Recent content on Matt3o.com
Time for some geeking out. I’m one of those fools who like to run their own local server with not cloud shenanigans. I’ve been running an Ubuntu server for a while with a bunch of individually installed services, but I wanted to try something more compartmentalized, easier to maintain and update. The obvious choice would have been Docker, but I like to make my life complicated so I…
Took a bit longer than expected, but PFF is finally ready for production! If you are living under a rock, PFF stands for “Penguin Flat Feet” and it’s one of the few keycaps designed specifically for low profile switches. Despite being extremely short, we did not compromise on ergonomics and –in all honesty– I think it’s one of the most comfortable profiles…
I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with trackballs; I started with a Kensington, which is probably the worst peripheral I’ve ever owned, and eventually settled on an Elecom Deft. But when I saw the “Endgame” by Efog.tech , a passion project designed by Artem in Kharkiv, Ukraine, I knew I had to give it a shot. It’s a sturdy, compact machine with the ambition to be the…
This won’t be an easy review to write. The Athena II is probably the best SLA 3D printer money can buy… For all the wrong reasons. I wanted to buy the Athena 1 when it was released a few years back, but it was the first product by a new company so I gave them time to mature. When the Athena 2 was announced surely they had time to iron out all the issues, right? Well, let’s start…
I’m a sucker for clicky switches. I try any new clicky that is released and every time I get burned, sorely. Building clicky switches is a lost art that gives very little gratification, as in: not many like them (heathens!). Since buckling springs my hunt for a decent clicky switch has always ended in disappointment; and that partially is still true for the Gateron Melodic … BUT, they…
Since the introduction of PBS I was asked about low profile switch compatibility. While it would be easy to make a new stem for PBS the result would be less than ideal. A low profile keycap has to be crafted for low profile switches and that is exactly what PFF (Penguin Flat Feet) is. If you are new here, PBS stands for Penguin Belly Slide . The name comes from the shape of the hitting area: soft,…
Believe it or not it’s exactly 10 years since the first Granite came to life. It was June 2014 and DSA Granite took its first breath into the world. It was a set designed to meet the need of custom keyboard makers because of the flat profile and the gargantuan amount of available kits and options. Something that nowadays we rarely see unfortunately. DSA Granite got at least 4 re-runs until…
About a year ago InputClub/Alpaca announced the WhiteFox Eclipse that is their take on the original WhiteFox that I designed 10 years ago now. As I anticipated back then I was not involved in the project but they asked for feedback and suggestions so it slowly became a collaboration. Let’s start by trying to understand the branding. So InputClub decided to forego the project and Alpaca…
It took little more than a year from concept to production but MTNU is finally out! All sets have been shipped to vendors and a few lucky EU customers already got their copy! It’s time to review what we’ve done so far and see what is left to do for the near future. Let’s start with the first real-life not-rendered not-studo-shot pictures:
It took over 2 years but SA Retro is finally back on PMK! The DSA version of Retro was my first ever designed keycap set and I bring it in my heart. It was clearly inspired by the Commodore64 (with the added burgundy accent) and it didn’t took long before we released an SA variant of the same colorway. Signature Plastics was promising a re-run since forever and it’s finally here…
SOD is the original typeface designed specifically for MTNU. The idea was to revisit old IBM and RadioShack keyboards font under a modern light. The defining characteristics are an off-center mid line (that you can see on letters like E, F, H) and the use of “retro” numbers. The font is released under a permissive open license to make it easy to anyone to add custom legends or modify…
It took ages but I was able to convince Drop to salvage the Jiji’s keycaps that otherwise would have gone destroyed. They kindly agreed at using them for charity, so yeah, I understand that $29 is steep for 4 keycaps, but you are doing it for a good cause so if you can, please consider joining our “Adopt a Shelter Cat Month” campaign . You are helping shelter cats and receiving a…
Ohboy! It has been a long journey… The official announcement of my collaboration with GMK is dated 2022 May 25 . Almost precisely one year later MTNU finally goes into pre-order phase, but the work for me (and GMK) is far from over! I’ll spare you scrolling to the bottom for the vendor pages. You can pre-order your MTNU set right now at : Asia - iLumKB Canada - DeskHero China - Matrix…
It took some time but the forth revision of /dev/tty is finally available and ready to ship at Drop ! Apart from minor changes to the base kit (yeah there’s an uwu key) and “Lost+Found”, the most important update is for the 40%/ortho keyboards. I believe the 40s kit is one of the most complete around so if you like typing on those little things you better hurry up white…
An update about the MTNU profile was long overdue. Let me start by stating the obvious: it is taking more than expected… but less than I feared. I have a little experience in manufacturing by now and a couple of weeks late is really nothing. Let’s do a recap. What is MTNU again? MTNU is a new keycap profile I envisioned a couple of years ago and developed thanks to the incredible…
I’m not a huge fan of making keyboard reviews but when a company named DrunkDeer contacted me with a “new” hall effect switch I had to know more about it. I warned them that my reviews are brutal and they agreed on sending me a sample anyway, so kudos to them. Not sure they will be equally happy after reading this review… Here below you find my video review with the usual…
A few weeks ago it came to my attention a new project by Kono involving the Whitefox . I need to put the record straight here once and for all: I am NOT involved in any way with the new Whitefox Eclipse . I wasn’t part of its development, not even in a consulting position. The Whitefox Eclipse it’s a 100% Kono/AlpacaKeyboards project. They contacted me a while back saying they were…
In my last update I anticipated a long and difficult journey for PBS. Well, things took an unexpected turn and production will start sooner rather than later. If you don’t know already PBS (Penguin Belly Slide) is my tribute to uniform low-profile keycaps. Think of it as DSA done right, because DSA is boring and PBS is all but! Everything started a cold dark night of about a year ago. The…
It has been a pretty hectic year and as always I’ve dip my toe in way too many waters. I don’t blame you if you lost count, I did too, so as a sort of note-to-self let’s review past, current and future projects with their status update. Let’s start from the bad news . Retro SA Retro & MT3 Retro are still on hold. Signature Plastics sent me a picture of SA Retro keycaps…
When I first announced the Elvish and Dwarvish sets I got inevitably asked about a Black Speech version. That is something that I always wanted to do and in my mind there was only one color way for such a nefarious incarnation: black-on-black . What held me back all these months is that there’s simply not enough literature regarding the language of the Tolkien’s baddies, basically the…