Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
On a serious note, I think I like the act of building and setting keyboards up, I find them visually appealing and pleasing to the touch. They all have different characteristics. I think people focus on what they think is "the best". Oh this keyboard is the best because every one told me these switches are the coolest, I have the rarest of keycaps and my case is so dank only followers of dat boi can see it. I really think there's different reasons to have different boards, and I think each board can have an "end game". I don't think I need to upgrade my magic force past putting new keycaps on it, and I don't think I need to constantly change things on my GH60 Satan, other than finessing the programming of it. It's not the most pleasant sounding keyboard, but thats fine. Could I put some SA caps on it? sure...but I like it how it is. Some keyboards will evolve and change. I have a MiniVan coming from @evangs but I'll probably swap those keycaps around once I get pulse. And I might experiment with different noise canceling options. Just because I'm happy with one keyboards status doesn't mean other keyboards aren't worth while. People's drive to get 'The one' is a little silly.