E80-1800 VS miryoku

Depends a lot. If you want it fully assembled, you have to go to larger fab houses like PCBway, and spend a few hundred bucks on a 5pc batch. If you can hand-solder some parts (in this case, the Bluetooth module and the USB connector) and design the rest around jlcpcbs libraries, you can get away with 20-30USD per unit (MOQ of 5) plus shipping/customs. Then add another 10USD for the bluetooth module and USB connector.

A simpler wired design like my E80-1800 (https://github.com/ebastler/E80-1800) can be completely assembled by jlc for ~30ish USD per unit.

Oddly enough, small-batch prototyping at jlc can be cheaper than medium sized (50-150 pc) runs at other fabs.

Hope this doesn't sound like an ad, I've compared a lot of prices and nobody came close to jlcpcb, but With their limitations (limited stock, limited finish/color choices, frequently chnaging stocks and component prices) and sometimes far-from-ideal QC (some scratches can happen, in rare cases even missing components that were present in the BOM) they are not really my first choice for production runs. For prototypes or small unofficial-ish batches with a few friends though - god tier.

Some options include but are not limited to TKC1800 PCB, E80-1800 PCB, GH80-3000 or 3003 PCB.

I've seen https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku but it doesn't appear to be easily modified.

A 75% keyboard still require quite a lot of wrist movement, which is not ideal in your situation. It's better to learn to use layers, you could still have all the function keys and such with a 36 or 34 keys. With with such a small keyboard you don't need to move your wrist while typing. A Corne or even a Ferris Sweep can do the job with a proper keymap, like Miryoku.

If you prefer to have semicolon on Base you'd substitute custom Base, Nav, and Sym layers, swapping semicolon and slash, with https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku/discussions/85.

The Miryoku layout [1] has a dedicated number layer which turns the left half into a number pad. Practical (once you get used to it) and portable.

[1] https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku

It's understandable if some people would prefer a larger layout. I wouldn't argue people should be using smaller keyboards.

It's "I don't mind moving my hand to hit the key" vs "I don't mind holding down some Fn key to hit the key". (Or with F1-F12 on Macbooks, you need to both hold down a Fn key and move your hand).

For an example of "36 keys ... how", I think the popular miryoku layout is fascinating. https://github.com/manna-harbour/miryoku/tree/master/docs/re... -- Often, mnemonics for particular keys aren't all that complicated.

Except for those who use Miryoku, which is not optimized for software development, probably every single person here will have its own custom keymap.

The keyboard on the other desk is a wireless Corne low profile kit I built up a while back using a couple nice!nano controllers and their low power display too. For general typing I don't have much of a problem going back and forth between the two, but the Corne is only 34 keys and I use a complex layout called Miryoku to get access to most symbols and functions I have by default on my 360.