This keyboard seems extremely similar to the Ducky Shine 2 MX... I have one that looks almost the same, costs the same, has MX Clear, white LED backlighting (one LED per switch), detachable USB cable, DIP switches, etc. Perhaps made by the same manufacturer?
It's not manufactured by WASDKeyboards, it's labeled as such. It's actually CoStar, who also Manufactures the Quickfire Rapid, Filcos, and the Quickfire XT.
Yeah, I could try one of those, but of course I have enough other keyboards floating around that it's not a huge priority. I've taken to having two keyboards connected so I can "get stuff done" when I need the 10-key. Heh.
Yeah, I have a standalone 10key that I keep under a monitor that I can whip out if I REALLY need to be doing number work. That said, using my Kinesis Advantage, considering that the numbers are also separated into right and left hands, I've become VERY quick at using the top row for numbers. Maybe not quite as fast as I was when doing 10key work all day (I worked at a bank), but definitely in the same ballpark. Nowadays I very rarely use the 10key pad just because I rarely am typing in that many numbers to necessitate the use.
I've been thinking of switching from my Corsair to a TKL and getting a pad like that plus one of those Griffin knobs for volume... Just not sure it's worth it just to have more desk space or the mouse closer to the rest of the keyboard.
I've been wanting a good Cherry MX Clear keyboard for some time. Although this is pricey, the feature set is exactly what I've been looking for!
I initially went with a Cherry MX Brown keyboard as it was the best compromise in actuation force, bottom-out force, tactile feedback, and noise compared to what I was seeking. I'm incredulous, if I had designed my own mech keyboard the CODE would have been exactly it. No more compromising on keys, time to get one of these!
If you have lots of virtual machines and Remote Desktop sessions than remapping from the OS gets very annoying. You would have to do it for all of them.
If you bring the keyboard to another computer you can still use the remappings you have configured. If you never use your keyboard on different computers then there's no difference.
I'm sure it's technically a nice keyboard, but it's a shame that it only comes in the ANSI layout. If you're in an ISO country, you probably can't use the CODE keyboard at all, as it's missing a key; that's a no-go.
The manufacturer has a sample kit including one of each type of cherry key-switch. Assuming it's possible to get a good feel for the switches without having them mounted on something (Does anyone know if this would be the case?), it'd fulfill a wish of mine in the form of a cheaper option to try all the types out than ordering 5 keyboards and eating the shipping/restocking fees to return 4.
I bought the sample kit and it was definitely interesting, but I came away from it feeling like you can't really get a sense of what you want from messing around with unmounted switches, unfortunately. Before I got it, I thought I wanted brown switches, but now I'm sort of torn between red (light, no tactile feedback) coupled with soft O-rings and clear/white (where the spring is strong enough to keep you from bottoming out after you feel the bump). Now that it's available, I'm tempted to just pick up a CODE and see how it goes.
I wonder how much more it'd cost to add a mini-backplate to hold the switches in place. Wouldn't need to be anything fancy; for its intended purpose a bare frame that needed taped to to a desk to hold it steady would suffice.
I stopped by my local MicroCenter about a year ago with this exact idea in mind. They had the same number of mechanical keyboards on display to try that BestBuy had: 1. And that keyboard was only testable because the manufacturer exposed some of the keys via a hole in their packaging. It was a huge disappointment.
You could always get the MAX sampler to test red, black. blue and brown. http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keyboard-keycap-che... And if you're adventurous, you could grab white/clear elsewhere and try to mount them to the board yourself. Actually, just talking about it has convinced me to give this a go once I have some income again :D
"The Fn key provides access to the multimedia shortcuts as well as backlighting functions, but I personally use the Menu key regularly; it looks like there’s a right hand Windows key, which I would be more than willing to give up in order to get both, but it’s not clear if the DIP switches allow this or not"
FWIW, there are numerous programs to tell Windows to re-map keys; SharpKeys seems to be well maintained, and there are some older ones mentioned at http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_disable_my_windows_ke... (the mapping table is part of Windows' registry, the programs just provide a front-end).
