It is a nice looking keyboard but do people find value in such minimal layouts?
having gotten over the learning curve, i definitely prefer it over conventional keyboards, but would i recommend it to 99.9% of people? no. people who use these kinds of keyboards have either 1. extremely niche problems, or 2. find intrinsic value in novelty, aesthetics, or diy/experimentation
If you're also a productivity nerd who likes keyboard shortcuts and whatnot, these types of keyboards give you (perhaps counterintuitively) a lot more freedom to experiment.
EDIT ADDED: I'm guessing maybe there is a control that causes other symbols to become visible on the keycaps, replacing the default A-Z symbols, and they never show those alternate symbols in the photos because we're supposed to know it does that.
It’s programmable so you can change what key interactions cause a certain output.
If you don't already know how this kind of keyboard works, we don't care about you and won't bother explaining it to you because you're obviously not worth selling to if you don't already know how a programmable 42 key keyboard works.
You have to pick keycaps, and switches, and maybe buy extra keycaps for some reason. We're not going to tell you why extra keycaps are important or useful, but you should probably buy them anyway for some reason.
I'm pretty sure they would have sold me at least one keyboard, maybe several, if they'd bothered to put even 5 minutes thought into non-keyboard-hipster customers, but I'm clearly not cool enough with my multiple kinesis keyboards, chording keyboards, and mechanical keyboards.
I'm not a keyboard hipster, I'm just a guy who had RSI and doesn't want it again. People like me do actually buy keyboards.
If you have a university nearby, call them and see if they have an accessibility lab, or a service for disabled students. These places usually have all the decent ones, and they will usually let you come in and try them.
failing that, maybe try an ErgoDox EZ or Glove80?
Here's one typical qwerty-ish layout for 42 keys: https://mark.stosberg.com/markstos-corne-3x5-1-keyboard-layo...
And for something more weird but still fully featured, Miryoku is a fairly common micro-keyboard layout, https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku .
Why? Well, I really admire Jonas Heitala's documentation of his journey to find a layout that fit his aesthetic: https://www.jonashietala.se/blog/2023/11/02/i_designed_my_ow... . My layout isn't as extreme, it's still qwerty-ish, but I've been heavily inspired by his thorough analysis.
Layers sound pretty crazy but if you start slow and adapt towards them, they're just amazingly useful.
Putting all your modifier keys on the homerow is probably the most immediately understandable use of layers: https://precondition.github.io/home-row-mods
These let you type every character/key combo without awkward pinky stretches.
A somewhat bespoke layer usecase that I find valuable as a programmer is holding "S" on my left hand sets characters hjkl; to the open-surround characters like ({[<
(Previously, the keyboard, durability, and repairability were also ThinkPad selling points for enthusiasts.)
The durability is mediocre, and repairability is only better than an iPhone.
Will try this out, if its still possible to buy
TEX had a whole line https://tex.com.tw/products/shura
The classic Happy Hackers Keyboard has one. https://hhkeyboard.us/hhkb-studio/product
And Lenovo itself offers several usb keyboards with TrackPoint https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3U4TQS
TLDR; these small split keyboards are so expensive. $190-500 range. Weird.
Do all of the users of these just spend their time in vim? I cannot fathom how they’re used otherwise.
evanjrowley•2h ago
- Wireless
- Integrated pointing device
- Aligned 1u thumb keys
- E-ink screen
- Aluminium plate
- Below $200
I'm interested for sure. Thanks for sharing.
efskap•1h ago
SpicyUme•56m ago
I'm not sure I see the e-ink screen as useful, but that touchpad caught my eye. What do people use that screen for?
qudat•1m ago