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
Thus, if I'm a Mac owner, this keyboard, at this price, especially if I snag accessories, is a serious bargain; with the caveat I will have to seek out custom Mac backlit keycaps, and I might want to swap out more than just the Windows keys; and I might not like the high-profile, cheaper ABS feel of these key caps; correct?
(My Apple Adjustable ADB (split/ergo) from 1995 is finally giving up the ghost; I'm loathe to learn a new key pattern at my advanced age, but even a used board in good condition is probably silly at this point. From limited testing, the Cherry Brown has a comparable stroke and feel to that era of Apple keys.)