A worthy and budget-priced challenger to the Elgato Stream Deck. The DisplayPad gives you access to hundreds of commands, macros, status indicators, and more through its 12 tactile keys. Each key has a 104×104 display that can show various image formats, including GIFs. You can set it on its included base or attach it to the company’s Everest keyboard.

Keycap Quarry takes artisan keycaps to a whole new level. Their Amber Collection consists of keycaps hand cut and polished from rough amber that formed millions of years ago. Some of them even have prehistoric bugs captured inside. They’re compatible with Cherry MX-style switches but probably won’t fit cramped keyboards since they’re really chunky.

Beautify any mechanical keyboard with these lovely real metal keycaps from Awekeys. They’re made from recycled aluminum with copper plating. The keycaps produce an extra-clicky sound and are cool to the touch. They fit a variety of MX key switches and come in a base 116-key set, with add-ons like etched eagle-themed keys by artist Daniel Mitchell.

Washiyama Giken created this unique musical instrument that combines a synthesizer with the bow action of a violin. It uses a piezo sensor to detect the vibrations created by the bow’s movement and an Arduino Uno R4 Minima to translate those into a sound waveform that impacts the sound produced by the note pressed on the keyboard. More here.

Digital paper is really here. The ReMarkable Paper Pro is an E-ink tablet with an 11.8″ 2160 x 1620 display. It has colored ink particles that allow it to display nine colors, which can also be blended into new ones. It has a low-glare backlight, a satisfying paper-like texture, and comes with a stylus. It also has an optional keyboard attachment.

The smaller sibling of the original Creator Board keyboard. Work Louder’s new Creator Micro is a macro pad that more than justifies its price in both form and function. It has 12 keys, a knob, and a scroll wheel, all programmable using VIA. You can switch between up to four layers on the fly using the touch sensor. It also has full RGB underglow lighting.

The 1983 New Order song Blue Monday incorporated plenty of synthesized sounds. Polaroids of the Pyramids thought it might be fun to play the track entirely on those lo-fi Casio synthesizers of the era. They recorded this multi-track rendition on instruments like the VL-1 mini keyboard, SK-1 sampling keyboard, DG-20 digital guitar, and DP-1 drum pads.

The Onexplayer X1 Mini is a versatile and powerful handheld gaming PC. It comes with detachable controllers and a keyboard and can even be connected to an external GPU. It also has an 8.8″ 2560×1600 144Hz LCD screen, an easily replaceable M.2 NVME SSD, Hall Effect joysticks, two USB-C 4.0 ports, a microSD slot, and an Oculink port for connecting PCIe peripherals.

8Bitdo’s new Retro 18 is the numpad version of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard. It also doubles as a standalone calculator, complete with a segmented LCD display. It comes with Kailh Box White V2 tactile switches, but you can easily replace those if you want. Like the keyboard, its colorways are inspired by the C64, IBM Model M, Famicom, and NES.

DIY Perks has finally done it. After stashing a gaming PC into a desk and a monitor into a matching shelf, he’s come up with a solution that elegantly hides the entire computer setup: a liquid-cooled PC, a 45″ OLED display, a mouse, and a keyboard, with lots of room to spare. Just to flex even more, the entire thing sits on motorized standing desk legs.

After hearing Jon Spurney’s outstanding keyboard performance in the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band, we visited his YouTube channel, where we stumbled onto this gem. His parody of 1970s educational films offers parents tips on what to do if their kid starts manipulating objects with their mind. Where is Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters when you need it?

Many inventions make you wonder how their creator came up with them. That’s not the case with Scott Salzman’s Desk Nest Cat Bed. It’s very clearly a cat bed stuck to a monitor arm. Can you make your own for half the price? If you have the skills, absolutely. But for everyone else, this might keep kitty off your keyboard. The bed rotates 360° and holds 25 lb.

There are lots of gadgets on the market which are marketed as rugged, durable, or indestructible. But are shockproof and waterproof devices really better? Mrwhosetheboss purchased a bunch of these items, including cables, watches, keyboards, speakers, and a laptop, and put them to the test to see how just much torture they could withstand.

Every cat can be Keyboard Cat with this synthesizer cat scratcher from Suck UK. The Mog Sub Catty Feline Synthesizer features a large cardboard scratching surface in place of keys, along with a pitch/mod ball for kitty to bat at. Buy a bunch, and let your kitty pretend to be this guy.

The Karakuri Channel loves to make unique mechanical art. This time, they designed and built a gadget that turns nearly 300 brass nails into a moving wave. To make it work, they removed the tip of each nail and attached a sleeve and a ball bearing. A motor turns interchangeable discs against the balls to create wave patterns. Watch with subtitles.

Harpist Emily Hopkins has shown us before how technology can make ordinary musical instruments more interesting. In this video, she challenged herself to make video game music with unusual sound-making gadgets. The list includes a musical Tamagotchi, a meowing cat keyboard, and a crazy motorized synthesizer.