4 ms·
Over twenty years I've spent too much money trying to get a keyboard that really worked for me... and I finally gave up and I now use the cheapest disposable cr
by Quequau 6y ago
Over twenty years I've spent too much money trying to get a keyboard that really worked for me... and I finally gave up and I now use the cheapest disposable crap from hole-in-the-wall electrical / electronics shop that I can walk to.
Nearly all the DIY keyboards I've seen are ruthlessly minimalistic and I really would prefer a larger keyboard with more keys, so I don't have to remember lots of meta-key combination short-cuts. I don't think I've memorised all the keyboard short cuts in a given piece of software in a decade... I just don't really use one particular thing enough to make it worthwhile.
That keyboard with the active LED keycaps came out in what... 2006? I expected a regular keyboard with small set of active keycaps for macro keys would have existed by now. Come to think of it, I never used an Apple laptop with that active TouchBar thing either but that doesn't seem to have achieved enduring popularity. but I guess there's no real market for that either.
- daveleebbc 6y agoSounds like you're just after a 80% keyboard or bigger, no? Plenty out there with all benefits of going premium/mechanical. Search for "TKL mechanical keyboard" and you'll maybe find what you're looking for. It's everything except the number pad.
- dgregd 6y agoYou can have two keyboards. A first ergonomic split keyboard for the alpha keys. A second keyboard _only_ for function keys (placed between the split keyboard), an ortholinear planck keyboard with QMK firmware would be ideal. With QMK you can program a single key to send a complex combination like Alt+Shift+F10 (the Run... action in IntelliJ), you get the idea. Moreover you can make [1] the same key to do the same action in different OSes and programs. No need to remember different shortcuts how to switch tabs in a browser and in a text editor. [1] https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/users/miles2go/babblePaste.md https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/users/miles2...
- Quequau 6y agoI have sorta tried this. Razer makes a macro keypad which they call "orbweaver" and it also has a nifty thumb switch which I suppose they intended to be used for the wasd movement in games. Unfortunately, it's designed to be used with the left hand and I mouse with my left hand. I would dearly love a macro keypad exactly like an orbweaver but which was designed for use with the right hand. So I also now own an unbranded "ambidextrous" macro keypad. Besides the fact that it is great example of how ostensibly ambidextrous devices being really not that great for left handed people, I mostly used it for gaming but as I am not much of a gamer it doesn't get used often. I also migrated from a Mac desktop to Linux. I had a very nice application for macros on MacOS called ControllerMate but I've yet to find anything remotely similar for Linux.
- zamadatix 6y agoJust search "104 key" (or however big you want) along with whatever you're looking for to weed out smaller keyboards. I've got a "WASD v3" keyboard which is a full keyboard with numberpad, like you I can't stand low key count keyboards. You can choose the color, switch type, key color/images, and program macros/layouts stored in the firmware. No LED displays if that's what you want though. The nice thing about this option vs a DIY is you order it, it arrives. I.e. you're buying a customized keyboard not a customized keyboard building experience. There are plenty like this out there, you just have to specify that's what you want when searching.
- teawrecks 6y ago96 key. You're welcome.