Keyboard Yoga comes to typ.ing

Hi |FNAME|,

This month we completed a project that took more than two years of work. Two years of planning, iterating, starting over from scratch after the first version wasn't good enough. Two years of renders and dreams and firmware, and lots of close work with Cirque's engineers to get the feeling just right. Finally, our trackpad is here. That feels meaningful. If you've been following along, thank you for being with us on this journey. I hope you like the trackpad as much as we do.

In other news, we brought a new mindfulness mode into typ.ing, called Keyboard Yoga. If you've tried our standalone Keyboard Yoga before, you know what this is about. If not, check out the announcement below and try it out.

My favorite link this month is the first one, which isn't even a tool; It's an article I read which was so good I just had to share it with you. In terms of tools, the one I liked best is the one that shows I wasn't just imagining that virtually everyone is called Jennifer.

As always, thank you for reading, and please reply and let me know what you think about this month's newsletter and what was your favorite link (and always feel free to send interesting links my way, too!).

All the best,
Erez

Mousing with a keyboard

All the ways your keyboard can control your cursor

This is a timely Layout Buffet post, given the trackpad's launch. Robin goes over several different ways you could use your keyboard to control your mouse, from mouse keys to the Navigator to interesting software.

Keyboard Yoga comes to typ.ing

Breathe, listen, type

Keyboard Yoga mode focuses on the physical sensation of typing. Think of it as an active break. It guides you through a simple script, with (optional) soothing musing in your earbuds. There are stretches, too.

Featured User Interview

Wu Peng

Tech Solution Builder

What a fun interview, packed with solid recommendations. My favorite bit is the screenshot of Wupes's bespoke Airtable showing some the board games he enjoys. I love Scout, Cat in the Box, Sky Team, and a few others there. His computer setup is a thing to behold, too.

"The new bottom screen freed up my iPad Pro. With its 5G connectivity, it's been essential gear for me on the portable end. Pair it with a beautifully cased Raspberry Pi 4 (connected via Blink SSH) over a single USB cable and add a Flipper Zero on the side, and I've got a mobile command station anywhere."

Layout of the month

Tom Paris

The Voyager was my first ergonomic split keyboard, and what was most important for me was that the layout would be easy to use and quick to learn.

New on typ.ing this month

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë's classic was her one and only novel. Considered unputdownable at the time (though they didn't use that word in the 1850s), it's been adapted into plays, TV shows, and more. Now's your chance to type the original.

And also...

Things we liked

The "Passive Income" trap ate a generation of entrepreneurs →

Best thing I've read this month

I don't usually link to "content" in this section, but this piece really spoke to me. Creating a small business is one of the most satisfying things ever, in my experience — but you have to show up, and keep showing up. When I read this, I wanted everyone I know to read it too. Even if you're not an entreprenuer, I think you'll enjoy it. It's funny, too.

Amazonia →

A font based on a river

Amazonia is a font that goes with the river, not the company. It’s used as a part of a project for promoting tourism in the area, but the tool I’m linking to lets you write anything with this lovely font, choose your own colors and other parameters, and export it in a number of formats. Quite fun. The base site is worth checking out as well, not just the font section.

NameDaisy →

Exploring American names

Did you know that Jennifer was the #1 given name for girls from 1970 all the way to 1984? 14 years of stardom! This site lets you look at individual names, along with their spelling variations. You can also compare names — turns out Melissa shared much of the same years in the limelight as Jennifer, but was never quite as popular.

Katalog →

12,795 photos of 12,795 objects from one life

For four years, artist Barbara Iweins went room by room, drawer by drawer, photographing, indexing, and classifying her entire house. Absolutely everything, from her daughter’s torn sock to Legos to clothes. Each photo is crisp and clinical. The combined effect is powerful. I feel this one.

Channel Surfer →

Cable TV, but YouTube

A retro TV guide that turns YouTube into live cable TV. Each channel plays videos on a deterministic schedule — like real TV, you tune in mid-show. This is such a fun and random way to get out of the algorithm a little bit.