FEB.28.2026 - #60

Hi all 👋, this week while writing clicks 'n clacks I was reading about Matt Birchler's musings on modern DLSS implementations, tuning in to Samsung's Unpacked event, and getting very excited by the announcement of the next mainline Pokémon game.

I was saddened this week to hear that Drop—a community/storefront for lots of mechanical keyboard and audio goodies—will be shutting down. Some very cool collabs and pieces from fantastic artists have released on the site over the years, and while I can see that interest has been declining, it was such a special platform that will be missed. In more positive news this week, popular keycap set GMK MTNU Dasher is looking like it may get another run/re-kitting. And I learned quite a bit from Alexotos' newest video on HE switches—can you believe there's a switch out there looking like a little mini Magneto???

Let's dive into this week!

→ While discussing a variety of topics including design, fonts, and sources of inspiration in the latest 3&3 meetup, a very interesting find was discovered. Kōhei, former presenter at a past 3&3 meeting (an amazing presentation I might add), shared this unique watch from Casio. More specifically, the SADOKEI Sauna Watch from Casio Labs, a new division at Casio where limited-edition projects are showcased. The community has a chance to give feedback on these projects in order to gain early access to future drops. Unfortunately, the window of feedback for the SADOKEI has closed, meaning it is not widely or publicly available (yet) but is being sold through some Japanese resellers. Regardless, this eccentric watch is influenced by Japanese sauna culture, featuring a “Sauna mode” which helps time the traditional three-set cycle (sauna, cold bath, then outdoor rest). It's super niche, but I love the dedication to the weird, creating something never seen before. The colours, illustrations, and font work on the product page are also top-notch.

→ Just in time for the first race of the Formula 1 season next week, developer Shihab Mehboob has (re)introduced his tracking app, Lights Out. It's a beautiful, simple app that displays information on the entire season of Formula 1—driver points/stats, race results, track details, widgets for your homescreen, and more! I used this app a bit last year (before I got more into the sport), and am glad to see it back now, updated for the 2026 season. It requires a small one-time purchase to use the app, but given that all the other F1 apps lock similar features, data, and widgets behind an even pricier subscription, it's well worth it in my opinion.

→ TerraInk is an impressive open-source project by Yousif Amanuel that generates stunning, colourful geographic images from OpenStreetMap data. Inspired by the original MapToPoster project, TerraInk takes a slightly different approach using the same data, but is a bit more accessible, user-friendly, and fun to play around with, in my opinion. Cool to see how the streets, parks, buildings, and other geographical items are rendered. All the colours are customizable with a healthy list of preset themes to choose from. I've had similar art hanging in my living room for years now, but admittedly did not know how it was made. Now, seeing this project, it's definitely sourced from OpenStreetMap data. Full-circle moment.

→ I had the privilege of seeing and testing out the Float65 by Michael Peckover at the Canadian Mechanical Keyboard Meetup last November. I was drawn to it immediately as I'd never seen something like it before—its PCB and plate are magnetically mounted to the underside of the case, itself a single piece of solid steel, all the internals hanging in place. Skeptical, I thought there was no way it would sound good—no acoustics, open to the air, etc. But I was delightfully surprised when I clacked away on a version with Irene Linear switches and loved the sound/feel. Granted, the meetup/convention wasn't the best acoustic environment, but after looking up some other sound tests I was convinced. Really enjoy the aesthetics of the hammertone colourways this board comes in as well—they give it a unique, tactile texture. Happy to see this board come back after a long time away, now with some help from US vendor Omnitype and Canadian vendor RNDKBD.

→ In a surprising twist of “crossovers I never thought I would see”, audio equipment manufacturer FIIO has a mechanical keyboard that I never knew existed! It's called the KB3 and it doesn't skimp in either the audio or keeb categories. Gasket mounted, hot-swappable switches, 3.5 mm single-ended and 4.4 mm balanced headphone jacks, aluminum case, VIA software support, 550mW of output power, and the list goes on and on! Reviews look positive—FIIO did a good job creating a sturdy prebuilt keyboard that also happens to serve as a mid-tier DAC/AMP combo. The key feature I noticed is isolation, which seems to be handled well here. Typing or activation of the board doesn't create any noise/static in the audio jacks—a problem I am all too familiar with from my days with my OG Razer Blackwidow, which also had a (really cheap) 3.5mm pass-though. From my point of view it's not for hardcore audiophiles, nor higher-end keyboard enthusiasts, but the fact that it holds such strong footing in both camps speaks volumes (ha, get it). Pairs great with this cute mechanical keeb audio controller, also from FIIO.

→ Copland Supply by Quinn Nelson is offering these keycap artisans that immortalize all the five “flavours” of the iconic iMac G3 colourways. These artisans may look simple, but the attention to detail and precision on the 3D printed model of the iMac here are exceptional. Look close enough and you can even see each individual keycap! The Copland site is also home to some humorous Mac-themed products like this “Cloth Pro Max”—good for cleaning off those keycaps or a whole keyboard with its max size.

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. Email [email protected] (or reply to this issue!) and have a great weekend!!