QMK and Keyboards • Hacker News Board

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#11

Post by atoav » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:17 PM UTC

hammyhavoc wrote: post #5

scoopdewoop wrote: post #2

I built a midi controller out of an ortholinear keyboard kit and QMK. It really is a fun way to dabble in C and embedded hardware!

No velocity though, right?

Probably not, but there is a lot of intersting stuff you could switch/trigger/activate without velocity.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#12

Post by Sakos » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:27 PM UTC

This is surprising to me https://getreuer.info/posts/keyboards/non-english/index.html...

I wonder why a better solution hasn't been implemented in QMK. Is it a technical limitation?

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#13

Post by flurdy » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:32 PM UTC

I use Oryx by ZSA which is built on top of QMK, but not with all the features. It is great still though.

I use a lot of MO keys on my keyboard. Too many accidental layer-locking with TT and OSL. So I would love it if/when ZSA adds the QMK "layer lock" feature to Oryx. Currently, I use a layer lock intermediate layer. But that is one extra key press and finger travel.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#14

Post by zvmaz » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:32 PM UTC

bsnnkv wrote: post #4

Gotta give a shoutout to kanata[1] which I have used daily for years at this point after giving up on QMK-powered keyboards. QMK itself is great, but I was never able to find a non-columnar split ISO keyboard to use it with. Eventually I reluctantly settled on the Logitech K860[2] and I'm now happily using my favourite features from QMK with kanata at the software level. [1]: https://github.com/jtroo/kanata [2]: If I…

I use a Keychron Q11, a split row staggered keyboard. On the laptop, I use Kmonad on linux with home row mods but I think I will switch to Kanata because it seems more compatible with Windows (work OS). I have been using home row mods for a few days now and I feel that it has greatly alleviated the pain I have on the left pinky finger (remapping caps lock to control and using Emacs keybindings for years did that I think). I am tempted to switch to a columnar staggered keyboard, specifically ZSA's voyager, but I don't know if I will adapt to the layout. Maybe someone with more experience can give advice here...

I tried to change the keyboard layout to a more "ergonomic" layout (optimot), but after months of training, I could never gain the proficiency I have in AZERTY. I think it's not worth it to switch.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#15

Post by delusional » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:32 PM UTC

Sakos wrote: post #12

This is surprising to me https://getreuer.info/posts/keyboards/non-english/index.html... I wonder why a better solution hasn't been implemented in QMK. Is it a technical limitation?

My understanding is that unicode is just not part of the hid spec. Keyboards send scancodes that the pc interprets into window events. That translation is not part if the spec, and therefore os dependent.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#16

Post by mynegation » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:35 PM UTC

I considered using something like that, but my concern that it is going to ruin my muscle memory for the situations when I cannot use it - eg locked down environments at work. So I stick to whatever can be done with standard OS capabilities.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#17

Post by the_gipsy » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:36 PM UTC

Sakos wrote: post #12

This is surprising to me https://getreuer.info/posts/keyboards/non-english/index.html... I wonder why a better solution hasn't been implemented in QMK. Is it a technical limitation?

It is an OS limitation/inconsistency. QMK allows to toggle mode for linux/win/mac. There is nothing else QMK can do.

I personally just use some layout (us-intl with no dead keys), which works for the integrated laptop keyboards too.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#18

Post by lvl102 » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:37 PM UTC

I feel the mk community died during the pandemic and all the commercialization that happened. People just stole stuff community built on goodwill. At least I was turned off by it and stop caring.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#19

Post by Scene_Cast2 » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:41 PM UTC

If you're interested in QMK, you might want to give ZMK a shot as well. The big differences are that it's wireless-first (cognizant of power consumption, supports various wireless modes, etc), it's built around ARM (doesn't support Atmel), and is a much newer codebase.

But I have to give it to QMK as well, they have been reworking / refactoring a major wart in how you config keyboards, with the move to info.json and away from custom C and make files.

Re: QMK and Keyboards

#20

Post by moondev » Sun, Jan 14, 2024, 5:42 PM UTC

mynegation wrote: post #16

I considered using something like that, but my concern that it is going to ruin my muscle memory for the situations when I cannot use it - eg locked down environments at work. So I stick to whatever can be done with standard OS capabilities.

Behold, an inline USB QMK controller. Just carry one on your keychain

https://yaowei.dev/posts/usb-to-usb-converter/