ZobeidZuma

ZobeidZuma t1_je5isjo wrote

ehhh. . . I think I've reached the point where the only way to advance any further would be to create my own design with a custom layout, and I'm sort of balking and waffling over that.

I got a Keychron Q10 that ticks off a lot of boxes: solidly built, VIA compatible, split spacebar, hot swap, presently loaded with Gateron Baby Kangaroo switches, and I got a set of custom G20 profile keycaps printed by PMK.

Despite years of semi-obsession over this subject, I don't know if it's worth while to have my personal dream keyboard produced when I have something this close already in hand.

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ZobeidZuma t1_jckfyup wrote

If you are on a Mac, you need that key, since the Mac uses Command (⌘) for most of the same shortcuts that other operating systems use Control for. But, the Mac also uses the Control key for its traditional purposes on the command line.

If you are on Linux, historically it doesn't use the Super key for anything, although some distros have recently started using it to call up the main system menu. Which I think is a huge mistake, and I disabled that function on my system! I like to use Super as a modifier for all my own global shortcuts, like workspace and window management. It shouldn't conflict with any shortcuts in applications.

On Windows. . . Well, I guess you need that functionality somewhere on your keyboard, but I think the bottom row is an awful place for it. I'd remap it to somewhere else if at all possible. Or maybe there's another key combo that will do the same function, but I dunno, I don't use Windows much.

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ZobeidZuma t1_iui4ks6 wrote

A few specific thoughts. . .

Not sure what Art1 through Art5 are supposed to be. Macro keys? I have nothing against macro keys really, but I would be thinking of other things that could fill that real estate.

I mean, I don't even see a Home or End key. Well, I guess you could put those on your function layer. . . but, oh wait, I don't see a Fn key either! Hmm.

You do have Home and End on your numpad (when Num Lock is disengaged), but you can't see them because you have no secondary legends over there. (I gripe about how those secondary legends have disappeared from so many keycap sets.)

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ZobeidZuma t1_iui3gey wrote

Consider my recent design, which I'm still looking into producing in some form. . .

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/xty653/refactored_fullsize_worth_pursuing/

Mine is a bit more radical with the split spacebar and split backspace, which I am a believer in. However, it can still be completely covered with a recent GMK or NicePBT keycap set.

Note also. . . The main alphanumeric key block is fully functional, so there could be a more portable "mini" version with just that part, and it would be possible to switch between the mini and full-sized versions without any adaptation or retraining.

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ZobeidZuma t1_iu0enf0 wrote

It's big and beautiful; it's cool. However. . . Gonna call it like I see it. Keyboards like this must have been fantastic back in the 1980s before most systems had GUI-WIMP or a mouse, back when everything was 100% controlled through the keyboard, and when any sort of portable computer was a rarity. Nobody would design this keyboard today, unless maybe for some super-specialized niche.

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