from Hacker News

KLOR – A 36-42 keys column-staggered split keyboard

by 7839284023 on 5/21/23, 10:25 AM with 103 comments

  • by keyle on 5/21/23, 10:54 AM

    I love fancy keyboards. I've had mechanical keyboards when they were rare and expensive. I'm typing this from a fancy keyboard. I now have a cupboard full of them ;) ...

    But this, this kind of keyboards, that's masochistic! :-)

    I honestly doubt that these make your life easier. Please explain if you have one of these what drew you to this?

  • by wahnfrieden on 5/21/23, 2:28 PM

    The Glove80 is probably the most interesting ergo keyboard at the moment, well in my opinion: https://www.moergo.com

    I'm paying someone local to desolder and resolder with 15g Kailh Choc Pink switches (aka gChoc). Requires resoldering because of the curved IC boards not accommodating hot switching unfortunately but that's the same w the Kinesis Adantage360

  • by bombcar on 5/21/23, 12:59 PM

    If you want to explore Dvorak or Colemack or some other alternative keyboard style, also switching to something like this at the same time can help train you without losing your QWERTZ skills.

  • by d4rkp4ttern on 5/21/23, 11:17 AM

    Mech KBs are nice but I am always puzzled why nobody discusses what I think is the biggest unsolved problem with any keyboard: the Mouse !

    Let me elaborate — on a laptop computer (esp MacBook ) the nicest thing is that we don’t have to reach for a mouse, and we use the trackpad with either thumb.

    With an external keyboard, the ergonomics are great EXCEPT that you have to move your hand off the KB to get to a mouse. For me that kills the ergonomics!

    If someone designs a combo mech kb with an easily reachable trackpad below the thumbs, that would be amazing.

  • by xupybd on 5/21/23, 10:36 PM

    I've tried a few keyboards like this. I can't seem to find anything better than the Kinesis Advantage. There is something about the placement of the keys that makes typing low effort.

    I'd like to try some other options with key wells. Like the glove 80.

  • by lolive on 5/22/23, 12:45 AM

    Configuring your keyboard for productivity all seems to go down to tuning your keys behaviour.

    A nice fellow mentionned kmonad as a kind of ultimate tool for that.

    As I had never heard about this utility, I found this very simple introduction to kmonad: https://dev.to/ram535/kmonad-and-the-power-of-infinite-leade...

    I hope you will like it too.

  • by 7839284023 on 5/21/23, 10:25 AM

    Image: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GEIGEIGEIST/KLOR/main/docs...

    > KLOR is a (open-source) 36-42 key column-staggered split keyboard. It supports a per key RGB matrix, encoders, OLED displays, haptic feedback, speakers, a Pixart Paw3204 trackball, the SplitKB tenting puck and four different layouts, through break off parts.

  • by lolive on 5/21/23, 4:18 PM

    Just to give my humble experience, having bought a VIA-compatible keyboard was the opportunity to reorganize keys and test which options make sense for me. I am still in my early phase, but (for example) I discovered that a 60% keyboard would suit my needs just fine (with CapsLock as my favorite choice as a mapping switcher). I wonder how to check if an even more compact layout could work for me. Does that mean additional mapping switching keys? [i wonder how to handle a Ctrl-Alt-Shift-F9, then ;) ]

  • by unwind on 5/21/23, 6:32 PM

    No idea if it's relevant but the name means "claws" in Swedish. Seems to fit with the hand posture during use, maybe.

  • by snthpy on 5/21/23, 11:01 AM

    I love 40% split keyboards and this one looks pretty cool but you can't beat the aesthetics of my Cornish Zen!

  • by userbinator on 5/21/23, 8:50 PM

    It's interesting to see all these highly unusual input devices, but as someone who can already type all day at 150wpm on a regular QWERTY board, I don't quite understand how much better something like this can make you type.

  • by xwdv on 5/21/23, 3:01 PM

    These keyboards are “interesting” to look at, but I find that the more ergonomic they are, the more they reinforce the idea that you’re a human, who needs human shaped things, and a human is all you’ll ever be.

    As such, I do not like using them. In fact, my favorite keyboards are Ortholinear, where keys are arranged in a straight grid of rows and columns with no deviation, and I especially enjoy combining this aesthetic with blank keys. There is no better looking keyboard than this, it appeals to an intellectual’s sensibilities, and when you master the use of one, you feel you have ascended beyond the status of mere human, and into something more. A union between man and machine.

    Now that is how a keyboard should make you feel: ergonomics for the soul.

  • by phibz on 5/21/23, 11:27 PM

    I dont think i could give up the palm rests of my keyboard.io, but something like this looks interesting in that i might be able to customize it.

  • by dark-star on 5/21/23, 7:12 PM

  • by amelius on 5/21/23, 2:46 PM

    Anybody making their own keycaps?

  • by electronicelyas on 5/21/23, 3:45 PM

    My room is going to end up looking like Lain's at this rate

  • by SanderNL on 5/21/23, 11:19 AM

    Does it support my country’s unique AZERCQW layout with the parentheses on CtrShiftQ+8?

    Without that, it is a broken mess filled to the brim with showstopping UX failures.