@mikelanding: Congratulations on getting your first Kinesis.

Since I had to relearn how to type, I thought I must as well change the keyboard layout to minimise use of the index and little fingers. I just finished writing an article on why the Workman keyboard layout is better than the default in my case.

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Added on October 16, 2012, 12:54 amMy impression is that most gamers prefer linear switches (MX reds and blacks) because the bump in the tactile switches will be too much. The clickiness of the blues may also be too much... But everyone has their own preferences; some gamers like blues, and I like typing on blacks more than any other Cherry switch.

For a keyboard around RM300, especially if I was into games, I would consider Kaiser's KBTalking RACE 75% Mechanical Keyboard Green Backlit.




This post has been edited by epiguru: Oct 16 2012, 12:54 AM

Why don't you contact kaiserreich (aka Kaiser) to ask him? Kaiser is a nice guy, and well respected here and in other mechanical keyboard forums.

I think remapping the keys like what you want is easy, no matter what operating system you use. On Windows, most people will use AutoHotkey (like bv2427 said). On Linux, it is very easily done - I wrote this post 'How to Replay an Unlimited Number of Keystrokes on Linux (Without a Programmable Keyboard or Keypad)' not long ago. On Mac OS X, I believe there is free software to remap the keys as well.

I also agree with kaysa - a TKL keyboard is more ergonomic. Most people don't need the numpad; having the mouse closer to you is more comfortable.

@mikelanding - How much are we talking about, including shipping to Malaysia?

Congratulations! Unless you abuse the thing, the case will last more than 10 years for sure. The switches should be OK too for 10 years. One of my Kinesis keyboards, which is more than 10 years old, has MX browns that feel nice. (It's funny how different the switches feel on different boards.) But if something goes wrong with the switches, they can be changed easily. If the controller goes bust, that might be a little trickier but still possible to fix. Not sure if you will want to go through that much for a modern Filco though.

BTW, it is customary to take some pics of your new board and share them with the community.

I lubed some Cherry switches (sliders + springs) and stabilizers with Krytox GPL 205 grease yesterday: http://goo.gl/dzkjv



I used a very small paint brush to apply the Krytox. The switches are now super smooth.

This post has been edited by epiguru: Oct 30 2012, 01:16 PM

If you have a close look at the pics, the parts that were lubed are:

1. The metal bar where it meets the two hooks (remember to grease enough because the bar can move from side to side);
2. The secondary plastic stems where they meet their housing (it's like a rectangle looking from the top). These are actually very loose, so I doubt they cause significant friction but since I was it, I thought I must as well lube this as well. No harm done.

Of course, I also greased the switch sliders and springs too.

Even if this were plate mounted, I doubt I'd have any trouble reaching the parts where I need to apply the grease. I used a small (1-2 mm) brush with hairs about 0.5 cm in length. I could even slide the hairs between the metal bar and the plastic hooks.

Thanks, Kaiser! That was instructive.

Just sent you a PM about a set of doubleshot keycaps for the numpad cluster.

At Taobao, I find Google Translate helpful.

Genuine Red Esc from Cherry. $5 each from EliteKeyboards.com. International shipping is $5.50.

I bought a bunch and have "extras" for anyone who:

A) wants them for cheap;
B) doesn't have PayPal; or
C) missed out on the great deal, etc.

Offer me a reasonable price for the keycap plus shipping and it's yours - it should be more than US$5 (to cover shipping costs) and less than $10.50 (because I think you should only cover your part of shipping). This arrangement might save you maybe around RM9 or 10 (or an average lunch with kopi peng).

Hope it's clear that I have no intention to make a profit (but I won't take a loss either).

I can be contacted via PM or at epiguru[at]epiguru[dot]com .

Yup, early evening Wednesday.

I'm evaluating my latest acquisition: a NIB DataHand Professional II.

As you guys know, I offered to sell some Cherry red Esc keycaps from Elitekeyboards earlier in the month. The good news is that the keycaps have arrived - check your PM. The bad news is that a small number of the keycaps have a small and faint white mark. These marks do not look like scratches and they do not rub off easily. I did not try to remove these marks for fear of damaging them. Here is an example:



Has anyone else had this issue with their keycaps?

(If you can't see the mark, look closer at the front side, about 3 o'clock - not the top surface where the Esc is.)

At least none of the keycaps arrived damaged like these, which I gather was from post office stamping:







(Photos courtesy of mickd.)