- Joined
- Jan 28, 2018
The kailh (if genuine) hotswap sockets started losing grip in the lower left corner and switches occasionally jumped out while typing which made that keyboard impossible to use. I am actually not convinced this is the fault of the sockets per se, I think there is too much tension on them because the whole thing is kinda warped in a way where you can't really bend it back. I could drill some holes into a better plate and screw it on which would also correct the case wonkiness but fuck it. If the case was nice modding would be worth it but it's a very cheap and bad-feeling case and that can't be modded. Do not buy the CSTC40. Even the $50 it costs right now is way too much.
I'm back to the Vortex PC66 for the time being and I forgot what a nice keyboard it is. I've been typing for a while on the ortho almost exclusively but funnily, my brain quickly adapted to the staggered layout again after a bit trial and error and it's like I never left.
My summary of my 40% ortho time is that it is in general slower. That's it. It's not less comfortable to type, it is not worse, but combos to reach some functions, "classical" key combinations like ctrl-<some key> and autoshift simply are a bit slower because the keyboard is small and human hands are relatively big and things like autoshift cause delays intrinsically. I would not say slower in a way that matters. You get some of that speed back by clever combos that are more central and generally less travel for your hands but I'd say at the end of the day it's probably pretty much +/- 0 for me in any given best case scenario and a bit slower otherwise. You feel kinda clever with all the combos you use and it's a satisfying experience having every single key always nearby, but I am not convinced it is "better" as in, more efficient. I also kinda think staggered keyboards look more stylish and it's also impossible to find a good keycap set that coves all bases and you pretty much have to go blank. (which although I touch-type I am not a fan of because of ~aesthetics~, YMMV obviously) The biggest takeaway for me was that QMK and programming your keyboard to suit your perfectly is really nice. I also love autoshift. I can't really say much about ergonomics as typing on both normal staggered layouts and grid layouts besides a warm-up phase didn't and doesn't bother me. I think the real problem for many is bad posture and bad habits. Then the new thing (be it planck or ergodex or whatever) fixed it all for them because it was the first time they actually consciously thought about how they type and use their computer and corrected those bad habits.
I got rid of my HHKB a while ago, since I didn't get that excited about Topre and while the keyboard and keys were very nice, it felt way too expensive for what it was. I did like the layout though, which was inspired in parts by Apple's M0110. The thing I found questionable about the HHKB was the lack of arrow keys (although that you might get used to, some people say the FN+arrow diamond is faster, I did not use mine long enough) and the weird, out-of-the-way placement of the slash/pipe key, a key you'd think would be placed more central on THE *nix keyboard (the ISO UK layout get's this right, make the left shift shorter, place that key between it and Z).
There's a M0110 "remake" with HHKB layout by vortex but having had quality issues with the first PC66 (covered in scratches) I got and ended up sending back and generally reading that vortex quality seems to be really hit and miss these days I don't think it's worth a try. There's a (somewhat, after all is said and done) cheaper remake of the M0110 on aliexpress (the "keybox" design) also QMK programmable and all. I love off-beige plastic cases and think it's the only true material for keyboards so I might actually buy that one, as a project. It would even allow for the HKKB layout with ISO-UK positioned pipe. Instead of using the "arrow diamond", I would program a wordstar-alike, toggleable navigation layer directly into the firmware. It's the only modifier-based navigation that ever made sense to me intuitively.
