Input

Back in 2023, an Australian team created a Kickstarter campaign for the radically customizable Flux keyboard. While they’re heading toward the finish line, a less ambitious project has tackled taking a similar approach to a Steam Deck-style macro keypad. Embedding a full display below the buttons allows the use of photos or video loops below the button labels. You can even show a spectrograph under music controls or play mini-games. Since one reason the Stream Deck stays ahead of the pack is its application support. the VSD team has created a cloud platform called Space; the creators say the M3 should be compatible with 500 plugins, more than 300 scenes, over 200 icon packs, and over 100 dynamic backgrounds at launch as it promotes an open developer ecosystem.

Trackballs: they’re not just the throwback input device on the Macrodata Refinement terminals particularly featured in the last episode of Severance Season 2. They’re a stable and mature mouse alternative for desktops that require minimal movement.  Kensington, which pioneered the large-ball variety in 1989, may have reached its pinnacle of design with its new Expert Mouse TB800 EQ. The low-profile device features a pair of side rollers alongside a dial at the foot of the ball and a host of crowning buttons atop the design’s typical four. With that many controls, it’s worthy of consideration as a true media controller in addition to being Kensington’s best-looking trackball since its SlimBlade Trackball .