How am I supposed to write code or even play a game on this?
And tbh... people who would be interested in this have multiple monitors, or one very large monitor. There should be plenty of space in front of it for a full size keyboard.
As for writing code and playing games, I use vim keybinds everywhere and play games with WASD controls. So nav keys aren't particularly critical either.
Helped to eliminate some elbow pain I was getting from having my elbow cocked sideways.
You write code... using the numpad?
> There should be plenty of space in front of it for a full size keyboard.
That's not the reason. Most people are right handed and most keyboard have the numpad at the left. Most people also put their mouse at the right of their keyboard. This makes reaching for the mouse a major nuisance. Without a numpad or with a numpad on the side where you don't have your mouse, that problem disappears.
Now of course there are other pointing devices (trackpoint, trackpad, etc.) and some are located in the middle.
But the undisputable fact is this: most people are right handed and most people have a regular mouse and that mouse is located at the right of the keyboard.
Numpad sucks in that case.
Back in the days I didn't know about keyboards with numpads on the left of the keyboard and 60% keyboards weren't really a thing yet so although I'm right-handed I started using my mouse as a leftie (and still do to this day).
60% keyboard like the HHKB (one of the "OG" 60%) aren't about the lack of space in front of the monitor. It's about grabbing the mouse and coming back to the keyboard with less hand travel.
I’m kidding. I use VSCodium on the desktop and heavily modded vim on VMs.
The numpad... maybe i could live without it, but I do use it.
I'll see myself out.
[0]: https://jblevins.org/log/kbd [1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20220217071143/https://www.hcs.h...
I can live without the numpad, but the lack of function rows, and the introduction of forced, convoluted "chords" or whatever (what kind of "ergonomics" is that?), kill all the options I know.
BTW mine is: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/9wjpg0...
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Another way to say this is that ergonomics is personal, and it is hard to find something universal. For me, ergonomics is: not need to do maneuvers with the fingers, so I even added more keys to my keyboard stuff like "Ctrl + B" and others with a single press.
But yes, is kind of obvious that there are not enough options in this niche market and the "let's do this as small as possible, all people like to do gymnastics with fingers!" are THE majority of the options... !
For a large segment of people, a keyboard like this has everything they need on it: WASD, numrow, arrows.
Personally, I will never buy a TKL keyboard. I may rarely use the numeric pad, but rarely is not never, and I can think of a few specific use cases aside from typing in numbers quickly that require one. I wouldn't mind a keyboard with even more keys to provide better coverage of legacy layouts.
Modern custom mech boards, like my current TKL, allow for extra function layers. You can hypothetically set up a 'numpad layer' on '890', 'iop', kl;', actuated by a layer key that can be held with a finger on the left side of the board. Less overall movement of one's fingers and arms, with equal access to the numpad functionality, if one needs it.
If you want a proof of that concept, see the Planck. Hypothetically, this little thing could replace your desired 'Space Cadet' or 'Battlestation' style keyboard with less than 50 buttons: https://olkb.com/collections/planck