MAR.07.2026 - #61

Hi all 👋, this week while writing clicks 'n clacks I've been testing a new theme to make Firefox on macOS look a bit more at home and switching to yet another new font for use in terminal and Obsidian. I'm also listening nonstop to the TRON Ares: Divergence album and the Devil May Cry soundtrack (I'm hyped after they released a clip from the upcoming Season 2).

GMK has announced the final winner of their keycap contest after the public rounds of voting. Now it gets to become a reality and sold in a future group buy! In other GMK news, they've opened up a product surplus and limited stock keycap page so you can scrounge through some last-chance sets!

Here we go—Issue 61!!

→ Diving further into my self-hosting journey, I discovered UmbrelOS. A free and open source Debian-based Linux distro with a strict focus on making hosting your own private cloud, and keeping apps accessible and simple. Many of the more “advanced” features or interfaces of other Linux OS's are obfuscated here—it takes a UI-friendly and app store based approach to get you up and running. Ideally saving you the hassle of diving into command line, scouring through logs, or managing the nitty gritty of Docker containers (although all that functionality still exists behind the scenes). The operating system has been in development for over 5 years now, with the release of version 1.0 in 2024, and more recently, the team announced they are even making their own dedicated hardware. As much as I love to dive straight into the weeds and intricacies, I appreciate simpler solutions like this to ease into this new-to-me hobby.

→ This past week I've been on and off testing an RSS reader app by Terry Godier called Current that has been sprinkled all over my feeds recently. During testing I ultimately determined it's not the app for me, but Terry's writings—Current and Phantom Obligation—on the creation of the app are stunning and I felt like I wanted to share my thoughts. Both pieces eloquently outline the stagnant structure of most RSS apps now, why they all look like email clients, and how that design created an obligation for viewing/reading everything. Leading to fears of missing out, stealing your attention, and imbuing guilt upon users for not interacting. Current and the associated essays are about reimagining this format, updating the interfaces, and creating a new feed—one without guilt, FOMO, unread badges, or forced urgency. Personally, I'm stuck in between these two camps (hence why Current didn't quite work for me). I like the email client-like interface—it's logical and intuitive to me, and I like the control it grants me. However, I also don't like unread badges and interfaces that force me to read everything, hence why I've stuck with Reeder, a blend of these two. Regardless of what you like (or choose), reading Terry's words are a valuable insight into how this technology from 2002 is ever-evolving.

→ Here I go again talking about transparent tech! This 3-in-1 system dubbed Split by Tinyl acts as a CD player, portable speaker, and Bluetooth transmitter. The speaker portion of the device is completely detachable, making both modular halves capable of operating independently or as a whole pair. I of course love the transparent version, but it also comes in a clean white variant, and I also appreciate the rest of the product collection from Tinyl which features some fun and eccentric vinyl players. Would love to see this modular design and layout adopted into other formats, like a pair of desktop speakers that pair together or combine for on-the-go use.

→ As part of their first announcements of 2026, Mode Designs has launched a revamp of one of their first keyboards, The Sonnet. The premium 75% aluminum/steel board with a classic sound profile is getting a multitude of upgrades including internal acoustic refinements, a steel weight, micro suede pads (a cool alternative to foam for reducing vibrations), and 5 new colourways. It's also keeping its old Lattice mounting system—but another Mode board, the Encore, is being outfitted with their all-new “Crown Mounting System”. This mounting style was briefly shown off in the announcement video as well, but no specifics have been released yet. To me, it looks like a cross between a top-mount and maybe an O-ring tray mount—I'm very excited to hear more and see it in action in their upcoming Prologue board.

→ “XT” boards feature a unique layout and are based off of an old IBM keyboard where the main aesthetic change was a double column of function keys on the left side of the board. Most modern reinterpretations of this format place function keys on either side of the main alphanumerics—two on the left, two of the right, or in the case of the Finn 60XT, one column on each side. Designed by baucts, the Finn not only rocks this rare layout, but also features a beautifully sculpted polycarbonate or aluminum case, giving it a wavy side, back, and front profile. Overall it's a very pretty board, and I love the added functionality of those XT columns.

→ For many users in the keyboard hobby, given that keyboard sizes keep shrinking and shrinking, there often comes the need for standalone numeric pads to add back in missed keys. The NP-R (Numpad Retro) is a premium numpad that outshines so many others I've seen. Looking like a component pulled straight off the starship Enterprise or if a guitar pedal had a baby with a keyboard, the NP-R stands out on any desk. Feature-wise it's loaded with goodies as well—Bluetooth and wired modes, rotary knob, rocker switch, layer-switching, 7 killer colourways, and an internal solenoid (for a retro clack). Check it out on Canadian vendor MinoKeys!

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!!