qmk_firmware VS helix

Impressive evolutionary history for your various keyboard and keyboard-focused tool preferences! Would like to know more.

Curious to know if you have any thoughts about the Eucalyn layout. It's a layout focused on Japanese, Vim, and Dvorak: https://eucalyn.hatenadiary.jp/entry/about-eucalyn-layout

Shameless plug, this is my Dvorak/Vim focused layout: https://github.com/1MachineElf/qmk_firmware/tree/_sb4dv/keyb...

I've been using it since 2016 and I love it. I guess you could say I'm deep in the rabbit hole of Dvorak.

I can switch between Dvorak and QWERTY in just seconds.

I can spot when someone else is a Dvorak typist based on their typos: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29407601

I have a custom Dvorak layout for any ortholinear keyboard with at least 36 keys: https://github.com/1MachineElf/qmk_firmware/tree/_sb4dv/keyb...

Sometimes I go on odd rants about how common shortcuts can be easier to use in Dvorak in combination with a left-handed mouse: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26796214

So how did you go about learning it? My pathway was GNU Typist: https://www.gnu.org/savannah-checkouts/gnu/gtypist/gtypist.h...

What made you want to learn it? For me, the Dymaxion map in this XKCD cartoon appealed to me because I liked XML and shoes with toes (like Vibrams): https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/977:_Map_Projecti...

With One Shot Mods (OSMs), I do something similar, but also much more basic with my Small Board 4 Dvorak (SB4DV) layout: https://github.com/1MachineElf/qmk_firmware/tree/_sb4dv/keyb...

I don't go much beyond OSMs because the necessary precision required for a lot of the tapping features can become tedious, sometimes frustrating.

- open source design

I'm also a fan of two choices made with the layout. First, the split spacebars - it's better to give each thumb it's own job. Second, the minimization of modifier keys requiring stabilizers, because smooth consistent stabilizers are hard to get right.

[0] https://github.com/1MachineElf/qmk_firmware/tree/_sb4dv_refa...

Does anyone know if there's a fork/repo for the Helix but with choc spacing?

I seem to be struggling with putting together a Helix (by MakotoKurauchi).

There are other benefits: A PCB design can be shared so that others can fabricate it themselves. (Or modify it if they wish). A PCB design will likely have a schematic, too, which can be studied.

I'd also bet that PCB projects are more likely to inspire better PCB projects. -- Or at least, the domain I've tried my hand at has been PCBs for custom mechanical keyboards.

e.g. I've seen boards inspired by https://github.com/hsgw/plaid such as https://github.com/coseyfannitutti/discipline or https://github.com/rtitmuss/torn and I think there are several popular split keyboard designs which basically descend from https://github.com/MakotoKurauchi/helix

looks like you’ve circled back to the Helix …

Probably this https://github.com/MakotoKurauchi/helix/pull/36

Keyboard is an older build but this is the base:https://github.com/MakotoKurauchi/helix

You can read more about the product here

Helix