Is Topre Realforce the Realthing?

Fans of rare imported mechanical keyboards crafted by Topre have a friend in Fujitsu whom now import them to North America.  The secret sauce which attracts people to these keyboards are the electrostatic key switches Topre uses which are very different from Cherry style mechanical switches or the discount dome rubber style.  That does mean that you won't be able to swap keycaps without ordering them directly from Topre.  Drop by The Tech Report to see if Topre deserves the glamour which surrounds their name.




"Topre's Realforce keyboards are legendary for their quality and durability, and now Fujitsu Computer Products of America is officially distributing these boards on American shores. We got a tenkeyless Realforce R2 board under our fingers to see whether it lives up to the Topre mythos."

That's the first rule of Input Club, Kira!



Input Club Inc, which should be called InC Inc, successfully kickstarted the "ultimate full size mechanical keyboard" which they named Kira.  The designers obviously have strong feelings about keyboards as TechPowerUp alludes to some interesting behind the scenes drama involving the design team's past.  If you also share a passion for specific keyboard designs then you might want to check out their review.  The Kira offers you a lot of choice in addition to a compact design, you can choose from a variety of Cherry, Kailh, Hako, and NovelKey switches and you can easily reprogram every single key via their software if you prefer Dvorak, Colemak or other layouts than the default QWERTY.

It is rather expensive, $169–$259 to pre-order and is thoroughly infested with RGBs, but there is a price to pay for loving keyboards this much.

Facepalm: Danish gaming peripheral and accessory maker SteelSeries has announced a new mechanical keyboard switch that promises to change the game. It’s a neat idea, but unless I’m missing something obvious, it offers no benefit in terms of speed. In fact, it may even slow you down.

The company’s new OmniPoint switches use magnetic fields to measure the exact distance that a key is pressed at all times. This means that each key can be adjusted to the exact point you want it to register, from a depth as shallow as 0.4mm up to 3.6mm for those that prefer a longer press.

SteelSeries said its new switches offer 5x faster actuation and 8x faster response time compared to a traditional mechanical switch.

yet another 'new' technology. statistically it seems nice, but how practical it is to us?

The 1STPLAYER Bullet Hunter MK6 Mechanical Keyboard Review: Affordable But Good

Gaming peripherals are one of the most popular segments of the market these days. Dozens of companies on every continent are actively competing for a piece of the market share, leading to the availability of a great variety of products for consumers. As the size of the gaming market itself constantly expands, the gross income of almost every reputable company increases even though the competition constantly expands. The only issue that companies have these days lies on innovation – the sheer number of products and limited design possibilities makes it very difficult for manufacturers to truly differentiate from their competitors.

Today we are having our very first look at a product from 1STPLAYER, a company originating from China. 1STPLAYER is relatively unknown to the US/EU but they have a very strong presence in Asia and boast impressive manufacturing capabilities. The company recently decided to expand into the EU and the US. Although, for the time being, 1STPLAYER has an official distributor only in the UK and Ukraine, their products can also be easily found for sale online in the US.

The product that we will be reviewing today is the Bullet Hunter MK6 mechanical gaming keyboard. In terms of features, the Bullet Hunter MK6 probably does not have any unique ones that we can point out in this introduction, as several competitive products sport similar, or even identical, features lists. However, the pricing of the Bullet Hunter MK6 is extremely aggressive for a programmable mechanical keyboard with RGB backlighting, as it is currently retailing for less than $65.

The Keystone- a Magnetic Analog Mechanical Keyboard with AI-enabled Adaptive Typing[B]



The Input Club Keystone Mechanical Keyboard is an unparalleled leap forward in typing and gaming technology. It will launch on Kickstarter on July 16th, 2019 at 8 AM PST, at this link - http://kty.pe/keystone. The Keystone combines two new keyboard features - High Definition Analog Control and per-key fast Hall Effect (magnetic) sensing - for supreme performance. Our magnetic switch technology enables near-infinite customization, billion-press (Source: Honeywell Testing Article) durability (20x the industry standard), and analog control benefits for everyone. Full firmware programmability and RGB lighting round out its features.

This project is the future of mechanical keyboards. We believe that there is more to the main tool everyone uses for work, playing games, and connecting with others. Input Club is a group of engineers and designers who drive innovation in the field of input devices. The team formed in 2014 because there was very little innovation in the keyboard space. Our team has developed special mechanical keyswitches, open source keyboard firmware, and some of the more iconic keyboard designs to hit the marketplace. The Keystone is the next technological lead forward for keyboards - it is our flagship keyboard showcasing the best and most sought after features in a keyboard.

The Keystone brings novel features together to continue pushing keyboard invention further- with its SILO Hall Effect and High Definition Analog Switches. These are both keyboard switch technologies that have been produced in the past, separately, but this implementation takes them to the next level. With Hall Effect switches, instead of relying on a bending piece of metal for actuation, your keyboard tracks the movement of a magnet. This allows you to change when and where the keyboard receives the signal, while also providing a billion press switch lifespan that simply cannot be competed with.

We designed much of the functionality for Keystone around the high performance needs of the people toughest on their keyboards - eSports players. Modern gaming is dominated by the desktop, and the keyboard is the most important variable in the perfect gear setup. With Analog functionality, every key can do multiple actions with a single press on a hardware level. A half press can be a lowercase letter and a full press can be an uppercase letter - allowing for intuitive typing that is much faster than the current style.

