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00Key a 75% Keyboard

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Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#11

Post by WesleyLivesay »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #6
mmh0000 wrote: post #4

I really do not like these compressed baby keyboards that are missing essential keys. My perfect keyboard would be something like a 150% with standard full layout but then adding in a bunch of programmable macro keys, I want more than F12! I want F1 through F36. Also a built in coffee grinder, water heater, and there should be a fan under the keys to keep my hands cool. Okay, ignore those last three.

I've been wondering for a while now why these fractional keyboards are so popular. It's some sort of trendy faux-minimalism that I've never been able to wrap my head around.

Before I swapped to a split keyboard I liked the numpad-less/fractional keyboards because it allowed my mouse to be in a better spot on my desk as it required me to keep the keyboard centered without having to reach so far to the right to use the mouse.

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#12

Post by SkyPuncher »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #6
mmh0000 wrote: post #4

I really do not like these compressed baby keyboards that are missing essential keys. My perfect keyboard would be something like a 150% with standard full layout but then adding in a bunch of programmable macro keys, I want more than F12! I want F1 through F36. Also a built in coffee grinder, water heater, and there should be a fan under the keys to keep my hands cool. Okay, ignore those last three.

I've been wondering for a while now why these fractional keyboards are so popular. It's some sort of trendy faux-minimalism that I've never been able to wrap my head around.

For me, I just have an external num pad.

I was finding I was getting elbow pain by having to cock my arm a bit to use my mouse.

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#13

Post by komali2 »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #6
mmh0000 wrote: post #4

I really do not like these compressed baby keyboards that are missing essential keys. My perfect keyboard would be something like a 150% with standard full layout but then adding in a bunch of programmable macro keys, I want more than F12! I want F1 through F36. Also a built in coffee grinder, water heater, and there should be a fan under the keys to keep my hands cool. Okay, ignore those last three.

I've been wondering for a while now why these fractional keyboards are so popular. It's some sort of trendy faux-minimalism that I've never been able to wrap my head around.

For me it allows me to input whatever I need to input, without leaving home row.

Since you use CTRL and SHIFT without problem, basically just imagine having a few more modifier keys. That's all.

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#14

Post by atlas_hugged »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #6
mmh0000 wrote: post #4

I really do not like these compressed baby keyboards that are missing essential keys. My perfect keyboard would be something like a 150% with standard full layout but then adding in a bunch of programmable macro keys, I want more than F12! I want F1 through F36. Also a built in coffee grinder, water heater, and there should be a fan under the keys to keep my hands cool. Okay, ignore those last three.

I've been wondering for a while now why these fractional keyboards are so popular. It's some sort of trendy faux-minimalism that I've never been able to wrap my head around.

A subset of those is gamers that want the mouse closer to the center, rather than off to the right when using a full keyboard. Especially competitive gamers, because it helps reduce RSI

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#15

Post by criddell »

luke-stanley wrote: post #8

This is cool but I wish I could just have a 75% portable Bluetooth keyboard. I can't justify buying a foldable phone with a million screens but would love a Psion like keyboard with 4 and a half almost full size rows that I can slide out from below my phone with no folding and just use directly without getting in the way of my rear camera. Has anyone seen anything like that? I am really happy with laptop scissor swit…

I might be wrong, but in this case I think the 75% refers to the layout, not the physical size of the keys.

https://www.keyboard.university/100-courses/keyboard-sizes-l...

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#16

Post by neves »

WesleyLivesay wrote: post #10
BossingAround wrote: post #2

Personally, I found the perfect keyboard in Ergodox [0][1]. Ortholinear, split, programmable (and open-source) keyboard with hot-swappable switches. I've had my Ergodox EZ [2] for ~7 years now. The biggest problem that happened was that some of the switches started malfunctioning - fixing which was a matter of literally 5 minutes. I don't think I would want to go back to non-split, non-ortholinear keyboards nowadays.…

I had exactly the same experience. After using the Ergodox since around 2020 it is hard to see going back to a non-split keyboard. It helps that I also swapped to a trackball at the same time and I find the ergo of having a trackball between a split keyboard to be excellent. Also, having the backspace key as the "home" key for my left thumb has greatly increased my typing speed....I make a lot of mistakes.

that you make a lot of mistakes isn't a good compliment for a keyboard :-)

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#17

Post by digging »

atlas_hugged wrote: post #14
VyseofArcadia wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been wondering for a while now why these fractional keyboards are so popular. It's some sort of trendy faux-minimalism that I've never been able to wrap my head around.

A subset of those is gamers that want the mouse closer to the center, rather than off to the right when using a full keyboard. Especially competitive gamers, because it helps reduce RSI

> because it helps reduce RSI

Really?! I spend so much time on my macbook for work using the trackpad as my primary mouse and it feels horrible for my arms. I could understand t improving APM but on my personal computer I really like having things spread out, it allows me to flex my arms a lot more.

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#18

Post by jwells89 »

mmh0000 wrote: post #4

I really do not like these compressed baby keyboards that are missing essential keys. My perfect keyboard would be something like a 150% with standard full layout but then adding in a bunch of programmable macro keys, I want more than F12! I want F1 through F36. Also a built in coffee grinder, water heater, and there should be a fan under the keys to keep my hands cool. Okay, ignore those last three.

What’s “essential” varies a lot between users. As a mobile dev I’ve been using 60% and 65% boards almost exclusively since 2015 and haven’t missed the removed keys much at all.

Really though, to me the problem with full-size keyboards isn’t the number of keys but their positioning. The traditional full sized layout was designed prior to mice being common, which immediately becomes evident when you try to center the alpha cluster of such boards with how doing so pushes the mousing area uncomfortably far off to the right. So-called “southpaw” boards fix this by putting the home/end/arrows column and numpad on the left side of the board instead, but sadly this layout hasn’t broken into the mainstream and is only available in comparatively expensive small-batch enthusiast boards.

This is why for now I use 60%/65%/75% with a separate numpad on the left, which largely replicates the advantages of a southpaw board with added flexibility (the numpad can be put away when not needed).

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#19

Post by evnix »

Good example of form over function. This is nice if you want to impress your YouTube fan followers or get a few likes for when you post on Reddit or other social media.

Split keyboards should be your go to if you are spending considerable time on your computer. A lot of back issues, shoulder pains and RSI issues just disappeared after making the switch.

Re: 00Key a 75% Keyboard

#20

Post by bluesquared »

atlas_hugged wrote: post #14
VyseofArcadia wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been wondering for a while now why these fractional keyboards are so popular. It's some sort of trendy faux-minimalism that I've never been able to wrap my head around.

A subset of those is gamers that want the mouse closer to the center, rather than off to the right when using a full keyboard. Especially competitive gamers, because it helps reduce RSI

Wouldn't you want your head/eyes centered on the monitor, not the mouse being held by your arm that's off-center?
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