If you consider software such as AutoHotKey and the likes of it, you could easily create your own keyboard mappings using another key as "Fn" (I use my right Alt-key). Since you can map any key to alt, that pretty much mirrors the functionality of a movable fn-key. The exeption of course is for keyboard hardware specific stuff such as backlight control.
Brown switches are pretty quiet. Combined with rubber o-rings that you place under the keys (also sold by wasd-keyboards), I'd say you're pretty close if not more quiet than your standard membrane keyboard.
Or, a bunch of G Keys (3x6 of them imo). Remap those to Ctrl X,C,V the debug controls, code collapse / expand, etc.
Avoid having to press cmd-whatever to begin with except for rare unmapped things. Dedicated editing keys are the one thing I miss from the old Sun keyboards.
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Brunnis - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
This keyboard seems extremely similar to the Ducky Shine 2 MX... I have one that looks almost the same, costs the same, has MX Clear, white LED backlighting (one LED per switch), detachable USB cable, DIP switches, etc. Perhaps made by the same manufacturer?elitegibson - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
It's manufactured by WASD keyboards http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/Inteli - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
It's not manufactured by WASDKeyboards, it's labeled as such. It's actually CoStar, who also Manufactures the Quickfire Rapid, Filcos, and the Quickfire XT.DanNeely - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Have you considered supplementing the 10-keyless compact keyboards you're trying with a standalone mechanical 10key pad?The Adesso AKP-220B Mechanical Numeric Keypad is available from a number of vendors for ~$30.
DanNeely - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
A Newegg reviewer says it uses Chery Blue switches.JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Yeah, I could try one of those, but of course I have enough other keyboards floating around that it's not a huge priority. I've taken to having two keyboards connected so I can "get stuff done" when I need the 10-key. Heh.Chapbass - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Yeah, I have a standalone 10key that I keep under a monitor that I can whip out if I REALLY need to be doing number work. That said, using my Kinesis Advantage, considering that the numbers are also separated into right and left hands, I've become VERY quick at using the top row for numbers. Maybe not quite as fast as I was when doing 10key work all day (I worked at a bank), but definitely in the same ballpark. Nowadays I very rarely use the 10key pad just because I rarely am typing in that many numbers to necessitate the use.Impulses - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
I've been thinking of switching from my Corsair to a TKL and getting a pad like that plus one of those Griffin knobs for volume... Just not sure it's worth it just to have more desk space or the mouse closer to the rest of the keyboard.Kougar - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
I've been wanting a good Cherry MX Clear keyboard for some time. Although this is pricey, the feature set is exactly what I've been looking for!I initially went with a Cherry MX Brown keyboard as it was the best compromise in actuation force, bottom-out force, tactile feedback, and noise compared to what I was seeking. I'm incredulous, if I had designed my own mech keyboard the CODE would have been exactly it. No more compromising on keys, time to get one of these!
odieqd - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
What is the advantage to remapping keys in hardware rather than just doing it on the host computer with complete flexibility?JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Permanence, plus some keys (Fn) can't be remapped in software.adsmit14 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
If you have lots of virtual machines and Remote Desktop sessions than remapping from the OS gets very annoying. You would have to do it for all of them.ShieTar - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
And I'm sure it only gets worse if you build and test PCs for a living, and the average survival time of any OS you install is just a few days.fridsun - Tuesday, May 6, 2014 - link
If you bring the keyboard to another computer you can still use the remappings you have configured. If you never use your keyboard on different computers then there's no difference.Pinkynator - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
I'm sure it's technically a nice keyboard, but it's a shame that it only comes in the ANSI layout. If you're in an ISO country, you probably can't use the CODE keyboard at all, as it's missing a key; that's a no-go.DanNeely - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
The manufacturer has a sample kit including one of each type of cherry key-switch. Assuming it's possible to get a good feel for the switches without having them mounted on something (Does anyone know if this would be the case?), it'd fulfill a wish of mine in the form of a cheaper option to try all the types out than ordering 5 keyboards and eating the shipping/restocking fees to return 4.http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-sample...
Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
I bought the sample kit and it was definitely interesting, but I came away from it feeling like you can't really get a sense of what you want from messing around with unmounted switches, unfortunately. Before I got it, I thought I wanted brown switches, but now I'm sort of torn between red (light, no tactile feedback) coupled with soft O-rings and clear/white (where the spring is strong enough to keep you from bottoming out after you feel the bump). Now that it's available, I'm tempted to just pick up a CODE and see how it goes.DanNeely - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
That's disappointing, if not surprising.I wonder how much more it'd cost to add a mini-backplate to hold the switches in place. Wouldn't need to be anything fancy; for its intended purpose a bare frame that needed taped to to a desk to hold it steady would suffice.
Or even a model file for a 3d printer...
sticks435 - Friday, August 30, 2013 - link
Don't supposed you have a MicroCenter by you? I'm sure they have keyboards will all the different kinds of switches to play around on.Ancillas - Friday, August 30, 2013 - link
I stopped by my local MicroCenter about a year ago with this exact idea in mind. They had the same number of mechanical keyboards on display to try that BestBuy had: 1. And that keyboard was only testable because the manufacturer exposed some of the keys via a hole in their packaging. It was a huge disappointment.overzealot - Sunday, September 1, 2013 - link
You could always get the MAX sampler to test red, black. blue and brown.http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keyboard-keycap-che...
And if you're adventurous, you could grab white/clear elsewhere and try to mount them to the board yourself. Actually, just talking about it has convinced me to give this a go once I have some income again :D
bobbozzo - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
"The Fn key provides access to the multimedia shortcuts as well as backlighting functions, but I personally use the Menu key regularly; it looks like there’s a right hand Windows key, which I would be more than willing to give up in order to get both, but it’s not clear if the DIP switches allow this or not"FWIW, there are numerous programs to tell Windows to re-map keys; SharpKeys seems to be well maintained, and there are some older ones mentioned at http://ask-leo.com/how_can_i_disable_my_windows_ke...
(the mapping table is part of Windows' registry, the programs just provide a front-end).
JarredWalton - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Not all keys (Fn in particular) can be remapped via the registry, unfortunately, but it could work in a pinch.MarcusMo - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
If you consider software such as AutoHotKey and the likes of it, you could easily create your own keyboard mappings using another key as "Fn" (I use my right Alt-key). Since you can map any key to alt, that pretty much mirrors the functionality of a movable fn-key. The exeption of course is for keyboard hardware specific stuff such as backlight control.nportelli - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
Sooo less clicky, does that mean it is not loud as hell? Can't someone make a quiet keyboard with the satisfying feel?MarcusMo - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
Brown switches are pretty quiet. Combined with rubber o-rings that you place under the keys (also sold by wasd-keyboards), I'd say you're pretty close if not more quiet than your standard membrane keyboard.wardl - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
Did you ever review the Das Keyboard and how it would compare to the others. It seems very good and I am almost ready to purchase a new high end KB.jimbee - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
A coder keyboard the the control key still isn't in the home row? Or is it settable using the DIP switches?Azethoth - Friday, August 30, 2013 - link
Or, a bunch of G Keys (3x6 of them imo). Remap those to Ctrl X,C,V the debug controls, code collapse / expand, etc.Avoid having to press cmd-whatever to begin with except for rare unmapped things. Dedicated editing keys are the one thing I miss from the old Sun keyboards.
lyeoh - Friday, August 30, 2013 - link
What's the latency like? Same goes for stuff like mice if Anandtech reviews them. Yes latency matters a lot in some games.