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
The port on the zeal is quite well reinforced though. Way more than most pcbs. It actually causes issues with cases that the port outlet is too small. I’d be impressed if you actually managed to damage it. The pcb actually extends basically the entire length of the connector:
I don’t worry about the connector at all.
Yes, install base is a perfectly valid reason. keyboards are NOT the types of things that benefit from better connections. They don’t move so the plug isn’t stressed. They don’t need high speed or lots of power. They don’t need to save space like phones did when the switched.
Zeal makes pcbs for enthusiasts. Enthusiasts want custom cables and currently the usb-c options are limited. everything will switch eventually. But probably at least 2-3 years at least. And im not sure what your version of forever is, but the first device I remember switching to usb-c was the 2015 MacBook that switched to just usb-c. That was around 2.5 years ago and people flipped the heck out. It was probably at least a year past thay before people calmed down. I’d say usb-c has been mainstream maybe 12-18 months.
Will i buy another one when USB-C is offered? Sure probably. But I’m not really sure why that would be a blocker unless you have some serious ocd and have been having a permenant stroke waiting for a keyboard that could use the same plug on both ends. Cause that’s pretty much all you gain.
Strong ports are far more important on devices like phones since people still use them and move them around with cables stuck in em. Those ports experience all kinds of stress and get pulled every which way.
Keyboards get plugged in and then sit there. I have like 10 nice custom mini-b cables. I have 0 micro cables. The ONLY board I own with a micro plug is my anne pro. Would micro stop me from buying? not at all, but mini-b just IS the standard for keyboards. The anne pro is literally the only board I'm even aware of that comes with micro. I don't know of any micro based pcbs or anything.
Can micro be more durable? sure. But its hard to justify switching to a dead standard that no one has cables for. It makes more sense to just wait another year or two for usb-c to really catch on.
Also, if you switched a 60% board to USB-C at this point where are you going to get a case for it? The Pok3r-compatible cases often only have a cutout big enough for Mini B, or maybe Micro B.
You our act as if something cannot exceed its specs.
My entire point is basically ALL current enthusiast pcbs use mini-b including the gh60. That means anyone who has wanted cables has gotten miniB cables. Switching to micro will make anyone with an existing keyboard need new cables. And then when we switch to usbC they would need them replaced again. I’m just saying it makes more sense now to wait until custom usbC is a really ready and the cables are available.
I will lay in bed using my phone while it is pluged in. The cable will snug and snag and put stress on the port.
I will walk around using my phone while dragging a 10ft cable behind me and our stress on the port.
I will I’ll grab the cable to pick up my phone putting stress on the port.
This IS NOT the same with keyboards. I mean I guess you could do those things, but that’s your choice, it’s not what’s a keyboard is meant for. Keyboards sit stationary on desks in use, phones are EXPECTED to move around and be held and go in pockets.
Yes, there are always edge cases, but your argument is tantamount to claiming all bicycles need training wheels because some people can’t ride without them. Yes, they could help some people, but that is not the expected use of either thing.
If you you really think this is the same use case as a phone and that it has the same requirements of durability, you are battshit crazy.