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433% Keyboard

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Re: 433% Keyboard

#121

Post by dsr_ »

JdeBP wrote: post #92
dsr_ wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered having two keyboards plugged in at the same time, and switching between them according to your needs?

You haven't tried this yourself. I have. Keyboard maps are on the host, not on the keyboard. Engravings on the keytops are meaningless and are not what determine how a key is understood. A (for example) U.K. 105-key keyboard and a French 105-key keyboard just look like two 105-key keyboards with all the same keys to the host. Several common operating systems just combine all keyboard input from multiple plugged-in ke…

You're right, I haven't tried this. But my (unmentioned) approach was going to include using at least one fully programmable keyboard -- QMK or similar -- to send precisely the keycodes wanted.

Re: 433% Keyboard

#122

Post by ZeroGravitas »

Symbiote wrote: post #116
EForEndeavour wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That reminds me, I consider losing arrow keys a dealbreaker. I use them frequently enough to navigate both text and code in various contexts (except in Vim, which I don't use exclusively). I already hold modifiers to jump to next/prev word boundary, page, start/end of continuous data ranges in Excel, etc. Admittedly, I'd probably adapt, but I'm held back by the belief that any ergonomic advantages of moving to wasd o…

I had similar misgivings, so I chose an ErgoDash, which has a few more keys than some of the minimalist offerings. I have the arrow keys in a horizontal row (which took some time to adapt to), but I can still use them with Alt/Ctrl/Shift modifiers fairly easily. However, I'm planning on making something like this[1] "trackball Dactyl Manuform", where the trackball under the thumb can be configured to use different mo…

Do you happen to have an opinion on the best split keyboard for someone who uses and likes a Kinesis Advantage but would like a more portable alternative?

Or even suggestions on what I'd need to google to find opinions of people in that group?

Re: 433% Keyboard

#123

Post by m463 »

SuperPaintMan wrote: post #69
m463 wrote: post #24

I think a better layout might be like an organist, where you have different levels. sort of like this: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Frederik... And they even have keys (modifier keys?) for their feet. They left that off the table (so to speak) hmm... and maybe some sort of suspension system for your arms, so your arms could float over the keyboard sort of like monitor arms keep your monitor sus…

Check out Tim Tyler's custom microswitch keyboard, it's pretty similar to that! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9yg3s77nAMQ

that is ... wow.

It's sort of like when people see emacs next to something like sublime text on a mac. It's probably super-capable but being a prototype it lacks the polish of a finished product (while overshadowing what it can do)

Re: 433% Keyboard

#124

Post by chrisco255 »

readingnews wrote: post #96
EForEndeavour wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What sort of WPM did you have on normal keyboards, and whta have you been able to train up to on your current one? I plateaued at roughly 35 WPM on Dvorak as a teenager and have been hesitant to commit to major layout changes since then, despite the ergonomic promises that a lot of them make.

I am the minivan owner... I find that my WPM did not move significantly. In fact, I would argue that for the most part my typing speed is the same. Now, when it gets to coding, or {}, [], things slow down just a tiny bit, but with todays editors, this can be minimized. I will admit, I have been in IT for many years. I feel like unless you are an accountant, or someone that has to hit {} [] constantly and can not deal…

I code in JavaScript and typing {} and [] is like 90% of the work.

Re: 433% Keyboard

#125

Post by [deleted] »

FreeFull wrote: post #52
ardy42 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why are there >3 rows of Fn keys ? Are they all different? Or Are they placed so to quickly access ? It looks like the creator just used whatever random keycaps he had. There are also duplicate arrow keys and duplicates from the navigation cluster (e.g. pgdown). The katakana(?) keys also look like they might be incomplete.

I know that at least Linux does support additional F keys beyond F12, since there used to be computers/keyboards that had them. I'm not sure how having more than 255 keys works out, though, I haven't looked into how USB HID handles it.

[deleted]

Re: 433% Keyboard

#126

Post by mncharity »

JdeBP wrote: post #101
FreeFull wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know that at least Linux does support additional F keys beyond F12, since there used to be computers/keyboards that had them. I'm not sure how having more than 255 keys works out, though, I haven't looked into how USB HID handles it.

There's enough for 65535 different usages in the keyboard page alone, and there are more available in the consumer and system pages. But nowhere near all of those have definitions. There are defined usages for function keys up to F24, and for all of the dedicated function keys that one could find on Sun and IBM keyboards, such as Stop, Again, ExSel, and CrSel.

