NOV.29.2025 - #51

Hi all 👋, this week while writing clicks 'n clacks I've been inundated with a tsunami of Black Friday deals, deals, and more deals. I'd love to highlight some products, companies, and sales, but just like last year I have a bit of a disclaimer. There is no pressure at all to participate in the culture of excessive-consumerism associated with this time of year—if you don't want to, don't, and if you can't, try not to feel ashamed. Big companies weaponize FOMO, skeezy marketing campaigns, or mark-up tactics in a ploy to get you to participate. But I'm here offering a gentle reminder to be conscious, spend wisely, support small businesses, and most importantly, be kind to yourself this season ❤️.

That said, here's a handful of deals I enjoyed this week:

Now let's move right on to this week's features!

→ Developed by Emily Sneddon, Fran Sans is a beautiful new monospaced font inspired by destination displays onboard transit vehicles in the San Francisco area. It was engrossing to read Emily's accompanying case study on the creation of this font. Observing details like this from a city far away—and one I may never see as these displays in San Fran are becoming a thing of the past—brings me woe and wonder in tandem. It's very similar to Marcin's essay on the Gorton font which I love, and the dedication to highlighting, archiving, and sharing the charm of these cities is delightful. Definitely give this one a read if you have a few minutes to spare.

→ As a long time fan of Canadian tech YouTuber Linus Sebastian (best known for his Linus Media Group empire), I've known about their endeavours into merch/gear for some time now. But, I didn't know about this release from them… ✨ the transparent screwdriver ✨, and I discovered it at a great time too! A recent video by LTT created an over-the-top setup where every part, down to the PC components, is see-through. Side note: the vid is a fantastic watch—I appreciated the deep dive into the difficulty of making transparent plastics as well as the keyboard and mouse that were chosen. Within this video, they announced the coming of 4 new coloured-transparent screwdrivers to join the tool lineup. Now, I know what you're saying…$70 for a screwdriver? You're insane! On first glance, I'm inclined to agree with you. However, since the non-transparent version first launched in 2022 I've heard a surprisingly high amount of praise for the twisty-tool. Especially for someone who A) doesn't use a screwdriver all that often (aside from building PCs) and B) doesn't seek out reviews or content featuring tools. All that aside, I simply can't say no to some transparent tech and guess what has shot its way up to the top of my wishlist.

→ A pet peeve of mine since moving to the Apple ecosystem from Windows is the loss of “cutting” a file being accessible via the context menu. Personally, it made moving around files just a tad harder, as I was used to Windows logic. I know I could easily open two finder windows to drag files between or use CMD+OPT+V after copying, but it still bugs me. Enter Shelfinder—a simple macOS utility made by Ariel Marques that adds a small glassy pane to Finder windows to help move files around with ease. It solves the issues caused by my stubbornness and has a few other features, like pinning files and theming, to play around with. It's also got a free version with a cheap Pro version to unlock some additional features. I'm getting away with free for my needs right now, but will most likely upgrade soon to support an indie-dev.

→ This board from QwertyKeys is a bit of a divergence from their typical design language—the QK65 Mk3 is all-in on arcade-y themes, multi-layered casings, tactile buttons/knobs, and pixelated screens. I've been seeing it scattered across my timeline, and considering how much I love my QK Alice Duo, QwertyKeys (and their sub brands like Neo) have confidently earned my recommendation. The pre-order period just opened yesterday for a few different colourways and as a bonus, you can get a set of switches free when also buying the matching keycaps for any given colourway.

→ I'm usually not a fan of full-size boards, but this one from Ticktype (a newer sub-brand from QwertyKeys) caught my eye. The DP 104 has a pixelated display for showing a plethora of different stats located where your indicator lights (scroll lock, caps lock, etc.) would be on a full-size. It's available for purchase in a few different pre-built (keycaps and switches included) variants and colourways, with custom Linear or Silent Tactile switches available. I got to test it out at Keybay's store recently, and it sounded/felt surprisingly good!

→ The Typeframe PX-88 is a simple and portable mini-machine powered by a Raspberry Pi. It's a DIY project by Jeff Merrick (check out his assembly guide to make it yourself), and I love how the PX-88 walks the line between being both a writerdeck and cyberdeck—simple but with a powerful core underneath. The branding here for “Typeframe” is exquisite, I can't wait to see other creations that may come along soon, and the keycap choice here is also on point 👌.

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!!