I’m not a true mechanical keyboard enthusiast. I mean I like a good keyboard for typing code, so I rolled with model-Ms in the 80s and 90s, then some expensive Cherry keyboard I only recently retired because it was utterly spent (and it was PS/2), and now I happily use a Wooting Two HE.

I’m so glad the mechanical gaming keyboard scene has developed so much: it means there’s a plethora of really excellent keyboards for the rest of us who don’t play games.

But something utterly baffles me: why are high-quality keyboards getting smaller?

There’s a lot more keyboards without the numpad and the block of middle keys - whatever they’re called - or with the middle keys reduced or squashed up awkwardly on the side, than full-size plain old 102- or 104-key layout keyboards. What’s wrong with the numpad? Isn’t more keys generally better?

Back in the days, I bought the original Happy Hacking keyboard because it kind of made sense to maneuver around in our server room with a small keyboard that took up less space. Typing on it drove me up the wall but it was convenient to carry. And I guess it was also good option for going to LAN parties with a smaller backpack. But other than that, for a keyboard that never leaves your desk, I don’t get it.

Are there other advantages to smaller keyboards? Genuine question! I’m not dumping on smaller keyboards: to each his own and if you’re happy with yours, more power to you. I’d just like to know why you prefer smaller.

  • @slampisko
    3•10 months ago

    Some part of that is that a lot of the mech keyboards are DIY projects, and smaller keyboards are cheaper and simpler to put together.

    I personally am a split ergonomic keyboard enjoyer. I use a Keebio Iris at work and a Unikeyboard Diverge TM2 at home, which are a 50% and 40% respectively, both split.

    The thing that I like the most about small form factor keebs is that compared to a full keeb, I don’t have to move my hands so much to do basic and oft-repeated tasks. I don’t think about it as removing keys as much as bringing them closer to my fingers. For example, on a 40% keeb, all keys are within 1u away from your fingers’ home position.

    I am totally in love with programmable layers. I programmed both of my keebs similarly. Examples:

    • The key to the left from the A key, usually the Caps Lock key, is a dual-role key on my keebs. When you press it, it acts as Esc, and when you hold it, it acts as Ctrl.
    • I have a key on the left half that makes my right half into a number pad. Just like that, I completely eliminate the need for a physical one, and I don’t even have to move my hand to use it.
    • Switching tabs (Ctrl + Tab, Ctrl + Shift + Tab) is a very often used pair of shortcuts for me, and they’re relatively uncomfortable to press on a full keyboard. I moved them to a much more comfortable position - I hold a key with my thumb and switch tabs with two of my other fingers without having to move any fingers from their home position.
    • I use virtual desktops in Windows quite a lot for working in different contexts and I mapped switching desktops (Ctrl + Win + arrow keys) to a similarly accessible/comfortable position, same with some others like Alt + F4.
    • I am a software developer and function keys (F1-F12) are quite frequently used in IDEs, especially in combination with modifiers (Ctrl, Shift, Alt). With a full keeb you often need to move both of your hands quite far from the home positions to press those combinations. With a small keeb, I use one of my hands to press the modifiers (which I mapped to the home row in most of my layers) and a finger from the other hand moves just 1u up from the home row.

    Of course it takes a bit of trial and error, changing the way you think about how the keyboard works, and retraining your muscle memory, but as a person who spends 8+ days working with computers, I think it’s ultimately worth the investment of time, money and effort to make my weapon of choice as ergonomic and comfortable to use as possible.

    For when I can’t sit at my desk and use an ergonomic keeb, I also made myself an AutoHotkey script that makes the CapsLock of a regular keyboard more useful. It would be for another writeup, but as an example, it makes it act as Esc when you press it and when you hold it, it activates an extra layer – as an example, it turns the keys HJKL into arrow keys (left, down, up, right) and the keys YUIO into Home, PgDn, PgUp and End, and turns the numeric keys into function keys. I can still work with a full-sized keyboard, but whenever I am forced to, I am reminded how clunky it is and I long for my keeb or at least my AHK script.

    In summary, small keebs are cheaper and easier to make, and they bring all the keys closer to your fingertips, making it more efficient and comfortable than full keebs, with the small cost of retraining your muscle memory.