[GB] GMK ThinkCaps // Nov. 16 to Dec. 13, 2020

[dwarflemur]

@CosmicKira

Would be nice if there was an option to get a second set of GHB keys, one to mod and one to preserve.

If any kit was going to have it this should be the one to do it

[voodoo6k]

See Extension kit

[dwarflemur]

doh I didn’t even notice. that’s awesome!

[CosmicKira]

Nice, had to look 3 times to see the B key, it blended in to the background. lol

To any one that want’s to use this on a Shinobi, you’ll probably still need to modify the GHB keycaps, if their using the Yoda 2 mold.

Under side of the GHB keys modified to fit the Shinobi:

full album: https://imgur.com/a/vm5tVdM

This is a closeup form the GMK set made for the Yoda 2:

[voodoo6k]

Thanks for the info.

I haven’t worked out the details with Justin yet, but there is no GMK mold for Yoda. As I understand it, we have to send the keycaps to TEX so they can machine them themselves.

Buyers of the Extension kit will opt in or out (of the machined keys), but they get the extra GHB keys regardless.

[voodoo6k]

I updated the novelties to bring down the price, a little bit:

• Removed R1 dots, Hack key

No one will notice

[TheMule]

Maybe it’s mentioned before, in which case I missed it, but would a black function key with blue legends be an option? Like this:

Love the set and will be buying for sure!

[voodoo6k]

Yes! This would be added to the accent kit.

Although, as you see in your picture, Lenovo uses a lighter pad printed colour than the Enter key itself. So we can’t guarantee that the contrast will be optimal in doubleshot. In any case, we can add about 2~3 keys to the accent kit (for the voted budget).

[TheMule]

Brilliant!

That looks great. I wouldn’t be too worried about the lack of contrast. As it is the only key with this colour combination it stands out well enough already.

Cheers!

[voodoo6k]

Hi all!

Our US vendor wants me to gather more data on the preferred kits. If interested, please fill out this form:

• NEW GMK ThinkCaps form: https://forms.gle/3m31h6g1t6ykKEQD8
   

Sorry if you’ve already filled out the old forms… but please take the time to also fill out this new one! It will influence kit design and ultimately which kits will be available.

Thanks

[CosmicKira]

Silly question, have you considered adding number pad sub legends to the alpha keys, like they have on old ThinkPad Keyboards?

[Manofinterests]

I’d like to second this idea

[voodoo6k]

Yes, there were many considerations… but we decided early on to go with the minimalistic legends.

There’s no real consensus as to what is the “classic” Thinkpad keyboard. For example, the T25 has no such sub-legends.

It would also look a bit awkward on 40%.

[CosmicKira]

I’ve always been under the impression, that the classic ThinkPad keyboard, is the keyboard used on the xX20 series and and older.

The number pad sub legends, are also one of the key things, that I remember form the older ThinkPads, and other laptops, that I used back in the 90’s.

Kind of a crucial throwback piece in my mind.

[voodoo6k]

How would you resolve the 40’s issue?

[CosmicKira]

I would include keycaps with out the sub legends in the Ortho & 40’s kit or I would include the sub legend alpha / numeric keys in the Novelties or the Extensions kits.

Novelties makes the most sense to me.

[dwarflemur]

Not many people buy those kits and you can’t make everyone happy

[voodoo6k]

I agree that it would be nice as an add-on, but we already have too many kits, so unfortunately it won’t be added. Same goes for Vim keys and a bunch of other ideas. Sorry

[rbrt.pnssn]

I do really like the idea of number pad sub legends, but they would look silly on a full-sized board alongside the actual numpad. Only real solution I see would be to offer just those designated sub-legend keys as an add-on…which I, for one, would definitely be interested in.

[XTaran]

@TheMusicMan

Would it be possible to add a completely gray F row to one of the kits? […] That way we could get something as close as possible to an OG Thinkpad keyboard. The base kit currently has gray F keys only on F5 through F8.

This!

And please also without these grey modifiers! There never was a Thinkpad with grey modifiers. All Thinkpad keyboards from these few years with grey F-row look like the one @TheMusicMan posted above (at least the keyboards of my two Thinkpad A31 look like this) and only had the grey top row and the two grey back/forward keys near the cursor keys—which don’t even seem to be in any kit shown above.

@voodoo6k

Doing the F-row and nav keys in grey was my original idea, but it gets a bit tricky when designing the kits. I think some people would appreciate the authenticity,

I would expect that most people would appreciate the authenticity, especially with regards to the proper color of the modifier keys. (All black without any grey keys would be fine for me, though, too. )

@voodoo6k

But I guess most will take it at face value (and not really care what the reference is).

I think with authenticity, you would get more buyers than without.

But then again, maybe I’m more into Thinkpads—and especially vintage Thinkpads—than others in this community. I have or had:

• 1× IBM Thinkpad 701C (i486): Butterfly keyboard; behaves unstable
• 2× IBM Thinkpad 760ED/XD (Pentium I) + 1× docking station: Both running Debian 8 Jessie
• 2× IBM Thinkpad A31 (Pentium 4 Mobile or so; one dead, bought the other one second hand as replacement) + docking station: used as bedside terminal; running Debian Unstable
• 1× Lenovo Thinkpad T61 (Core2Duo) + docking station: motherboard died two or three times due to overheating Nvidia GPU
• 1× Lenovo Thinkpad X240: The one awkward generation without hardware mouse buttons; given away to my father after one year.
• 1× Lenovo Thinkpad X250 + docking station: The next good generation with hardware mouse buttons again; extended to 16 GB RAM; my current travel laptop, running Debian Unstable. (Thinking about getting a spare one second hand as I’m quite happy with it.)

(I though at least have less Thinkpads than mechanical keyboards. Hmmm, I probably should get another glas cabinet for those unused or broken vintage Thinkpads, too. And then maybe put my Tex Yoda II into that cabinet, too, once I finished my Shinobi DIY kit. )

So if someone really wants a Thinkpad themed mechanical keyboard, I recommend to rather buy a simple WoB key cap set, maybe take the F-row from GMK Nines (recently had a rerun, maybe some extras are left) and then just use the cobalt blue accent kit from this IC. And maybe the GHB keys with the cutouts for the Trackpoint for those who a have Tex Yoda, Kodachi or Shinobi.

P.S.: Yes, this is in parts the same rant as I wrote over there on Reddit’s r/MK, but I was nearly ready with my comment in this thread when @voodoo6k’s answer came in on Reddit, so I didn’t want to abandon this already written posting. I then tried to make it less ranty and would like to refer and point to @voodoo6k’s answer over there. He basically answered that authenticity wasn’t the goal:

@voodoo6k on Reddit

That’s fair, and that’s why we have the accent kit.

This keyset was not meant to be an exact replica of the Thinkpad keyboard (there are many versions).

So thanks, @voodoo6k for the quick and calm reply to my rather annoyed and hence probably a bit heated comment over there on r/MK.