FEB.22.2025 - #12

Hi all 👋, settle in and get comfortable, this week on clicks 'n clacks I've got a few longer shares/reads that I am very excited to talk about (balanced out, of course, by some beautiful keycaps to feast your eyes on ⌨️ 👀).

This week while writing this issue, I've been listening to Nemahsis' new album, playing the new Marvel Rivals update which finally brought Fantastic Four characters Human Torch & The Thing to the game, and reading more about the design process for Nuphy’s Kick75 now that the board is available for pre-order. Additionally, I've been participating in Hiro's Photo Composition Challenge, with which I am hoping to get more acquainted with my camera along with basic composition rules/strategies. I hope to share some of the photos I took over the course of this week on Threads tomorrow (Sunday Feb 23rd), follow me over there if you want to see those. I may also post some photos on the new Foto app, and on Pixelfed, so you can also check my profiles out there if interested (Foto / Pixelfed). So far, the challenge has been a terrific experience and has helped me get out more and take my camera along with me, wherever I may end up.

clicks 🔗

Everywhere I look, I see Gorton

→ The first share I have for today is a detailed re-telling of Marcin Wichary's (writer of Shift Happens and huge inspiration for my newsletter) history with a font called Gorton. This font is beautifully weird, imperfect, and almost ugly, but is so prevalent and found in the oddest of places. From intercoms, to signage, to nuclear facilities, and even the Apollo spacecraft—this font really is everywhere. Gorton is also a font that has been around forever (almost 135 years)! It got its start as an engraving machine font and has been translated, remade, and duplicated into other similar fonts for print, digital, and so much more. I loved reading this article by Marcin just as much as I loved reading the Shift Happens book. Marcin's storytelling and writing style are such a joy to read, and I am always entranced by whatever is being told. Now, this article is a little on the long side (6,100 words to be exact!), but if you have the time, I recommend you give this a read through. I think everyone, no matter their level of interest in a subject like this, can find something useful/interesting from it. If not, no worries, even just giving it a quick scroll through, perusing all the amazing pictures, and playing with some interactive elements of this article is enough. Side note—this is another “is it a click or is it a clack?” kind of link. I think it's pretty obvious it's a click, however, it's got some heavy ties to mechanical keyboards, especially when you consider who wrote this article and how prevalent this font is in the tech/keyboard community. But, I love this font and this article a lot, so it can live as a click or a clack or whatever it needs to be, I'm just happy to share it with you.

Game Bub

→ Next up is another detailed long read (sorry that seems to be the theme this week, better get those reading glasses on) by Eli Lipsitz where he talks about the development and creation of the Game Bub, an open-source retro gaming handheld. This device is very similar to the Analogue Pocket in that it allows you to run/play your old Game Boy and Game Boy Advance Cartridges. Both the Pocket and the Game Bub run using a similar type of emulation called FPGA which is basically a form of emulation done with hardware, not software. The huge difference between the Pocket and Game Bub, however, is that the Game Bub is entirely open source, meaning you could create one yourself by following the instructions on Eli's GitHub. It would be very complex, but at least it's possible. Something like the Pocket, on the other hand, is entirely proprietary, and you'd have to buy the handheld system from them and only them. Once again, this is a long and detailed write-up, but I have so much fun reading about people flexing their skills and how they make such downright impressive creations.

Winhanced

→ To wrap up this week's clicks is “Winhanced”, an early-access front-end application specifically made for Windows handheld gaming devices (like the Lenovo Legion G, Asus ROG Ally, etc.). Made by Joseph Rizzo, this app aims to streamline the user experience for these handhelds with features like library organization, button re-mapping, performance/battery-life profiles, and more. You can check out the Winhanced website I linked above or join his Discord to learn more and chat with a community of Winhanced users. Can't wait to follow along with Joseph's journey on Threads and see where his app goes next.

clacks ⌨️

High roller keycaps

→ These new keycaps from designer boba.types emanate a luxurious and superior status that feels timeless and looks incredible. You can check out these caps at Canadian Vendor DeskHero, or view the Instagram post here to see all the international vendors. I love the simple black and gold colour scheme and the novelty/artisan caps that go along with this set which really give it a high-end look. The caps also use a special “metallic ABS” material/moulding process which allows each cap to have a unique, randomized metal coating. Additionally, this set is being released with some custom desk mats to match the high stakes vibes—check them out here at DeskHero as well.

PBS deep dive

→ New blog “Snacks Clacks”, started by Reddit user u/iwilleatyrsnacks, discusses and outlines all the details of the newish keycap profile PBS, aka “Penguin Belly Slide”, in their first blog post. You may recall a few PBS profile keycaps sets I've featured here in the past, namely PBS Classic and AP-1 Aperture Priority. Snacks Clacks does a fantastic job of overviewing all the information you need to fully understand this new profile while providing some insight into what's to come for new PBS sets that are yet to be released. Looking forward to more write-ups and blog posts from Snacks Clacks in the future!

Treecaps

→ Here we have some beautifully handcrafted wooden keycaps for sale on Etsy. Made by Akos Hantos at Wild Grove Peripherals, these caps come in a variety of woods/finishes and have a plethora of keyboard layouts to suit your needs. I particularly appreciate this video shared by Akos which highlights the creation process and the effort that is put into making these caps a reality. I've seen a lot of wood-related keyboards lately, usually in the form of a wooden case (like with the Akko MU01), so these caps are a nifty deviation from that and definitely fit a rising keeb trend for 2025.

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it, and now it’s time to hear from YOU 🫵. I want to know your opinion—what you liked, what you loved, what you didn’t like, what you skipped. Reach out at mail.clicksnclacks.com (or reply to this email!) and have a great weekend!!