A Thanks To Massdrop!

Figure 1: Zeal's own photo of the first production bags of Zealios switches... I’m guessing that a good number of you reading this article right now clicked on with some sincere degree of confusion from the title. There can’t possibly be any way that ThereminGoat – the guy who has personally tried over 3,000 different switches – is claiming that there won’t ever be another switch like the Zealios, of all things. (I’m sure a few of you are further listing off at least a dozen other medium-heavy tactiles that you can think of that are close enough to Zealios on top of this, too.) While you would be right in calling me out for saying something of the sort about Zealios, the switches, what I’m talking about here is something bigger and more impactful – Project Zealio, a.k.a. the initial groupbuy announcement and ‘Round 1’ release of Zealios switches. I’m here to argue that not only did Project Zealio fundamentally changed the way that the mechanical keyboard community thought...

So in my previous write-up, while highlighting the benefits of alternative and custom layouts, I declared without much evidence that QWERTY is not that bad at all, and also that it is in the top 2% of all the possible layouts. Well, like so many times in life: it depends. I did my original research many years ago - the exact value was in fact 1.82% -, but I forgot to mention that this is only valid in a special case: using my personal corpus and ruleset. It makes sense since back in the day I did this to support the design process of my own custom keymaps. Anyway, it was high time to redo my original experiment, dive in this topic a bit deeper, and reveal the logic and method behind my calculations. Spoiler alert: I was wrong! Or was I? ;) QWERTY Everyone knows QWERTY I guess. Christopher Sholes, Remington 2 typewriter, preventing jamming of type bars, path dependence, whatever. I'm not going to cover it here, check this previous write-up of mine if you are interested...

Hall Effect: What is a Hall Effect switch and will it turn you into a gaming god? TL;DR: Nope, but there are reasons why you may want to use a Hall Effect Keyboard. Hall Effect switches are the newest trend in mechanical keyboard switches. From Gateron to Geon, switch manufacturers are starting to release HE switches. With Wooting at the forefront and seemingly the best implementation of Hall Effect technology, many other brands seem to be playing catch-up. We’ve seen releases like the RAKKA, BOOG75, DrunkDeer, and MOD007 HE start to stir up competition. But do you need another keyboard? Is this one going to be the end all be all for you? Is HE Endgame? If you’re like me, a keyboard enthusiast, your answers will probably be: no(yes), no, and no. Do I think that an HE board deserves a spot in your collection? Maybe… Let’s dive into the latest technological update to mechanical switches in a long time, and you can make that decision for yourself. First, we need to know...

Since we launched Roselle switch, it has always been loved by a large number of enthusiasts, due to its unique material and touch. In order to repay the love of fans, we decided to do a upgrade version of Roselle. However, when it comes to product upgrades, it is not easy! Product upgrades is a complex process, involving market research, design, development, testing and other links, but I am a person who particularly love to toss, so after half a year of continuous adjustment and transformation of the mold, lubing technology upgrade and test, so there is the Roselle V2. If you want to know what changes we have made, please don't miss the following: 1. 【RGB diffuser】Make every breath of the keyboard full of charm In the world of keyboard, the combination of light and force can always create infinite possibilities, so we added a transverse RGB diffuser in Roselle V2. This RGB diffuser design, can provide better light brightness and uniformity, bring a clearer and...

Since we launched Roselle switch, it has always been loved by a large number of enthusiasts, due to its unique material and touch. In order to repay the love of fans, we decided to do a upgrade version of Roselle. However, when it comes to product upgrades, it is not easy! Product upgrades is a complex process, involving market research, design, development, testing and other links, but I am a person who particularly love to toss, so after half a year of continuous adjustment and transformation of the mold, lubing technology upgrade and test, so there is the Roselle V2. If you want to know what changes we have made, please don't miss the following: 1. 【RGB diffuser】Make every breath of the keyboard full of charm In the world of keyboard, the combination of light and force can always create infinite possibilities, so we added a transverse RGB diffuser in Roselle V2. This RGB diffuser design, can provide better light brightness and uniformity, bring a clearer and...

One of Jack Kester/Pikatea's Many Boards That He Brought To The 2024 Iowa Meetup The mechanical keyboard hobby is fantastic. Whether you’re someone that originally wanted to upgrade your desk setup with a cool-looking board, or someone that found the hobby because of ergonomic reasons, there are many ways that we found the hobby - and many more reasons why we’ve stayed in the hobby. However, you can definitely get overwhelmed by the vast amount of information. OR, you may burn out and realize the time you’re spending negatively impacts your life. I’m hoping that by sharing my own experiences and tips, I can help newcomers and enthusiasts avoid those situations. Everyone enjoys the hobby in their own way, and that’s fine - as long as it doesn't negatively impact your life. Let’s take a look at these 5 tips, and remember, these are just my personal opinions! Tip 1: Don’t Bankrupt Yourself I think this is important during the whole year, but especially because we’re...