deskthority

hoggy wrote:The blanking tiles attach to the switch. I never found a source of them, except on Access keyboards. Very easy to mount, but can be a pain to remove without removing the surrounding keys.

No, on the lightsaver and other Korean customs that utilise these blockers they mount onto the plate and replace the switches that can go there. They're custom machined, not sourced from other keyboards.

I'm not a fan of them either matt3o.

I think they look bad on that picture because they mixed black and aluminium ones, but I guess the ones matching the case look quite ok. Of course they are not as beautiful as a machined case, but on the other hand this solution is much cheaper and more flexible.

This thread about the novatouch dived into a light saver discussion :X

That's Deskthority!

Muirium wrote:That's Deskthority!

This is a feature, not a bug!

can also CM make the novatouch MAC/OSX compatible, i believe there is quite a sizeable market there

There is indeed. Me included! It's already as Mac compatible as any regular USB keyboard. Like CM's current models, the NovaTouch has no DIP switches. So you just need to swap Command and Option around in OS X like this:
Other than that, everything works as it should. The media keys are all there behind Fn.

A couple of annoyances for Mac users are the variable hardware repeat rate (that my Ducky Shine 3 also features, and sometimes surprises people quite badly) and Windows key lock. All that Win Lock does on a Mac is disable the Option key, which isn't something you want to do. That mode does have an indicator light recessed behind the cap, so you can spot it easily.

luckynet2 wrote:can also CM make the novatouch MAC/OSX compatible, i believe there is quite a sizeable market there

Yes. I am an OS X user, and I prefer the HHKB Pro 2 layout with Mac settings. Any other keyboard that I use or consider buying has to be reconfigurable in the HHKB-Mac layout.

Putting that aside, what other changes do you guys suggest? I think the 55g is a must as well

Broadmonkey wrote:I ask because Topre has stopped making key caps themselves

Maybe this means that they'll order some cherry-compatible PBT dysubs from a company like SP, and perhaps even sell them separately as they did before with the Realforce sets. Or maybe they'll switch to cheaper ABS pad printed crap like anyone else.

YuukiHaruto wrote:Putting that aside, what other changes do you guys suggest?

Bluetooth.

Grond wrote:

Broadmonkey wrote:I ask because Topre has stopped making key caps themselves

Maybe this means that they'll order some cherry-compatible PBT dysubs from a company like SP, and perhaps even sell them separately as they did before with the Realforce sets. Or maybe they'll switch to cheaper ABS pad printed crap like anyone else.

YuukiHaruto wrote:Putting that aside, what other changes do you guys suggest?

Bluetooth.

Nowhere near a portable keyboard anyway ... so bluetooth is kinda lost as an extra feature.

I don't know, mate, the way I see it Bluetooth is not a feature for portable keyboards only. Since the 90s there have been full size wireless keyboards on the market which certainly weren't made to be carried around, so I assume I'm not the only guy in the world who'd like a bluetooth keyboard only for keeping it on the desk. Besides nowadays bluetooth is convenient for people who want to switch between several devices, i.e. pc, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc. Some people may even want to use it for their media center. So I wouldn't dismiss this feature so quickly.

YuukiHaruto wrote:Putting that aside, what other changes do you guys suggest? I think the 55g is a must as well

A silenced option a la Type-S.

avtar wrote:

YuukiHaruto wrote:Putting that aside, what other changes do you guys suggest? I think the 55g is a must as well

A silenced option a la Type-S.

Yes, I agree that 55g Topre should at least be an option, and Type S as well.

Actually, if I could have my (current) dream keyboard, it would be a 60% with the HHKB Pro 2 layout (Mac mode) and capacitive buckling spring switches (like an IBM Model F XT keyboard).

Muirium wrote:There is indeed. Me included! It's already as Mac compatible as any regular USB keyboard. Like CM's current models, the NovaTouch has no DIP switches. So you just need to swap Command and Option around in OS X like this:

System Preferences.png

Other than that, everything works as it should. The media keys are all there behind Fn.

A couple of annoyances for Mac users are the variable hardware repeat rate (that my Ducky Shine 3 also features, and sometimes surprises people quite badly) and Windows key lock. All that Win Lock does on a Mac is disable the Option key, which isn't something you want to do. That mode does have an indicator light recessed behind the cap, so you can spot it easily.

there's a user who said some keyboard are not able wake up OSX from sleep mode, can you test that as well?

are they gonna send you @muirium another revised version ?

rjrich wrote:

avtar wrote:

YuukiHaruto wrote:Putting that aside, what other changes do you guys suggest? I think the 55g is a must as well

A silenced option a la Type-S.

Yes, I agree that 55g Topre should at least be an option, and Type S as well.

Actually, if I could have my (current) dream keyboard, it would be a 60% with the HHKB Pro 2 layout (Mac mode) and capacitive buckling spring switches (like an IBM Model F XT keyboard).

Type-S? Sure!

Grond wrote:I don't know, mate, the way I see it Bluetooth is not a feature for portable keyboards only. Since the 90s there have been full size wireless keyboards on the market which certainly weren't made to be carried around, so I assume I'm not the only guy in the world who'd like a bluetooth keyboard only for keeping it on the desk. Besides nowadays bluetooth is convenient for people who want to switch between several devices, i.e. pc, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc. Some people may even want to use it for their media center. So I wouldn't dismiss this feature so quickly.

Eh, good point. But it leads me to think ... can you get NKRO over bluetooth? (Trigger Z and MECH has a high number of NKRO over USB and not just 5)
Also ... With all the added battery and circuits of a bluetooth transmitter the novatouch would be slightly larger. Just saying, not that i'm against it or anything but being practical here.

luckynet2 wrote:are they gonna send you @muirium another revised version ?

At least I'm probably going to get the production version. We'll see then. I've already returned my prototype ...

luckynet2 wrote: there's a user who said some keyboard are not able wake up OSX from sleep mode, can you test that as well?

If my OS X machine is in sleep mode and press any keys on my RF 87U then it'll wake up but none of my key presses are registered. I either have to unplug the keyboard and plug it back in for key presses to be registered or wake up the computer using a mouse click first and then use my keyboard.

YuukiHaruto wrote:Type-S? Sure!

Please try to make the case for a silenced version. It would be awesome if I could use it at work without worrying about noise.

I use my NovaTouch every day, and those start by hitting a key to wake up my iMac, so that's a problem I should have encountered by now! But not a sign of it here. The same was true for 002's RealForce when I borrowed it. No issues there either. Sounds like a mischievous hub rather than the fault of the keyboards. I've literally never had a keyboard that won't reliably wake and immediately control a Mac. But I connect them directly, and avoid cheap hubs.

I suggested to CM that I write one of my mammoth reviews. (Mammoth as in large, and easily overcome by stone age hunters…) The whole point of a review is give detail for people who're considering to get one for themselves. So if CM decides to, I'll review the final version.

At the risk of derailing this thread again, this was posted yesterday: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57424

But that is not Topre!?

Broadmonkey wrote:But that is not Topre!?

yeah how does this relate to topre??

AKA: how we like it.

This thread has a topic?

whitecitadel wrote:This thread has a topic?

Threads have topics?!

Sure they do.



Tea alone is not what draws me here.

As long as it is not cookies!

jum cookies :X

Did somebody say something about keyboards? No?
Hearing things again...

Those can be nice, too.



Man, I'm hungry. Watch out, Cookie!