I still have a couple old buckling-spring keyboards, but theyāre pretty much never found in the 65% form factor I like. So I have newer keyboards with MX-style switches.
According to my logs, this new one already has about 5 million keypresses on it.
Iām tempted to look for one with Kaihua Copper switches though, instead of the Hako True switches Iām using now. Itās a lighter touch, more tactile, and less spongey toward the bottom. Or maybe Iāll just finally get a key switch tester board to try a wider range, and find a keyboard with hot-swappable switches. I happen to know a guy who is making one, and it runs open-source firmware, and Iāve already added stuff to that firmwareā¦
Itās called a WhiteFox. Itās one of very few models Iāve found with the HHK+arrows layout (HHK = Happy Hacking Keyboard). I have the keys on mine rearranged a bit compared to the picture, but itās still reasonably close.
If I get another any time soon, itāll be similar but with a split space bar, RGB lighting per key, hot-swappable switches, and cleaner firmware. I made a physics simulation of a swimming pool which responds to keypresses and splashes colors around as if each key stroke is someone dropping a bowling ball into the pool. Itās totally unnecessary, but it also makes typing really satisfying. Did I mention I like shiny things?
WhiteFox and Tada68 (what Iām using with Aliaz Silent 70g) and definitely the most useful in that size category. I donāt need a numpad or whatever that other cluster w/home, pg up/down is called but my arrow keys arenāt going anywhere.
Having Esc on the same row as my numbers is also literally a lifechanger. I donāt code but I see zero reason for tilde to take that spot.
I use tilde a lot, but I like it on the upper right corner instead of upper left. I use Escape a lot too. And with Backspace moved down one row, thereās a nice empty space to fill.