Visual thinking, Lear Siegler, and Vim

JUNE 2020

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Hi *|FNAME|*,

We've got an exciting summer ahead of us, and this month we've been mainly focusing on fit and finish in Oryx. You may have noticed things working just a little bit better, or faster — but we have no major feature announcements. We decided it's more important to focus on the quality of what we already offer than try to push out new features.

This meant I got a bit of free rein with this month's big post, so I found a fascinating person to talk to! :) I spent an hour talking to Brandy Agerbeck, an expert in visual thinking, about this powerful way to deal with complexity and distill concepts. It was eye opening and I was thrilled with how easy it is to get started and see results.

This month's featured layout tour is by Richard Jones, and has bits of keyboard history that were new to me and work well on the ErgoDox EZ.

In other news, we're still looking to add a designer to our fully-remote team, and next Wednesday Planck EZ prices are getting an update.

As always, thank you for reading! You can always reach me personally at ez@ergodox-ez.com.

All the best,
Erez

Thoughts on Visual Thinking

A superpower for dealing with complexity

What can you do with a stack of index cards? Even if you're not artistically gifted, the humble tools you already have in your drawer pack a surprising punch when it comes to clarifying your thoughts and grappling with complexity. For coders and knowledge workers, this is a great way to break free from the screen while still improving productivity (and happiness!).

Featured User Interview

Bri Woods

IT Director

Bri's efficient work-at-home setup includes peripherals in mood-boosting bright colors. She shared her thoughts about various vivid keyboards and her fiber arts hobbies. Check it out!

"My desk is full of what makes me happy."

Layout of the month: Glowing Siegler Symmetric

The name comes from the glowing ErgoDox keyboard, key aspects of the Lear Siegler ADM-3A terminal that Bill Joy used to create the vi editor, and mirroring these features (symmetric) where possible.

Things we liked

Plant Jammer →

Recipes based on what's in your fridge

Finally, a generative AI that isn't just a joke. Tell this app what you've got, it'll tell you what you can make. Can adjust recipes in clever ways, make flavor suggestions, find alternative ingredients, etc. All recipes are plant-based.

LineageOS →

Breathe new life into your old Android device

A free and open-source Android ROM that offers a clean experience. A way to get Android 10 (and beyond) on old devices that no longer get updates. CyanogenMod's successor.

Coffee Kick Calculator →

Strategize your consumption

A surprisingly thorough calculator for answering the all-important question: How much coffee should I drink, and when?

Rectangle →

Move and resize windows in macOS using keyboard shortcuts and snap areas

A free, open-source alternative to some of the commercial solutions out there. Used by our QMK Liaison, Drashna, who says it's great.

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

Turns out keyswitches have hobbies, too. According to Mario, these particular ones are all about fish!

Thank you for reading!