Blue Cherry Japanese Layout?

[tealslice]

Hello!

I've been using a laptop for school for years now, but to make my typing experience more comfortable when at home I'm looking into using a keyboard. I've looked around the forums and it looks like either a buckling spring action or blue cherry switches would be the best choice (correct me if I'm wrong). I was originally interested in the Filco Blue Cherry or the Unicomp Spacesaver, but I was wondering if my "dream keyboard" exists...

As I am a Japanese major, I want to type kana without going from Romaji -> Kana via an IME, so I'm also looking into a Japanese layout. I think I've seen some Filco Japanese Layout Cherry keyboards, not sure if they are blue cherries though.

In addition, as I am learning the Dvorak layout, are there any Japanese layouts with blank keys? I'm pretty sure I'll have to setup the keyboard myself from QWERTY to Dvorak while retaining the positions of the kana keys.

I know this is a tall list hehe. Thanks for any help ^^

[majestouch]

ギクハクへようこそ!

You're in luck, I just put a Japanese layout 108-key FILCO keyboard with Cherry MX Blue switches in the classifieds section here today. This is a special model that has only the English alphabet printed on the keys, kana characters are omitted. So going to Dvorak won't be so confusing if you want to keep kana characters in the same position.

Here's the classified: http://geekhack.org/classifieds.php?do=showad&adid=48&title=discount-filcos-cherry-mx-blue-and-brown

May I ask what is wrong with using Romaji -> Kana with an IME? And what IME are you using? I haven't really typed in kana much, but a Japanese friend of mine tells me that over 99% of Japanese speakers type in Romaji anyways because it is ultimately easier to use Romaji with an IME since you don't need to press Shift to make small kana characters; i.e. you type oishikatta instead of おいしか[Shift]った. There are some tricks to learn of course, but the IME you choose can make a difference in your typing speed as well.

[mmgoose]

that's definitely gonna be 苦しい！！！

i reckon it's gonna be confusing switching from kana to english characters. anyway give us updates on how it's working out for you.

[tealslice]

ありがとう～

Right now on Windows 7 I'm using the standard Microsoft IME in the Language Bar with an English keyboard, but I'll be switching back to Ubuntu and using the SCIM/Anthy combo again. And I didn't realize that Romaji -> Kana is more convenient (as I have not used a dedicated Japanese layout before). I would've thought that Japanese speakers would prefer to type a single Kana instead of two Romaji. It seems like each layout has their own advantage and disadvantage (for example in the Windows IME if I type out konnichiha it gives こんいちは since it registers two n's as ん). Kana typing also requires more memorization for more characters. Speaking of which Dvorak Romaji -> Kana might be pretty nifty considering that the vowels are in the left home row

I think I'll end up going with one of the Filco Tenkeyless Cherry Blues. Speaking of which from what I see they seem pretty new. How do they hold up against buckling springs? (which I've also never used :x)

[majestouch]

You may want to take a look at ATOK IME, they have versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux and is preferred by most Japanese typists over the built-in Microsoft IME for many reasons http://www.atok.com/

Well the FILCO Tenkeyless with Blue Cherry switches is well liked around here, but it is only available with the ANSI layout. I mention this because even if you're typing in Romaji, there is still a benefit in using a Japanese layout keyboard, as they have 4 keys dedicated to IME control, so they simplify the task of moving in and out of the different IME modes. An ANSI layout keyboard will require the use of hotkeys and the mouse to choose your modes. It is worthy to note, the Japanese layout does have different locations for some punctuation and a larger "ISO" Enter key, which may throw you off a bit if you're rearranging a board for Dvorak, but the Japanese layout keyboard model I'm offering in the classifieds is the only one you're going to find available with Blue Cherries. Only a small number of these were made and they are no longer produced or sold.

As for how well a Blue Cherry board holds up against a BS board...if you're talking about driving over it with your car, the BS board will win, but Blue Cherry switches are lighter to the touch and less work for long periods of typing. The sounds these two switches make are different as well; both are reasonably chatty, but a BS board is definitely louder, so you'd want to take your company into consideration as well.

[ch_123]

Lam47 is selling an IBM A01 (the Japanese equivalent to the Model M) over in the marketplace, might want to take a look at that too. However, in the Buckling Springs vs Blue Cherry debate, I'd go for the Cherrys, they have great tactility without the stiffness of the 'spring boards, your hands will (almost literaly) fly on the Filco.

[tealslice]

The SCIM/Anthy I used in Ubuntu was easier to use than the Microsoft IME since it allowed for custom hotkeys, and I personally don't mind using hotkeys. I don't think I used the mouse for switching modes in Ubuntu since there were hotkeys for switching between Japanese/English as well as selecting the type of Kana/Alphanumeric input without having to cycle through them.

I think the one thing I would mind with the Japanese layout is not only the rearranged punctuation keys (using Dvorak, this isn't a problem), but that the punctuations are paired with punctuations different from their QWERTY/Dvorak standards.

EDIT: I have a slightly off-topic question about the Filco Blue Cherries: Are the keys switches individually (I guess technically 'group') weighted, or is the same force required across all keys?

[GreeN]

Majestouch, do you happen to know if AutoHotkey is recognizing the 4 extra keys?

I have no idea what these keys would be labeled as, but as long as a key initiates an event (You will need a corresponding driver for this), then you can use any kind of script with a keyboard hook to retrieve the label and use it at your will

[majestouch]

Majestouch, do you happen to know if AutoHotkey is recognizing the 4 extra keys?

I just gave it a try and Autohotkey recognizes the extra keys. They haven't been assigned names that show up in the Autohotkey recorder, but a number shows up that corresponds to the key.

[majestouch]

The SCIM/Anthy I used in Ubuntu was easier to use than the Microsoft IME since it allowed for custom hotkeys, and I personally don't mind using hotkeys. I don't think I used the mouse for switching modes in Ubuntu since there were hotkeys for switching between Japanese/English as well as selecting the type of Kana/Alphanumeric input without having to cycle through them.

I think the one thing I would mind with the Japanese layout is not only the rearranged punctuation keys (using Dvorak, this isn't a problem), but that the punctuations are paired with punctuations different from their QWERTY/Dvorak standards.

EDIT: I have a slightly off-topic question about the Filco Blue Cherries: Are the keys switches individually (I guess technically 'group') weighted, or is the same force required across all keys?

FILCOs with Blue Cherry MX switches are equally weighted.

[itlnstln]

FILCOs with Blue Cherry MX switches are equally weighted.

I would, with 100% certainty, say that anything with blue Cherrys (or any other color, for that matter) will be equally weighted.  Cherry uses different stem colors for different weights.  There is a green stem MX that is a heavier version of the blue, for example.
 
That is, if you're not buying someone's modded 'board, of course.