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Not intending to be rude but... My own main personal problem is not much in switch terms but in the keyboards they are in: - most can't be easily reprogrammed

by kkfx 5y ago

Not intending to be rude but... My own main personal problem is not much in switch terms but in the keyboards they are in: - most can't be easily reprogrammed and some with only some programmable keys demand extra software at runtime to work; - most are just designed out of IBM PC classic keyboard changing just the look&feel from one to another, there is exactly ZERO competition in keyboard features behind aesthetic/visual aspects/colorful backlit etc; - keys tend to be smaller and narrow than the past, I suppose to save plastic for the OEM, nothing really for the end user; - Cherry profile &c makes impossible to move keycaps freely around the keyboard (classic IBM parabolic design, with is very simple actually can perfectly: all keycaps are physically identical). To be less off-topic: switches soldered in ways that's hard substitute them at home if some breaks after a bit of time. Switch with different keycaps connectors just to create incompatibility between vendors and no standard to rescue... Long story short: real tactility and force might be interesting to discuss and compare people taste on those topics, noise levels are another topic, but the above issues well... Are IMO far more crucial and still ignored by most...

yeahboats 5y ago
Have you looked into the various builds on r/ergomechkeyboards? A lot of custom layouts/pcbs, most all with hotswap switches and running QMK, which should let you keep your custom keys on device and not needing any software at runtime. (You'll have to program the firmware at some point though.) I went with one that had a build service as I didn't feel comfortable soldering just yet. Only downside is that cases can be a little unrefined and it's easy to get expensive quickly as they are more niche builds.
- dendriti 5y ago
  There are tools such as VIA which handle firmware for you, so you can just change a key in the GUI.
- kkfx 5y ago
  Yes, but all share a common pattern: they try to be as small as possible. My personal vision is that OEMs have well sold "small is better" to spare materials and sell them at a higher price... I'm living in Emacs (EXWM), with a binding strategy of a bind a single key hit or a mod+key because even with more spatial movement I'm still quick and with less mental context switch/overhead to move in space vs using "more mods"/keyboard layers or key chords... In the past SUN Type 6 alike keyboards suffice, nowadays it's hard to find anything and start my own design demand simply too much time and effort to achieve daily usage quality for my tastes. That's about me of course, but the rant is in general: in the past some companies, even journals,have asked for custom keyboards to be more efficient, now the focus is just on consuming devices instead of producing ones. That's alarming IMVHO and worth to debate beside the rant...

by kkfx 5y ago

yeahboats 5y ago

Have you looked into the various builds on r/ergomechkeyboards? A lot of custom layouts/pcbs, most all with hotswap switches and running QMK, which should let you keep your custom keys on device and not needing any software at runtime. (You'll have to program the firmware at some point though.) I went with one that had a build service as I didn't feel comfortable soldering just yet. Only downside is that cases can be a little unrefined and it's easy to get expensive quickly as they are more niche builds.

dendriti 5y ago
There are tools such as VIA which handle firmware for you, so you can just change a key in the GUI.
kkfx 5y ago
Yes, but all share a common pattern: they try to be as small as possible. My personal vision is that OEMs have well sold "small is better" to spare materials and sell them at a higher price... I'm living in Emacs (EXWM), with a binding strategy of a bind a single key hit or a mod+key because even with more spatial movement I'm still quick and with less mental context switch/overhead to move in space vs using "more mods"/keyboard layers or key chords... In the past SUN Type 6 alike keyboards suffice, nowadays it's hard to find anything and start my own design demand simply too much time and effort to achieve daily usage quality for my tastes. That's about me of course, but the rant is in general: in the past some companies, even journals,have asked for custom keyboards to be more efficient, now the focus is just on consuming devices instead of producing ones. That's alarming IMVHO and worth to debate beside the rant...