...
3. Nicer Alps keycaps
...
Bring back Beige!
Affordable spherical PBT keycaps other than DSA. I know there's XDA, but it's uniform profile. I'm more hopeful for Chinese sculpted clones or the random new Cherry-like sculpted spherical profile spotted somewhere recently.
I'd love to see more POM… that's a lost cause, though, I'm afraid.
3. Key switches with shielded light guides instead of bleeding RGB everywhere between keys.
Thicker PCBs, because USB C port is 1.4mm thinner than micro usb, which allows to use PCBs thicker by 1.4mm without losing compatibility.
If you want one inch thick PCBs you can also use this escamotage:
(Attachment Link)
Thicker PCBs, because USB C port is 1.4mm thinner than micro usb, which allows to use PCBs thicker by 1.4mm without losing compatibility.
If you want one inch thick PCBs you can also use this escamotage:
(Attachment Link)
What would a thicker PCB benefit us? Rigidity? More PCB Layers?.
The Flaretech switches on my Wooting One have it. The switch housing is made that way. There is still some bleed caused by the keycaps being white on the inside and reflecting the light but I suppose it would be better with doubleshot caps that are more black on the inside.3. Key switches with shielded light guides instead of bleeding RGB everywhere between keys.
That's a really cool idea, but it would involve, what is essentially, a light 'corral'. I feel like that could impede cap travel.
IBM Model F revival projects that actually materialize.
I'm down with PBT but only if we can get non-banana shift and space bars. I have 2 sets that are unusable b/c the shrinkage is so bad. I finally built a costar board just so I could use one of my ePBT sets. They bind on cherry stabs b/c they are so out of spec
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE PEOPLE USING WINDOWS 95 IN 2018.Show Image(https://geekhack.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=46529.0;attach=184575;image)
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE PEOPLE USING WINDOWS 95 IN 2018.Show Image(https://geekhack.org/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=46529.0;attach=184575;image)
I'd like to see SP start shipping their sets in trays like GMK, Maxkey, and JTK do. It's silly that one of the biggest and longest operating producers of keycaps still ships them in bags that they can get scuffed up in.
they don't really get scuffed up since they don't really have sharp edges like GMK and JTK, but i'll concede it does look better in a box
More full size keyboards!
More full size keyboards!
did you see the IC for equalz mountain?
Magnetic USB connections, sort of like Apple Magsafe but for USB. No more damaged sticks, easy to connect without looking, they are just nice to have.
While you can buy adapters for USB C, Thunderbolt and micro, but it would be nice if all USB connectors were built this way by default.
For those not sure what I'm talking about it's these: (thunderbolt model shown)Show Image(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/T9AAAOSw0fhXmhmb/s-l1600.jpg)
Microsoft Surfaces not being so damn expensive!I'm the opposite, I would rather see them be more expensive to keep people from buying the damn things.
... and they have horrible keyboards!Microsoft Surfaces not being so damn expensive!I'm the opposite, I would rather see them be more expensive to keep people from buying the damn things.
Can't fix then, can't upgrade them...
3. Nicer Alps keycaps
...
3. Nicer Alps keycaps
...
1. I would LOVE to see more Alps support in the keycap department. It's hard because alps users are in the minority, but given the right set I think it would be very popular.
I'd like to see more
2. Alps Keyset support
Affordable spherical PBT keycaps other than DSA. I know there's XDA, but it's uniform profile. I'm more hopeful for Chinese sculpted clones or the random new Cherry-like sculpted spherical profile spotted somewhere recently.
I'd love to see more POM… that's a lost cause, though, I'm afraid.
I'd be into having a little less RBG
I find myself wanting to get away from RGB more and more.
I'd be into having a little less RBG
I find myself wanting to get away from RGB more and more.
What does "RGB" mean?
I googled the slang and went to the urban dictionary but they only ever talked about the colors.
4. QMK GUI!
I will say we have these surface book laptops for work, and they are pretty cool. Although after a week of using it, I have never taken the screen off or used the pen since.Microsoft Surfaces not being so damn expensive!I'm the opposite, I would rather see them be more expensive to keep people from buying the damn things.
Can't fix then, can't upgrade them...
