The CODE Keyboard

pkamb · 28 Aug 2013, 06:08

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2013/0 ... board.html

http://codekeyboards.com/

- $150
- Cherry MX Clear mechanical keyswitches
- 6-Key USB Rollover
- Steel backplate
- LED backlighting
- Helvetica font
- DIP switches for QWERTY/Dvorak/Colemak
- DIP switches for Caps-Lock > Ctrl, disable Windows key, Mac mode, etc.

webwit · 28 Aug 2013, 08:32

Looks to me like a boring, unimaginative, baker's dozen mechanical keyboard. With lots of promotional/marketing talk, to aim at "the nerd". What does this add to the market, which isn't already there?

From the site:

Ultra-rare Cherry MX Clear mechanical keyswitches are the heart of the CODE keyboard.

Hyperbole anyone? Ultra-common Cherry MX switches.

I do like the Colemak setting.

002 · 28 Aug 2013, 08:43

I think the case looks OK. No obnoxious branding and I like the sharp lines. I think it looks better than a Ducky Shine, anyway. The rest is pretty 'meh'. I suppose this will be the new 'le gem' on the mechanical keyboards subreddit for a while

Broadmonkey · 28 Aug 2013, 09:23

Just read the codinghorror link and... that was a horrible read! I hate when people call themselves "geek" like they are some kind of unique superhuman being of immeasurable intelligence
As Webwit said, this brings nothing new despite claiming it, it even uses some hyped font! btw. the case looks like it's the same as on the WASDkeyboards V2 (surprisingly not) so I guess this is basically just a rebranded WASD V2 keyboard.
Edit: This is apparently what WASDkeyboards has chosen to call its V2 keyboard with LEDs.

BimboBB · 28 Aug 2013, 09:33

I like the board. Of course its nothing new....but its simple, clean, has all current "must-have" features and finally no "Capt. Future font" as on all the other backlighted boards. But agree...it seems to be nearly identical to the WASD v2.

fruktstund · 28 Aug 2013, 09:34

Huh. I'm finding this keyboard a bit peculiar. It's basically WASDKeyboards's new model, except, most notably, it's backlit and has Clears. Before, when I were still checking Geekhack more than once per three months, I remember the guy behind WASDKeyboards writing something like they couldn't/wouldn't produce a backlit keyboard or stock keyboards with clears for whatever reason.
This is not me complaining in any way - I'm just curious about why WASD wouldn't stock and sell these models themselves.

I kind of like the sleek look by the way. This might actually be the best-looking readily available backlit keyboard out there. The competition is probably not the hardest though.

The marketing though. Ugh.

Halvar · 28 Aug 2013, 10:15

I guess the reason for them to put it under a different brand might be that it doesn't fit with their other offerings. The most notable thing about WASD is their keyboard configurator and large assortment of keycaps that they sell, which is unique and great if you want a truly individual mechanical keyboard and can live with the lasered caps.

But you can't configure the keys that you'd need for a backlit keyboard using their configurator. If they include a backlit keyboard in their offerings, they'll have to explain again and again that caps for this board can't be freely configured, and why.

So from that angle, it seems to make sense to use a separate brand.

The board itself seems like a good offering to me. I myself have no interest in a backlit keyboard, but otherwise most points were just done right, in a simple, unpretentious way. DIP switches, media keys, cabling, no branding, case design, legends, steel plate -- it all looks good to me. You can say it's a bit boring, but after all, what I don't want is gamer bling bling -- so I'm fine with this kind of understatement...

Muirium · 28 Aug 2013, 11:07

Yup. The keyboard looks fine. The legends sound like a real step up in the realm of the backlight. And the marketing is probably so awful I daren't even look.

"Seriously, you guys. Have you ever even thought about your keyboard? Didn't think so! Real men, sorry, real hyper nerdy geeks like us take pride in how we type. We demand the best. Like lasered keys and state of the art 'keyswitches'. Take a deep breath. We're diving deep…"

WASD came up when I was first looking into a mechanical keyboard. (A vague phrase I don't often use any more.) People praised their configurability, but I was turned off by the shipping and the price (at the time). I'm sure they're right for plenty people though, and their backlight board is already the best one available, by the sound of it.

Ekaros · 28 Aug 2013, 15:07

Plate mounted clears ok, I give that, Cherry has sold them on pcb for how long now, and very reasonably priced? DIP switches, ok...

Anything else special?

davkol · 28 Aug 2013, 15:50

I don't get all the bitching about marketing. I mean, Atwood's writings have always been like that (kinda ridiculous), but that's it.

CODE is just a special edition of WASDv2, which is actually a quite nice keyboard. If it was available in Europe, I would immediately order a tenkeyless one.

Muirium · 28 Aug 2013, 15:59

Indeed, the TKL speaks for itself, I think. Well designed and presented.

But we're keyboard nerds, so naturally we're going to grumble when someone outside the field stands up on his soapbox! Atwood can be interesting, but for once I'd better steer clear I think.

pkamb · 28 Aug 2013, 20:01

Mostly it bothers me how this is presented as THE "code" keyboard for programmers, yet it's substantially the same as every other good mechanical keyboard produced in the last few years.

It's a *normal* keyboard... with a few nerdy features that can be configured for programmers. This is the wrong way to go about it. Instead they should be doing something crazy, specifically targeted at people who type code for a living. Some combination of the below:

- Thumb modifier keys
- Not even an *option* for caps-lock
- Non-staggered columns
- Ergonomic split layout
- [], {}, () mapped to the home row
- Symbols standard, numbers on Shift
- Tenkeyless, of course.
- TrackPoint
- etc.

