As I said elsewhere, that’s a good use for the caps-lock key, which occupies the space that the industry used to use for Control…
I apologize, but most people are not disabled, and instead just do not type properly.
It’s got swappable keycaps and QWERTY/Dvorak/Colemak DIP switches. I would guess that “learning your way around a new layout” is a significant anticipated use case.
You can also pull and re-order the keys to match Colemak, Dvorak, etc layout using the included keycap puller.
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Yeah, that’s what I meant with the swappable keycaps. I may not have been clear–technogeekagain wondered what backlit keys are good for since you should already know where all the keys are, and I meant to observe that an expected use case for this product is probably “I have just switched my keyboard to Dvorak for the first time and rearranged my keycaps to match, so prominently-backlit keys are a useful convenience as I learn Dvorak typing.”
True, though I’m still not sure backlighting is especially helpful for that… and the fact that the backlighting was cited before the switchable layouts is symptomatic of the issue I’m flagging.
(Admittedly you can switch layouts in software but can’t illuminate keys that way. On the other hand, you can switch layouts in software.)
This one would be good for new layouts.
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/maximus/
Or this one.
http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus/popularis/
I remember seeing this one on Kickstarter, never backed it though, seems like it’s been taking a long time to develop into a proper product.
(Biggest thing holding me up is that I really need to figure out how
to spec the buttons/keys… or I need to get my paws on a whole batch
of different ones and see which feels right, which is much harder now
that electronic-supply storefronts have become a dying breed.)
You can order a few individual switches from Mouser or WASD (the CODE keyboard’s manufacturing partner), but really I think you’d want to bang on some keyboards. If you’re in a decently sized town/city it should be trivial to find a computer store w/ some keyboards you can bang on. For Cherry MX switches, it comes down to red for gaming - they have a linear response so are really good for twitch stuff and they’re honestly not too bad for typing although hard to not bottom out w as they don’t give you the positive response that the blues and browns will.
Alternatively I’m sure you could jump on http://geekhack.org/ or http://deskthority.net/ to find some locals with a collection.
Alas, what I’m developing isn’t a typing keyboard, so that suggestion probably won’t do it. (Though in fact twitch response would be relevant in this case.)
“up to six keys can be pressed at once, which is known as 6-Key USB
Rollover. Furthermore, Ctrl, Alt, and Shift do not count towards these
six keys, making it possible to to hold up to nine keys
simultaneously”Granted I seriously doubt I’ll need ever more than that, but for 150
damn dollars, why is there any limitation on simultaneous presses?
I’ve owned a cheapshit $5 USB gamepad that could handle all 15
distinct buttons (counting each D-pad direction as one) with no
problem. The C64 I got in the early 80s shipped with a “piano” demo
that mapped the entire home row to piano keys, and they were all
responsive at once. I realize esoteric games and keyboard pianos
aren’t common use cases, but they’re someone’s use case and it’s
clearly technically possible, so why can’t a keyboard that costs as
much as 8 keyboards do it?
First, in terms of cost of “8 keyboards” - you should realize the majority of the cost of mechanical keyboards is in the switches themselves. Even in quantity those Cherry MX Clears are probably like $0.75/piece (multiply that by 104). Most modern keyboards (pretty much anything not labeled as a “mechanical keyboard” are dome/scissor-switched - basically a single PCB sandwiched into a rubber sheet.
In terms of mechanical keyboard pricing, the CODE is “mid-range” - you can get a few cheaper ones for ~$100, but it’s not unusual to pay $250+. From your attitude, it sounds like you’re not the target market, but for people that spend 8h+ every day typing on one (a few million keystrokes per year), any way you slice it, $150 is not expensive at all.
Now, that being said, the question of NKRO is actually interesting. For most quality keyboards, NKRO is allowed on PS/2 even when not allowed on USB. This, as you mention seems silly/mind-boggling.
The USB HID spec itself does not have any strange limitations (as you mentioned, USB gamepads are fine) w/ keypresses, but it turns out there are a couple things:
-
The default HID descriptor for USB HID keyboards has a 6-key HID report. This was done primarily to make life easier for the BIOS (not needing to parse report descriptors) but became standard for USB keyboards. There’s nothing stopping anyone from writing a custom HID descriptor (all major OS’s support this), but most manufacturers don’t.
-
Most USB keyboards are USB low-speed, spec: 8-byte packets @ 10ms / endpoint. OS’s typically run that at 8ms. Waiting 16ms for a keypress would suck. Rather than the obvious solution (use USB full-speed), manufacturers have done stuff like multiple endpoints, etc.
Now all this makes sense when you are selling, as you mentioned, your regular $20 keyboard. There’s just no margin there and every cent makes a difference. These days though, you can get say an ARM Cortex-M3 w/ a built in USB 2.0 high-speed controller for like $5. On a $100+ product this makes a lot more sense to me (heck, you’re even seeing stuff like 20KRO in cheap gaming keyboards like the Corsair K60), and is where I’m disappointed when a product comes saying that they couldn’t find a “mechanical keyboard that [they] truly loved” and thread saying “the details here really matter” and to my eyes, (barring the questionable utility backlighting), it’s no different than what’s been on the market for years.
