Into the void

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Hi Enrique,

First things first: As you may have noticed, we launched a trackball called the Navigator. It goes well with the Voyager. Looks like I'm not the only one excited for it: We made 2,000 units before the launch, and more than half are gone by the time I write this (we'se shipping these fast). Once these are all gone it'll a few weeks for us to stock up again, but you could sign up for a waitlist. This has been such a fun launch. :) Thank you to everyone who got one and who said nice things!

Okay, moving on! Here are top 3 daily challenge users in typ.ing for last month:

• #1: The illustrious y6oxz43p, whom we've featured before, at 105wpm, 98% accuracy, and 31 challenges complete!
• #2: Norf, at a much higher 120wpm but a somewhat lower 93% accuracy across 28 challenges.
• #3: ergdegdeg, which is how I say that keyboard's name after I've been to the dentist. 94wpm, 95% accuracy, 31 challenges completed.

We've got a bunch of exciting features coming to typ.ing, one of which you'll find below. Other things you'll find below include the first post in our new Layout Buffet series, an interview with Brad Gessler who put together some truly inspiring setups, and there's also a new Oryx feature!

How's your August been so far? I saw two turtles in the wild. They were awesome. One was rare! I also wrote a somewhat outdoorsy blog post about my favorite knots — five knots are all I need.

As always, thank you for reading, and you can always just reply to email me. :)

All the best,
Erez

Lock keys can now glow

MAKE THAT CAPS LOCK SHINE

This is a small but fun one: We've added a little toggle to Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and Num Lock that lets you set a specific RGB color for them. When you turn those lock keys on, they'll glow with that particular color. Also, I hope you admire my restraint for not writing this WHOLE BLURB in all caps.

Introducing Layout Buffet

Take what you like, leave what you don't

This is an exciting new series of posts from Robin diving into the many things ZSA keyboards can do. Each post explains an Oryx feature or a layout idea, and shows how you can try it a little at a time. The first one explores dual-function keys and all of their many related settings and tweaks — some might even be new for you.

Into the void

New for typ.ing

Sometimes it's nice to just type what's on my mind and not have ChatGPT answer or have some other AI tool offer to improve my grammar or whatever (or tell me not to use the word "whatever"). This new typ.ing mode is for that: You just type, and your words fade away. Your text isn't saved anywhere, it just disappears. You don't have to hit wpm or accuracy goals, just breathe and type what's on your mind.

Featured User Interview

Brad Gessler

Builder

Brad rocks three different Moonlanders for three different setups — and two of those setups are outdoors. Check out his hiking-specific work setup (with a Moonlander and a tripod) as well as all the other beautiful photos. There's even a Ruby pun in there.

"I think the reason I’ve started to combine hiking with working is so I get the best of both worlds."

Bon Voyage

A familiar, intuitive layout that’ll ease you into your split keyboard journey while introducing some new ideas like Colemak, home row mods, combos and one shot layers. Unlike many of the developer-optimised layouts, this is geared more towards general use and also includes a layer for designers with keys dedicated to common design actions.Ready? Let’s go!

Things we liked

Epicure Flavour Explorer →

An expert AI system

Many of us interact with “generalized” AI systems all the time, or maybe with some specialized coding AI like Cursor. But what happens when you get AI to specialize specifically in cooking? ChatGPT’s recipes are notoriously random— Epicure’s, much less so. You pick a bunch of ingredients, specify a style of cuisine, and get a recipe. It’s quite well done. I got a recipe for Thai noodle salad with crispy tofu that looks both sane and doable.

Chronoodle →

Put history in its place

This is one of those daily games, but it’s not about words: You get five historical facts all on a theme, and your job is to sort them by order of occurrence (what happened first). The experience is clean, it doesn’t push you to make an account or bombard you with ads, and of course, you get a Wordle-style “share” text at the end you can show your friends.

Power thesaurus →

So many words

I always reach for a dictionary before I try a thesaurus, because I want to make sure I understand the words I’m using. That said, a good thesaurus is a great way to add some nuance to your writing (again, assuming you take the time to understand the nuance in the words). This particular one is clean and easy to use. It’s helpful, effectual, constructive, and functional.

The HTML Review →

An experimental online magazine

This one is on the artsy side. The HTML Review is a collection of experimental online art pieces, often blending poetry, audio, and moving images. It’s not an NFT thing, don’t worry. I do suggest using a desktop computer for this. Even just scrolling through the index page is interesting. Click through when you’re in the mood for some poetry and modern art, not in “get email done” mode.

Too Good To Go →

Save good food from going to waste

You may have heard of this one, but if you haven’t given it a try yet, I do recommend. Too Good To Go is a service that lets businesses offer steep discounts on food that would otherwise go to waste. You buy a “surprise bag” from a nearby shop and go pick it up. The value in the bag is usually 3x or 4x of what you paid. We’ve been using it a bunch, and have usually had a good experience. It’s a fun way to try out new places or menu items you would not have otherwise picked. It’s a free mobile app.

Tip: We have a subscriber-only link archive with all of the links we shared over the years. Just for you. ❤️

Wallpaper of the month

Big summer vibes on this one. It's a pineapple cutting up a keycap watermelon on the beach. Fully custom made in-house, of course, by our talented 3D artist, Steve. I love the reflections.

Thank you for reading!