Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
I decided to not bother with things like features on the board or the packaging ect., just watch any youtube review to see that. I do want to adress somthing here tho:
- this keyboard has no backlighting, which is ok, all of my modern mechs have but I seldom use it anyway, so it's not a big deal.. however NO indicator lights either? WTF CM, not even a caps lock light? 'Incorrect password' yea guess if your caps lock is on or you just typed in the wrong one.. It bothers me and the fact that a space for a diode is already present under the caps lock keycap makes it just look lazy on CMs part.
Now, since there is not much to talk about in terms of features, the keyboard is pretty much bare bones, there is no programming, no dip switches and pretty much just madia control under the FN layer, let's get to the meat of it and talk about the switch and the feel of it.
You know I thought about how to put it, without resoulting to ye'old "you will just have to try it for yourself to get it" since even tho it's the most accurate it also doesn't help anyone. So let's try to approximate:
-Imagine a Mx brown board, where the tactile bump isn't about half way through, but instead starts from it. Then imagine that there is a piece of memory foam underneath the key, softening the bottoming out and also springing the key back up. It's something like that.. more or less :D
On a personal note I can safely say that I do like the feel of Topre, it's surprisingly nice to type on and (even tho it's not usually advertised this way) great to game on as well. However is it the be all and end all 'grail' of a switch? No. If you expect it to blow your trousers away with the sheer force of a Tsar Bomba.. then you will be disappointed. I know of people who prefer mx brown to topre, some who swear by buckling springs, others that say blue alps are the 'jesus switch', so it's safe to say that it's a very personal thing and YMMV. I like them. Not sure exactly how much just yet, but I'm leaning towards top 3 right now and I have used pretty much all of the popular Mx switches, some alps, buckling springs, cheap and expensive domes and now this 45g topres.
One last thing I wanted to say is that (after putting on some nice PBT caps and the o-rings) the 'thock' is sweet :D Some say that the 100% Japanese boards like the Realfoce or the HHKB are better, but I have no way to confirming that, since I don't own those.
So there you have it, make of it what you will. Cheers!
Once again, thank you much for posting!
It sounds like you're describing quite literally what a normal rubber dome is.
In fact, it's quite similar. The big difference i'm seeing is that the tactile feedback is a lot less immediate on the press and the switch feels like it has a farther travel distance and springs back up quicker while bottoming out feels less mushy. Generally more pleasant to type on but definitely not wildly different from rubber dome. Quite similar in comparison to cherry MX, actually.
Really hard to get an opinion off of the internet, maybe I just try for myself. Or maybe I am misunderstanding you?
Yes, we're crazy. But we're not so crazy that we'd pay literally 20x to 30x the price to get Topre switches if they really do feel identical to the $10 logitech rubber domes.
Having said that, though. I do believe that they are distinguishable enough to make out differences. Most part for the better. They are like a very refined rubber dome. Just not nearly as different as cherry is to rubber dome. Hopefully i didn't confuse anybody here.
Have always liked all Thorpes even the lowly 35, 45g switches but all time fave, will always be the 55g. CM should start releasing a 55g model, then watch the popularity as it sky rockets into the biggest GB ever held here on MD.
ALWAYS maintain the love for a Thorpie : )