System76 Launches The Launch Configurable Keyboard

[Mez']

No numpad, no glory.

You can get the best configurable thing, if it doesn't have a numpad for easy number typing, it's just lacklustre. It might appeal to geeks/developers, but anyone else will just dismiss it.

[ssokolow]

Keyboards are just so personal, I think. Some people will like it and others won't.

Agreed. From membrane to Cherry MX Blue to pre-2013-layout 104-key Unicomp Classic, my life has sort of been a slow attempt to approximate what I really want... a standard US104 keyboard with the IBM Model F switches I remember from my early childhood.

Because the Model M introduced the US101 layout, the closest that exists is this terminal keyboard which I just haven't been able to justify spending $400+ on when units show up on eBay.

[Vistaus]

Wow, what an absolute nightmare of a keyboard.

• No numpad
• Ultra tiny Enter
• Arrows cramped near the rest of the keys
• Left Alt waaay too much to the left. How are you supposed to press combinations like ALT + SHIFT + F with your left hand???
• Two small space keys? Really? With the division right in the middle, where you actually press it the most?
• PgUp/PgDn... I don't even know what to say - wtf is that abomination?
• Why TF aren't Shift, Ctrl and Caps aligned with the Tab?
• Where is Insert? And PrtSc?

I never use a numpad, I only touch the spacebar on the sides and I use PgUp and PgDn sometimes. Some of your other complaints can be solved by swapping and remapping keys.

[Vistaus]

All split keyboards and ergonomic keyboards split the spacebar key.

And I get extremely frustrated with laptops where the sides of the spacebar don't respond to presses. That is where my thumbs are, damnit. I should not be forced to move my thumbs to an awkward position just to insert a space.

Same here. I never touch the middle of the spacebar - only the sides. So the sides need to be responsive. I truly wonder how Leprechaunius manages to type otherwise.

[Zan Lynx]

I would like to give this keyboard a hands-on try. Keyboards are just so personal, I think. Some people will like it and others won't.

I happen to love mechanical keyboards with Cherry Blue switches. The loud ones. They're great. Which is why I own three Das Keyboards.

Weirdly, I also like Apple Macbook keyboards and Thinkpad keyboards. They aren't the greatest, but not bad. I also like my Logitech MX Keys, but mostly because it is wireless and connects to three devices at once.

All of these do have a thing in common. They're a flat, standard layout. I've tried some of the ergonomic layouts and I just don't like them.

I find it strange that other people cannot adapt their touch typing to new keyboards. It only takes me a few minutes, usually. The only ones that give me trouble are the keyboards designed for children or other people with small hands. Like on those netbooks. I just cannot squeeze my fingers into such a small layout.

[extremesquared]

This post certainly highlights why the majority of computer keyboards are still designed around mechanical typewriters. Imagine a company trying to force a staff to use an ergodox. Employees would riot.

[royce]

It looks really cool, but I'd wish they'd develop an ergonomic version of it. After 20 years of typing code daily, straight keyboards are an absolute no-go for me.

[b1twise]

Huh. I was excitedly looking forward to this. Now I am not. Ok, a few things can be fixed by remapping (right of spacebar layout), but they haven't given me enough keys to work with, and the physical layout of them is really poor. Also, this shows no sense of ergonomics. And it's ugly. Did they test this in-house at all? I like the USB hub. This is a pretty hard miss... I like buying US made products, but not at the expense of my hands.

[obri]

Hmm, I wish them best of luck for success, but this one does really not trigger me.

I would prefer an ergodox over this KB at any time.

[angelsl]

I'm surprised at the number of people here who have never seen smaller layouts. This looks like a slightly modified 75% layout, which is starting to become more common from other (mainly Chinese) manufacturers e.g. Keychron, Royal Kludge, Keycool, etc.

Wow, what an absolute nightmare of a keyboard.

• No numpad

Why do you need a numpad? If you really need one, buy a separate numpad. Then you can bring it out when you need it, and otherwise just save some desk space.

• Ultra tiny Enter

Yeah, this is a bit strange, I'm not sure why they shrunk the Enter.

• Arrows cramped near the rest of the keys

This is fine. You get used to it.

• Left Alt waaay too much to the left. How are you supposed to press combinations like ALT + SHIFT + F with your left hand???

Remap the keys. Swap Alt and Super, or whatever. It's configurable for a reason.

• Two small space keys? Really? With the division right in the middle, where you actually press it the most?

Do you actually press your spacebar in the middle?

• PgUp/PgDn... I don't even know what to say - wtf is that abomination?

It's typical for laptop keyboards, and smaller keyboard layouts.

• Why TF aren't Shift, Ctrl and Caps aligned with the Tab?

This is another odd design choice.

• Where is Insert? And PrtSc?

Remap the keys yourself if you want those.

Although it is odd that they decided to have a 2u delete key and leave empty space there rather than have two extra keys (PrtSc and something else), which other 75% layouts tend to have.

Seriously, I don't think I ever saw a worse keyboard than this. I wouldn't work with this, even if they would actually pay me to use it.

Now this is just hyperbole.