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Only two thumb keys seems like it could be a pain. I don't love trying to figure out the timing delays for tap vs hold. After a long search I settled on the Hillside 46 [1][2] which has 4 thumb keys and a splayed layout. Also choc spacing, as I didn't love the gaps between choc keycaps with mx spacing. Not sure why, as the macbook pro keyboard doesn't seem to give me any problems.
I like the all the case options and mods available to the ZSA keyboards. The biggest problem with building your own I feel is the cost of getting a nice, solid feeling case.
[1] https://github.com/mmccoyd/hillside/tree/main/hillside46
I made a low-profile split keyboard (with Bluetooth) based on the Moonlander layout, but a bit more ergonomic for my fingers: https://github.com/tadfisher/nyx-kb
I think this number of keys in this layout strikes a good balance between portability and usability.
Please also consider Ferris Sweep: https://github.com/davidphilipbarr/Sweep
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.
The layout is eerily similar to one I designed last year [1]. I may be biased, but I'm not sure if it is worth the $365 price point. That being said, it is a bit more refined and has some nice accessories bundled.
I may pick one up for comparison. But, just noting that there is a comparable open source design available. ;)
[1] https://github.com/eggsworks/egg58
Why would you ever need to hit Shift-Option-F12 ? They keyboard is customizable and the IDE shortcuts are customizable. I have a VsCode layer on my crkbd (https://github.com/luc-languagetools/qmk-crkbd-vscode-builde...). I generate the actual keycodes using this python script, which also outputs my VsCode keybindings.json: https://github.com/luc-languagetools/qmk-crkbd-vscode-builde...
Why would you ever need to hit Shift-Option-F12 ? They keyboard is customizable and the IDE shortcuts are customizable. I have a VsCode layer on my crkbd (https://github.com/luc-languagetools/qmk-crkbd-vscode-builde...). I generate the actual keycodes using this python script, which also outputs my VsCode keybindings.json: https://github.com/luc-languagetools/qmk-crkbd-vscode-builde...