Hi all 👋, this week while writing I've been playing the cross-platform Pokémon battling app, Champions, browsing through the virtual OS museum, watching Nothing dream up the Internet's ideal phone, and listening to a ton of great new music releases. In keeb-news, two sites, RGB Keys and Nuphy, have whipped up sales for the Summer!
Let's explore this week's features!
clicks 🔗
Courtesy of Bounce 2 on store.steampowered.com
→ Pong meets The Way of the Ninja in this sequel to an impossible-to-find-traces-of-online-and-might-not-actually-exist Atari game, Bounce. The aptly named, Bounce 2, was co-developed by fellow Torontonians Jack Harrison and Owen Hooper to capture the essence and fun of playing retro games on old CRT displays. As Jack describes in the very in-depth introduction video, Bounce 2 was created with CRTs specifically in mind—which is where a majority of Jack's recent design and art work lay. Because of this, the game looks incredible with bright contrast, fun shapes, and beautiful shaders. Even if you're not playing this on a CRT, it's amazing. Best part is, you can play it right now on Windows or Mac for $12 Canadian dollars from the Steam storefront—solo, with friends, or even competitively online.
Courtesy of paperman.cc and innative.in
→ This one's a double! These two clicks are here to help your screen-strained eyes and to spruce up your Mac a little. First up, Paperman uses science-backed research to make your screen less harsh by lowering the contrast ratio of your monitor, and adding visual noise/patterns (paper-like textures). I used it while writing this issue, and really enjoyed how it helped while using light mode on my device. I didn't notice as much of a difference when switching over to dark mode, where the contrast is already more comfortable, but the app has tons of settings, textures, and customization to make it just right in any mode. Glaze is a free alternative to Paperman that provides a very similar (albeit with less customization) paper-texture, along with other built-in screen shaders like VHS, Comic, Game Boy, or even CRT. A great way to play Bounce 2 perhaps?
Courtesy of prolost.watch
→ As someone who is just starting to dabble in the watch collecting game, Prolost Watches came at a perfect time. I can add every watch I own to the app with an insane amount of detail—basic info, prices, features, and statistics I didn't even know I wanted to (or could) track, can be tracked and saved here in Prolost. Just shows how much I still have to learn in the watch game (especially when it comes to the lingo for movement types). It covers all aspects and the entire life cycle of watch ownership—from the day you pick it up, to when you decide to pass it on, and every single wear in between. I haven't been using this app for long, so this one click I'd love to revisit in the future, as I need some time to build up wear stats and test other features, like the timekeeping accuracy records.
clacks 🔗
Courtesy of luminkey.com
→ I've never seen this amount of customizability out-of-the-box for a numpad. The Nova Kine by Luminkey comes with three extra plates, no extra purchase necessary, that allow you to disassemble and transform it into any type of layout you'd like. Traditional numpad, macropad, even a gamepad, it's all possible here. Paired with stock low-profile caps, a CNC aluminum case, and a cassette-style vibe, this new release looks pretty solid. I've been interested in their other popular 12% board for a minute, but the Nova fits my aesthetics, use-cases, and love of customization more, so it's just screaming to be pre-ordered.
Courtesy of bowlkeyboards.com
→ Inspired by the famous Gulf Livery, the Vintage Motorsport keycap set is now available in a group buy via Bowl Keyboards. Designed by Madmax13, this set is a more refined version of their original motorsport set, also produced by Signature Plastics. Now sporting SP's iconic DCS profile, a slightly more Gulf-accurate orange and blue colourway that's sure to stand out, and brand new novelty keys with car-inspired iconography. I've highlighted some motorsport-esque features here recently, in both the clicks and clacks, and hope it sparks a few want-to-be motorheads to join in, learning more about the past and future of the sport.
Courtesy of gmk.net
→ As you've likely noticed in this newsletter, GMK has been mentioned a lot (40+ times according to a quick search of the archive) and that number will only grew as they are a monumental institution in the keeb community. So it's fitting that we are getting another amazing artisan from MVKB, this time in collaboration with GMK, creating a collector-worthy piece that proudly sports the GMK branding. Producing this cap is also another pillar in keeb-creation and longtime collaborator with MVKB, Belgian machinist Salvun. I'm always adding releases from them to my wishlist and this artisan is no exception. Editing note: It's not just wishlisted anymore. This issue is now the “What Andrew bought this week” edition, as I've purchased 5 out of the 6 features here—a new record!! 😅.
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!!
