deskthority

Just a little doubt. I see that Q, A and Z are one above the other in Planck KBs, but that makes the Z row too far from the original position. Wouldn't be better with the Z under the S?

Here`s the original staggered layout.


Usind the Q as reference, we have the following on Planck:
- The A moving 0.25u to the left.
- The Z moving 0.75u to the left.

Planck


Now, with my suggestion:
- The A moving 0.25u to left.
- The Z moving 0.25u to the right.

Modified Planck


Besides, we must consider the proximity of the letters to the home keys, which is better with the mod.

What could be placed under the A is another matter. I just think this is more intuitive.
What do you think?

Jimi wrote: ↑What do you think?

I think that

1. a non-split grid layout is a terrible idea;
2. QAZ column is controlled by left-hand pinkie in standard touch typing technique.

Meanwhile, there's a simple and elegant solution: symmetrically staggered rows w/ uniform 0.25u offset.

I used QAZ as reference to their rows. I've aproximate the Z to the home key and will probably take one of the "symbol" keys on the far right (like comma) to put in his place.

About the symmetrical staggered, I didn`t knew it. Thanks.
But anyway, I believe the Matrix Grid has its advantages.
Besides, I wanted to split in half, so the symm. staggered doesn`t make much sense.
(or is just not necessary)



FYI, the pair symbols goes to number row. <>/\(){}[]
Not necessarily in this order.

Complicated question. As @davkol said, the standard typing technique is to type the Z with the pinky. An alternative (which I also use) is to type the Z with the ring finger.

Like this:

This is - I feel - better on a standard keyboard because the fingers move more symmetrically as in the standard typing method. Most humans I know have left hands that are mirror images of the right hand A fact that keyboard designers in the past did not know .....

Anyway, what is better on a Matrix style KB? I think it doesn't matter much. QWERTY sucks. Maybe, it is better in Qwerty to use the pinkies because Qwerty doesn't use them much. Meaning: standard Planck style would be better. You might look at http://www.patorjk.com and try some versions out. An alternative layout would be much better of course - any alternative is better than Qwerty. If you type English, Colemak it is. If you type German or Germanic languages, Dvorak or AdNW are very good. There are many other layouts as well - it's a rabbit hole....

pietergen wrote: ↑[…] Most humans I know have left hands that are mirror images of the right hand A fact that keyboard designers in the past did not know .....[…]

I would negate that. You don’t hold the handle of a cup the same way in your right or left hand, irrespective of whether you are right-handed or left-handed.

As for "keyboard designers in the past", there were none.
People who designed writing devices had to find solutions to mechanical issues. They would most certainly have chosen a matrix pattern had it not been necessary to mechanically convey key presses, i.e. to have a metal bar attached to each key and to have all those metal bars positioned beside each other. This precisely excluded a matrix pattern and explains the non-identical staggering of the different rows:

Sholes/Remington could easily go with a symmetrical stagger; in fact, some contemporary engineers did exactly that.