ajford

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I really like hot-swap keyboards. But you're 100% correct. It's hard to test so many switches when ordering a batch can be easily $40+ USD.

I've found with my moonlander I can get by with swapping about 10 keys on one side and using it for a few days as my test, but then I'm stuck with 10 keys that I might not like.

Luckily I recently got one of my friends into mech keyboards and we have similar but different tastes so he tends to like the keys I pass on, so I just sell them to him at cost if he likes them!

Might check around and see if there's a local keyboard meetup in your area (or close enough for travel) to see if you can borrow some switches to try or sell your unwanted switches.

I was tempted by the Ergodox, but the adjustable thumb cluster seemed nice. Owning the Moonlander made me realize that making the thumb cluster part of the tenting mechanism was really dumb all things considered.

Any major complaints on the dactyl-manuform? I can see the lack of per-key RGB being annoying. I love that on my moonlander. I have some layers with only a subset of the keys filled, and use the backlighting as a subtle reminder of the layers and which keys correspond to that layer.

Agreed. The only one I want "connected" is my washer/dryer, and for that I only want the damn thing to be able to remind me it's done!

Things like that is where I wish local-only home automation had become more prevalent. Imagine if your washer or dishwasher could send a "completion reminder" to your home assistant to push to you. No need for a dozen different apps and C&C servers, just a local MQTT or SNMP like message to the on-prem hub or listener.

I wonder if that percentage of tech-savvy "elderly" is going up over time. I know I remember hearing that about anything computer related 20 years ago, but many of the people in the upper age ranges now lived with computers for a majority of their life.

My grandma is not tech savvy, but can follow directions pretty well. My spouse's grandma is tech savvy to a certain level and manages her own computer and photo library. I know either of them would likely be able to hold down a button and follow some set of directions to join a wifi and upload a file.

IIRC, the patriarchal surname (i.e. mother's father's name and father's father's name) is carried on.

I believe it's also tradition that a spouse doesn't change their name but adopts a qualifier, so they keep their paternal surname and append 'de SPOUSE_SURNAME' to signify marriage in general conversation, though they are still formally 'X Y de Z'.

But I'm only an outsider on this, so I could be totally wrong here or missing some semantics or subtleties. I love learning about other cultures but there's so much to them that's hard to grasp without living within the culture for a long time.

Kinesis has a new line coming out later this year, the Advantage 360: https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage360/

Fully split with the key wells, and a Kinesis board to boot.

Small world! I too have a Moonlander, with Boba u4 switches and some Amazon special SA keycaps.

I'm tempted by the Advantage 360 or the Glove80 for their curved keywells, but I really want hot-swap without needed to desolder anything.

Might just go for a Dactyl of some flavor and make my own.

Doesn't always work, but when it does, makes you feel like a hacker!

I always tried it first, and if needed would reach out to the company afterwards.

Had one company call me after tweaking the form in Chrome and ask how I managed to place the order with that address. After playing dumb for a bit, I sheepishly admitted to altering the form. They were upset at first, but after explaining that they used USPS and USPS handled mail to PR just fine and required no export papers, they actually thanked me and updated their site themselves to handle shipping to PR.

I'm right there with you on the RSI front. But I do see GP's point on some of the audiophile feel, given the number of people who focus on the acoustics and appearance of their KB.

What KB are you using? I've got a Moonlander that I'm (pardon the pun) over the moon about. The Advantage 360 is very tempting with the curved key wells. So is the glove80. But I would really prefer something that was hot-swapable with curved key wells.

So I feel there's two sides to the hobby, the aesthetic side and the function/feel side.

There are plenty of people who customize their KBs for aesthetics first and plenty who focus on function/feel. And I think the number of people who focus on exclusively one side is almost non-existent.

Sure, there's a lot of people who talk about the thock or clack of this key or that, but for some it's all about the feel to their hands or the comfort of typing on a particular type of KB.

I've suffered from RSI in my pinky and ring fingers for over a decade now. If I spend too long (greater than 2-3 hrs) typing on a standard 104-style keyboard or laptop KB, the pain flares up. If I don't desist within a day or two, I start loosing grip and arm strength, to the point where I was unable to hold onto coffee cups or soup cans.

