Keyboards are something that almost no PC user can do without, be it a developer, a writer, or just someone who loves to communicate on social networks. A comfortable keyboard is a necessity for a modern person.
It is difficult to find such a tool - for this it is enough to look at the number of articles on Habré about choosing a keyboard, successful and unsuccessful copies. Of course, we can expect the emergence of a neurochip that allows you to type with the power of thought. But you will have to wait a long time, so you can't do without a keyboard. We recently wrote about an interesting model, and now another one has appeared - completely open, and even customizable. Details are under the cut.
What is this keyboard?
It is mechanical , open source, design and hardware. In other words, if you wish, you can redo anything and everything here, completely customizing the instrument for yourself and your needs. All sources are located here in the GitHub repository.
The chassis and some other elements are made of aluminum, which gives the keyboard lightness, strength and resistance to external influences. All keys are replaceable - the process is very simple.
This device is produced in Colorado, USA. From old memory, we can say that this is a "white assembly". Of course, one can only guess how high-quality it will turn out to be, but the manufacturers claim that the instrument turned out to be very successful, you can work with the keyboard for many years.
As for the mechanics, there are Kailh Box Jade or Royal mechanical switches. The developers supply a utility with the keyboard that allows you to remap keys so that you can either change the button assignments, or set custom user values (for example, running a macro on one of the spaces).
According to the developers, they are all "keyboard nerds", so they know a lot about keyboards. The final version was selected from a couple of dozen initial proposals.
The keyboard also has RGB backlighting, which can also be controlled. As far as you can understand, a custom color can be set for each of the keys. And you can also change static lighting to dynamic - the manufacturer's website shows how it works. Looks hypnotic.
The keys can be swapped or replaced with others (the manufacturer provides different keys). So, you can replace one of the spacebar keys (there are two of them, yes) with the Shift, Backspace or Fn keys.
Device characteristics
The developers have provided a complete list of the characteristics of the device:
- : System76 Open Source. 15 .
- : System76 Open Source PCB .
- : Kailh MX Hotswap Sockets, Kailh Box Jade Kailh Box Royal Switches.
- : PBT
- : ANSI US QWERTY.
- : System76 Keyboard Configurator.
- : Linux, Windows, and macOS.
- : 2 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C (Up to 10 Gbps).
- : System76 Open Source QMK.
- : USB-C to USB-C USB-A to USB-C. .
- : 309 x 136 x 33 .
- : 948 .
Launch firmware is based on open source QMK firmware. Updates can only be initiated by the user. Customization is done using Pop! _OS and LVFS. After updating the firmware, the keyboard indicators will flash UNLOCKED to indicate the modification.
In the dry residue
It all looks quite decent, the only problem with the keyboard is its price. It costs like a budget laptop - $ 285. The developers explain such a high price tag with high-quality materials, assembly in the USA and rather expensive electronic components.
On the other hand, they position it as a luxury keyboard, and when compared with other models from other manufacturers, the price tag is not that high. Well, if the keyboard is really capable of lasting several years, then, probably, this is not so much.
