Tessera

Issue No. 59 of clicks 'n clacks is live! On the docket this week are some explorations into an active new tech community, the revival of a decades-old keycap set, and a functional typewriter made of LEGO! Check it out below if interested 👇

Been diving into self-hosting the applications/services I use daily—hopefully breaking free from reliance on the cloud and corporate impermanence. Bitwarden, Plex/Jellyfin, and now linkding for all my bookmarks. Wondering if anyone has self-hosting suggestions or alternatives to big platforms?

Issue No. 58 of clicks 'n clacks is live! This week is loaded with brand new tech, a foray into self-hosting, small keyboards for any setup, and more. Check it out for some fun finds!

only have a few more articles left to read 😅

Screenshot of an iPhone lock screen displaying a notification from an RSS feed app (Twine) with a gold icon displays the message, “You have 5,044,504,720 unread…” followed by the text “See what’s new in your feeds.”

Falling in line with much of what I like to write and share is explored beautifully in a piece by @strange.website. Forging the internet into a better place, with federation, accessibility, and interoperability. Stuff like this inspires me to build more and stop using compartmentalized platforms.

Screenshot of a webpage from Henry Desroches at henry.codes, a writing piece titled "A website to destroy all websites." The sub-line for the articles reads, "How to win the war for the soul of the internet and build the Web We Want." The image in the centre is a print titled "Captive Pegasus" by Odilon Redon (1889). At the bottom of the page, it notes the article length is "~3100 words; about a 15 minute read." The background is a light beige colour with a clean, serif font style.

Jeff Merrick's newest build, the PS-85, is a DIYed slate-style cyberDeck inspired by the Alien movie universe. Jeff's other Typeframe boards are equally as astonishing, and the branding/icon work is top tier. Wish I was more engineering-inclined so I could build my own one day.

Photo of the PS-85 keyboard/computer combo—a retro-futuristic handheld device with a small terminal screen. The device has a rugged, worn appearance with a grey casing and an integrated handle on the right side. The keyboard is a 40% layout with Signature Plastics G20 Semiotic keycap set—with various unique icons, such as arrows, a floppy disk, a medical cross, and other symbols. The device rests on a black grid-patterned surface, and the overall lighting has a warm, reddish tone.

Utilities like an image converter, background remover, favicon generator, and contrast checker were monumental for my redesign—Delphi Tools by @delphi.rmv.fyi provided them all and more! Free, no accounts, no hassle, and all handmade. Palette generator was by far my favourite to explore and use.

The newest issue (#55) of my newsletter (clicks ‘n clacks) is live, featuring an all new design and layout! I'm super proud of how it all turned out!

saw my first 3D movie (Avatar) in quite a while today and forgot how much fun it could be! although as a glasses wearer the comfort level has not improved at all 🤓

Andrew McKee@andrew.clicksnclacks.com · 8mo ago

update—it's here and it's awesome...the tinkering stage has begun!! heard good things about Crosspoint and Sumi for custom firmwares so I am starting there

very (im)patiently waiting for my Xteink X4 to be delivered

very (im)patiently waiting for my Xteink X4 to be delivered

Andrew McKee @andrew.clicksnclacks.com · 9mo ago

Took a much needed break at the end of 2025 then bounced right into action developing a new look / re-design for the newsletter in 2026. Been fun to flex some more design-y muscles and can't wait to show it off next week!! 🔗 ⌨️

One of my most used macOS tools, Monocle by Dominik Kandravy, just got a huge 3.0 update!! Complete visual overhaul (even blurring behind a transparent menu bar now), more customization, and a ton more features! Check it out -> monocle.heyiam.dk

Monocle for macOS • Noise-cancelling for your screen

Blur everything but your active window — just wiggle your cursor.

monocle.heyiam.dk

Zen @zen-browser.app · 9mo ago

We noticed a rising interest regarding the use of AI in browsers. To be clear about our position on this: Zen currently is disabling all AI features included in Firefox and will continue to do so.

The Verge@theverge.com · 9mo ago

Mozilla’s new CEO is doubling down on an AI future for Firefox

Last week my partner (@themoondontshine.bsky.social) and I explored bringing the clicks 'n clacks brand into real life—the process of creating these was a new experience for the both of us. Hope to design more like this soon!

This board is loaded with goodies acquired from camkmeetup.ca Fall 2025!! Nuphy Halo65 kitted with Keykobo Khonsu (designed by Mori) won in the raffle from Unikeys 🌙🐤⌨️. Feat a Minecraft Ore artisan from 3dkeycap 🪨⛏️ So grateful to have these mementos to fondly remember my first event!!

These artisans from jellykey.com are my new favourite handmade discovery—loved the Retro TV series, I unfortunately missed out on the last GB, but I am patiently waiting for whatever comes next!

Close-up photo of three artisan mechanical keyboard keycaps placed on a beige keyboard with Japanese hiragana characters. The keycaps are transparent resin cubes with details inside. The left keycap shows a retro computer screen displaying the word "hello" in cursive, middle keycap has a blue/black pattern, and the right keycap features a green screen with a yellow smiley face.

I was in Cybersecurity before moving to product and believe it’s essential for everyone to learn! I miss it, and Hacktivate by @twostraws.bsky.social fills that void. It offers 200+ challenges to learn about encryption, injection attacks, digital forensics & more—all with a real hacker’s toolkit!

A digital app interface titled "Hacktivate" displays a world map with the United States highlighted in blue and other countries in red. A white line connects the U.S. to a green information panel on the right, labeled "Shadow Eagles," describing a group involved in military and corporate espionage. The panel lists five challenge categories with star ratings: Pretty QR patterns (Cybersecurity, 2 stars, Tame), Ghost extraction (Images, 3 stars, Tame, highlighted), Radio silence (Audio, 2 stars, Tame), Truth table (Logic, 4 stars, Tricky), and Assembly Line (Coding, 3 stars, Tricky). A green "Start Challenge" button is at the bottom right. The top right corner shows "Points: 0" and "Beginner" rank.