For a long time, I used the Microsoft Natural 4000 [0], a split membrane KB. I probably bought about 10 of them over a 5yr period, and I think I still have 3 in the closet.

But moving to a split mechanical was like going from sleeping on the floor to sleeping on a cloud. I could adjust the tenting and angle perfectly for my body, so it feels natural to me. I was able to try out a half-dozen key switches 'til I landed on one that was quiet but still gave a lot of tactile feedback on switch activation.

So yeah, there's definitely a bunch of aesthetic mumbo-jumbo that most people don't care about, but there's a lot in there that's not just thock & clack.

That drives me insane. At one point I ended up having to argue with many service reps over a toll pass that I was unable to pay. The online payment site wouldn't allow me to access it due to being in the Carribean, in Puerto Rico actually which is still part of the US.

I ended up in a loop talking to various CSRs over a few months as each time I called they wouldn't let me pay over the phone as my address was in Puerto Rico, and kept telling me to pay online, which I couldn't do. Kept getting passed from one rep to another, escalated to no effect. Had call-backs from "supervisors". Eventually I was back on the mainland for holidays and managed to call back and get someone to drop the late fees, then paid online.

Names are such a culturally different thing, and it's interesting to see how software grows around the culture it's written in and how walking into it from a different culture can feel.

Anglo-centric view here (given that's where I'm from), but just living in Puerto Rico for a while was interesting. The culture there predominately has two surnames, one from each parent. When I was there, I was frequently asked for my mother's maiden name to be used on my paperwork, but I was quite resistant given I had a couple of accounts (banking primarily) that I could not change the security questions for and made use of "mother's maiden name" as a "secure answer".

I've lost track of the ways that broke peoples software, while I was over there, and started giving my middle name or asking them to double my surname. One place was unable to send me any mail for a while until they figured out that the software would silently skip "incomplete" accounts when generating monthly invoices. One place would inject "null" so I got mail to that was "null-Surname". One place just wouldn't allow them to create my records without a second surname.

Hell, getting things to understand barrios when I lived in PR.... Yes, this address looks like it has two cities on the address. Nope, that's how it's supposed to be.

Or the hassle of trying to figure out whether a website was gonna list PR under State or Country or just not have it at all. I got really good at modifying web forms with Chrome devtools to inject Puerto Rico into the State drop-downs so I could just get shit shipped.

And for a while I didn't have any way to receive mail at the house I was renting, so I had stuff shipped to work, but they only had a rural box addr, so the addr was "Box 1234....". Anything shipping via UPS/FedEx didn't wanna touch it, so we had an alternate address for each of them (since UPS's system couldn't find one address form and FedEx couldn't find the other) and I'd have to find out who the seller was shipping with.

Lived in Puerto Rico for a while a few years back, and stuff off the beaten path (and plenty of things in town as well) wouldn't have an "address number", but instead would have a "position" based off kilometer markers.

For a good year, my address was something like "KM 5.4 Carr. 635", which was effectively "Kilometer 5.4 Highway 635". And then the put out new kilometer markers and my address changed by 0.2km in one way according to the power company and the other way according to the water company.

And IIRC, the power company had "yellow house in the back" as part of my address, since there were three houses on this lot. Don't know what would've happened if I painted the house!

Edit: Ha! Looks like a few things have changed in Google Maps and a number of things now have addresses showing up with their km marker numbers, which didn't use to be the case. For example, the Caribbean Cinemas location in Arecibo, Puerto Rico [0] has the address "Carr. #2, Km. 81.0 Barrio Hato Abajo, Arecibo, PR 00612"

[0] https://caribbeancinemas.com/theater/arecibo/

Ah, I might have misspoke. I don't mean it took stronger force to press the key, but the resulting feel of the "click" was stronger. Like a stronger thump from the click sound.

But either way, glad you're enjoying your Zilents! I love the variety of choices now available, as you can find the perfect key for you.

Because I'm not beholden to your ideals. GPL is tantamount to a parasite, infecting everything it touches, regardless of the wishes of those who'd make use of the GPL'd software.

