off. That surpasses almost every other wireless mechanical keyboard I have ever seen, with most only lasting a week or two. Pretty impressive stuff, and the price (starting at only $89 USD) makes this a solid deal. You can check out the typing tests here, and more details on the board and its accessories here.

  • The work is mysterious and important

    ā†’ Inspired by the hit AppleTV+ show Severance, this SA profile keycap set named ā€œMacrodata Refinementā€ is the perfect blend of retro computing and mystery. If you're a fan of the show, or just love this colour scheme, be sure to check out this set (they even have a matching desk pad!). Signature Plastics, who made this set, have been an essential part of the mechanical keyboard community for over 40 years, making keycaps and other plastic parts. They are actually where I got my first ever custom keycap set, DSA Dolchā€”so seeing them thrive and have new, creative ideas/sets is always exciting.

  • Hunt-and-peck typers beware

    ā†’ Trying to improve your typing skills? Then this is the website for you. Typersguild is a web-based platform to help your touch-typing skills go from ā˜¹ļø to šŸ˜€. It keeps you engaged while typing by having you write out full classic literature novels. It's got a wide range of classic stories to choose from and even allows you to upload your own EPUB files on the paid tier of this app. Additionally, it just rolled out some new social features to help you stay motivated by allowing you to invite your friends and track your progression together. Even though I write this newsletter weekly and spend a lot of my time in front of a computer, my typing skills are definitely sub-par, so this website will be getting a lot of use from me.

Thatā€™s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it, and now itā€™s time to hear from YOU šŸ«µ. I want to know your opinionā€”what you liked, what you loved, what you didnā€™t like, what you skipped. Reach out at mail.clicksnclacks.com (or reply to this email!) and have a great weekend!!