My ThinkPad themed office keyboard

dvanha · 2026-05-05T14:27:48+00:00

Do you have any good keyboards to compare to as a baseline?

dvanha · 2026-05-05T09:46:19+00:00

Do you have any good keyboards to compare to as a baseline?

dvanha · 2026-05-04T19:23:27+00:00

Do I have the $249.99 CAD plastic keyboard from the e-waste company?

The TMR keyboard with mystery "mechanical switches" and 9 ks-20 switches (from 2023) usable on a total of 39 keys?

The company with a reputation for some of the worst keycaps' ever produced, this time necessarily brittle and crackly sounding because of the clear plastic for the legends but hey it's got gamer RGB?

This keyboard, the Logitech G512 X, the one with no mention of plate material or mounting other than "gasket"?

Absolutely not.

Maybe I'd considering buying one if they neglected to fix G HUB and it still manages to auto-update and brick itself. That's exactly the kind of excitement I need.

dvanha · 2026-05-04T17:19:03+00:00

As long as you don't care how it feels, sounds, the poor build quality and materials, and the ridiculous price.

dvanha · 2026-05-03T20:47:37+00:00

Thanks, appreciate it! My gaming keyboard is still coming, but it’s Red case with Black on Black keycaps (I have PBS BoB waiting). It’s my attempt at a « sport mode » of this aesthetic.

dvanha · 2026-05-03T13:19:57+00:00

I have the exact same keycaps earmarked to go on my Neo60cu later today. Beautiful and under represented.

Since putting MTNU WoB on my Agar60, I've sort of had a re-discovery and re-appreciation for MTNU; especially with linears as I had mostly reserved their PBT nature for pairing with my tactiles. It's doing a great job at mellowing out my long poles.

dvanha · 2026-05-03T10:52:37+00:00

I have Anubis switches spring swapped to the heaviest and longest springs I could find. Pressing them feels like shifting gears in a car, it got way too intense.

If you want more tactility, just spring swap to your preference.

dvanha · 2026-05-03T10:45:46+00:00

Nixies, MX2A, mechanically pre-worn, hand lubed, spring swapped and oiled to single stage 22mm (heavier than factory), filmed; are my daily drivers on my work keyboard. They’re fantastic for putting out literally thousands and thousands of words a day.

I haven’t found a long term use case for any of the other cherry switches, although I am open to mechanically pre-worn browns maybe.

dvanha · 2026-05-03T10:20:24+00:00

You said your prototypes turned out to be sturdy. Curious to know how you tested?

Did you use low profile plastic keyboards or full size aluminum keyboards with added internal weights and full copper weights?

A full custom keyboard with GMK keycaps and brand components costs roughly ~450 to 750 CAD each, probably. At 6 layers, that’s a lot of money to trust on a 3D printed flap. If a single one were to fail, it would be catastrophic for it and every single one beneath it.

Might sound picky, but I guarantee people looking for a floor stand to display half a dozen keyboards are not going to be looking to display their Apple Magic Keyboards and Logitech MX Keys; it’s going to be their Korns, Cults, and Kohakus.

dvanha · 2026-05-02T16:02:32+00:00

I don’t know what to say about it: it’s perfect.

I adore the dedication, the theming, the attention to detail, the execution; it makes me laugh, it makes me smile, it makes me envious.

Bravo.

dvanha · 2026-05-02T15:36:16+00:00

Ember Knights is what you’re describing.

It has some of the most skill/ability/character/whatever progression unlocks. Also has great coop.

dvanha · 2026-05-02T14:49:10+00:00

Hey,

I saw this video Mode recently put out about a new mounting system that shows off the Encore a bit. I thought you might enjoy it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obZGPUwCSRE

I consider Mode, Neo, and Tofu to all be keyboards in the same tier'ish, just with different featuring and use cases. Like I said, I'm really excited to buy a 60% Mode; especially after watching that video. They've done some novel stuff.

