Keebin’ with Kristina: the One Where We Embrace the Jank

Yeah, yeah — not a keyboard. But one keyboard-adjacent topic I’m certainly interested in is that of finding a satisfying mouse. Why settle for ticky micro-switches when you could have full-on thock in both peripherals?

I’ve been using a Logitech Ergo M575 for a couple of years now. As you can see, it’s a trackball with two extra buttons, which come programmed for forward and back. I find this next to useless, so I employed AutoHotKey and changed them to Ctrl+C on the up switch, and Ctrl+V on the down switch.

[Aknup] commented on the previous Keebin’ and brought up MMO mice, which, I didn’t know those things had a name other than maybe ‘multi-button mice’. And yes, there are a few trackball MMOs out there. I’ve got my eye on a couple already.

Does anyone have a trackball MMO? I hate to spend $100+ on something I won’t like. I’m intrigued that the one I found that’s the most attractive is less a thumb trackball and more a two-fingers-at-once kind of situation. That will take some getting used to, but the way my trackball moves sometimes, it could be a really positive change.

Embrace the Jank, Why Don’t You?

[VideoPuzzleheaded884] built this keyboard over a the course of a few evenings for a total cost of around $30 AUD ($18.33 USD as of this writing), as a way to motivate themselves to finally start soldering.

I for one like the look of the acrylic plate, which was worked with a Dremel and hand tools. And the wiring looks fine to me, so I hesitate to actually call this janky myself. But [VideoPuzzleheaded884] did it for me.

You can tell [VideoPuzzleheaded884] is one of us — they cobbled this Corne mini layout-having keyboard together with stuff on hand, and did a fine job of soldering one of their first projects. Hey, if it works, it works. And the use of all-black wires should be commended.

The microcontroller is an ESP32-C3 [VideoPuzzleheaded884] found in box somewhere, and the switches are Gateron Silvers from an unknown time. All in all, this project was a fun diversion from programming, and this probably won’t be the last keyboard they solder.

The Centerfold: Alas, Poor Yorick; I Knew Thee Cozy Vibes Well

This one’s all about the vibes, and not necessarily the peripherals. The keyboard is an Amazon UK number and the mouse is whatever, but the wrist rests sure look comfy, and the padding around the edge of the desk is divine.

The moon lamp looks great along with the fill light coming in from the right, and I could totally get down with some death metal and WFH with this setup.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: Oh Maskelyne, Why Can’t You Be True?

What’s a magician to do if they need something to fall back on? Sell typewriters, I suppose. Why else would a father-and-son team of illusionists named John Nevil Maskelyne (Jr. and Sr.) do such a thing?

The Maskelynes’ machine was initially seen at the Paris World’s Fair, which lasted from May to October 1889. Four years later, it finally hit the market.

The main selling point of the Maskelyne was that it offered differential spacing. Most typewriters output monospaced text — the skinny ‘i’ takes up the same width on the page as the ‘w’ does. On the Maskelyne, each character takes up a different amount of horizontal space. This makes for a nicer-looking document overall.

By 1897, the writing was on the wall. Maskelynes under heavy usage were falling apart. They were not built to withstand the vibration that typewriters must endure. As a result, things would go awry — maybe the escapement clutch no longer moved far enough, or went too far, or the bars needed to make differential spacing possible clashed together.

By the third model of Maskelyne, they did away with differential spacing. But the investors were unhappy, and by 1899, the Maskelyne Typewriter concern did a disappearing act.

ICYMI: Stop Me If You Saw This Keyboard

We’re embracing the jank this week, remember? And the end result of [nomolk]’s labor? Not janky at all.

After sawing apart a perfectly good mechanical keyboard and re-connecting about 50 wires, [nomolk] managed to get it working again, and now has a true split keyboard. Be sure to watch the video!

This labor of love took almost three weeks, between rewiring all the broken connections and testing the wiring. [nomolk] tried it out and found it wasn’t working as expected, with some keys not registering, and other keys registering two characters.

Once it was working, [nomolk] had a fine mess of all-black wires (!) to deal with. Between the zip ties and the plastic spiral wire wrap thingy, the beast was eventually tamed. That Spacebar would drive me crazy, though.

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Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.