Hi |FNAME|,

I'm constantly looking for new ways to look at technology. Low-Tech Magazine, linked below, offers new thoughts on old tech. Some of it is still quite good tech — simply under-marketed perhaps, or not as profitable as the latest and the greatest. Thought provoking.

Also, I've been doing a bunch of writing and thinking in Obsidian, and I have an idea for an open-source extension ZSA might be able to sponsor. If you're deeply familiar with Pandoc and/or Obsidian, drop me a line — ez@zsa.io.

In other news, I'm interested in any app-specific layers you may have created for any of our keyboards. Also, icons have come to Oryx! You can read about both of these below.

All the best,
Erez

A Call for Layer Templates

Help others get started with your favorite apps and games

We're working on a feature called Layer Templates that will allow users to quickly get started with purpose-built layers for their favorite apps — and we're looking for community contributions! Check out the link below for all the details.

Introducing Icon Autosuggest

For more visual layouts

The first Project Halfmoon feature is here, and it works on all of our keyboards. You can now easily label keys using full-size emoji as well as hundreds of icons from various creative apps.

Featured User Interview

Lorne Ashley

Songwriter/Musician/Developer

Lorne is one of the most active users in our Halfmoon community, and is the only person I know who actually is a "rockstar" developer (someday I hope to interview a real ninja, too).

"Other than productivity stuff, I have my various musical boxes around. I’ve been really into Elektron for a long time, so currently my desk has an Octatrack MKII, a Digitakt, and a Digitone sitting on there, all synced and patched (offline) for instant jamming."

Layout of the month

Layout of the month: Minimal

This is a 34-key layout with homerow modifiers that makes extensive use of layers, to keep all keys "close" without needing to move the hands at all. Even the middle columns are only minimally used. The two keys in the bottom row are intended to be hit with your thumbs.The keys are arranged specifically to be easy to learn and remember, without sacrificing ease and comfort.

Things we liked

Modern Unix →

So much CLI goodness

A collection of modern/faster/saner alternatives to common Unix commands. With nice screenshots, too.

Low-Tech Magazine →

Creative technology

Recent posts include “The Revenge of the Hot Water Bottle”. No clickbait here. Thorough writeups on sustainability and technology with some creative and interesting ideas. Ever heard of fruit trenches?

Brightly →

Good book recommendations for kids

Finding non-algorithmic recommendations for anything isn’t easy. I was recently looking for a good Star Wars book to read with my kid, and Brightly delivered. Yes, it's by a publisher (Penguin Random House), but in this case I don't think that's a bad thing. Lots here for kids of all ages.

Letters of Note →

Correspondence deserving of a wider audience

A classic. Very good letters from interesting people throughout history. They have a newsletter, too.

Simon Tatham’s Puzzles →

A deep collection of free single-player puzzles

The link goes to the Android app (which is free, ad-free, and works offline) but the original page shows all of the puzzles and has other implementations of them. Great brain teasers.