germ's recent activity
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Comment on Help! I'm indecisive and I want a keyboard. in ~comp
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Comment on Ask Tilde: How would you improve the ErgoDox in ~comp
germ Link ParentNone of the finished product yet (as I still need to send the Gerbers off to fab), but a full BOM and everything is allready put together waiting on pulling the trigger. Right now I'm trying to...None of the finished product yet (as I still need to send the Gerbers off to fab), but a full BOM and everything is allready put together waiting on pulling the trigger. Right now I'm trying to figure out if there's anything missing from the overall design before firing off the first run. A preorder or two would really speed that along :)
The thumb clusters now have 3 buttons, two 2u paddles and 1 1u on the outer paddle. The other 1u had to be sacrificed in order to bring the cluster in a bit sadly. There a cad renders on the site here.
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Comment on Hey, Tildes, what's a strong opinion you hold, but which you also feel like is the minority opinion? in ~talk
germ Link ParentOne nice thing about Canada, using the term P. Eng (professional engineer) is protected by law. Knowing how to cobble together frontends doesn’t make you any more of a Engineer then knowing how to...One nice thing about Canada, using the term P. Eng (professional engineer) is protected by law.
Knowing how to cobble together frontends doesn’t make you any more of a Engineer then knowing how to make an amazing pasta. There is so much more attached to the Engineering practice then raw competency!
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Comment on Hey, Tildes, what's a strong opinion you hold, but which you also feel like is the minority opinion? in ~talk
germ Link ParentPersonally I’m a fan of cursing online, it adds a extra sense of humanity to a online forum. Half of the comments on HN, while well written, are extremely sterile for this reason. That and the...Personally I’m a fan of cursing online, it adds a extra sense of humanity to a online forum. Half of the comments on HN, while well written, are extremely sterile for this reason. That and the extra caution taken to be inoffensive.
I love plumbers for this reason, they know exactly what they’re doing and anthropomorphizing pipes while dropping cbombs everywhere. Extremely friendly people
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Ask Tilde: How would you improve the ErgoDox
The ErgoDox has been out for a few years now and spawned many, many new designs based off it. My question is how would you improve it? I've been trying to answer this question for a few weeks now...
The ErgoDox has been out for a few years now and spawned many, many new designs based off it. My question is how would you improve it? I've been trying to answer this question for a few weeks now and would like to know what the community thinks. What is important in a keyboard for you?
I've thrown my hat into the ring with Gergo which I think comes close. It uses SMD components, reducing the overall size and cost of the board, Removes the ProMicro for a TQFP Atmega32u4, moves the paddles in a tiny bit and removes the extra keys from the thumb cluster. It's meant to be used without a case (using rubbered standoffs to keep it off the desk/surface) and the back has some pretty designs. The hardest part for me to justify was loping off the number row, but seeing as many layouts use a modifier and the right hand pad as a ortho numpad I went with it. Worst case the default layout will have paddle + top row give numbers. In addition, for occasional mouse users, I designed a trackball that fits inside of a 1u key and can be mounted on the right hand side of the board (or a regular key if wanted). The idea being for small movements you have something other then QMKs mouse keys to work with. I've gone into a bit more detail on my blog on the design considerations
The main thing I tried to optimize with Gergo was cost. Ergo keyboards need not be expensive and I think the price point on this board drives it home. With a cheap set of caps off Amazon and some Cherry clones, this board can be put together for under 100$ shipping included. Compared to a ErgoDox EZ with a starting price of 250$ before keys or shipping, I think I've done a decent job.
As keyboards are highly personal devices, what do you look for in a keyboard?
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Comment on Help! I'm indecisive and I want a keyboard. in ~comp
germ LinkJust chiming in, like the other user said spring on a good trackball (like the Logitech M570 or Elecom Huge). The ErgoDox is one of the best layouts I have used, with the right set of switches it...Just chiming in, like the other user said spring on a good trackball (like the Logitech M570 or Elecom Huge). The ErgoDox is one of the best layouts I have used, with the right set of switches it will make typing all day a pain free experience! I have surprisingly weak fingers that start to give out after a few hours so I went with Gateron Clears with added orings. The board is so light I don't have issues typing all day and my shoulders are thanking me for the split.
The real reason I recommend the ErgoDox over the UHK is QMK compatibility. It's an extremely flexible firmware that can be configured to every whim. For example the key to the left of 'a' on my ErgoDox is mapped to be a Backspace on tap, and a control when combo'd, one of the thumb keys activates my programming symbol layer and pressing both of my space paddles inserts a =.
One more thing, don't buy a ErgoDox EZ. Get handy with a soldering iron and assemble your own. This ridiculously cheap compared to buying your own and the PCBs can be sourced from multiple vendors. If you want to skimp on a case, just grab some little adhesive furniture bumpers and tack them onto the bottom of the PCB.
The only thing I don't like about it is the size, and that's why I'm in the middle of designing my own board :)
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Comment on What have you been watching/reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
germ LinkI really don't anime, but absolutely crushed Serial Experiments Lain and fell in love. The silence, ambient noise and leaving many events open to interpretation had me hooked.I really don't anime, but absolutely crushed Serial Experiments Lain and fell in love. The silence, ambient noise and leaving many events open to interpretation had me hooked.
Sorry for the late response, don’t register for accounts when half asleep.
xinput will remap all of your inputs as you want, speed, drag scrolling, the whole nine! Each of the Huges 10 buttons work out of the box with Linux, but I find it a little wonky so I jiggered it around with xinput. Just read the man page and twiddle around, everything you asked is doable!