I was a contributor to FOSS until I had to make a choice to step back from excessive keyboard use due to RSI. I love and embrace open source software and the ideals behind it, but I believe everyone should be given their own freedoms.

The plugin boundary should be exactly that, a boundary between the primary app and any created plugins. Why do you feel entitled to force a license decision on a third party's work? Yeah, my work might not function without your code, but your code is your code and my plugin is mine. If I choose to write a utility that enhances your code in ways I want, is that not the benefit and flexibility that FOSS clamors about? Hell, what if someone else adopts a similar API and I choose to take my plugin that direction? That's my choice to make, but forcing GPL on my code may now be hampering my freedoms.

I hear the argument of "if only software X was open source, then I could fix this bug here or add this feature there". I'm right there with you on code that is in the mainline and lives inside the source, but if I'm writing a plugin, that's my work and I own that, not you.

If I choose to make use of a proprietary library because it makes sense to me, like for example CAD solvers where the FOSS alternatives aren't there yet, that's my decision for my plugin. All your GPL license does is infect my work.

That's why I don't use GPL, and why I agree with others that the end result of many GPL licenses is to simply reduce the overall amount of GPL code in the world, as people avoid it out of concern of risk.

My "why didn't I think of this earlier" tip for the Moonlander is to associate the .bin files you download from configurator with the Wally app, so you can just download and launch flashing from your browser.

Also, pair that with sticking a "Reset" button on an out of the way layer so you can reset your KB without needing a paper clip or similar poking tool.

Could be something you can't do if you already use .bin files elsewhere in your system (embedded programming work perhaps), but if you can swing it, it was really convenient the first month or two I had my Moonlander. I often made two to three changes to my layout per day the first couple of weeks, then 2-3 changes per week the next month or two.

A year in now and my last tweak was 6 months ago.

Howdy fellow Moonlander user!

Drive-by suggestion for Boba u4's. It's very much a personal feel, but in my head to head comparison of Zilents and Boba u4's on a Moonlander, I found the Boba to be more to my liking.

IMO, there was a stronger tactile bump on the u4 and they seemed a bit quieter to me.

But why would a GPL app need to force GPL on a plugin? That seems to me like a perfectly reasonable boundary between the two applications. If I wanted to leverage OBS for example and introduce my own plugin that made use of a closed-source library or tool I had the license for, I should be able to create it. My third-party plugin doesn't impede the distribution and usage of OBS in any way, only provides a separate feature that might require a different license.

If they offered a light version that was JUST ad-free YT, I'd subscribe in a heartbeat.

I already pay for two other music services and have no interest another one so the $20/mo is too steep for my blood (for the family plan).

YT apparently trialed a YT Premium Lite in Europe [0], which is at a price-point I'd be willing to pay (7 EUR). That's on par with what I'd pay for other streaming services, and that's probably 50% of my streaming source, especially with the amount of learning content on there. I'd probably be willing to pay up to $10 USD/mo for just ad-free YT.

But the other ~$10USD/mo for an unwanted service doesn't appeal to me.

[0]: https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/2/22605455/youtube-premium-l...

Puberty blocking is not chemical castration.

By your argument chemotherapy is assassination by poison and setting a broken bone is assault.

The treatment administered to minors is reversible.

Studies show that gender-affirming treatments and care can reduce thoughts of suicide and self-harm.

No one is pushing these treatments on unwilling minors. To take away peoples' rights to these treatments is unconscionable. And to direct people to be charged or investigated for child abuse is even more so. It's just another point that puts people in fear of the authorities.

My last two positions have followed the exact opposite philosophy, and I prefer their take.

The general consensus at these places was that getting to the information faster is preferable. We have a team chat channel for a reason, ask their. Don't stop your search, and don't ask first thing, but after a cursory glance, ask. Then continue to search on your own. If someone knows the answer and sees the question, they should respond. If you find the answer first, update the thread and answer your own question in case it helps anyone else.

That said, I agree if the answer was easily found in a google search. That's the kind of basic info an engineer/developer should be able to answer on their own with research and self-exploration.

