I’ve been typing on their Taro and Charcoal recently and I’m quite enjoying them. I think they’re good value at their normal price but this is hard to beat, imo.
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Hmm what is happening, is NK closing as well?(I hope not) they have been doing a lot of sales lately
Probably just clearing stock out. They aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
My guess is that they have new products coming in soon and need to move inventory
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Exactly. The same reason all stores put stuff on sale. I’d imagine an empty stock room is better than a full one.
Frost Witch R2!
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Fellow “old eyes human” here. I would like to take a moment to talk to you about the joys of the swing-arm magnifying lamp - like this one [here](https://a.co/dd1Yp8G). Also, I use my lubing station to help keep me from losing a spring under my computer stand, not to be seen for 6 months.
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seriously thinking about purchasing one. I have a good head visor that works great for tiny things like PCB repair and getting out splinters, but it’s really uncomfortable.
10/10 recommend. I have it affixed to the side of my desk and I swivel it out of the way when I don’t need it. I LOVE IT.
Omnitype otc keycaps quality standards are out. I want to buy modo light but don’t know if I can unsee that num row alignment around the 3…
I have that light. Its good however the actual led mechinism was a little twitchy. Went through 2 of them both leds would not turn off. Still use it for detail work just unplug it when done
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I’m actually fine with the rest of the items they list there, as part of the manufacturing process. I’m confused why a legend would be that far off though? Unless that is just an extreme example? Especially when you’d have legends like a num row immediately next to each other. This isn’t Shift and Backspace being off alignment…
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Same I am ok with all the other things. I do think this is a good decision long term and am sure these things can be tweaked in a revision or 2.
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https://kbdfans.com/products/venus-65-keyboard-kit
Mixed feelings, but - I kinda like it? The purple keycaps could be skewing my impression…
But hey. If you’re in the small category of people looking for this exact combo of features, this keeb might be just what you’re looking for:
- Custom gasket keeb w/ lots of flex
- 65%ish with some pretty unique modifications to the layout
- Aesthetically prominent integrated fingerprint scanner (Windows only)
Looks like this is an in-stock thing; no group buy, no wait times aside from shipping. Small run of only 100 pieces. If you’re a Windows desktop user who wants a fingerprint scanner tastefully integrated into a premium custom keyboard, well - this is probably the option for that.
Not getting into the weeds of what “premium” may or may not mean in its depth here - let’s just say in comparison to other stock keyboards that feature a thumbprint scanner for our purposes here.
From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I think it looks pretty neat, even if the little divot served no function. That it’s a thumbprint scanner is extra cool IMO, but it does sound like its only compatible with a narrow range of Windows versions.
It’s solder only and has per-key flex-cuts. The video on the sales page shows lots of flex when assembled. This is definitely a niche board, but seems pretty sweet for that niche, and I’m personally a fan of the design.
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Not sure if anyone else posted elsewhere on KeebTalk, but Zapcables is also on their way out with their last day of operation being August 19th; so there’s a 30% off coupon code for whatever they have left: " SMOKEEMIFYOUGOTEM"
Hopefully they’re exiting on their own terms and have a much brighter future ahead of them!
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That sucks. I was hoping eventually they’d return to offering in-stock cables again, instead of just DIY parts.
NuPhy has a new keeb, this time a bluetooth high-pro 65%.
Like their other flagships, this is a pre-built and meant more as a ready-to-use finished product than anything else. As such, I’d put this in an adjacent space with stuff like the Mojo68; it’s got some cues from the world of custom keyboards, but isn’t really one itself.
It’s less expensive than the Mojo, but is generally a different animal once you start looking at specifics. From what I can tell there’s no fancy mounting going on, but it does have lots of dampening material. For the market NuPhy tends to aim for, this honestly seems like a great option. I can envision a hip young person at the coffee shop, reclining in a big comfy chair, laptop on the table and this little slice of retro-future anime sitting in their lap.
Besides - doesn’t this look so much more satisfying to use in every way when compared with a travel size wafer keeb?
Also unlike the Mojo, this keeb has an aluminum top-shell* and two-position flip-out feet. Don’t see that too often on keebs this size. There’s also a band of RGB going around the whole thing (which they’re calling its “halo”) as well as a small strip up top. The renders show smooth gradation here but no telling how it will actually look when lit.
*Edit: I’d previously written this was a full-aluminum keyboard, it’s actually plastic on the bottom, different plastic in the middle, and an aluminum shell on top. The translucent band seen at the bottom is one in the same with one that can be seen around the edge of the caps, not depicted in the renders above.
On one hand the design is pretty simple and classic - it looks like a 67-key because it is - but it also has lots of details in the machining, somewhat reminiscent of “Aqua”-era Mac computers with their striated panels and gui motifs.
It also looks like they created a bespoke profile for this keyboard (and presumably any other subsequent non-low-profile ones they make); looks to be more OEM-derivative than Cherry, at least to my eye. Since most of their keebs are decidedly low-profile, I guess they decided to lean-into “high profile” for this one - just without going into retro-spherical-sculpt territory.
Honestly if this had existed right when I started looking for a decent keeb there’s a good chance I might have bought it and stopped there - not because it looks to be an exceptional product, but because it seems a.) more than good enough and b.) accessible. There was a period of time when I was looking for an aluminum 65% that I didn’t have to do a ton of work on.
What I got at the time was a Durgod Hades 68, and while I have plenty of good things to say about the board for its time, it also left me wanting more because of poor QC with the case mold - it’s cast aluminum and warped. Yes, all of them. Had I gotten a nice alu keeb that just worked and didn’t have any obvious flaws… well heck I might have missed out on this hobby I enjoy so much!
None the less, I see stuff like this as only good - the more decent (and decently priced) keebs are readily available, the less work is in-between a given person and the I/O experience they’re looking for. Ten years ago you could get a keeb like this one - if you really really wanted to - now you can just go buy it for about what a “nice” “gaming” keyboard costs.
Edit: Looks like they’ve also teamed up with Gateron to release a switch alongside the Halo keeb, the Baby Kangaroo:
It’s alongside a handful of Gateron G-Pro 2.0 and a few other switches as options for the keeb. From what I can tell, this one looks like a pro, but with a tactile bump inspired by the Ink Kangaroo’s.
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Recently found a vendor by the name Contrakey, and just noticed their keycap GB going on currently.
Looks like a nice set for 55 bucks!
No warp
Specs: Warp: None
Noo not the potato tray
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Impressive [lack] of warp for a PBT set.
Also:
“If your having issues, we’ll send a replacement keycap at no cost to you.”
Along with the colors and short lead time, seems like a fantastic deal to me.
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Windx 98, ship in two weeks
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