As time has passed during this quarantine many of us have used the extra time to explore new interests, embark on new journeys or simply brush up on some skills that we have let slip. Personally, I began the quarantine — extra time with repairing all the machines I had laying around that had been neglected. Fixed a few laptops for family, repaired my own, and finally caught up on some shows that I never made time to watch. Dove deeply into YouTube when there was nothing more to watch and stumbled upon this community that some of my friends now believe it rises to the level of art.
I ventured out into researching what would be the best entry keyboard for me as I needed to experience it without investing too heavily into a keyboard and the support technology needed to create one, yet the idea of building my very own keyboard was fascinating. Needless to say after a year plus of quarantine, which I still am home, I’ve amassed quite a large amount of keyboards, each one unique to me and I can’t bring myself to part ways with any of them.
Most recent keyboard just shipped yesterday, Melgeek MOJO65, and I can’t wait to record a video. It may be to date up there with the most expensive keyboards I own. Drop Signature Series Captain, which I am using to type this article. I can say that the experience is unique for every keyboard I have put together or purchased completely built — like this one. I have a knack for getting obsessed by something and diving head first until I feel like I have learned everything I need to learn.
But as a person who spends a large amount of her day on a computer — work or play, the keyboard is probably the single most important peripheral for a human. The Drop keyboard is lovely to type on. It arrived with the Alt High Profile case, the Mito Canvas keycaps, and Halo True Switches. The lighting is the same lighting as all Drop keyboards and I’m totally fine with that — its beautiful.
The keycaps are extraordinarily smooth and thick. The sound made while typing is just loud enough without being annoying, and the switches round out the experience with just the right amount of tactility for my taste. But why don’t I use it constantly. Initially it was the price, didn’t want to mess it up or spill something on it, but I realized that would be a total waste of money. Now I rotate between my keyboards every week to use them and experience them all.
I think the 65% layout is the perfect layout for me. It is a happy middle to the 98% keyboard that I use for work because I need a number pad at least two days out of the week, and the arrow keys that I need all the time. While the 60% keyboard were my favorite, some of the keyboards I had simply did not allow me a seamless experience when I was using them for work. I love arrow keys, not pressing a function key to get an arrow. On my Drop Carina which is a 60% keyboard, I reprogrammed it so that the bottom right four keys were the arrows, I changed the Caps Lock key to be the function key and the Windows key to be Delete. It is as close as I can get to perfection when I don’t need to enter the BIOS on my machine LOL… at that point I need the 98%.
When I ventured out to look for that keyboard that had, function keys, arrow keys, number pad, but a small form factor I bought two: the IQUINIX Knight keyboard — truly spectacular, a little difficult to type on since the keys are blank, and while I touch type — the layout is a little different so its not that simple. The second one I purchased was the Keychron K4 V2 and I hated the keycaps, hated the lightness of it, and did some modifications — but most of all hated that they sent me a keyboard with a non working function key.
I created a youtube channel to share my experiences building or simply typing on my various keyboards. People ask me to sell them to recoup the money that I have invested but when I consider that I can’t pick one that I would want to part with. No one needs the amount of keyboards that I have collected, and since I just ordered another one — the amount will potentially keep growing. At this point maybe it is time to accept them as art and create some kind of very artsy display in my room so that I may admire them without having to use them all.
Pick a wall get some wood… and create a colorful house where they can live… yes more to dust… ugh… Room to grow — space for more. I guess that can be my next project while we return to the new normal of post — vaccination COVID.
What I have done with my time tucked away at home has been comforting and has kept me sane. I have helped people, created a new hobby for myself, and done some serious home improvement DIY jobs. I’ve experienced loss during this time and have used these hobbies to distract myself from the pain. Still I recommend that at any point in our lives, pick up a new hobby, find enjoyment in being alone with yourself in reflection, everyone can learn something new at any time for no reason at all. Even stuck at home…
