Drop Mech Keys Meetup Recap - Thanks for Visiting!
As you may have seen, we just hosted our first meetup in quite a while here at Drop HQ (Corsair HQ, but they seem to like us enough :) )! It was a blast to get to meet so many enthusiasts local to the bay area—it had been 10 years since I was last hanging out with keyboard nerds in the bay, at KeyCon 2014. We had a great time hosting everyone at the offices, checking out all the very nice boards y'all brought, and sharing some of our own projects/spaces! I knew it would be fun to host in the Game Room when I first saw it in person, but seeing it come to fruition was still so cool. Alright, I'll stop blabbering on now. xD Picture time! (Oh, real quick - there will be more of these! Stay tuned for more info and to catch the next one!)
May 15, 2024
With a trackpoint onboard, anything under 18" W is fine, as that can fit just fine on a rack shelf or almost any keyboard tray.
Seriously though, at $260 I was expecting to see Topre when I scrolled down. Many custom Cherry keyboards costing less than 1/2 of this, most with more switches on board. I'm open to hearing why this custom kit costs an extra $150.
But if I could nub my IBM clicky, it would have been done did. The nub is golden. So maybe I settle for this in a 65 or 75g resistance instead but I am trying to resist. Still have a purple switch minibus kit with some chocolatiers that I haven't put together. It is tempting though.
Anyways, my comment was intended to recommend changes to the manufacturer to open up their customer base, not to stick thorns in someone's side. I think this product could be a lot more viable with a few changes so I hope the developer will consider. The opportunity cost to have a nub and 3 mouse buttons for $150~200 more than an equivalent keyboard just doesn't make sense to me. In-fact, the places where I use TKL keyboards have been satisfied by $35 mechanical keyboards with Outemu/Kailh switches, but I'd consider this added functionality and quality cherry for as much as $120.
I echo smallbit's point that Tex makes a great keyboard: the aluminum low-pro case is amazingly built, and feels super stable. The plate is screwed to the case, rather than to the PCB, which adds to the really solid feel of the keyboard. This is compared to a few other enthusiast boards I have (e.g. the Anne Pro, a custom DZ60). Even the whitefox doesn't feel as premium.
There are Unicomp Enduropros full-size keyboards with trackpoint, but I don't think it's a programmable board, nor is the trackpoint really good. I can vouch for the Tex Yoda's trackpoint (latest iteration; the previous iteration broke on me) as being equivalent, of not better than a real Thinkpad's trackpoint.
I have an EnduraPro. Decent keyboard but the trackpoint is useless. My understanding is that they worked fine for older, low-resolution monitors. But on modern monitors, you're asking for RSI if you need to navigate to anything smaller than a browser tab. Also, no middle mouse button on the EnduraPro, and the L/R buttons are about as responsive as a couple of bricks.