Do you consider your keyboard to be a fragile thing? Meet the glass keyboard by [BranchNo9329], which even has a glass PCB. At least, I think the whole thing is glass.

There are so frustratingly few details that this might as well have been a centerfold, but I thought you all should see it just the same. What we do have are several pictures and a couple of really short videos, so dive in.

I can tell you that [BranchNo2939] chose a glass substrate mainly due to curiosity about its durability compared with FR4. And that the copper circuitry was applied with physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology.

Apparently one of [BranchNo2939]’s friends is researching the bonding of copper on to glass panels, so they thought they’d give a keyboard a go. Right now the thing is incomplete — apparently there’s going to be RGB. Because of course there’s going to be RGB.

erkbd Can Be yrkbd, Too

Erik + Keyboard = erkbd, and now [EarflapsOpen]’s wide split is open-source and now has a fully documented build guide on GitHub by special request.

Inspired mostly by the Corne and the Void Ergo S layout, this is a 44-key, hand-wired number that runs on a pair of Waveshare RP2040 Zeros programmed with QMK.

I really like the inclusion of OLEDs and rotary encoders, although I feel I would inadvertently turn them by accident. Maybe not. At the very least, they appear to be taller than the keys and might get in the way.

[EarflapsOpen] addresses this a bit at the bottom of the reddit thread, stating that they are not in the way when typing. But since they are kind of far from the home row, you have to move your entire hand to use them. Currently, [EarflapsOpen] uses them for scrolling, adjusting volume, video scrubbing, and so on.

The Centerfold: Battle Axes

So perhaps [delusionalreddit]’s setup is a bit of a departure from the regular centerfold material, but that’s okay. Just look at all those guitars! Yours truly is down to just six or so, and really ought to have them situated similarly around the laboratory. Maybe someday.

So there isn’t much detail here, especially about the peripherals, and I apologize for that. Please see the next paragraph. Almost no one sends me centerfolds! You know your keeb is sexy; now get it out there.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: the Williams

When the people demand some new advancement in technology, the early response by manufacturers can sometimes be less than appealing, visually speaking.

This is not the case with the stunning Williams line of  typewriters, which were developed in response to heavy demand for visible typewriters — machines that let the typist see what was being typed without having to stop and do something first. Of course, you could only see a few lines at a time, and just by peering over the tippy-top of the machine, but this was revolutionary.

Form follows function in these lovely machines, which don’t seem to waste an inch of space on frivolity. To create visibility, the Williams typewriters had the platen situated in the center, between two sets of type bars that struck from the front and rear, kicking like grasshopper legs. The paper is first secured along the top and curled downward into the basket.

Don’t quite understand? Don’t blame you. Check out this short video, which demonstrates how to insert paper and type on a Williams Academy model.

Isn’t that cool? The earliest Williams models like the No. 1 pictured above became available in 1891. The keyboard was curved slightly, and the body featured Victorian-inspired filigree. Beginning in 1895, the No. 1 was manufactured with a straight keyboard. The No. 2 came out in 1897 and were nearly identical to the straight-keyboarded No. 1s, but they got an upgrade in the form of typebar alignment. No. 2s were also called Academy like the one in the video, or Englewood.

Inventor John Williams was quite the character and inventor, and was known to rub elbows with Alexander Graham Bell and Emile Berliner. He patented all kinds of things, from cigar cutters to one of the first helicopters in 1912. Unfortunately, the Williams Typewriter Company was fairly short-lived, as they were in litigation for patent infringement pretty much the whole time, until 1909. They were acquired by Jerome Burgess Secor, who would go on to produce a completely different typewriter. Stay tuned!

Finally, Another Use for All Those Melty Beads

So [humanplayer2] was having some fun last Saturday while his daughter played with those melty beads. After some trial and error, it seems we have a new viable switch plate material!

The trial and error was, of course, about finding out what inner bead configuration would result in the snuggest fit. As it turns out, a plain old open square holds them the best, followed by hand-cut-away corners, then full interiors.

For what it’s worth, [humanplayer2] was using Hama beads specifically, which is why the holes are almost all completely melted shut.

Keep in mind that not all melty beads are created equally, so your mileage may vary depending on what you’ve got. But it probably shouldn’t matter too-too much in this case, unless you use the ones that are supposed to be really terrible.

Be sure to check out the custom Hama bead game pad he made for her so she can play Paw Patrol in style.

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Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.