Layout optimization best practices: sources of your personal corpus (part 2)
Welcome back to our series on designing custom keymaps! After looking into how good/bad QWERTY is, the power of layers, and the potential of custom keymaps, last time we took the first real step by examining your options for compiling a corpus. As a recap: The corpus is simply a big chunk of text. We use this collection of textual data, often a single text file, to characterize your typing habits (calculating various language statistics), and feed it directly or indirectly as an input into layout optimization algorithms – to find the optimal keymap for you! Today we’ll expand on this idea by exploring your options if, like me, you prefer a personalized corpus rather than grabbing some general (and mostly irrelevant) data available online. Image 1: Letter frequencies – the most basic use of corpora – in this very post We've seen that a well-crafted, personalized corpus plays a key role in determining the outcome of the optimization process. We've also explored...
Sep 4, 2024
Grey (linear): A nice, lightweight linear switch. These switches are extremely smooth and lack the 'graininess' that usually accompanies Cherry Reds and Blacks, which is a nice touch. I prefer these to their Cherry counterparts.
Orange (tactile): These have a very noticeable tactile bump with what feels to me like a slightly higher actuation point than Cherry Browns and Clears. It's like a cross between the two, in that the bump is about as pronounced as a Clear, while having a similar actuation force to a Brown. Unfortunately, I do think they feel a bit plasticky with a fair bit of graininess above the actuation point. They're definitely not as premium feeling as Clears. I would not personally recommend these switches over their Cherry counterparts.
Purple (click): These are my favourite of the bunch. My current daily driver is a Ducky Shine 4 with Cherry Green switches and these come close to beating them. The Purples are much smoother than Orange and this, coupled with an extremely pleasant clicking sound, make for a near-perfect typing experience. If EpicGear produced an alternative with an actuation force as high as a Cherry Green, they could very possibly be my favourite switches of all. I'd recommend these over Cherry Blues, but not Cherry Greens out of personal preference for a high actuation force. If you're looking for a lightweight, clicky switch with no noticeable graininess, you found it here.
In conclusion, if EG produced a keyboard with their Purple switches that didn't come in a package that looks like the brainchild of an axe murderer and a toddler, I'd take it into serious consideration. Also, I'd likely purchase a keyboard with a firmer version of the Purple switch.
P.S. Thank you to EpicGear for providing us with these sample kits. I think it's a great way to get your product out there. You've turned an overwhelmingly negative response into a positive learning experience for your potential consumer base.