What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
Just my 2cents.
I didn't mean to ruffle all your feathers, just thought I'd post as someone who requested this drop initially, then saw the price and noped their way back to the new jersey warehouse.
Edit: Eh, upon looking it is the 0.01 keyboard so I'm not sure if it's the same manufacturing process. Regardless I'd be curious what happens 6 months out when you lose a magnetic foot...
and my favorite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHHBqqQJ2Zs
Neither of those videos have anything to do with Massdrop
@HotRoderX you should read better - I never once mentioned the ducky one ~ the mini was a 60% board which is programmable and can function as a mouse. If I recall it had a partial aluminum body and it's premium brother (in the video above) is billet aluminum ~Plus LOOK at that sexy serialization badge ~ now that's the wine of serialization stickers!..... Of my dozen or so different keyboards it's the one I find myself falling back to for most tasks which is why I used it as an example. The PBT keys argument is silly since any "connoisseur" will be swapping whatever keys they have on-hand. (and probably overpaid for, but that's "art" lol)
The egos in here are hilarious ~"oh this board is beer while the board I paid 180$ for is wine" meanwhile they're both using cherry switches. (if you pay a premium here lolololol) Thanks for making my night, I'm going to go back to the audiophile community where people are more down to earth.
Ultimately it is up to the individual as to what they are willing to pay and what interests them. At the end of the day, however, the price is what it is. Perhaps you're not familiar with manufacturing costs, but this isn't some overhyped and overpriced junk. What you consider value has no bearing on the cost of production.
Would be wise to not assume we use Cherry switches either. We use Cherry MX style switches, but the enthusiast community hardly bothers with Cherry switches outside of vintage blacks.
Not everyone wants to buy another set of PBT-keycaps for their new keyboard. If I were to spend $180 (or more) on a mechanical keyboard, I'd expect it to come with PBT-keycaps. Since the ALT has RGB lighting, these are shine-through PBT-keycaps, which would save you at least another €40 (or more) from buying a seperate set.
Also, do you want to argue about egos? You came in here complaining about the price of a mechanical keyboard that you don't even own, compared it with a Ducky Mini(?) and then compared that comparison with a Toyota and a Ferrari, while desperately trying to defend your opinion. Come on dude...
I haven't been active in the mechanical keyboard community for very long, but in the short time that I have browsed through this community, I come across a lot of lovely and helpful people. You posted a comment that some people here didn't quite understand and/or agreed with, so they tried to prove you wrong by giving well-thought-out arguments. That doesn't make them unpleasant, does it? I'm a 100% sure that the audiophile community has poisonous members as well.
My point was for MY usage if I want to change switches I can either pick up one of my other boards OR re-solder new switches to one of my existing. In my 6 years of collecting PC equipment I've done that a total of once due to preference change. Be it cherry or halo or anything ~ not sure why type matters at all? (using EC to type this on a leopold) Regardless I'll wait for a 2nd run after hearing of the coil whine issues in the K-type and minimal info on the CTRL and ALT.
Do you really find it amazing that people 'jump' to defend a product that nobody has even held? I think it's quite humorous that you criticized a keyboard that you haven't even held yet, let alone typed on and/or properly used. The idea of the ALT seems great. The price is high, but justified when you compare it to other mechanical keyboards.
Apparently you're easily offended that people disagreed with your poor arguments and that they wanted to prove you wrong. This is a community in which people are allowed to discuss, so don't be surpised when people disagree with you. As I've said before, just because people argue with you, doesn't mean they aren't down to earth. That's a ridiculous statement. If I visit the audiophile community, I'll most likely find people arguing too.
If I were vous, Slobo, I'd have a look at mechanicalkeyboards.com and compare the features of the ALT to those of various keybs on said site.
Personally, I'm always talking myself out of buying iterations of K-Type descendants on MD. But that's only because I'm attempting to hoard money so that I can press it to my chest while cackling. If I were flush, I'd have ordered an ALT already.