Matias 60% GB Now Live

[Hypersphere]

The Matias 60% Group Buy is now live and taking orders:

http://matias.ca/60/pc/

Matias60Mac.png (206.47 KiB) Viewed 3674 times

Matias60PC.png (210.68 KiB) Viewed 3674 times

[matt3o]

well...$150 is a totally acceptable pricetag. I'm taking one for sure. It is my understanding though that the controller is not 100% programmable (or things changed in the meantime?)

[Grond]

There's something wrong with the pic, it looks weirdly stretched or... oh wait.

[Muirium]

The Mac version lacks the smart HHKB Fn* of the PC version, and those nav keys. Bugger.

*Well, if it really were the Fn…

[Hypersphere]

Mr. Matias himself is responding to comments on his 60% IC thread over on GH. He has just now kindly responded to all of my comments and queries:

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=602 ... msg1532421

I would be tempted to try the PC version and then use software to remap the Del key to the right of the Right Shift as the Fn key. Unfortunately, the hardwired Fn key does not send a scan code, which would render it useless for me.

That bottom row is really weird; I am not sure if I could adjust to it. I suppose this was all for the sake of preserving the inverted-T arrow cluster, but I would have opted for no arrow keys or perhaps putting all of them on one row so that the other keys on the bottom row could be normal height.

There are some other options if you go for the DIY version and solder the switches yourself. And it is an opportunity to get a 60% with Matias switches -- for this, I am still tempted.

[Muirium]

Unfortunately, the hardwired Fn key does not send a scan code, which would render it useless for me.

Ditto, sadly.

Are the caps by SP? Are the stabs MX hybrids?

[matt3o]

sorry, without a reprogrammable controller I'm much less interested.

Mu, you can build your own layout if you get the spare parts. The problem is (again) the firmware.

[Hypersphere]

There is now a thread on GH dedicated to the Matias 60% GB:

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=655 ... icseen#new

[jacobolus]

Are the caps by SP? Are the stabs MX hybrids?

No, the top 4 rows (ABS caps) are made by (presumably) whatever Chinese supplier Matias uses for their other keyboards. For the bottom row PBT keycaps, they’ve just recently made (or might be still working on) the injection molding tooling; I’m not sure what manufacturer actually does the injection molding, but I believe that’s also in China. As Edgar Matias has explained, they eventually want to do PBT for all the keycaps, but they are only going to be able to manage that on this particular keyboard if they manage to sell 1000 of them.

The stabilizers (plate clips and keycap inserts, and possibly the bent wires too) are a new design, I believe manufactured by Costar, which will be compatible with both MX-mount and standard Alps-mount keycaps. That is, you will be able to use them with any Alps-mount keycaps, including old Alps keycaps, and SP’s Alps-mount-keycaps-with-MX-stabilizer-insert-mounts, as well as with MX caps.