The world of DIY mechanical keyboards is full of niche devices with unique designs, and more than a few gimmicks. Keybytes, a new project by a modder who goes by notaroomba on GitHub via KBDnews, falls somewhere between the former and the latter, and mostly serves as an interesting proof of concept. Keybytes a modular mechanical keyboard project designed for ultimate customization. The basic idea is to have single mechanical keyboard sockets with full-height MX mechanical switches, aka Keybits, each with their own PCB and magnetic connectors that allow them to snap together, effectively creating an infinitely reconfigurable keyboard.

The whole project hinges on the Keyword, a motherboard of sorts that contains the USB Type-C port, battery charging circuitry, and a STM32WB55 MCU. That motherboard connects to each Keybit, each of which also has its own RISC-V CH592F MCU and some clever tricks that allow the bits to connect in a rotation-agnostic way. There are also alternative PCB options, including one with a 3-axis Hall sensor, which would allow for something like a joystick or Hall effect switch implementation, and there are also spacer Keybits with power passthrough in 1u, 0.75u, and 0.5u units. In the latest design revision, each of the Keybits also has six magnets per side and automatic polarity detection, meaning switches can be arranged in-line or at 25%, 50%, or 75% offsets.

One of the details that got gamers excited around the time Valve announced the Steam Machine was the inclusion of an e-ink panel that was shown off in the console's announcement video, which we later discovered would not be commercially available. Following the e-ink panel hype and the official launch of the Steam Machine, NaKyle Write, a Valve contractor, has officially published a GitLab page detailing a DIY Inkterface panel, which gives gamers the ability to build the e-ink panel as long as they have access to parts and a soldering iron, and the ability to combine the two. The GitLab post lists all the necessary parts, but it requires some knowledge of the Linux AppImage packaging format and building and flashing firmware for the e-ink panel.

Valve says that it has In total, the BOM cost comes out to around $88.15 using the sources Valve lists in the GitLab instructions, although it's likely that the parts or 1:1 alternatives could be acquired more affordably on sites like AliExpress. The most expensive component is the 5.83-inch e-ink display, at $49.95. The Steam Machine Inkterface panel is technically an independent peripheral in that it does not need the Steam Machine to display an image. As such, it connects to the Steam Machine with a BLE connection, and it is controlled by the Steam Machine using an app, which currently needs to be compiled as an AppImage but will later be shipped on Steam. The Inkterface panel can display a number of system stats or custom layouts and images created in Lunacy, an open-source Figma alternative.

We recently visited 8BitDo at CES 2026, where we saw the Retro Wireless Receivers that enable wireless controller compatibility with retro game consoles. Now, 8BitDo has officially released both the Retro Wireless Receiver for the N64 and a modern wireless controller designed to work with a 2.4 GHz version of the same receiver. The Retro Wireless Receiver for N64 is available on Amazon and the 8BitDo eShop for $24.99, operates via BLE, and is compatible with a whole host of 8BitDo and first-party console controllers, including the Switch 64 Online, Switch Pro, and Wii U Pro controllers, seemingly any 8BitDo controller that supports BLE—like the Ultimate series and SN30 Pro series—Xbox One, Series, Elite Series controllers, and PlayStation's DualShock 4, DualSense, and DualSense Edge Controllers. The receiver also supports vibration and a built-in memory, with customization available via 8BitDo's Ultimate Software. 8BitDo also sells a mod kit to make the original N64 controller wireless, which is also compatible with the Retro Wireless Receiver.

The 8BitDo 64 2.4 GHz controller, on the other hand, is mostly just a rehash of the existing 8BitDo 64 Bluetooth controller repackaged to work with 2.4 GHz and paired with a Retro Wireless Receiver for N64 compatibility. The 64 controller uses modern controller design and ergonomics with a button layout adapted for the N64—specifically, it features large AB buttons where the right thumb stick would normally be on a game controller and a D-Pad where the usual ABXY face buttons would be. These design changes are to make the controller compatible with the Nintendo N64 console, but the internals are quite modern, featuring a Hall-effect joystick and support for Windows, via a wired connection, and the Analogue3D FPGA project's reimagining of the original N64, replete with vibration support on the latter. The 8BitDo 64 2.4 GHz controller is available on Amazon and 8BitDo's eShop for $39.99.

Microsoft has released its latest DirectStorage 1.4 update, focusing on the technicalities behind game asset streaming. Today, the company introduced new compression and decompression technology called Zstandard (Zstd), which should improve game loading times and bring much faster game asset streaming than what was previously used. Microsoft originally developed its DirectStorage in DirectX 12 to take advantage of the quick NVMe SSDs. Powerful consumer GPUs need game assets to load incredibly fast, and DirectStorage devleopment has cut out the middle-man, the CPU, in the process of streaming these assets from storage to the GPU. Traditionally, this has been done over CPU, causing delays and latencies across teh stack.

To push Zstd even further, Microsoft has developed the Game Asset Conditioning Library (GACL), a companion tool that developers run on their assets before a game ships. The idea is that instead of simply compressing textures, GACL first conditions them to be more compressible, allowing Zstd to squeeze files down by up to 50% more than it otherwise could. It does this through a few different techniques. Shuffling rearranges data inside texture files so repeating patterns cluster together, giving Zstd more to latch onto. Block-Level Entropy Reduction (BLER) and Component-Level Entropy Reduction (CLER) then reduce texture complexity at the block and color-channel level, using perceptual quality as a guide so any changes remain invisible to the player. CLER takes this a step further by incorporating machine learning to identify exactly where that reduction can be applied without anyone noticing.

