HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

I'm a happy owner of a Tex Shinobi and Tex Shura. It's pretty hard to get a good trackpoint experience and Tex have done a good job getting right over the years (including producing a Lenovo-branded mechanical keyboard). They're a small shop based in Taiwan.

Shura is $169.

https://tex.com.tw/collections/keyboard

Re: HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

#5

Post by threatofrain » Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 9:10 AM UTC

It really surprises me that the Happy Hacking Keyboard brand has stuck with their key layout. For a more conventional layout one might consider keychron.

https://www.keychron.com/

Re: HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

#6

Post by TheRoque » Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 9:12 AM UTC

Sorry for being such a newbie, but I never understood why HHKB was popular, and where it got its fame. I saw my roomate already having it 10 years ago, I find cool the minimalist aspect, but why such keyboard with basic design made it so far ?

Also, on a personal note, having a 65% keyboard now for 3 years, I'll go back to a 75% keyboard. I think functions keys and arrows are used way too frequently to spend your time using shortcuts. Also sometimes it becomes a hell of shortcuts in shortcuts.

Re: HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

#7

Post by nottheengineer » Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 9:15 AM UTC

dannyobrien wrote: post #4

I'm a happy owner of a Tex Shinobi and Tex Shura. It's pretty hard to get a good trackpoint experience and Tex have done a good job getting right over the years (including producing a Lenovo-branded mechanical keyboard). They're a small shop based in Taiwan. Shura is $169. https://tex.com.tw/collections/keyboard

Those boards are absolutely gorgeus. I'm not looking for a trackpoint or a standard layout, but I'm still tempted to buy one.

Re: HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

#8

Post by petepete » Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 9:27 AM UTC

threatofrain wrote: post #5

It really surprises me that the Happy Hacking Keyboard brand has stuck with their key layout. For a more conventional layout one might consider keychron. https://www.keychron.com/

Why would anyone need a capslock?

Re: HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

#9

Post by nottheengineer » Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 9:29 AM UTC

TheRoque wrote: post #6

Sorry for being such a newbie, but I never understood why HHKB was popular, and where it got its fame. I saw my roomate already having it 10 years ago, I find cool the minimalist aspect, but why such keyboard with basic design made it so far ? Also, on a personal note, having a 65% keyboard now for 3 years, I'll go back to a 75% keyboard. I think functions keys and arrows are used way too frequently to spend your tim…

They used to use topre switches which many people swear by and combined it with a modern design. Compared to the gaming keyboards with MX blues and the ultra-cheap rubberdome boards of the time, it was a great package so they gained popularity.

Not sure how they got traction at the start because the main selling point was the weird layout and they didn't have topre switches yet.

This one doesn't have topre either. It still sounds great, but if I wanted MX switches and a trackpoint, I'd go for a Tex shinobi. Shortcut hell is a problem indeed, I want to Alt+F4 with one hand and on a 60% that's impossible to implement without something like spaceFN, which again has to be turned off for gaming.

Re: HHKB Studio: The New Happy Hacking Keyboard with TrackPoint

#10

Post by khnorgaard » Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 9:30 AM UTC

TheRoque wrote: post #6

Sorry for being such a newbie, but I never understood why HHKB was popular, and where it got its fame. I saw my roomate already having it 10 years ago, I find cool the minimalist aspect, but why such keyboard with basic design made it so far ? Also, on a personal note, having a 65% keyboard now for 3 years, I'll go back to a 75% keyboard. I think functions keys and arrows are used way too frequently to spend your tim…

It's mainly due to using topre switches but they also swap CAPSLOCK for CTRL by default (which used to be normal back in the day). For me, having gone through heaps of MX-based boards, I always return to topre. The typing experience is just superior IMHO. Unfortunately this new board uses MX type switches which to me is weird because it's their biggest differentiator and selling point.