They charge a premium for their keyboards and they really haven't done anything. Most of the features you've talked about are features of QMK...even their configurator seems like a basic version of QMK configurator. Reading all the keypresses, availability in Linux, storing the configuration in the keyboard, RGB configuration, four layers, etc. That's ALL QMK. You can save money, pick up a Drop ALT or the TKL version: Drop CTRL and have everything except the hub for a lot less AND with a larger selection of common switches.
If I didn't have the perfect keyboard for me already, I would get this keyboard. I like the look and build quality. The issues you had do concern me but I don't feel deterred by that at all.
The ultimate power of this keyboard comes from QMK, layers, and massively custom layouts, I don't think its fair to compare it to a DAS keyboard, etc.. However, I did value this review a bit as it does have me waiting for a new revision where they fix some of the quality issues.. But in terms of alternatives with QMK, its in the ballpark for the price.
My yubikeys work fine (both usb-c and usb-a) maybe it's a usb controller difference thing, they had to change controllers due to the chip shortage mid production
I had the delete/backspace confusion issue as well and resolved it by putting a smaller single key sized keycap on my delete instead of the one that's the same width as the backspace which was enough for my brain to figure out the difference without me paying attention
I got mine from NZXT Function site. About 300 US for the full size and I'm very satisfied. I didn't even know System 76 was doing keyboards. lol Great video by the way.
yeah i agree with this feed back, the big difference with you is that you spent your money on it. totally different when someone gets something for free. I personally like mine and I use it everyday, but I know it has issues. I def wanna change the key caps and switches but just like you said I don't wanna spend more money on it so for now it is staying stock.
Got my launch keyboard a couple of days ago and it also died on me within 3 days (the hub still worked, but the keyboard itself wasn't recognized nevermind any keystrokes) In my case however, customer service reacted very quickly and I had the RMA 25 hours later. Now keeping my fingers crossed that the new one is going to hold up better, because otherwise I've been really happy with it.
19:47 I love the color scheme of the keycaps. I was thinking of copying the color scheme for my Pop!_OS edition DAS keyboard. I wasn’t sure why I liked it so much but maybe it is because it reminds me of the IBM M era. I would have liked to get this as a macropad like something like the Genovation programable macropads. Only being able to use one key is not a deal breaker as a macropad because the idea is to have each key dedicated to a separate function. I appreciate all the information.
I LOVE the split space bar I can never go back, I have -/_ on my right space which is awesome for writing variable names. Yeah I had to write macros myself in C and flash them using with their fork of qmk, I'm hoping they expand the features of the GUI configurator to support this. If I could get something wireless like a Keychron K8 with a split spacebar that'd be great.
Well, this is not a keyboard for me then :/ I hope the version 2 or a smaller revision down the line and software upgrades it could be better and worth the price Also, what keyboard do y'all use day-to-day? I personally use a Moonlander from ZSA for typing and programming, and a Logitech G910 that I have around for some games
@@dasgeek Warning : This reply is very long. The answer is in the first lines, the rest are just comments I want to make about the Moonlander, no need to read it all! --- It took me a month, with around 30 minutes a day to achieve speed of 98WPM and 98% accuracy. I could have learned faster if I took more time, and more importantly, didn't spend hours and hours on their fantastic Oryx configuration tool that lets you customize your keyboard to incredible levels. I spent wayyy too much time tweaking my layout on it. -- The Moonlander is a keyboard that you have to use for at least a few weeks before making your mind about it, because at first it could seem awesome, then annoying and frustrating, and all of a sudden so awesome you never want to go back to a normal keyboard again haha, but it depends on the person using it of course. If you're curious, my Moonlander is in this configuration : - Blank, shaped key caps (because I never look at the keys on my keyboard, I'd rather have an image of it displayed on my monitor or in a sheet of paper in front of my screen, and it forces me to better learn how to touch type) - Dark matter color (because black is cool, and the lighting looks so much better with a black keyboard) - Kailh Box White switches (clicky, makes a bit of noise, but nothing like MX Blues, but they have quite a few options of switches, some clicky, some linear, some tactile, and from different brands) And, I have made some minor modifications to the keyboard : - I have removed the little stabilizers on the red keys on the thumb clusters as they are mostly useless here - I have 3d-printed very low-profile keycaps to fill the gaps of the keys I removed (I don't use all keys, the layer system here is so powerful that I don't need all of them, and I'd rather have a few layouts for different stuff than extend my fingers in every corner of the keyboard, I currently use 36 keys, which means I don't use 38 keys on it. ZSA seels a kit for filling the blancks but it's expensive and because I have a 3D printer I might as well do it myself) - I have 3d-printed a little leg that lets the thumb clusters be tilted up with the keyboard, instead of having to go down to support the keyboard when you want to tilt it It is a very cool, comfortable, configurable, moddable (it won't void your warranty!) keyboard, but it is very expensive (though, not to be rough on System76, but the Moonlander seems to have a way better value than their keyboard *for now*). Also, ZSA makes other products, and have more and more official accessories coming for the Moonlander, and there are a lot of community ones. I truly hope System76 will be able to improve the hardware, software and value of this keyboard, it seems so cool, and I want it to succeed !
Thank you for the honesty
They charge a premium for their keyboards and they really haven't done anything. Most of the features you've talked about are features of QMK...even their configurator seems like a basic version of QMK configurator. Reading all the keypresses, availability in Linux, storing the configuration in the keyboard, RGB configuration, four layers, etc. That's ALL QMK. You can save money, pick up a Drop ALT or the TKL version: Drop CTRL and have everything except the hub for a lot less AND with a larger selection of common switches.
Passed this up for a gmmk pro. It's more DIY, but you get a great keyboard with the switches and keycaps you want at the end of it
GMMK looks gorgeous!