They are well made, they look (really) good and they work good (for the most part), I won't deny that.I will say we have these surface book laptops for work, and they are pretty cool. Although after a week of using it, I have never taken the screen off or used the pen since.Microsoft Surfaces not being so damn expensive!I'm the opposite, I would rather see them be more expensive to keep people from buying the damn things.
Can't fix then, can't upgrade them...
Who hurt you??? J/k nah I get it lol. If I had 3k to pick a laptop with it would have probably been some kind of maxed out Thinkpad.They are well made, they look (really) good and they work good (for the most part), I won't deny that.I will say we have these surface book laptops for work, and they are pretty cool. Although after a week of using it, I have never taken the screen off or used the pen since.Microsoft Surfaces not being so damn expensive!I'm the opposite, I would rather see them be more expensive to keep people from buying the damn things.
Can't fix then, can't upgrade them...
The connector can be a problem, the keyboard gets NASTY if you have oily skin, USB-C, Win10S (not all), bricked tablets... And don't even get me started on the bait and switch that was Windows RT, which MS gave a a nice middle finger to owners before ending support. I still remember the days when MS was considered a joke (and in my mind they have returned to this), but today, people bet their entire business on this company and their hardware/software ecosystem, a company who has repeatedly shown they have no care about you or your company.
Here is another thing to consider.
Why is MS competing with their own suppliers? The more you buy MS and ignore the rest, the fewer and fewer options you will have in the future. You are handing MS a monopoly, just like how Apple has a monopoly on their ecosystem. Do you REALLY want MS of all companies having that power. It's bad enough to hand them all of your security and malware (why do you need Defender? if the OS was built right it would be redundant), but now you want to hand them all power over your hardware and data as well? Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.
I admit, even if the Surface was THE absolute best, I wouldn't want to recommend it for the reasons above, but there are plenty of options out there by companies who are not hostile towards your interests or trying to take advantage of you or they trap you in their ecosystem like MS can and does. Someone makes a Surface Pro clone, that is almost a 1 to 1 copy, with USB A and C, no keyboard cloth, and it's cheaper. How about the LG Gram (droool!) or the Dell XPS line... I don't even like Dell, never had one only ever considered a couple even worth owning, but even I would have to consider them they are so good. And there is of course, always Lenovo. They may not look as good, may cost an arm and a leg for what you get, and they depreciate like a Mercedes S class, but there is a reason big corporations like them, they are durable and cheap to repair/keep running. It's for this reason they lose value, too many flooding the market as they come off lease, but while no one likes depreciation, this leads to LOTS of of cheap parts allowing you to do cheap repairs and upgrades.
3. Nicer Alps keycaps...
3. Nicer Alps keycaps
...
1. I would LOVE to see more Alps support in the keycap department. It's hard because alps users are in the minority, but given the right set I think it would be very popular.I'd like to see more
2. Alps Keyset support
Has there been an alps DCS set attempted since Alpine Winter? Interested.. The ongoing nexus slider IC is relevant as well.Affordable spherical PBT keycaps other than DSA. I know there's XDA, but it's uniform profile. I'm more hopeful for Chinese sculpted clones or the random new Cherry-like sculpted spherical profile spotted somewhere recently.
I'd love to see more POM… that's a lost cause, though, I'm afraid.
Why is POM a lost cause? Cherry profile POM is high up on my list of things to try
Now I don't know whether I feel more old and stupid or less old and stupid... I always thought that backlighting was something silly to be turned off or ignored.
1. High quality keycap sets for Topre switches
2. High quality backlit keycap sets
& Lower prices on everything lol
PBT everything, I mean like keycaps and cases. This way none of the plastic yellows. Also the keycaps don't wear down as fast as ABS.
Would love to see a solenoid in some of the larger retro cases or supported via break out box (pictured is my 5251 with solenoid).
Would love to see a solenoid in some of the larger retro cases or supported via break out box (pictured is my 5251 with solenoid).
Is there some small-ish solenoid out there that could bring a nice tactile punch to our cool keyboards? I need this in my life. My dream keyboard for 2018: beige, plastic case, 65%, solenoid, musical speaker, USB-C, and comes with SA retro keycaps installed
:p
PBT everything, I mean like keycaps and cases. This way none of the plastic yellows. Also the keycaps don't wear down as fast as ABS.
