NovaTouch in Granite

[webwit]

I like that Amiga key. Amiga forever!

[Muirium]

Granite's got both filled red and outlined Amiga keys. I'm thinking of using them as paired mods. Gotta catch 'em all.

[c137]

Sigh, the PBT keycaps I had intended for my Novatouch haven't arrived yet.

[Muirium]

Granite or something else?

[c137]

Not Granite

And I won't disclose them for now - photos will come, hopefully on launchday. The rest of my little review is already done, I just need them keycaps. Otherwise I have a problem, as my Novatouch is ANSI but all my other stuff ISO.

Edit:
So here you can find my pictures and review (in German, though): http://mecha-blog.de/review-cooler-mast ... touch-tkl/

[hoichi]

Wait a minute. This layout is way closer to something Apple than what is shown on the CM site. How come?

[Muirium]

Because I use it on my Mac! Pretty simple mod swap:


http://deskthority.net/review-f45/a-tal ... t8968.html

And those Granite caps are a whole lot better than the caps CM ships the keyboard with. Make no mistake, the point of the NovaTouch is to use your own caps.

[hoichi]

No, I meant the Enter, the short left Shift and the tilde next to it.

BTW, I hope it's ok with you, but that looks like Ukrainian layout. Russian one would go «ФЫВА...» in the home row

[Muirium]

That's ISO. CM had me beta test a NovaTouch for them, in German layout. I eventually got a final model, in ANSI, for the review.

ANSI - America


ISO - Europe and most of the World


JIS - Japan

As for the Ukrainian legends, the guy who helped Matteo design Cyrillic legends for Granite was indeed from there!

[Hypersphere]

The Granite set certainly is handsome. Unfortunately, I find typing on it difficult with the combination of spherical tops and non-sculpted profile.

[Muirium]

Ever tried a non-sculpted (ie. flat) keyboard that isn't spherical? I found a Tipro maddening. The spherical scoops on DSA, meanwhile, are quite comfy for homing on to.

[Hypersphere]

The only flat/flat keyboard I've used is the one on my Macbook Air. For a laptop keyboard, it isn't bad, but I couldn't imagine having to use the MBA board for serious or prolonged work. I only use the MBA for traveling. Otherwise, it is desktop computers with real keyboards and mice for me.

[kbdfr]

Ever tried a non-sculpted (ie. flat) keyboard that isn't spherical? I found a Tipro maddening. […]

You are confusing things.
Tipros do not differ from any other keyboard with Cherry MX switches: all switches are on an even surface, unlike IBMs with their curved plates. It is not the keyboard which is sculpted, but the set of keycaps.
Tipros have these flat keycaps because they are POS keyboards and not intended for "serious" typing.

Put "normal" keycaps on a Tipro and you have a "normal" keyboard.
But put Granite keycaps on any usual keyboard (meaning here any keyboard with Cherry MX switches)
and what you obtain is all caps on one level, just that each cap has a scoop.
I found that a nightmare to type on and happily sold my Granite set

Spoiler:

Don’t attack my Tipros, you rubberdome typist!

[Muirium]

You know what I meant: those MID series (?) flat topped Tipro caps. Fine for pecking at point of sale (DVD, REFUND, CASSETTE…) but a strange experience when really typing. I found them quite disorienting. Naturally, the lack of stagger was the reason on that particular board.

Chiclet keyboards are fine for what they are: space savers of the modern age. I don't find them fiddly, so much as uninspiring, coupled with horrifying ergonomics. I'll take my vintage SSK over all that, any day.

[hoichi]

But does any chiclet scissor keyboard saves any more space than, say, a ThinkPad scissor keyboard? I see why it's not really feasible to put full-blown mechanical switches and tall caps into a laptop, but why go chiclet?

[Muirium]

Because…



Apple's keyboards have very almost zero travel now. And that allows them to make computers as thin as this. These days, Apple is the R&D department for the entire PC industry, so once they went chiclet, everyone did. Difference doesn't sell, apparently.

[kbdfr]

Again, there is less difference between Tipro flat keycaps and Granite keycaps than between any of both and regular Cherry keycaps. While Cherry caps have a different profile on each row and the rows thus look like a staircase when viewed from the side (this is what "sculpted" means), Tipro caps as well as Granite caps all have exactly the same form and show an even surface, instead of stairs, when viewed from the side. Tipro caps have a completely flat surface while Granite are concave, that’s all.

[hoichi]

Well, the concave surface should mean they've a great chance of meeting fingers just right when they come at the caps at an angle, effectively doing the same thing that the sculpted profile, right?

[Muirium]

Nah, Kbdfr has a point that there's a difference to sculpt and the shape of a cap's top. DSA doesn't rise up to meet you the way sculpted caps do. But when you do get down to its level, it's got a gorgeous cup to it. Especially on the deep dish caps.

Again, there is less difference between Tipro flat keycaps and Granite keycaps than between any of both and regular Cherry keycaps. While Cherry caps have a different profile on each row and the rows thus look like a staircase when viewed from the side (this is what "sculpted" means), Tipro caps as well as Granite caps all have exactly the same form and show an even surface, instead of stairs, when viewed from the side. Tipro caps have a completely flat surface while Granite are concave, that’s all.

If I'm implying any of that, consider it unimplied, my dear choc! I know what sculpt is. My point is that it's not the only assistance out there for your fingers to locate themselves on the right keys. I don't get lost on DSA, just as I don't get lost on SA or IBM, even without homing bumps!

What I don't like about DSA is how low the back rows feel, especially the function row. But I can easily live with that. I'm a 60% guy at heart! And especially for the sake of Granite's sublime style and commendable texture and influence on sound on the NovaTouch. That board sounds even more pleasant to me with Granite on than a Realforce. Complete revolution compared to how the NovaTouch handles when fresh out the box!

[kbdfr]

Well, the concave surface should mean they've a great chance of meeting fingers just right when they come at the caps at an angle, effectively doing the same thing that the sculpted profile, right?

Not really. You just cannot simultaneously press, say, O and L on sculpted caps, and you even couldn’t if they had a flat surface.
So the point is not the flat surface, the point is the non-sculpted attribute.

But I think I wouldn’t have reacted at all if Tipro keyboards hadn’t been denigrated instead of just their keycaps

[hoichi]

Oh. Now I see you point. BTW, that makes my Kinesis Advantage non-sculpted by your definition, all its bowl-shapedness notwithstanding.