Like I said, kudos to Jeff for going out and making something he wanted, and as the first run already sold out, for successfully using his personal brand to introduce decent keyboards to a new audience. But at the same time, seems like a missed opportunity to do something actually new/cool that isn’t already being done by lots of other companies.
(Also, the site/blog post copy is really over the top. “first truly great mechanical keyboard” Really? And does he really think that his keyboard is more beautiful/better designed than the HHKB? I doubt there are many who have looked at both that would agree.)
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Visual beauty is certainly a matter of taste, but I have to agree that it’s very much on the “just another keyboard” end of the spectrum when compared with some of the steampunk and otherwise artistically styled keyboards. That’s fine – I don’t spend a lot of time looking at the keyboard, as I said – but again it isn’t a place where this keyboard has a strong advantage for me. If beauty was a deciding factor for me, I’d be talking to someone like Datamancer.
Well, it’s helpful if you’re coding in the dark, which I occasionally do.
But let’s be honest, backlit keyboards are less about utility and more about looking cool. For $150, I would expect a bit of effort put towards making it look cool.
If you can find a simple, straightforward white LED backlit mechanical keyboard in a standard layout without gamer junk all over it, I’d love to hear about it.
But yeah, if you’re going to write off backlight as “not important to anyone, ever”, then this isn’t for you. The other WASD keyboards might be though as they are the same basic underlying case design.
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Well, there’s 2 hours left on this KBT Pure Pro on Massdrop. It has built in macro programming as well. I’m sure that it doesn’t count as a “truly great mechanical keyboard” though, since you made the first. *eyeroll*
I have an ErgoDox btw so I’m all set on the best keyboard ever for a while. 
Unique 67-key Layout
I want to be able to type well on all standard keyboards, not become an expert in My Own Private Idaho. Not seeing the custom painted backplate, underneath cable routing, transparent custom aligned Helvetica keys, etcetera… since we are speaking of details, are we not?
I find that total hardware level keyboard programmability is often not a good idea when software lets you program much more complex stuff, and keeps the cost down for the rest of the world that doesn’t really need such extensive customization. (The dip switches on the back of CODE already cover the most common customization cases Weyman and I know about.)
For what it’s worth, the strongest feedback we got was for an ergo version, not so much additional programmability… you can easily redefine your keys in software to whatever you want, but you can’t exactly reconfigure the plastic in your keyboard to an ergo shape through software.
since we are speaking of details, are we not?
Actually, I think mostly I’m reacting your hyperbolic (and to those who care about keyboards, off-putting and somewhat offensive) statements/copy and you keep digging in deeper because this keyboard is your baby.
You’ve continued to cherry pick, honestly, really silly nits (you’re not going to have to re-learn QWERTY, much less Dvorak or Colemak w/ a 67-key layout, so give me a break; also the whole point of these keyboards is that you’ll be using it for thousands of hours over the course of years).
You’re proud of what you’ve worked on, that’s cool, but many of your choices are arbitrary (ask Spiekermann about your choice of Helvetica - personally, if I were picking non-blank caps for a coding keyboard I’d go for something like Source Code Pro, but that’s just me and I’m not trying to sell that to anyone as OBJECTIVELY BETTER!!1! then Filco’s Futura, or Apple’s VAG Rounded).
Anyway, none of the details you mention don’t exist in different combinations (along with details that aren’t on your keyboard and that are in others - which for me, would be much more important if I were in the market). Again, that comes down to your announcement that your keyboard is the best thing since sliced bread and nothing like it has ever been done before, when it’s at best an incremental evolution (it’s pretty close to a reference design and I’m sure rolls off the same Costar OEM lines as many of those other keyboards). Why brag about 6KRO and USB low-speed? ABS not PBT keycaps? Is full-size really better than 60/65%? Is your keyboard better or just different?
In general, I’m happy when people go do their own thing, but some people are also total snots and pick fights where there aren’t any. It’s become increasingly obvious as someone who cares about keyboards, that there’s no point in any back and forth since you so strongly believe you’ve reached the pinnacle of keyboard design. Good luck w/ that.
I think you’re reading a lot into the copy that is not there. I don’t know who you are arguing with, but it’s not me.
As I said in the page, I spent years looking for a simple, clean, standard white LED backlit mechanical keyboard that wasn’t slathered in nonsense. Still haven’t found one – so we created CODE. If you can find new examples, I’d love to see them.
First-time mechanical keyboard buyer question…
I own a 15" Retina Macbook Pro. I’ve been researching to get a good keyboard for coding.
I am using, of course, the Macbook Pro keyboard a lot. I also use the Apple bluetooth keyboard and the Apple full-sized USB keyboard. I also own the Microsoft Arc Keyboard.
Among all these keyboards, I love the Macbook Pro built-in one best. It feels just right.
What should I expect if I get the CODE Keyboard? Most people on the web recommends Cherry Brown or Topre switches or the Matias laptop pro
I am also concern about noise level too (live with my wife in a studio apartment in SF). I understand that if you bottom up key presses, mechanical keyboard can be very noise. Membrane keyboard can be loud too. (I am sure we have all encounter angry typists who hit the spacebar and return key on their laptop with full force)
Why are there so few decent keyboards outside of the Mac universe without numpads?
From codekeyboard.com - 104-Key and 87-Key Models Available