Instead, we get a standard mechanical keyboard with a few DIP switches? Where's the CODE?

davkol · 28 Aug 2013, 20:10

- Not even an *option* for caps-lock

How would you CODE IN BASIC? Or name CONSTANTS?

pkamb · 28 Aug 2013, 20:15

davkol wrote:How would you CODE IN BASIC? Or name CONSTANTS?

SHIFT KEY! <- LOOK AT THAT! TYPING CAPS WITHOUT CAPSLOCK!

davkol · 28 Aug 2013, 20:17

That's kinda inefficient. I was more afraid someone would mention a feature of editors better than notepad.exe, i.e. "convert to upper case.

Findecanor · 28 Aug 2013, 20:57

Many of us can type well holding down the left Shift key with our left pinky ... but that is only because those of us don't use the pinky for pressing alphabetic keys. If you are typing properly according to the "touch typing" method, then you use the opposite hand for Shift, which would make it quite tedious to alternate all the time.

Emre0172 · 28 Aug 2013, 20:58

+ around 50$ shipping to eu

Muirium · 28 Aug 2013, 21:04

Yeah, that's what put me off the first WASD.

My suggested feature for a keyboard called CODE: a programmable controller! Programmers do still program, right? I'm no coder but I do use macros and layers all the time with my keyboards via Soarer's Converter:

http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/xt-a ... t2510.html

I stole Caps Lock for use as my layer switch. If I want CAPS LIKE IT'S 1979 I engage caps lock by pressing both shifts which toggles the mode.

ne0phyte · 28 Aug 2013, 21:05

davkol wrote:That's kinda inefficient. I was more afraid someone would mention a feature of editors better than notepad.exe, i.e. "convert to upper case.

Sometimes, I do exactly that in Sublime Text and Eclipse

Sublime Text: Ctrl+D, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+U
Eclipse: Alt+Shift+Up, Ctrl+Shift+X (or Ctrl+Shift+Left to select and then Ctrl+Shift+X)

Findecanor · 28 Aug 2013, 21:17

fruktstund wrote:This is not me complaining in any way - I'm just curious about why WASD wouldn't stock and sell these models themselves.

I think the reason is that they did not want to undercut the sales of WASD's regular keyboards.

Code with MX Clear and backlighting: $150,
WASD with MX Clear and no backtlighting: $159.99

Findecanor · 28 Aug 2013, 21:21

Muirium wrote:I stole Caps Lock for use as my layer switch. If I want CAPS LIKE IT'S 1979 I engage caps lock by pressing both shifts which toggles the mode.

Me, I sometimes press both Shift keys together by mistake. I have noticed this only because my Phantom freezes when I do that. (bpiphany's firmware, Linux)

Muirium · 28 Aug 2013, 21:25

Ouch!

I've never accidentally triggered caps lock with this macro. Meanwhile, I previously had OS X disable caps lock entirely as I'd set the bloody thing off every day without fail.

Ducky Nordic · 28 Aug 2013, 21:35

Its against my character to make any negative comment on possible competition but i just cant resist to make this comment:

Im not shy when it comes to bold words used in marketing but even i felt uneasy reading through the promo/product texts on their front page

webwit · 28 Aug 2013, 21:38

Ducky... best brand name EVER!

Ducky Nordic · 28 Aug 2013, 21:44

webwit wrote:Ducky... best brand name EVER!

Sir, u might be right. Then again if ud be a middle aged or an older fellow in UK you might disagree as the name would mean something else besides a bird.

Muirium · 28 Aug 2013, 21:50

Hmm? I've heard some older people in "the north", which is of course south of here in Scotland, call eachother "duck" as an affectionate old timey greeting. "Ay oop duck." And so long as the listener is female, they are also "a bird".

But of course, the chances of any word whatsoever also meaning cock at some point in history is around 100% here…

webwit · 29 Aug 2013, 00:39

Lol, we got over 50% more traffic than usual today, all coming from google, apparently searching for Cherry MX Clear and ending up in our wiki. This guy and his comrade, ehm, Joel?, they know how to get traffic...

Muirium · 29 Aug 2013, 00:47

And they were just the curious ones who wanted to read up about it. Imagine what the plug did for WASD!

Daniel Beardsmore · 29 Aug 2013, 01:37

Just to play Devil's advocate — what if Jeff Atwood was involved in the design of the WASD V2 in the first place? And I can't complain about another MX clears board, as clears are really decent.

WASD V2 is a nice keyboard, but I'm not sure what this "CODE" version brings that's really all that significant. Especially the backlighting part — nothing wrong with it as such, but anyone who wants to profess about keyboards should not be bragging about making it easier to see the keys. LEDs inside F, J and numeric keypad 5 — transparent nubs! — would be useful if it's so dark you can't even see where your keyboard is on your desk, but anything beyond that seems fundamentally at odds with the image you're trying to portray.

When are we getting a keyboard with the numeric keypad moved to the left, anyway? :)

Ducky Nordic · 29 Aug 2013, 11:15

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:...
When are we getting a keyboard with the numeric keypad moved to the left, anyway?

Thats prolly gonna happen really soon actually

Also @ Muirimum:
The word as ive been let known by ~50y friend living in London...at some point in the past meant a fellow who prefers things mano a mano