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/include/uapi/l...

Re: 433% Keyboard

#127

Post by jrockway »

samatman wrote: post #85
jrockway wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a limited number of scancodes; defined by the USB standard. The annoying thing for keyboards is that the OS controls what scancode maps to what character and that makes it impossible to have certain keys. For example, you can't have an ! key. That is always Shift+1 (with a US layout, that is). QMK and other firmwares will let you make an ! key, but it's implemented by pressing shift, then pressing 1. So you…

I've thought about this a lot, because I've bumped up against that limitation a few times when customizing my Erogodox layout. My conclusion: QMK could do this, or at least some firmware could do this. It's hard to come up with an eloquent way to express it, however. But there's no a priori reason that pressing shift-1 couldn't be special-cased to instead send shift-2, yielding @. It's all being precomposed by the fi…

You can write code to do that in your process_record_user hook, but it's probably going to be flaky. I would just use a modifier other than shift; people tend to call them "raise" and "lower" and just change the layer. That way everything is in control of QMK.

The disadvantage of using layers is that you can't press the layer-activate key on one keyboard and then press your key on another keyboard. With shift (and OS-level modifiers) you could technically do that. But it's a weird case that probably doesn't come up very often.

Re: 433% Keyboard

#128

Post by JdeBP »

mncharity wrote: post #126
JdeBP wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's enough for 65535 different usages in the keyboard page alone, and there are more available in the consumer and system pages. But nowhere near all of those have definitions. There are defined usages for function keys up to F24, and for all of the dedicated function keys that one could find on Sun and IBM keyboards, such as Stop, Again, ExSel, and CrSel.

https://github.com/torvalds/linux/blob/master/include/uapi/l...

Those are not USB HID usages, notice.

Re: 433% Keyboard

#129

Post by bjoli »

JdeBP wrote: post #87
bjoli wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have an old IBM F122. A 122-key keyboard is pretty much peak keyboard when it comes to easily purchased commercial offerings. The smaller less sturdy sibling of the F122, the M122 (yes, M as in model M) can still be purchased relatively easy, but then you lose about a kilo of weight, nicer switches and N-key rollover. The prices for model F keyboards are bonkers today though. Your option when it comes to a lot of k…

It's fairly easy to buy a "multimedia" European keyboard with 124 keys. It's somewhat harder, outwith Brazil, to get hold of a "multimidia" ABNT2 keyboard with 126 or more keys, but they are commercially available there, at least. Here's one with 127 keys: https://mcinformatica.loja2.com.br/715631-Teclado-Multimidia...

Of course! I was never a fan of those flimsy hard plastic keys, so I didn't include them in the peak keyboard. This is more my taste: https://i.redd.it/hkb7kvqpob431.jpg

There is a guy making "new" model F keyboards out there, and if he ever makes an f122 clone I will probably buy it, regardless of price.

Re: 433% Keyboard

#130

Post by Symbiote »

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #122
Symbiote wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had similar misgivings, so I chose an ErgoDash, which has a few more keys than some of the minimalist offerings. I have the arrow keys in a horizontal row (which took some time to adapt to), but I can still use them with Alt/Ctrl/Shift modifiers fairly easily. However, I'm planning on making something like this[1] "trackball Dactyl Manuform", where the trackball under the thumb can be configured to use different mo…

Do you happen to have an opinion on the best split keyboard for someone who uses and likes a Kinesis Advantage but would like a more portable alternative? Or even suggestions on what I'd need to google to find opinions of people in that group?

This Reddit [1] might have some ideas.

Anything 3D/dished like the Advantage isn't going to be very portable, just because of the bulk. I suspect many DIY versions are also fairly delicate, as a result of the 3D printing process.

For a flat, split keyboard you could look for one where someone has already designed a case that goes some way to protecting the keys, or make such a case yourself. I wouldn't choose something with this few keys, but [2] is on the first page of the Reddit, and shows what I mean -- unlike the keyboards where the "case" is just a sheet of acrylic, this one looks like it would be OK stuffed in a bag. Many of these keyboards use a Pro Micro controller, which is known to have a weak USB port. Using a wireless keyboard, or choosing a different controller, might also help.

You will have far more options if you're able to solder the components onto the PCB yourself. Otherwise, there are a few companies like falba.tech that sell assembled keyboards.

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/ir7axv/a...

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