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
In view of balance, I compared the keyboard in active use for a couple of hours to another mechanical keyboard with the same switches and two cheap Logitech consumer keyboards. This keyboard /is/ defective.
It's a great shame that the manufacturer has wasted so much of everyone's time, including their own, in issuing a replacement that does not fully resolve the root cause of the first problem. As someone who works in the high-tech industry for a company that produces consumer devices, I am quite surprised that a business would go to the lengths and expenditure of replacing field models without investing the extra time and resources necessary to avoid embarrassment in the market.
In the meantime of this saga I purchased a 'Ducky One TKL' compact Cherry-MX keyboard from a regular retailer. It's a little bit more expensive in shelf price but what this drop has reminded me is that the cost of non-quality is significant.
I won't be seeking a refund as I don't want to spend any more time on this.
I think the lessons should be:
1. Massdrop do not work with this manufacturer again. Apparently, yes, it is possible to /design/ a defective keyboard. Twice(!).
2. Massdrop either only provide products for which they are sure have market readiness OR Massdrop provide a clear 'cowboy' disclaimer for products provided by amateur manufacturers.
I am no longer confident that there will ever be a functional product.
I have not been following all posts here, but apparently it's a common problem with the other users too.
@Xik what are the steps to getting a refund for this product?