It's key to be able to tell quickly whether the answer/info you're looking for is likely to be a common/general piece of info or a company/industry specific piece of knowledge that might not be found widely.

That's a truck-load of bullshit. Texas Gov. Abbot is pushing an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda in the open. He and his pals are flat-out pushing anti-trans agendas that accuse parents of children seeking gender-affirming treatment of child abuse.

The Texas right-leaning lege just got through passing a bill that was designed to be hard to assail in the courts that hands out money for turning in anyone who assist someone in seeking an abortion, robbing people of their rights over their own bodily autonomy.

Florida gov't is trying to pass bills that prohibit talking about gender orientation and identity, racism, and equality in the workplace and classroom.

This isn't a "non-issue". This isn't "settled". We're still fighting for our rights and freedoms, and those of our children. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let some greedy nutjob politician deny my children (or anyone's children) the right to be who they are or want to be.

If they don't like gender transitioning, then they shouldn't transition, but don't tell me or mine that they can't!

I've been looking myself. What I have in my notes as the best option so far is tied between:

- PhotoPrism - https://photoprism.app/

- Piwigo - https://piwigo.org/

PhotoPrism seems a lot more polished and has some face/location tagging that sounds useful (I make frequent use of the search feature in Google Photos and will likely miss that feature the most).

While both have their own upload system internally, PhotoPrism has native integration with the PhotoSync (https://www.photosync-app.com/home.html) app for sycning, which seems promising.

Piwigo has support for a few different sync methods, and extensions for more. ymmv.

There's a huge variety out there in the mechanical keyboard space.

To name a few that can be bought assembled:

- Moonlander - https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/

- ErgoDox and relatives - https://www.ergodox.io/ (prebuilt from https://ergodox-ez.com/ or https://falba.tech/)

- Kinesis Edge - https://gaming.kinesis-ergo.com/edge/

- Kinesis FreeStyle Pro - https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle-pro/

- Kinesis Advantage 360 - https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage360/ (not yet released)

- Keyboard.io Model 100 - https://shop.keyboard.io/ (The Model 01 is now EOL, the updated Model 100 is supposed to ship later this year)

- Ultimate Hacking Keyboard - https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

If you're handy with a soldering iron or want to learn, there's also a huge variety of DIY split keyboards. For general research, the ErgoMechKeyboards subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/) has plenty of info.

A short list of possible fun ones, though links are results from quick google searches. There are generally plenty of kits/variants/versions for each of these and this is not an exhaustive list, nor an endorsement for any vendors/sellers.

- Iris - a split ergonomic keyboard with 4x6 vertically staggered keys and 3 or 4 thumb keys - prebuilt: https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/iri...

- Nyquist - a 60% ortholinear split ergo - Prebuilt: https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/nyq...

- Sofle - 6×4+5 keys column-staggered split keyboard with encoder support - https://josefadamcik.github.io/SofleKeyboard/ - Kits/assembled: https://keebd.com/products/sofle-v2-1-rgb-keyboard-kit

I took it as a list. Switching between an image (or series of images), your pronouns, or secret identities.

How often do any of those subjects require instant perfect recall of knowledge/topic/concept with high stakes?

That's my criterion on whether external references should be allowed in tests. A surgeon should know their specialty as they won't have time to consult a reference during a surgery. A physicist will always have the time to refer to something when performing their work, as will an editor or teacher.

That's entirely different from saying they don't need to learn it however. If I drop a list of 100 formulas and equations on a person who doesn't know how to use them, they're useless. That background knowledge on what's available and how to use the tools you have is what the class should be teaching you.

Or as my physics prof used to say, "I want the engineer building the bridge I drive over to have looked up a reference on the static weight load of the materials selected, not pulling figures out of their head".

We were always allowed to use 1 standard sheet of paper, front & back, for our tests. Most of the time you could answer most questions without needing them beyond referring to a specific equation to make sure you weren't leaving off a constant (damn factors of 2....).

Any chance of a USB-C variant coming around? I'm currently migrating everything I can to USB-C to eliminate needing to keep various types of charging cables around.