The prime feature we are able to achieve with Analog sensing is Adaptive Typing - a way to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to let your keyboard change to learn the "intent" of your individual typing style. If you don't press as hard with your pinky fingers as you do with your index fingers, your keyboard will automatically make those keys take less force to actuate, resulting in a more comfortable typing experience.

The Keystone is the beginning of a platform for keyboards that if successful, will completely replace every typing instrument everywhere. By combining modern software with the most advanced switch mechanism ever released - the Keystone is able to earn its spot as a keyboard worth writing about.

Kinesis Gaming Rolls Out the Freestyle Edge RGB Split Mechanical Keyboard


Kinesis Gaming Rolls Out the Freestyle Edge RGB Split Mechanical Keyboard



Kinesis Gaming is a new entrant in the ergonomic gaming hardware market, and launched the first of its two debut products, the Freestyle Edge RGB split mechanical keyboard (the other being the Vektor mouse). The keyboard features a tenkeyless layout that's split vertically along the middle, with a 6-inch cable connecting the two halves. An internal compartment located at the top lets you wind in excess cable. This split allows you to angle the two halves apart to better align with your hands, and minimize strain on your wrists. Adding to the ergonomics of the Freestyle Edge RGB are its soft-touch wrist-rests.

It may be a TKL keyboard, but the Freestyle Edge RGB comes with 10 macro keys along the edge of the left half. You can remap every other key and build macros of your own with the included software. There are 99 keys and buttons on this keyboard. Its electronics offers full NKRO and a Game Mode, with 1 ms response time, and 100% anti-ghosting. An onboard 4 MB memory stores your macro- and lighting-profiles locally. The keyboard offers full RGB LED lighting across a 16.8 million-color palette, and lets you configure lighting and profiles via software. Among the mechanical switch options are Cherry MX Red, MX Blue, and MX Brown. All three variants are priced at USD $219.99  .

Hi, I am thinking to get my first keyboard. Previously was looking at filco brand but did not pull the trigger. However, upon reading this thread, it seems like it has exited Malaysia market. May I know what is the alternative for this brand? Or am I better off getting a custom board instead?

AZIO Elwood Retro Classic Vintage Style Mechanical Keyboard – Absolute Luxury In Keyboard Tech?

https://wccftech.com/review/azio-elwood-ret...-keyboard-tech/

you can pm quovadis123 or grexer here or in mymkb fb group for repair service. it looks like failing switches to me but there might be caused by other issues.

tbh i have a number of commercial boards. none of them fail. (well, none of them were from razer)

currently, if possible, you should top the budget up, and get leopold fc900r with cherry mx brown. (razer orange is tactile, like cherry mx brown) local leopold boards are sold at very good price. alternatively, you can look for options from ikbc.

good luck.

eventually, with all added up, it might become not economical anymore.

Taika Waititi Blasts Apple’s Keyboards After Winning Oscar – “Makes me Want to go Back to PCs”

Director Taika Waititi gave Apple an earful after winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. In his backstage interview, he blasted Apple’s keyboards as being “impossible to write on”. Taika even went on to say that they make him “want to go back to PCs”.

Taika Waititi is a renowned director and had 2 Oscar nominations to his name, before winning his first Oscar today. His works include the likes of Thor: Ragnarok, What We Do in the Shadows, and Jojo Rabbit, for which he won the Oscar for the best Adapter Screenplay. He is known to be a very candid person in his stage appearances and interviews, and he was his usual honest self when inquired about what writers should ask for in the next round of talks with producers.

The question was asked by Anthony from Deadline:

Taika Waititi used this opportunity to lambast Apple’s butterfly keyboards, which have plagued MacBook users since 2015. He shared how they make it impossible to write on because the “bounce back” is not good. Taika also said that they make him want to go back to PCs. He also mentioned that he has shoulder and joint problems, which are not helped by Apple’s keyboards as the keys are too close to each other, making the keyboard feel cramped.

Here is the full video, starting from 2:00 minutes, where Taika is asked the question:



Here is the complete transcript of Taika’s response, loosely put together from the video.



Taika Waititi is not the first person to talk about Apple’s keyboard problems and will likely not be the last one either. Apple really messed up with butterfly keyboards, starting with the 2015 MacBook, and customers have been complaining ever since. Instead of instantly switching back to the reliable old scissor-mechanism, the company continued to iterate on the butterfly keyboard but was unable to fix the actual issues. There is even a class-action lawsuit against Apple’s butterfly keyboards, which means that the company might need to compensate customers.

With the 16-inch MacBook Pro, Apple finally switched back to a scissor-mechanism based keyboard, with some learnings implemented from butterfly keyboards, however, every other MacBook Air and MacBook Pro model still sells with a butterfly keyboard for now. A 13-inch MacBook Pro update in 2020 might also switch to the new keyboard.

In its pursuit for thinner products, Apple made one of the biggest blunders in its history of portable computers and should rightfully be called out by people who spent their heard-earned money on a subpar user experience.

my current newly bought hiragana keycaps setup. what do you guys think?