Keymap wizardry: Typing out the Harry Potter saga
Typing out all the Harry Potter books would be crazy, right? What would be the point? Seems like a weird flex even by keyboard enthusiast standards. Yep, that's right. Typing it out once makes no sense. That's why I'm going to type out the books a few million times! For the benefit of humanity and especially of you, fellow keymap wizards. This is a demonstration of the power of alternative/custom layouts. Given the huge extent of this topic, we can barely scratch the surface here so consider this write-up a mere teaser. Imagine you are an aspiring writer with a brilliant idea, just about to start typing out your magnum opus, staring at a yet empty document on your screen. Cursor blinking, annoying orphan relatives locked up in the cupboard under the stairs. Your story, about a young boy who ends up saving the world, is quite complete. You "just" have to type out heaps of your manuscripts and notes: about 6.5 million keystrokes. Everything is prepared for the...
Jun 4, 2024
There we have it - an existential breakdown by means of mechanical keyboard switches. By no means was this article meant to disparage anyone from attempting to dive deep into the world of switches, nor anyone who has taken up attempts over the years to try and document them all for themselves. Rather, given the fact that I am asked about this or pointed in the direction of someone attempting it on nearly a monthly basis, I felt the need to comment on the general impossibility of it all. Or, if it truly is possible, it’s a lot harder than most people take for granted at the onset of it all. The wide world of mechanical keyboard switches is complex, deep, and honestly a little bit intriguing when you consider that the best switches you’ve ever tried are likely still out there for you to find. Instead of getting hung up on trying to document each and every one of them, attempting to enjoy the journey into switches and mechanical keyboards in pursuit of your endgame build is what we should all be striving for.