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I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

electronicmaterialsoffice.com

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Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#151

Post by JaneLovesDotNet »

pimlottc wrote: post #133

Looks striking, but does this actually exist, or is this (so far) just a design project? There's a lot of promises here - recycled materials, machined aluminum, assembled in London - but I don't see any evidence that a single keyboard has actually been built yet. I know, you gotta fake it 'til you make it, but I think it's important to be honest with your customers. We've all seen plenty of speculative designs that s…

You know, it hadn't crossed my mind when I first browsed the page, but now that I've read your comment, it seems very likely that this is entirely an art concept with 0 progress made towards making it a real product.

And I agree about your conclusion that this level of detail making it close to dishonesty, rather than faking till you make it.

Hopefully you're wrong.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#152

Post by Festro »

gwd wrote: post #88
Festro wrote: post #2

Looks really nice BUT: There's a split between what people online post pics of on fancy desktop setups and what people prefer to use as their daily driver. Minimal keyboards are for minimalists, and people who like to show of their setups. Just like desktop vanity posts typically have speakers, yet everyone uses headphones. Anecdotally there was a post recently on some PC subreddit asking what keyboard people preferr…

> There's a split between what people online post pics of on fancy desktop setups and what people prefer to use as their daily driver. I've been using the HHKB for over a year now as my "daily driver" and I absolutely love it: * I like the feeling of the keys, and also the compactness of the keyboard layout * I like that it connects to both my work & personal laptops over bluetooth, and I can switch between them with…

I'm happy for you? Please don't think I was saying that nobody wants a small keyboard at home. I'm just saying that small keyboards get more attention because they look sleeker, and since they're a step from the default it catches people's attention more.

The vanity pic of a home desktop setup is one thing, what people use at home is another. That first context is dominated by small keyboards because it looks good for the pic. The second context is more about function, and whilst numpads are better for function I'm not going as far to say that they dominate - I don't know.

I'm just asking the OP to consider covering both options, as someone who prefers a numpad for its extra functionality. I'm not saying they should ditch the small model - I think it is great.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#153

Post by boesboes »

Love the design in general, nice and understated.

I'm not sold on the typograhy for the numbers, it seems a bit overdone.

The rotary encoder seems a bit pointless, I wouldn't know what to use it for other then volume perhaps?

Could the aluminium base be replaced with more of the recycled plastics? If you are going for sustainable, that seems more sustainable then milling one of the more energy intensive materials we have, even if it recyclable. If I spend a lot on such a nice keyboard, I would hope it lasts long enough that recyclability is not the most significant. ( Disclaimer: that is 100% based on assumptions about materials etc).

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#156

Post by Eric_WVGG »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #48

This comment section is full of people complaining about a 70% keyboard not being a full-size keyboard, but that is what makes it a 70% keyboard. If it doens't fit your preferences or use-case then you are not the customer but it seems bizarre to focus so much on the sizing.

This chicken sandwich is the worst hamburger I’ve ever tasted

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#157

Post by layer8 »

samatman wrote: post #148
layer8 wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve used the HHKB for a while in the late 90’s, but in the end it wasn’t for me. Chords tend to trigger my RSI, and a reduced need for chords just means better ergonomics to me.

Something I've been actively working on is chording with two hands. For an example, I noticed that I habitually type & with only my right hand, twisting my wrist to press shift and 7 at the same time, which is awkward and painful if I do it too often. The solution being to use the left pinky for the shift key and the right middle for the 7/&. I agree the less chords the better, but for what's left, making sure chords…

I’m trying to do that as well. I’ve been thinking that it would be nice to have some software that would disable specific chords when you use the “wrong-sided” modifier key for it, in order to train yourself to use the right one.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#158

Post by MattRix »

smeej wrote: post #137
D13Fd wrote: post #105

Thoughts: - Excellent job - The font choices are bold. They don’t appeal to me personally, but nice job. - The sunk/raised key caps look nice but I’m not sure how they would perform in practice. - I couldn’t tell from the website what the second switch on the site does. Maybe USB/Bluetooth? - My strong preference is a key command for switching from Bluetooth/USB, and that the keyboard keep both active for instant swi…

The font thing is bigger than people might think. As soon as I saw the number row, I had such an immediate and harsh reaction to it that it surprised me. I almost couldn't believe that was the cause, but when I waited for the device to turn around again, that was definitely it. I don't even have to look at my fingers often, but I wouldn't be able to stand walking by those numbers on a regular basis. I don't think I'v…

Agreed. The rest of the keyboard looks great, the numbers look too large and childish.

Re: I spent a year designing a low profile, minimal mechanical keyboard

#159

Post by nominusllc »

tcbawo wrote: post #128

Does anyone make a keyboard that goes in the opposite direction? I’ve been looking for a keyboard with stiff springs and large bubbly keys, in the style of late 70s/early 80 terminals. The best I could come up with are higher profile key caps with rounded corners, which aren’t quite what I’m looking for.

You would like one of the Unicomp keyboards. They're made by IBM folks on old IBM hardware, so it's basically a modernized IBM M Series Buckling Spring keyboard. Very affordable, with color and key combo options.

https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/SFNT

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