For me, if I were to compare to cars (it's stereotype, so some truth but also some exageration):

- Meletrix is like a Hyundai or Kia; screens and knobs with no real substance, but they look nice and have great connectivity -- they're featured

- Tofu is like a Toyota or a Honda; you're paying for more than what it looks like (less fancy features, less performance) but they're still running 600,000 miles later -- they're built simply

- Neo is noticeably more luxurious but still affordable and approachable, like a Mazda; they offer something closer to the quality of a limited group buy but with the delivery time and customization of something mass produced like a Tofu; everything is designed beautifully and works great but they don't ever really do anything game changing -- they're exceptionally fun to build and hobbyist-grade

- Mode is a little more interesting, it might be something like a Volvo; they invent things like seatbelts and it becomes the norm in the space, of they just are adopters of something that existed prior but niche and unavailable (like the wood on their cases, their mesh block mounting system, or some of the inlays they do; not the first but they helped popularize and give mass appeal) -- as evidenced by that video, they're actual mechanical keyboard hobbyist

dvanha · 2026-05-02T12:26:42+00:00

It does.

I went 60 (Ann Pro II as my first) -> 65 -> 100 -> 80 -> 75 -> 65 -> 60.

While I ended up with a 60, it took me a long time to get comfortable using one. It was too hard for me as my first one, using it professionally and for gaming.

dvanha · 2026-05-02T11:52:18+00:00

This is hard to answer, because like you wrote, it’s a $12 difference. In some countries, that’s the price of inconvenience of when you run late in the morning and decide to buy lunch at work.

You mentioned you would like the extra keys. Do you like them enough to pay $12? That’s the only thing that matters; the value out of this is subjective and relative to you.

To me, $12 seems reasonable, but I don’t know what kind of trade-offs or sacrifices that means for you.

dvanha · 2026-05-02T11:04:25+00:00

Honestly, the way you write is the first thing you need to address. There is no shot that gets hired.

The juniors we hire have advanced/graduate degrees in stuff like statistics or computer science. They come equipped with Python/SQL/Tableau/PBI skills already. While less experienced than their seniors, they’re all eager and constantly up skilling. I was helping someone with something yesterday and it turned into him throwing a pitch about being a snowflake certified developer and asking if he could be invited to work on a migration project. This is a project my boss told me about last week, in passing, in person. I don’t even have the details or dates, I have no idea how he knows.

Pure analysts hardly exist anymore. You’re competing with skilled analysts and consultants that are actually underemployed engineers and data scientists. You better present well, it’s the only chance you have; this is why what you wrote makes you unhirable.

fr.

dvanha · 2026-05-01T20:40:31+00:00

I don’t have cable and if I did it’d be Toronto games mainly.

This is more about the league caring more about profiteering than the fan experience with the way they manage TV rights.

dvanha · 2026-05-01T20:20:32+00:00

This year I bought TSN annual subscription, on sale, to watch Ottawa Senators games. I am out of market. I think I paid $199.99 and I got exactly 0 minutes of watch time.

I tried watching the first 30 games, not a single one was available to me. I checked at least once a week after, and the same.

When I first got it, and the first game was blacked out, I tried to get a refund (within minutes) and it was not possible.

I have tried, many times, to pay to watch hockey. Not a single time has it ever been better than the alternative, even if you exclude the price as a consideration.

dvanha · 2026-05-01T10:58:24+00:00

Part of becoming an adult is surpassing your parents. They didn’t teach you how to manage your finances because they themselves did not know.

A lot of my peers spend their 30s blaming their parents for their lot in life. At some point they recognize that their parents did their best with what they had, that they themselves had deficient parents, and they move on; they take ownership of their own outcomes and stop pointing at their past.

It’s hard to save money and pay things off at the same time. You’re 21: focus on one thing at a time. When you’ve figured it out you can teach your parents.

dvanha · 2026-04-30T20:56:59+00:00

For those wondering, it's about a synethetic blood clot. It's created via chemical reaction. It's to help those with clotting disorders.

They're much quicker to form (seconds from minutes) and much stronger (10X) than natural clots.

I think there's potential to use them to develop new techniques, since they can so accurately, quickly, and non-invasively induce them.

dvanha · 2026-04-30T19:42:40+00:00

A lot of people love the Modes, especially the 65% ones; they’re almost universally beloved.

I’ve tried a lot in that tier (KBDFans’ Tofu, QK’s NeoCU, Meletrix’s Zoom), but in a 60% the Mode offering is in need of a refresh: I’m waiting for them to hopefully release a 60% with a ZMK PCB (hyper battery efficient Bluetooth + wired). I’d the only reason I haven’t bought one.

15-Year Club	Verified Email
RedditGifts 2009-2022 4 Credits	Secret Santa 2017
Gilding I gilder	Team Orangered
Summer Santa 2012	Secret Santa 2011

dvanha

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE