The first public-facing CannonKeys software project contributed to by ai03 is live, allowing customers to change delivery addresses for their CannonKeys orders at any time with a few clicks.
The service is to be expanded in the near future with automations for order cancellations and editing.

For more information, please see the news post on the CannonKeys blog.

The plate generator at kbplate.ai03.com has been rewritten from the ground up, offering blazing-fast generation and previews while retaining the versatility and exactness of the previous version.
The source code is available here.

Happy new year - a time of celebration, and also time for an equally exciting announcement.
Getting straight to the point - I’m happy to announce that I am now working full-time at CannonKeys as a dedicated designer and web developer.

Why so sudden?

• We’ve always had a common goal of wanting to deliver the best possible keyboards regardless of style or price, and it was natural to combine our efforts. Working together as a single CannonKeys team means more combined effort, more combined power, and more keyboards.

• I’ve always wanted to pursue a job that involved software development - which is one of the major reasons I started making keyboards to begin with as a tool to aid my journey, and eventually led to the means becoming a goal of its own. At the same time, I didn’t want to forgo designing keyboards for it, and CannonKeys allows me to tackle both of my passions at once.

• It actually isn’t as sudden as it seems - I’ve been employed for a few months now after an even longer period of discussion and consideration, and so many people I work with have already known about this and kept the secret for the surprise announcement. Many of my past and present projects were made possible by CannonKeys support and expertise; this decision extends from these past collaborations into a path for future designs.

What changes?

• More keyboards. Working full-time means I can dedicate more time to creating more designs rather than stressing over finances, restrictions, and customer support. In addition, CannonKeys will be able to produce and ship my designs in high volume, meaning higher chance of being able to obtain the keyboard if you want one.

• Better keyboards. More dedicated designing time and powerful vendor support means more freedom to tackle the most important part of keyboard design - refining, testing, and improving.

• Software development. I’ll be building tools to help CannonKeys grow - whether speeding up and automating logistics, making limited keyboard runs more fair to all, or helping newcomers choose their first keyboard parts, the knowledge earned from my crippling 6 digits US dollars of education debt will be put to real-world test as I automate the world to get keyboards into your hands quickly and stress-free.

What remains the same?

• Existing relations. Just because I’m a dedicated CannonKeys employee doesn’t mean I’ll suddenly stop working with everyone else - existing projects will continue to evolve with their original vendors, and collaboration projects will keep happening whenever they’re possible. If the Polaris V2 IC launched a week ago isn’t enough proof, I don’t know what will convince you on this front.

• ai03 designs. My design philosophy won’t change overnight or whatnot, nor will my design decisions suddenly be dictated by anyone else. It’ll be the same as before - both designing things that come to mind either randomly or out of excruciating effort as well as collaborations that merge design language and expertise, and shaping them to work in the real world.

• ai03. For better or for worse, I’ll just be the same person you’ve known from before - just supercharged and in turbo mode. Maybe this increases the chances of me creating your dream keyboard faster. Who knows.

And with everything needed said, it is time that I get back to designing the next project. Until it’s ready, here’s a sneak peek at some upcoming things:

After much anticipation, the successor to the board that started it all is finally here.
Polaris V2 carries on the legacy of the original Polaris while being updated to current standards alongside cutting-edge development.

To learn more, visit the page linked below.

Note: This article was published on October 22. The labelled date is incorrect due to article re-creation following data loss.

The keyset is now available for purchase. Group buy closes on November 15. Base kit price has unfortunately risen to 89USD due to increased manufacturing costs.

Direct links:

• KBDfans
• MyKeyboard
• Candykeys - Supposedly the page will exist later
• Mechboards
• Yusha Kobo
• ApexKeyboards
• Daily Clack

The much-requested keyset is back - ePBT SimpleJA is preparing for a second round.
With revised kitting and new tooling, the vintage aesthetic has seen both refinement and improved compatibility with unique key layouts.
In addition, this project marks the first design to be ICed primarily on the brand new website.

For more details and eyecandy, please visit the SimpleJA R2 IC page linked below.

ai03.com has been rewritten entirely for convenience and speed.

• Each keyboard project has its own proper page, with convenient access to images, updates, and downloads for each.
• Updates and downloads are now sortable by category and board.
• A news page has been added for announcements.
• The new site is built using Gatsby and Strapi for maintainability and speed.

From now on, both weekly and periodic announcements will be posted to this page.