Hacker News Reader

Good catch on that. It looks like there's a single regular-sized key for space, like some kind of fever-dream spacebar. :)

Since it's hackable, I wonder if there's a way for the author to produce and ship a long spacebar that can be switched out for four or five of those keys at the bottom. I assume he has control over everything from the keyboard firmware to the OS, so it seems doable.

View on HN

It is, just like the regular full sized MNT reform. You can reprogram the keyboard firmware (or even get a different PCB made as some people have done for the regular one). Part of the limitations on the layout is making it fit in a standard size while using off the shelf keycaps. The full sized reform only uses 1u and 1.5u key caps so the row spacing is off, but it eliminated having a bunch of odd sizes. Which also meant the space bar was split in two. Honestly for such a small device there's always going to be compromises in the keyboard. Either excessively small keys, or non-standard layouts. Just look at any of the UMPC offerings from the late 2000s, the Pocket CHIP, or even more modern ones like the GPD handhelds.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com