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
- Cherry MX Red switches (or similar?)
- Standard layout (104 keys) (not opposed to ergonomic)
- Sturdy base (prefer black or a dark color)
- Detachable USB cable
- Media controls with a roller/scroll wheel
- Per key RGB lighting
- Shine through keycaps (I want PBT, I think?) (mostly black or dark to start with, I can buy more keys later, right?)
- I'd like to keep this under $150, but I'm willing to spend a bit more if it will get me everything and is significantly better.
I'm looking at a Corsair Strafe that has all of this except the detachable USB cable and is only around a hundred bucks. Are there better options for me? I'd really like it if my first purchase checked all of these boxes and got me hooked.