I may be taking your comment too seriously, but pbt is a very brittle plastic and is quite hard to work with. It's great for keycaps etc, but is a terrible choice for cases.
See: https://www.kunststoffe.de/en/_storage/asset/589652/storage/master/file/6117989/download/Cause%20and%20Remedies:%20Brittle%20Fracture%20in%20PBT.pdf
As for pbt keycaps... I totally agree. My biggest complain with GMK is the abs wear.
Ps. PCV cases like the model m also don't yellow might be a better option.
Ps. PCV cases like the model m also don't yellow might be a better option.
We shouldn't really make anything out of pvc tho.
PVC is a nasty chemical. Bad for the environment both in its production process and as waste. Burning it releases poison.
I'd like to see SP start shipping their sets in trays like GMK, Maxkey, and JTK do. It's silly that one of the biggest and longest operating producers of keycaps still ships them in bags that they can get scuffed up in.
1. PBT Keysets with GMK levels of quality. Seriously - the Koreans are doing double-shot PBT with the richness of ABS colors. Look at the new Leopold keysets. This doesn't bode well for the future for ABS. People say that ABS vs PBT is subjective, but honestly PBT is denser, doesn't shine nearly as easily, and doesn't discolor. Now that PBT can be manufactured in a doubleshot process with the same richness of colors as ABS there is no argument to continue using ABS. The industry just needs to adapt tooling to the latest doubleshot PBT process.
- I too am ready for a usb standard... C seems like the right choice going forward.I have a drawer full of mini and micro cables. I have become resistant to new standards, no matter how convenient they are xD
- I would like to see LED's go away in exchange for all clear switches and RGB underglow controls.
- Modern laptops with built-in mechanical switches.
- Kailh hot swap compatibility on more pcbs.
- Alternative finishes on keyboards besides Chinese anodizing.
1. Cerakoted and powder coated customs (at reasonable prices) seeing as the colours attainable are thousandfold that way; I personally feel anodising is a little dated but I know that's not likely a popular opinion.
2. Hot swappable factory assembled boards (like the Tokyo60 and Rama's M6, M10 and M60) so that more people have easier entry into the community.
3. Actual good topre to MX sliders and/or (ideally) another way of having MX caps on topre boards that doesn't require case disassembly etc. More/new topre boards wouldn't hurt, either.
4. Real ALPS switches (not Matias) and new alps keyboards in general becoming easier to procure than they are right now so that they can become less of a unicorn for regular hobbyists.
5. USB-C standard.
That's about all I'd want.
1. Cerakoted and powder coated customs (at reasonable prices) seeing as the colours attainable are thousandfold that way; I personally feel anodising is a little dated but I know that's not likely a popular opinion.
2. Hot swappable factory assembled boards (like the Tokyo60 and Rama's M6, M10 and M60) so that more people have easier entry into the community.
3. Actual good topre to MX sliders and/or (ideally) another way of having MX caps on topre boards that doesn't require case disassembly etc. More/new topre boards wouldn't hurt, either.
4. Real ALPS switches (not Matias) and new alps keyboards in general becoming easier to procure than they are right now so that they can become less of a unicorn for regular hobbyists.
5. USB-C standard.
That's about all I'd want.
I can get behind all your suggestions, especially ones about Topre to MX compatability & real new ALPS switches. I'm honestly really surprised nobody has tried to make a high quality ALPS clone other than Matias TBH. As revered as proper ALPS are by the community you'd think someone would've picked up the ALPS flag by now & been really pushing it in a high end direction. :confused:
1. Cerakoted and powder coated customs (at reasonable prices) seeing as the colours attainable are thousandfold that way; I personally feel anodising is a little dated but I know that's not likely a popular opinion.
2. Hot swappable factory assembled boards (like the Tokyo60 and Rama's M6, M10 and M60) so that more people have easier entry into the community.
3. Actual good topre to MX sliders and/or (ideally) another way of having MX caps on topre boards that doesn't require case disassembly etc. More/new topre boards wouldn't hurt, either.
4. Real ALPS switches (not Matias) and new alps keyboards in general becoming easier to procure than they are right now so that they can become less of a unicorn for regular hobbyists.
5. USB-C standard.
That's about all I'd want.
