EDIT: 3 weeks in now, can't say I master the alternate layout it, it's a blank version so there's no reference just slow progress
EDIT: 4 weeks in, I found out there are 3 levels of adjustments, flat was too flat, and big feet was too angled, then I see there is a small foot inside the bit foot? small foot is win, this is a feature I wasn't aware of, an extra feature, imma bump my subjective appreciation rating from 6.5 to 7/10.
EDIT: 1 Month in, for some reason the keys started feeling more comfortable, probably what is referred to as good feeling of oneness with cup rubber.
I guess the keyboard grow on me as time went by and I'll keep it.
My current position on it is it cost a lot, too much, at this price PFU should bundle it with key puller, roof, wrist rest and carrying case, or sell it the same price as the good mechanical keyboards.
yup, just like all the rubber dome keyboard, you can press the key until the dome collapse and give you a 'tactile' feedback, then release the key without it registering anything, very likely the price was set by someone typing on a HHKB Pro2, and typed 250$ instead of 25$
first impressions,
1-double the price of the best mechanical boards. And 10 to 20 times! the price of it's close cousin rubber dome boards
EDIT: After staying away from mechanical keyboards and using a rubber dome keyboard at work as opposed to mechanical, the difference between cheap rubber and good rubber becomes more obvious.
2-has half the keys, 60 switches instead of 104, they can make 2 keyboards for the price of one
3-dip switches that allow you to reassign 3 pre-detemined keys(can't assign fn the right alt and right meta key only?), out of your 60 keys... using dip switches? 3 keys only? give that engineer a noble prize.
4-almost no tactile feedback, rubber dome, there is no way to know your key registered, just like a rubber dome you have to trust that it will register, and just like a rubber dome you can press it and make the dome collapse without the key press registering, i can release the key after the dome collapsing and the key has not registered, it has all the flaws of a rubber dome, any of my buckling spring board will register every time, the tactile bump, the click sound, the key registering, all the at the exact same time. The HHKB Pro 2 is not a board i would rely my or someone's money on(missing a zero, or adding an extra one in data entry), setting an administrator password, wouldn't trust this in any medical or aeronautical application, so what's left, I wouldn't trust it for anything, maybe hobby computing, if it's not anything close to serious, which leaves good for writing forum posts, emails and chat.
EDIT: haven't had any misshaps with typos, if a typing test can be considered a practical example, my missrate improved, i make 4% errors in typing tests, an improvement from the 5-6% constant missrate i had with other my other keyboards
5-alternate layout for arrows, end and page up keys,
someone coded autohotkey for free(give him and script contributors a medal of honor) it might not be embedded in the board, but those keys are the last ones that could benefit from a 1 microsecond improvement.
EDIT: autohotkey had limitations when i used remote desktop and vmware, with other keyboards i had to reload the script each time i open a session, while the hhkb dosent have that problem
My current board was a model M, very slightly greased, it's accurate, a click is a key code sent instantly, never misses, no way to make it miss even on purpose, it's a 23 years old keyboard and been heavily used. Having added it an almost microscopic coat of grease inside each key stem dampens it enough to allow me to use this Model M at 2am knowing my neighbor sleeps about 10 feet right above my computer desk, impossible to do with a default Unicomp Customizer, the
customizer i constantly had to hold back, or even stop typing and working, it was a problem. In terms of sound, my Model M(it's not the typical cacophonic M) and the HHKB Pro2 are in the same noise bracket except the HHKB Pro2's space bar is noisier. My model M has almost no grease, nearly invisible, if i wanted to dampen it more, there is still alot of room left, but it's already as quiet as the HHKB Pro2.
This is an early review, at this point i'm not sure i would return it(not like I can anyway) but Filco blue might be a better choice, regardless of the price, considering the other arguments above, id give this board no more than a 5/10, now factor in the cost arguments above, this would drop more.
EDIT: ill bump my appreciation from 5 to 6.5 since altho it started bad, there was no unpleasant surprises on any of the computer/OS i tried in the last 3 weeks, it's been on the market for a long time and it shows since it's compatible with everything I throw at it. EDIT: And from 6.5 to 7/10 since the 3 level angle adjustment is a ergonomic feature i wasn't aware of, using the smaller feet(the ones hidden inside the big feet). Unnexpected good feeling of oneness with cup rubber, this keyboard's a keeper, blocking out how much I paid for it and bumping it for a final rating of 8/10.
From the current point, it's likely it will it might rank a bit higher if I keep using it, the only way it could get lower is if it breaks, actually i would probably be less disappointed and have more hope if it had came in broke.
Isn't there a show for these kind of things? mythbuster or something?
On a side note, very happy with the Filco wrist rest that came with it
EDIT: 1 Month after buying this keyboard, keys feel comfortable, either the cup have a break-in period or it's muscle memory of the previous keyboard.
