What's in The Ergo?
A real issue of The Ergo from October 2024.
Header
A render, or a photo.
A Company Update
A few lines about what we're currently working on.
Hey there!
This month I actually want to start with the layout tour. It's a layout called MoonLiquid created by Sasha Lubyansky, and it's just so impressive. It's based on something called Handsdown Vibranium, which is a super-optimized key arrangement. Sasha then further customized it with a whole bunch of combos and macros for quickly typing common words, bigrams and trigams ("nt" and friends). It's a real tour de force and shows just how far you can take a layout in Oryx.
Customization isn't just about firmware, of course: This month we have two different DIY projects, one for the Voyager and one for the Moonlander. The Voyager one comes from Robin and lets you add curvy "key wells" to your previously-flat board! It's a fun proof of concept, and it works well enough that I used a "curvy" Voyager for a month or two (I eventually did go back to a flat Voyager — it's fun to have that flexibility to go back and forth). The second is a guest blog post from Ben Milford showcasing his custom "platform" solution for the Moonlander. Both posts are interesting even if you don't intend to print anything — worth it just for the pics and GIFs alone. :)
Next — and I may be burying the lede here — we actually have a product launch this month: Our new typing trainer, typ.ing. We soft-launched it early October and lots of people already found it on their own (could it be the catchy domain?!) and have been enjoying it. It's clean and simple, and entirely keyboard-driven (you never have to reach for your mouse to change settings etc.). I suggest trying it out on a desktop computer, not on your phone.
And finally, with this being Halloween and all, this month's ZSA Loves comes from Robin who shares a spooky tabletop RPG. Happy Halloween to those of you celebrating!
As always, thank you for reading — and if you try out typ.ing, please do reply and tell me what you think about it. All the best,
Erez
p.s: I was on the devtools.fm podcast earlier this month, feel free to check out the episode for some fun behind-the-scenes crowdfunding history.
Announcements
Any new features or products.
- Russell Matney, Moonlander User
Limited series - Part 3 of 9
Introducing typ.ing
Clean, simple, focused
It started with a great domain name. Next came numerous concepts and mock-ups, followed by months of development and testing. And now, finally, I’m excited to share a typing trainer that feels uniquely "ZSA". It works with any keyboard, not just our boards. Try it out, share with friends, and stay tuned for news on this one: We’ve got many plans for upcoming features.
DIY Voyager Keywells
A fun 3D print
Some people are into keyboards that have "key wells". The Voyager doesn’t need curvy wells because it’s minimal enough that you don’t have to reach for far-away keys — but you can make it curvy, just for fun. Check out this simple and reversible mod from Robin to see how.
DIY Moonlander tenting platform
A great creation by Ben Milford
Of course, we offer an official Platform for the Moonlander — but this DIY take is worth looking into. It's 3D-printable, features quick-release magnets, offers cable management, and has room for additional modules like a tablet stand. Ben's guest post is full of many GIFs and clear instructions — I love this creative solution!
User Interview
Some pretty interesting people use our keyboards. We publish an interview every week, and every month pick one to feature in the newsletter.
Featured User Interview
Guilherme Viotti
Systems architect and sustainability advocate
Three words: Chair-mounted Moonlander. And if that's not cool enough, add a set of XREAL glasses for displaying virtual screens. Strong Matrix vibes, and just a fun setup all in all. Plus, there's a photo with two giant dogs!
"I help people from around the world to better understand how they can play jazz and eventually be better at expressing themselves through their music."
Layout of the month
An interesting layer / layout tour from one of our users.
Layout of the month
MoonLiquid
The most common actions/shortcuts are just one tap away. This saves a lot moving your hands from one half of the keyboard to the other or even use of the trackpad.
Curated Finds
Never sponsored. Just things we genuinely liked, from all over the Web.
Things we liked
Bunch
Mac automation with plain text
An interesting attempt at making scripting more accessible. Bunch is a system automation tool with a syntax that tries to be clear and simple. It’s for macOS, and its business model is "pay what you can". Made by Brett Terpstra, whom I’ve actually worked with many years ago.
Nights on Earth
A localized astronomy calendar
A beautifully-executed monthly calendar tailored to your location. You can see astronomic events and sunrise/sunset times (moonrise/moonset too!). Clicking on a day brings up more information. Great for stargazers and astrophotographers.
Afoolzerrand
Over 1,700 detailed reviews of chocolate milk
Chocolate milk from all over the world, lovingly reviewed and then rated across several rubrics. Each entry is carefully tagged, too. Here’s a choice excerpt: "Absolutely annihilates that ideal thin-viscosity-to-high-creaminess-ratio that I covet so much, delivering a fantastic dark and slightly mature cocoa flavor to any and all nearby flavor receptors." Some of these reviews are R-rated for language.
Set Pose
A free 3D mannequin
You know those little wooden mannequins artists use as pose references? This is that, but online and free. I’m not an artist and I still found this quite fun and interesting. There are many preset poses, but you can also adjust each segment of the mannequin individually.
Ice
Free Bartender alternative
This is a macOS app that lets you hide menubar items and unclutter things a bit. It’s free and open-source. You can install it with Homebrew, too. It seems to be about as powerful as Bartender.
Tip: We have a subscriber-only link archive with all of the links we shared over the years. Just for you. ❤️
Wallpaper
Subscribers get to download our monthly wallpaper here, in various resolutions, also for mobile.
Wallpaper of the month
Not a render: A lovely macro shot of the Moonlander's PCB. I love the intense grain on this one. Looks a bit like a cityscape.
Includes multiple resolutions
Thank You For Reading!
Art by Jo, part of a project we'll share soon