Original ClackFactory ClickClack Skull on left (courtesy MagicMeatball), Ti Skull Cap on right (Megnin)
As stated elsewhere on this forum, it's a tightknit community so I can't understand why people knock off other's ideas.
I was originally annoyed but mostly with a chuckle/smirk and a head shake when the star caps that I included with hundreds of keyboards I sold, traded and shipped all over the world were copied and sold by someone else who didn't even bother to update the svg file they were made from.
But to see someone so blatantly copy ClickClack who labors over one cap at a time to create them is a bit much.
Why am I so sensitive to it?
Because I'm the kind of person who thinks up ideas, makes things from scratch and it's a part of my living doing so. I came up with some incredible keyboard designs, but there's no way I'm sinking the R&D and production costs into them so some company can make a half assed copy of it. Miniguru anyone? The knock off brigade used his own 3D renders to advertise their upcoming keyboard! If you don't know of this, it led to the Pure/Poker. Miniguru was cancelled because the investor backed out. In my opinon it is because he knew it would be knocked off and undersold which would hurt his return on investment. I believe rumors of a copy already surfaced and led to the investor backing out, but this is only my opinion.
Miniguru - A multi-layered keyboard to be available with and without trackpoint.
So on one hand we get to enjoy cheap electronics and various items that get copied by knock off artists who range from slight deviations to exact copies. But there's another side to it that's ugly, hurts innovation and slaps those in the face who get copied.
I will keep encouraging and supporting those of you who come up with your own ideas and I'll keep buying your products even when they're expensive to produce. That may seem counter-intuitive to some of you but I enjoy doing it. I did buy a Poker as well. Maybe I shouldn't have but it's the closest I'll come to owning a Miniguru. I should have held out for an original design like the Race.
I don't mean to discourage anyone for trying to make something, I applaud the effort but wish your energies were directed at new ideas rather than stealing the thunder from those who came up with something on their own.
