Macropads have gotten very talked-about, and for good motive. Anybody who works with software program that makes use of loads of key combos rapidly learns the worth of getting frequent, repetitive duties mapped to a single key. Nonetheless, when altering between completely different functions or profiles on a macropad, it may be exhausting to recollect how you may have mapped issues. An amazing resolution is to print out keycap stickers, however an much more superior resolution is to place a full-colour LCD behind each key! That’s precisely what the creator of the Open Deck has accomplished.

Whereas this isn’t a brand new thought, the present options are nearly totally proprietary and fairly costly. They’ve locked firmware and solely help the platforms and use circumstances they suppose will promote probably the most pads. However the Open Deck is absolutely open supply, permitting you to repurpose it, reprogram it, or combine it into any venture you need. This additionally signifies that so long as you may have the {hardware}, you’ll all the time be capable to use it — open supply software program doesn’t vanish when a product is discontinued.

Beneath the hood, the Open Deck is utilizing an ESP8266 operating an Arduino core, that means it’s very straightforward to tweak and add options if you need. The pc-side software program is written in Python, and whereas the present model has some options which are solely out there on Home windows, it does work with Mac and Linux too.

If this venture piques your curiosity, be certain that to take a look at the venture web page and take a look at the demo video beneath!