geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Zobeid Zuma on Fri, 02 March 2018, 21:00:21
-
I finally finished these, took the photos, wrote up the full report. And rather than dumping it all into this post, I'm going to give you all the link to my server here → http://zobeid.zapto.org/misc/zo65.html
And since all the nitty-gritty details are there, maybe I can indulge in a little bit of philosophy here.
These are the keyboards that I wish some company produced. I only made them because nobody was selling what I wanted. It started with the split spacebar, which is common on 40% boards, but harder to find when you go bigger. Why is that? Having Backspace under my left thumb (instead of having to reach somewhere with my pinky) makes just as much sense on 60% or a 65% or even a TKL as it does on a 40%.
When I got into this hobby, I fell in love with the WhiteFox and pre-ordered one. I feel like I have this in common with Matteo: he's a layout guy. He wanted to create the perfect layout. I'm a layout guy too. I don't spend my hours lubing or modding switches, or designing new keycap sets, or new cases. I'd rather play with the KLE. I think the WhiteFox is probably the most optimized keyboard layout I've seen, short of having a split spacebar. But when you split that spacebar, and you split it into three parts, and you can have a Fn key in the center, then everything just falls into place. Everything becomes elegant.
All kudos and recognition to Arhipio, TheBananaMan, for getting that ball rolling!
I've been looking at the Matias 60% keyboard on their website. "The world’s most USABLE compact mechanical keyboard." I got the impression that this has been in the works for years, and it never has come to fruition. It's got those tiny navigation keys, which look similar to the arrow keys on an early iMac keyboard. And then there's the freakishly fat spacebar. I look at it, and I find myself thinking… I see what you were aiming for there. Nice try. Yet, I slapped together something from off-the-shelf components that I, at least, feel is more usable.
I think I've done what I can now with 60% form factor and existing PCB kits. It is interesting to imagine a larger version with a nav-and-media pad at one end (preferably on the left!), so it wouldn't be as dependent on the Fn layer. Because you know, some people are just allergic to Fn layers. But as for myself, I'm not allergic to the Fn key, and I'm very pleased with where I've ended up, with these keyboards that I now have in hand.
-
Masterful execution of the work and well coinceived layout. I personally like the orange one better than the two others even though GMK keycaps are still a big plus to me.
I'll make sure to remember to nominate your boards in the upcoming KotM contest.