So because I apparently NEED another keyboard, I got a #Razer#Huntsman Mini with the optical linear red switches after touching one in Paris.
(I love my Topre but it can get a bit tiring after a long coding session. Also, I’ve always wanted a 60%)
Anyway, great little #keyboard, crappy proprietary Windows-only software. Used my Windows test machine to map Shift to Hypershift which makes the arrow keys usable.
Then, in #Linux, had to press Fn+menu until the correct profile kicked in.
@aral Yeah most gaming brands only seem to have crappy proprietary windows only software. May be next time you can look at something that supports open firmware like QMK/VIA. Might have a much smoother experience. Some of the keychron boards are a solid place to start looking.
@phoneybadger Yeah, seems like it. I’ve got keyboards, this one just felt really nice when I typed on it in Paris. I’d be very hesitant to get a keyboard I haven’t touched as it’s all about the feel for me :) (But yes, of course, would love a free/open one.)
@aral Are the optical switches hot swap on this one?
I used to be a Razer person, but then I started building the keyboards and...kind of got addicted. lol.
@eraisme As in, can they be replaced? Yep, I believe so.
(Totally understandable if you’re building your own. I’d love to do that one day but trying not to get sidetracked from what I’m working on at the moment) :)
@killyourfm I am, but appreciate your reaching out, thanks :)
One of the downsides of being on Fedora Silverblue is that installing stuff that messes with the operating system at that sort of level is more problematic (not to mention, apparently, that it already has issues with Fedora). Don’t want to sacrifice the stability of my (rather rock solid) system to make a keyboard happy.
With left Shift mapped to Hypershift, you can hold left Shift with your left pinky and use the I, J, K, and L keys (like WASD) as the arrow keys.
(The default of holding the Fn key, which is on the right, is entirely unusable and unergonomic. A glaring oversight.)
Also: Reactive lighting, where keys light up as you type, is pretty cool. It doesn’t carry over from the Windows setup but you can activate it with Fn+Ctrl+6 on Linux. Press that combination repeatedly to change the colour.
@aral Keyboard layouts have some amazingly odd decision making that I'd really like to learn the reasoning behind.
E.g. I don’t get why the Apple full-size keyboard replaced the “help”/"print” key with “fn”. If there's room for “fn” on the laptop, why suddenly move it around for the larger version? especially bad for people who switch back and forth between laptop keyboard on the road and the full keyboard at home at the desk.
So in case anyone’s interested in my #Razer#Hunstman#Mini on #Linux (specifically, Fedora Silverblue) experience, I found that mapping the #hypershift key to left shift was too confusing (apparently I do use left shift more than I thought I did).
Instead, here’s what I’m trying today, which seems to be working really well:
Mapped hypershift to caps lock
Mapped caps lock (which I use as my compose key) to right control (which I really don’t ever use)
@tuxflo There are tools under Linux (e.g., https://github.com/wez/evremap, https://github.com/k0kubun/xremap, etc.) but I was lazy and booted up the Windows testing laptop and used Razer’s own bloatware to do it and stored the setting in the keyboard itself (it can store up to four profiles internally).
@aral The OS should open doors, make change possible, and encourage that behavior. The OS shouldn't hinder or stop those behaviors.
That's one of the many reasons I like Linux and have been using it almost exclusively for twenty plus years. The fact that it doesn't shrink my wallet is far down on the list. I'd be using Linux regardless. There are distros that charge for update subscriptions. I've used a few of them.
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