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
Wowed by the lust heaped on the 55g, I purchased one from Massdrop a few years ago. It was my first Topre keyboard.
The quality is great, as it the fabled Torpre thock. Everything people raved about is true.
For me, however, the 55g action was just a little too stiff, and fatigued my fingers after a short while.
After that, I lusted after a 45g uniform, but ended up getting a variable weight. I am very, very happy with it and rarely use my 55g uniform anymore.
So it helps to know what your preferences are when choosing a key weight. If you don’t, you may be disappointed, even while you are using an otherwise superior product.
Had I been a little more experienced at the time and known that I prefer the feel of Browns over Clears, it would have chosen something lighter from the get-go.
Of course, it’s all part of the learning process. How can you really know you’ll like or not like a particular Topre key weight until you try it?
Short of actual getting your hands on a specific Topre, the best you can do is make an educated guess.
One thing I found a bit disappointing about the white colored Topre is that it’s not actually white with grey keys. It’s more of a beige keyboard with taupe colored keys, almost like something you’d see on an 80s style computer.
While that may be cool for some, it wasn’t what the picture suggested the color would be, and certainly not what I was expecting. Just a heads up on that.
Otherwise, it’s a pretty great keyboard. Just choose your key weight wisely and there’s a good chance you’ll be happy with a Topre.