3 ms·

I bought an Ergodox EZ because I wanted to try out the wonderful mechanical keyboard feedback that many blog posts talk about. The tactile feedback in particula

I bought an Ergodox EZ because I wanted to try out the wonderful mechanical keyboard feedback that many blog posts talk about. The tactile feedback in particular; as I didn't want to bother my colleagues, I bought Blue Zilents from Zeal PC [1], which were a nice upgrade from the Cherry Browns - silent, regular, good tactility. I never really got what I was looking for. While the keyboard "felt nice", the extra travel seemed excessive when compared to the standard Mac keyboard (2015 model), and the tactility didn't really improve my typing. Rather, due to the ortholinear layout of the Ergodox, and the keyboard not having room for the Danish characters (æÆ, øØ and åÅ) which I use every day, I spent a lot of time configuring first the keyboard layout, then my brain to fit it. And in spite of the silent switch choice, I could never be as ninjaish as on my Mac keyboard. The final straw, however, was when I read a blog post that confirmed my general feeling about the sluggishness of the keyboard; the software that the keyboard runs internally means another hurdle in the signal path from my button press to the computer reacting, and a huge one when compared with other keyboards. Regardless of how much I practiced, the keyboard would _never_ feel as fast or responsive as I'd like it to, and consequently, my efforts into improving my typing would probably proceed at a poorer rate than it could have. I reverted to the Mac keyboard, and I'm happy! This isn't intended as an Ergodox bashing. Personally, I learned from the experience that a) Mechanical keyboards are not for me, and b) The Ergodox certainly isn't for me. And, possibly, that c) The butterfly mechanism of the 2015 Macbook Pro is actually a perfect fit for me. But I also learned a more general lesson, which is d) To keep critically pursuing alternative interfaces, _especially_ when I'm experiencing fatigue or pain, and e) That regardless of the interface, repetition can be hurtful. In my future home office, I hope to have more than one pointing device and more than one keyboard, so that I can switch it up once a while - use an vertical mouse rather than a horizontal one, or switch to a touchpad or Wacom when I feel like it. And the same for the keyboard; changing the angle of the board (angles in the case of a physically split board), strapping keyboards to my thighs, using keyboard with different switch mechanisms and key layouts. And, of course, getting away from the keyboard, stretching, and looking into the distance :) Take care of yourselves, fellow keyboard warriors! [1] https://zealpc.net/products/zilents https://zealpc.net/products/zilents

YorickPeterse 6y ago
I've been using an Ergodox for about a year now, but never noticed any latency issues of any kind. This is just using standard Cherry MX brown switches. Perhaps the issue was something else? At the end of the day I think it's a matter of taste/preference. Some like mechanical keyboards (i.e. me), others don't. That's fine, just pick whatever works for you :)
- Reefersleep 6y ago
  I didn't do any testing to figure out where the latency came from, but the article was pretty thorough in documenting the palpable difference between Ergodox and e.g. the Apple Magic keyboard. I managed to dig it up for you: https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ Come to think of it, I might have incurred some latency myself with the particular layout I'd brewed; some keys had dual meanings depending on whether I held them down or not. That was a patch on the problem I had with the physical Ergodox layout lacking my Danish characters, though, so even if I'm partly to blame myself for the latency, that wouldn't have made a great difference in my overall assessment. I agree fully; pick whatever suits you. I kind of still want a mechanical keyboard that has extreme amounts of click and clack, just because it feels so nice to type with. I just don't know which model I'd pick, and it'd be pretty expensive for something I'd only use occasionally.
  - YorickPeterse 6y ago
    > https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ I'm surprised the HHKB2 scores better than the Ergodox. I used one for years but found it to type more sluggish. I suspect this is due to Topre switches requiring a bit more force to push down. > Come to think of it, I might have incurred some latency myself with the particular layout I'd brewed Oh yeah, the dual-function keys are horrible latency wise. I tried various ways of reducing this, but you end up having to choose between high latency or low latency but keys not registering. I ended up not using dual-function keys because of this. This is a bummer, because the concept is great. The Ergodox/QMK does let you tweak the USB polling rate, but I haven't really taken a good look at this yet. > I kind of still want a mechanical keyboard that has extreme amounts of click and clack, just because it feels so nice to type with. I just don't know which model I'd pick, and it'd be pretty expensive for something I'd only use occasionally. Personally I'd love to see something like the Ergodox, but a bit more compact (e.g. no thumb cluster), and half the height. Height especially is something that seems overlooked with mechanical keyboards. This is a shame, as I suspect it's easier to keep your hands/arms at the right angle with a flatter keyboard.

YorickPeterse 6y ago

I've been using an Ergodox for about a year now, but never noticed any latency issues of any kind. This is just using standard Cherry MX brown switches. Perhaps the issue was something else? At the end of the day I think it's a matter of taste/preference. Some like mechanical keyboards (i.e. me), others don't. That's fine, just pick whatever works for you :)

Reefersleep 6y ago
I didn't do any testing to figure out where the latency came from, but the article was pretty thorough in documenting the palpable difference between Ergodox and e.g. the Apple Magic keyboard. I managed to dig it up for you: https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ Come to think of it, I might have incurred some latency myself with the particular layout I'd brewed; some keys had dual meanings depending on whether I held them down or not. That was a patch on the problem I had with the physical Ergodox layout lacking my Danish characters, though, so even if I'm partly to blame myself for the latency, that wouldn't have made a great difference in my overall assessment. I agree fully; pick whatever suits you. I kind of still want a mechanical keyboard that has extreme amounts of click and clack, just because it feels so nice to type with. I just don't know which model I'd pick, and it'd be pretty expensive for something I'd only use occasionally.
- YorickPeterse 6y ago
  > https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ https://danluu.com/keyboard-latency/ I'm surprised the HHKB2 scores better than the Ergodox. I used one for years but found it to type more sluggish. I suspect this is due to Topre switches requiring a bit more force to push down. > Come to think of it, I might have incurred some latency myself with the particular layout I'd brewed Oh yeah, the dual-function keys are horrible latency wise. I tried various ways of reducing this, but you end up having to choose between high latency or low latency but keys not registering. I ended up not using dual-function keys because of this. This is a bummer, because the concept is great. The Ergodox/QMK does let you tweak the USB polling rate, but I haven't really taken a good look at this yet. > I kind of still want a mechanical keyboard that has extreme amounts of click and clack, just because it feels so nice to type with. I just don't know which model I'd pick, and it'd be pretty expensive for something I'd only use occasionally. Personally I'd love to see something like the Ergodox, but a bit more compact (e.g. no thumb cluster), and half the height. Height especially is something that seems overlooked with mechanical keyboards. This is a shame, as I suspect it's easier to keep your hands/arms at the right angle with a flatter keyboard.