What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
I thought I'd point out two things regarding this drop.
1) It has NO WARRANTY. I contacted support regarding the K-type just recently and they informed me that it had no warranty, and that "that would have been noted on the product page." Turns out it WASN'T noted on the product page... the product page simply has no mention of a warranty existing. I took that to mean it came with a standard Massdrop one year warranty. Well, I guess I should have guessed better. This product also has no mention of a warranty, so I can only assume that it has no warranty, either. I sure hope Massdrop has several orders of magnitude better manufacturing capabilities than every single other company on the planet!
2) The question I posed to support for the K-type actually wasn't even for warranty service. I managed to lose the 8 case screws for my K-type, and I wanted to purchase replacement screws. I figured that any company that manufactures anything at all also orders an extra 5~10% extra parts in case of manufacturing issues or to provide warranty service should any customers have issues down the road. Well, I guess if your warranty service amounts to nothing more than the 30 day (assuming an industry-standard number, but given their warranty period I would make absolutely sure before buying anything here!) return policy, you don't need any extra parts. Even if 10% of the units turned out to have defective parts, they were just going to refund the money and wash their hands of it.
I also sorta figured that because Massdrop has basically copied the CTRL directly from the K-type's open source files, they could do me a solid, order an extra set of screws, and bill me the cost plus whatever profit they would like. Sadly, support isn't even going to check whether the screws match because my future business isn't worth the bother.
TL;DR: If you buy the CTRL Keyboard, don't use it. It has no warranty, and even if it did they won't be able to fix it should anything happen. If you ever need a replacement part for it in the future, you will just have to make it yourself. And if they do, indeed, use the same screws as the K-type, you are stuck with eight custom-machined screws that cannot be purchased anywhere on the planet... not even from the company that made them.
I'm sorry to hear about what happened with your keyboard. I also wanted to clarify a few things with you -
1) The K-Type does ship with a 1 year warranty. All Massdrop Made products ship with at least a standard 1 year warranty. We didn't have that posted in our page, but I'll speak to the team and get that added.
2) With replacement parts - we haven't received any requests for replacements for all the screws + stabilizers in the K-Type before yours. I want to make sure you are taken care of though and will work with our support team to get some replacements your way.
TL:DR: The CTRL is covered with a 1 year warranty much like the K-Type. I apologize for the incorrect information that was communciated. We'll work with the support team to help you out!
Thanks for clearing that up and sorry for communicating incorrect information to the community. I really thought that this was the case, but having support tell me otherwise kinda forced me to warn the community if it was in fact true. I'm glad you have set everyone straight on what to expect, and hopefully this will prevent future misunderstandings.