MAY.02.2026 - #68

Hi all 👋, this week while writing I've been wondering about how the heck Shazam works, reading up on big elevator business in Canada, using previous feature DelphiTools on iOS, and watching these incredible ASL re-animations of popular Disney songs. All this while prepping for the inevitable madness of Free Comic Book day that's happening over the weekend (right when this issue goes live actually) at my local comic book shop.

Let's dive right in!

→ A new tech treat for myself arrived this week—the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11. I bought it during a recent sale at Best Buy to replace my aging iPad Mini which I've been noticing has been slowing down even during regular browsing. I originally intended to wait for a new mini to release, but I wanted a taller form factor (about the same size as a comic book as that is the bulk of content I read) and needed something cheaper. Before I went Apple-everything, I was big into Android and Windows, so diving back into that realm has been…interesting. I love the device, but many software quirks that existed back in the day are still present, and I am overwhelmed with the sheer amount of choices for launchers, apps, icon packs, themes, and fonts. On top of that, I'm not a huge fan of how both Google and Samsung push AI into the hardware, but I do like how incredibly easy it has been to avoid it on the device so far. All in all, a great recent pick up, and excited to get to use it more.

→ The writing software by iA—aptly named Writer—is my favourite to use when I need to get completely distraction free, focused writing sessions done. While I've known that they recently branched out into slides/presentation software, I didn't realize they also had a physical product—a notepad that follows many of the same principals of their app's design. It's simple, functional, and made for one purpose: writing. It uses watermarked lines on the page to guide your pen that visually “disappear” after writing, a cool concept instead of simply printing finer or thicker guidelines. As with many other premium notebooks and pads, it uses paper that can sufficiently handle the flow and ink of most fountain pens, which is another hobby rabbit hole to fall down.

→ WideluxX, the Jeff Bridges backed revival of the Widelux F8 panoramic film camera is finally available to the public for pre-order. This new camera shoots standard 35mm film and uses the same sweeping-lens mechanism to capture ultra-wide photos, while also focusing on maintaining the legacy of the brand and ensuring the cameras are repairable and easily serviceable. You might have seen Bridges flaunting his OG Widelux in places around the web—on The Late Show, this iconic behind-the-scenes shot from The Big Lebowski, or a plethora of shots on his Instagram as far back as 2015. The passion Jeff brings to this format is awesome to see, and while these first production units are incredibly expensive and limited, I'm always a fan of conserving the past and refurbishing it for the future.

→ Atelier Magnus (throwback to Issue #24) is adding a more reasonably priced board to their Slate line-up—the slate zero. It's an HHKB layout 60% board milled from a solid piece of aluminum. The PCB and internals are placed into the board via silicone gaskets—no top or bottom case here, just a simple slab that still stays true to Magnus' design language. Feels like a rational step in the right direction for the company's second board. While the slate75 was awesome, it had a hefty price tag, even for a premium board. Canadian vendor for this project is KeyBay Tech—check it out!

→ Designed by Shark from the Bord Keycap design studio, Grass Valley is a brand new keycap set available in a group buy which started yesterday. The beige and muted colour-tone set is inspired by keyboards which were used for film editing in the eighties and nineties. A prominent media equipment manufacturer, Grass Valley (still operating today), produced unique boards that had colourful caps that corresponded to editing functions (trim, play, pause, mark, etc.). It's an impressive take on a vintage look, and I really hope the MOQ is met for this set and the caps see the light of day. More pics, specs, and a detailed description of the GB and MOQ requirement can be found here on the Canadian Mino Keys page.

→ Oh my god. CannonKeys has knocked it out of the park again with…a deskmat that looks like the packaging on a stick of butter. What else can I say? This outrageous desk accessory could be easily confused with a common kitchen item, but I think it's just goofy enough that I'm bound to see this online in a setup sometime soon.

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!!