I can get behind all your suggestions, especially ones about Topre to MX compatability & real new ALPS switches. I'm honestly really surprised nobody has tried to make a high quality ALPS clone other than Matias TBH. As revered as proper ALPS are by the community you'd think someone would've picked up the ALPS flag by now & been really pushing it in a high end direction. :confused:
We need to sell it to the gamer crowd somehow....
- Standardised switch pin locations and stems - I'm looking at you new low-profile switches, you're brand new yet incompatible with existing PCBs and need new cap designs. Any new Alps should be easy to slot into the heavily MX-biased scene if they're to gain any traction.
Didn't SMK already do this? The problem is they decided on doing a different pin arrangement.- Standardised switch pin locations and stems - I'm looking at you new low-profile switches, you're brand new yet incompatible with existing PCBs and need new cap designs. Any new Alps should be easy to slot into the heavily MX-biased scene if they're to gain any traction.
There are physical reasons for some of these differences you know. While I'm not sure about the pin locations (though I doubt they're arbitrary), if you're building a low-profile switch you probably also want to support low-profile keycaps. And making the slider have an MX-style mount that protrudes into the keycap inherently requires the keycap to have a certain amount of height. That's why the low-profile switches have holes in the slider and plastic pins on the keycap that insert into the slider holes. The entire package can then be made significantly shorter.
Similarly I don't think making an Alps-style switch that's completely MX compatible is as simple as you make it sound. OK you could probably make an Alps-style switch that accommodated MX keycaps (in fact people are working on mods for that...). But you're not going to fit an Alps-style switch in an MX housing. There's no room to place the tactile/clicky leaf spring. I guess you could do linear Alps but is that really worth it? I don't feel like there's that much difference between a linear Alps and a linear MX switch.
An actual production Alps switch with MX keycap compatibility would be nice though...
4. Real ALPS switches (not Matias)
That's about all I'd want.
1. High quality keycap sets for Topre switches
2. High quality backlit keycap sets
& Lower prices on everything lol
GMK workin on that second thing
- Standardised switch pin locations and stems - I'm looking at you new low-profile switches, you're brand new yet incompatible with existing PCBs and need new cap designs. Any new Alps should be easy to slot into the heavily MX-biased scene if they're to gain any traction.
There are physical reasons for some of these differences you know. While I'm not sure about the pin locations (though I doubt they're arbitrary), if you're building a low-profile switch you probably also want to support low-profile keycaps. And making the slider have an MX-style mount that protrudes into the keycap inherently requires the keycap to have a certain amount of height. That's why the low-profile switches have holes in the slider and plastic pins on the keycap that insert into the slider holes. The entire package can then be made significantly shorter.
Similarly I don't think making an Alps-style switch that's completely MX compatible is as simple as you make it sound. OK you could probably make an Alps-style switch that accommodated MX keycaps (in fact people are working on mods for that...). But you're not going to fit an Alps-style switch in an MX housing. There's no room to place the tactile/clicky leaf spring. I guess you could do linear Alps but is that really worth it? I don't feel like there's that much difference between a linear Alps and a linear MX switch.
An actual production Alps switch with MX keycap compatibility would be nice though...
- Standardised switch pin locations and stems - I'm looking at you new low-profile switches, you're brand new yet incompatible with existing PCBs and need new cap designs. Any new Alps should be easy to slot into the heavily MX-biased scene if they're to gain any traction.
Didn't SMK already do this? The problem is they decided on doing a different pin arrangement.
- Pins: it might cost more to fabricate, I'm just pondering what that would mean to better sales if PCBs don't need to be redesigned to accommodate. I'm sure my point is moot however - switches aren't designed for the enthusiast buying a hundred at a time, they're more likely for large scale makers in all industries who buy millions;It would be simply easier to replicate the feel with am MX switch, it's just a matter of ramp shape and spring rate.
- PCB/plate gap: I don't see that as a problem - if the switch fits into a standard plate and a standard PCB it would have made no difference in my build. I am of course using the useless sample size of me and myself;
- My point is only on, as much as possible, standardising the end conditions. Granted the MX cap is harder to figure out in low pro, but common pins and maybe even the plate interface would please me immensely. It's like having a standard cable, or electrical outlets.
Also this is a wishlist, and it's a long way to XMas.