Creating long macros, and some chiptune

Hi |FNAME|,

Here in Ontario, it feels like summer's almost over. It went by so fast! I hope yours was a good one — ours was quite fun.

One common request we get is to allow for longer macros. Our keyboards can certainly do it, on a hardware level. So why won't Oryx let you? In the post below, Robin explains this and shows what you can do.

This month's ZSA Loves post is certainly more keyboard-related than the last (which was all about the soap I make…). I decided to write about Colemak, a keyboard layout I started using long before I started making keyboards, and still use to this day. It's so good, and you can use it with any keyboard, not just ours.

Also, you should check out the interview with Dietrich below. Just click through to see how he added dials to his Moonlander. Start with the pics, and you'll want to read the whole thing.

As always, thank you for reading. I hope you like getting emails from me, because I might send you one before next month's newsletter. Enough said. :)

All the best,
Erez

Creating Longer Macros

A text expansion tutorial

People often ask us for longer macros. Here's how you can create those, in your browser. This is a cross-platform method that's easy to use.

Featured User Interview

Dietrich Magnus

Animation Supervisor

Dietrich designed and fabricated his own dials (rotary encoders) for the Moonlander. Installing them doesn't involve opening up the unit, and they look so good, you'd think it's an official accessory. Incredible work.

"I have three mice—one is hooked up to work, sitting on a mouse jiggler. This way I can go brew a coffee in the kitchen and don’t need to log in again when I return to my desk."

Layout of the month

Layout of the month: Colemak-narrower

My layouts have transcended from Qwerty to Workman, to Norman, to transitions to Colemak with Tarmak steps before full Colemak. This base layer is a Colemak layout (Colemak-dh), with many layers for symbols, navigation, media, mouse, code, Norwegian letters and more.

And now more and more reduced keys to be more finger RSI friendly. I love Moonlander's flexibility to accommodate my evolving preferences.

Things we liked

Chiptune →

With a side of DOS

A delightfully retro exploration of lots and lots (and lots) of MIDI music. You can search, but just browsing around is more fun. Click a song to play it. There’s also a visualizer!

Legal Lullabies →

Read by a human

Serves up Instagram’s full terms of service, read in full, with emotion and empathy. Just wonderful delivery, and great to fall asleep with. There’s one for TikTok, too.

Shortcat →

Use your mouse less

An interesting and free macOS app that allows you to click any target on the screen using either “hints” or a search palette. Takes a minute to get used to, but quite useful if you’d like to avoid reaching for the mouse.

Backgammon Variants →

So many ways to play

Just like chess, it turns out there are numerous ways to play backgammon. This page presents variants that are great for kids and beginners, variants popular in the US Navy, and variants from around the world. Lots to explore.

ChatGPT Test →

Can it do that, or not?

This is a game that tests your ability to predict how well GPT-4 will perform at various types of questions. This is great for figuring out whether or not you have a real sense of what GPT is capable of. My own results were abysmal — it was an eye-opener.