Also, $439 is a very stiff price. I thought my Freestyle Pro at ~$150 was already luxurious.
Heck even three pads per finger is too much imo and I need to devote more research into two pad per finger layouts which rely on multi-pad press combos (stenography) to avoid using the bottom row and pinkies.
Till then you'll probably catch me using MTGAP 30 on an ANSI.
You can still use layers even though there is an extra row of keys so not sure why to remove keys other people rely on.
It’s nice for some people, including me, too have fewer rows of keys because then I have greater confidence in my peripheral vision. Extra rows introduce uncertainty.
Then I picked up a keyboardio atreus. It took me a few weeks to get comfortable with it. But now using layers feels natural- I don’t have to leave the home row!
Having an F5 foot pedal would be fun…
(That said, the Freestyle Pro/Edge is an awesome board for a more traditional layout, especially with the tenting kit.)
I tend to think this is more a matter of preference, so, sure, this keyboard isn't for you.
But what's your experience with layering? Is it "tried it, reached the same typing speed as before, didn't like it", or?
My desk is not space constrained such that an additional physical row or two of keys is going to make my workspace unusable. If I choose to embrace layering and never use the F-keys, fine. However, if I want to only ever utilize 12 keys and do some monstrous chording setup, also an option.
Comparing to the freestyle pro, this advantage360: neither has a numpad.
But the advantage360 also has: symmetrical / not row staggered, more keys for the thumb to reach (rather than just a big spacebar) which allows for reduced pinky finger usage.
I think removing the function row follows coherently in line with these other decisions.
But I also specifically want to be able to avoid layers in some situations. I sometimes want to be able to use the keyboard while I'm not in "full-on typing mode".
For example, if one of my hands is busy holding an apple. I would like to be able to change the volume with a single key press, or step the debugger, or refresh the webpage, etc. And that's an absolute pain to do if I need to press multiple keys, especially if the keys I'd need to press would be designed for "one fluid movement", basically requiring two hands. Bonus points for the keyboard being split, so there's no hope for a single hand to reach both keys.
What I'm trying to say is that I see a case for actually having both possibilities on the same keyboard. They don't have to be exclusive. I can have layers and use those when I'm typing, and have them set up for two-handed use. I could use those even if the keyboard had physical Fx and media keys. And for a gigantic and expensive keyboard such as the one discussed here, or any of the similar models, the price difference would be negligible, both cash and size wise.
My solution: use the laptop keyboard for casual button pushing or even casual typing.
That solution works if and only if your computer is a laptop.