If I didn't have the perfect keyboard for me already, I would get this keyboard. I like the look and build quality. The issues you had do concern me but I don't feel deterred by that at all.
Glad to hear it, I think this would be perfect for you to tinker with.
The ultimate power of this keyboard comes from QMK, layers, and massively custom layouts, I don't think its fair to compare it to a DAS keyboard, etc.. However, I did value this review a bit as it does have me waiting for a new revision where they fix some of the quality issues.. But in terms of alternatives with QMK, its in the ballpark for the price.
you just killed this keyboard for me ... if the yubikey is not working, that's a deal breaker...
My yubikeys work fine (both usb-c and usb-a) maybe it's a usb controller difference thing, they had to change controllers due to the chip shortage mid production
I had the delete/backspace confusion issue as well and resolved it by putting a smaller single key sized keycap on my delete instead of the one that's the same width as the backspace which was enough for my brain to figure out the difference without me paying attention
I got mine from NZXT Function site. About 300 US for the full size and I'm very satisfied. I didn't even know System 76 was doing keyboards. lol Great video by the way.
Very cool, I'll check that one out! Thank you
@@dasgeek I forgot to mention that I also got the mouse. But, I quickly went back to my Logitech g502 hero.
@@BadWolfPlays66hat mouse? Does System76 make a mouse? I thought they resold the Logitech Mx master 3?
@@Shibu11229 I misread your post. Not sure about System76.
yeah i agree with this feed back, the big difference with you is that you spent your money on it. totally different when someone gets something for free. I personally like mine and I use it everyday, but I know it has issues. I def wanna change the key caps and switches but just like you said I don't wanna spend more money on it so for now it is staying stock.
👍
Got my launch keyboard a couple of days ago and it also died on me within 3 days (the hub still worked, but the keyboard itself wasn't recognized nevermind any keystrokes)
In my case however, customer service reacted very quickly and I had the RMA 25 hours later.
Now keeping my fingers crossed that the new one is going to hold up better, because otherwise I've been really happy with it.
19:47 I love the color scheme of the keycaps. I was thinking of copying the color scheme for my Pop!_OS edition DAS keyboard. I wasn’t sure why I liked it so much but maybe it is because it reminds me of the IBM M era.
I would have liked to get this as a macropad like something like the Genovation programable macropads. Only being able to use one key is not a deal breaker as a macropad because the idea is to have each key dedicated to a separate function.
I appreciate all the information.
I LOVE the split space bar I can never go back, I have -/_ on my right space which is awesome for writing variable names. Yeah I had to write macros myself in C and flash them using with their fork of qmk, I'm hoping they expand the features of the GUI configurator to support this. If I could get something wireless like a Keychron K8 with a split spacebar that'd be great.
Well, this is not a keyboard for me then :/
I hope the version 2 or a smaller revision down the line and software upgrades it could be better and worth the price
Also, what keyboard do y'all use day-to-day?
I personally use a Moonlander from ZSA for typing and programming, and a Logitech G910 that I have around for some games
Moonlander looks really awesome, how long did it take you to get use to typing on it? My go to at the moment is the Roccat Vulcan Pro.
@@dasgeek Warning : This reply is very long. The answer is in the first lines, the rest are just comments I want to make about the Moonlander, no need to read it all!
---
It took me a month, with around 30 minutes a day to achieve speed of 98WPM and 98% accuracy.
I could have learned faster if I took more time, and more importantly, didn't spend hours and hours on their fantastic Oryx configuration tool that lets you customize your keyboard to incredible levels.
I spent wayyy too much time tweaking my layout on it.
--
The Moonlander is a keyboard that you have to use for at least a few weeks before making your mind about it, because at first it could seem awesome, then annoying and frustrating, and all of a sudden so awesome you never want to go back to a normal keyboard again haha, but it depends on the person using it of course.
If you're curious, my Moonlander is in this configuration :
- Blank, shaped key caps (because I never look at the keys on my keyboard, I'd rather have an image of it displayed on my monitor or in a sheet of paper in front of my screen, and it forces me to better learn how to touch type)
- Dark matter color (because black is cool, and the lighting looks so much better with a black keyboard)
- Kailh Box White switches (clicky, makes a bit of noise, but nothing like MX Blues, but they have quite a few options of switches, some clicky, some linear, some tactile, and from different brands)
And, I have made some minor modifications to the keyboard :
- I have removed the little stabilizers on the red keys on the thumb clusters as they are mostly useless here
- I have 3d-printed very low-profile keycaps to fill the gaps of the keys I removed (I don't use all keys, the layer system here is so powerful that I don't need all of them, and I'd rather have a few layouts for different stuff than extend my fingers in every corner of the keyboard, I currently use 36 keys, which means I don't use 38 keys on it.
ZSA seels a kit for filling the blancks but it's expensive and because I have a 3D printer I might as well do it myself)
- I have 3d-printed a little leg that lets the thumb clusters be tilted up with the keyboard, instead of having to go down to support the keyboard when you want to tilt it
It is a very cool, comfortable, configurable, moddable (it won't void your warranty!) keyboard, but it is very expensive (though, not to be rough on System76, but the Moonlander seems to have a way better value than their keyboard *for now*).
Also, ZSA makes other products, and have more and more official accessories coming for the Moonlander, and there are a lot of community ones.
I truly hope System76 will be able to improve the hardware, software and value of this keyboard, it seems so cool, and I want it to succeed !
@@atemoc Amazing read, thank you so much for giving your experience with it. I'm going to add it to my list. Something I would like to try.
Logitech k120... cheap and easy. Lol
If you use the computer daily for extended time, get an ergonomic keyboard, you will thank me later
The sound is very low ? 🤔