HHKB Studio

[Findecanor]

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hhkb-studio

Trackpoint. Kailh hot-swap mechanical linear "silent box", not Topre.
Four "gesture pads": touch-sensitive strips along the sides and front, for e.g. scrolling.

[webwit]

Almost qHack... getting there.

[Findecanor]

Speaking of which ... Was the MiniGuru ever released?

[wobbled]

Not Topre, Not interested

[depletedvespene]

Not a good form factor.
Not a good physical layout.
And now... no "good feeling of oneness" switch, either.

Seems to me that the only thing distinguishing this keeb from a cheap-ass clone is the brand name slapped on it. Not even the integrated mouse-cl◉t manages to make an impression of "improvement".

[depletedvespene]

A little gold nugget at 2:22: “Studio is the first in the Happy Hacking keyboard series to use mechanical switches”.

That settles it, then: Topre-based keyboards aren't mechanical; manufacturer says so. Snotty HHKB-lovers who have been insisting in saying otherwise for years have now been officially disavowed.

[Findecanor]

The manuals and specs are up. I see no mention anywhere if the middle mouse button can be configured to be a scroll-toggle like the middle button on Thinkpads.
The config program is available only for Mac and MS-Windows. t looks as if configurations are stored on the keyboard, not requiring a program to run in the background, but I think that is something that needs to be clarified.

Completely unimportant information: The narrator sounds like Peter von Gomm: a voice actor and youtuber who lives in Tokyo. (Yes, I'm a total weeb who subscribes to his channel for some reason...)

[Muirium]

If it ain't Topre, it ain't HHKB.

[zrrion]

That settles it, then: Topre-based keyboards aren't mechanical; manufacturer says so.

well of course they aren't mechanical, they're capacitive :y

[Muirium]

I’m guessing Fujitsu's PFU, which owns the HHKB brand, has been itching to go elsewhere ever since the biggest change they could get out of Topre was a more bulbous case design. The HHKB as we know it is a Topre product: they make the PCB, the domes, the sliders and the springs. Not to mention the caps, of course. Getting touchpads on the thing wasn't going to fly at Topre. The consequence then is you must go elsewhere for absolutely everything in the keyboard.

Quite how an HHKB branded Kailh 60% will sell is an interesting experiment, I'll grant them that. No doubt it's "provocatively" priced.

[wobbled]

Worth pointing out that PFU has this as just another product line (like hhkb lite and hhkb professional) they will still be using topre for their professional line of products thankfully.

[Muirium]

True. I unintentionally implied they've split up with Topre for good. Fortunately that's not the case. Topre evidently doesn't demand exclusivity as their OEM. But this keyboard, if successful, will be a taste of more to come.

[wobbled]

I think it’s a massive shame there’s no topre version, that would be quite the keyboard, even if they need to make it wired

[webwit]

Those gesture pads sound really cool. I really liked that about the Fingerworks Touchstream, especially for cursor movement.

[Muirium]

And yet the phone touchscreens now so ubiquitous around the world—Fingerworks' living legacy—are always painful for cursor movement and text selection. The irony!

[depletedvespene]

And yet the phone touchscreens now so ubiquitous around the world—Fingerworks' living legacy—are always painful for cursor movement and text selection. The irony!

Painful cursor movement and text selection is the core of the HHKB experience, so that part does check out.

[Muirium]

You should see me on mine. I never leave home row for fundamental basics like text editing. And I've made macros for whole sequences of manipulations, mapped to Control and a single key apiece. Use them even on the big boards, as they're so much quicker than wandering off to find the inverted T.

Re: Fingerworks. If iOS had Karabiner, I would be unstoppable!

[Findecanor]

If you're watching it on Youtube, you could enable subtitles and set them to be auto-translated to English ... although it leaves a bit to be desired.

• Apparently there's also a Japanese-layout version of the Studio.
• The 6u space bar is non-standard: it has stabiliser spacing like a 6.25u space bar.

Edit: Sorry. stabiliser spacing.

[Muirium]

• The 6u space bar is non-standard: it has spacing like a 6.25u space bar.

What that mean? Are they talking about the stabilisers?

If the spacebar is non-standard in any way, that’s a huge mistake. This board’s crying out for all those MX-mount “HHKB layout” keysets out there for a showy upgrade in caps. Might as well embrace the opportunity instead of denying it from the start.

[webwit]

That won't work anyway because of the keys around the trackpoint?

[Muirium]

Nothing a little artful drilling can’t overcome there. I’ve seen that done quite nicely, though nothing I’d dare try on nice caps myself!