Since the launch of the Steam Deck, Valve has been hard at work polishing its Arch-based Linux distro, SteamOS, for both its own gaming handheld and, more recently, third-party gaming handhelds. With the launch of the SteamOS 3.7.15 update, Valve has taken steps to correct a handful of gaming handheld issues. Most of the updates are bug fixes and quality of life updates, rather than new features, but there are also a number of security updates included that patch out known CVEs. This follows recent news about the official full release of the new Steam Store redesign and the Steam beta that adds support for detecting Secure Boot and TPM states for modern anti-cheat solutions. Overall, Valve seems to be working towards getting SteamOS in a state that is both user-friendly and stable in an attempt to attract and keep as many users on its platform as possible.

For the Steam Deck, the clock and power limits and Wi-Fi connection should more reliably return to their configured states after the device wakes from sleep, and the battery charge estimation has been improved. Wake-on-Bluetooth support has also been returned to all versions of the Steam Deck with support for BLE peripherals—which should prove handy when the handheld is docked. The built-in screen reader also now has multi-language support, and there are a number of audio improvements. For starters, the Steam Deck's volume will no longer jump to 100% when removing wired headphones, the Deck will now also automatically switch to USB audio devices when detected, and audio distortion in the built-in microphone has also been removed. Valve has also removed the Pro Audio profile from the KDE desktop mode—an anti-feature many Linux users will be aware of because it simply disables audio when you select it.

It has been over four years since the release of the Raspberry Pi 4, and in that time a lot has changed in the maker board and single-board computer landscape. For the Raspberry Pi Foundation there were struggles with worldwide demand and production capacity brought on by the global pandemic starting in 2020, and plenty of new competitors came to the scene to offer ready to order alternatives to the venerable RPi 4. Today however the production woes have been assuaged and a new generation of Raspberry Pi is here; the Raspberry Pi 5.

Raspberry Pi 5 is being announced in advance of availability unlike every prior RPi device launch. Pre-orders are open with many of the listed Approved Resellers on RPi's website starting today but unit shipments aren't expected until near the end of October 2023. As part of this pre-order scheme, RPi Foundation is withholding pre-orders from bulk customers and will be dealing in single-unit sales for individuals until at least the end of the year, as well as running some promotions with The MagPi and HackSpace magazines to give priority access to their subscribers. Genuinely nice to see, considering how hard it was to obtain a Pi 4 for the average Joe over the last couple years. The two announced prices for the RPi 5 are $60 USD for the 4 GB variant, and $80 USD for the 8 GB variant; or about $5 USD more than current reseller pricing on comparable configurations of the Raspberry Pi 4.

Considering all the buzz around WiFi 7, there weren't many live demos at Computex, but Realtek had a demo running in its suite at the show. Realtek will offer both client and router/AP solutions, with their client product which goes under the RTL8922AE model name, coming in M.2 2230 and 1620 formats, where the latter is a solder down module. To simulate a real world scenario, Realtek was running a second radio to cause some additional interference, but the RTL8922AE test setup was still capable of delivering between 1,750 and 1,950 Mbps, which is almost twice as fast as WiFi 6, using a similar 2x2 antenna setup. This was obviously over a fairly short distance, so the question is how well WiFi 7 will work over longer distances.

The RTL8922AE has a claimed maximum sync speed of 2800 Mbps when connected to the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands simultaneously and combining the bandwidth of both bands. However, it is limited to a 160 MHz channel bandwidth, whereas WiFi 7 can go up to a 320 MHz wide channel, but it's unclear if competing first gen clients will support this. The RTL8922AE also incorporates support for Bluetooth 5.4 and is as far as we're aware one of the first WiFi chips to support the upcoming standard that mostly focuses on improving BLE Audio and Auracast support. The RTL8922AE should launch sometime in the fourth quarter this year to Realtek's customers, so it might not appear on the market until early 2024.

Samsung Electronics today announced the global launch of its full 2023 Smart Monitor lineup. The new M8, M7 and M5 Smart Monitors (Model Name: M80C, M70C, M50C) from Samsung enable users to tailor their monitors to their unique styles and needs, as they watch, play and work.

"We are raising the bar for Smart Monitors globally with our new lineup and especially our enhanced M8 model," said Hoon Chung, Executive Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. "Within a single monitor, users can enjoy the best of entertainment and gaming, productivity, design and personalized convenience and comfort."

Airoha Technology today announced that its new series of Bluetooth audio chips have successfully completed the latest Bluetooth Low Energy Audio Qualification Process. This is one of the most important R&D achievements of its Bluetooth audio R&D team consisted of hundreds of engineers, who continues to revolutionize the wireless audio end device market. The "flagship" and "professional" series of chipsets support LE audio and Bluetooth 5.3 for multiple applications such as True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earbuds, Bluetooth smart speakers, assistive listening devices, and Bluetooth transmitters. The products are currently being tested by many brand customers and are expected to be available worldwide in the first half of 2023.

"The LE Audio specifications are the most important milestone reached in the Bluetooth audio industry in the past decade. With the support of our strong R&D team consisting of hundreds of engineers who have accumulated nearly a decade of technical expertise, Airoha became one of the world's first certified chip providers. This supports many customers to accelerate the launch of their end devices. The wireless audio innovation brought by the latest Bluetooth LE technology will expedite the process by which consumers and businesses enjoy the convenient and innovative services it brings, fully demonstrating the Airoha's vision and business philosophy." said Yuchuan Yang, Sr. Vice President of Airoha.