The *Ping* Award 2015

[webwit]

Use this category to name the worst keyboard or keyboard/input device related experience in 2015. Anything goes. You have to give a short motivation for each suggestion. This category is named after the infamous Summer of Ping. You cannot nominate yourself.

The first round ends on Thursday 3 December, 00:00hrs UTC.

Current suggestions (this list is frequently updated):

• Massdrop for their KC60 drop, for the bad packaging of GKM trays, for failing to even acknowledge the assistance or even existence of Deskthority in their latest marketing for Matteo's Topre set, whose design thread took place right here on DT, for the registration barrier, and for the Infinity Ergodox drop
• The Key Tronic foam and foil key switch. So much potential. So much disappointment.
• GhostOfHarry (GeekHack)'s amazing disappearance and subsequent return with a mountain of Tai-Hao doubleshots
• Cherry, for closing the UK office and for not letting you disable the windows key LEDs on the 6.0, and for using shitty PCB style stabilisers on the plate of the 6.0
• GMK for their trays
• Apple Butterfly Mechanism, this time Apple looked just at aesthetics completely
• KFC Tray Typer keyboard. For increasing pollution, most likely being awful to type on, and for being from the company that gave us something pingworthy last year

[guk]

Massdrop for their KC60 drop. They raised the limit from 200 to 300, then 500 units which the manufacturer(s) appearantly couldn't handle. When they finally delivered the keyboards with the most popular keycap option, it came with this sweet "novelty" keycap:

5 months after the drop was launched, some people are still waiting for the proper keycaps.

Don't think there's a guest mode for discussions, or is there?

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/kc60-mecha ... guest_open

[chzel]

I'd have to nominate Deskthority.
We deserve it.

[ramnes]

[webwit]

Luckily deskthority is disqualified as it cannot win its own awards.

[bhtooefr]

jacobolus's nomination of the KFC keyboard, for the resulting mockery made of the keyboard community.

I'm nominating a member, not Deskthority itself.

[Muirium]

Seconded! But it did technically happen in 2014. He might be spared eligibility on a technicality himself!

As for silliness this year… hmm… I can think of a few right here on DT… but I don't know if I quite want to tar and feather those involved with an official Ping…

[webwit]

Hmm I guess Muirium is right. However, we could nominate chzel for trying to nominate deskthority for voting for jacobolus' nomination!

[chzel]

I'll do anything for a wingnut!

[Halvar]

I'll nominate you for thinking that the Ping award is a wingnut!

[bhtooefr]

But isn't the cutoff things that happened since November 2014, typically? Otherwise, that would mean that November and December 2014 could not ever have anything pingworthy.

[Muirium]

I love technicalities! So I hereby nominate myself for the Unicomp GB of April 2014 that won't ship until February 2015. Because that makes me disqualified, right?

[chzel]

I'll nominate you for thinking that the Ping award is a wingnut!

OH, SUCH DISAPPOINTMENT! Forget it then...I'm leaving...

[Muirium]

Ah, c'mon, you still get a sweet limited edition artisan cap out of it:

[webwit]

I guess technically the cutoff for jacobolus would be the exact moment of his nomination, which makes him nominatable to either minus infinity or plus infinity.

[Muirium]

Better break out the transcendental functions floppy for the Kaypro…

[XMIT]

I nominate the Key Tronic foam and foil key switch. So much potential. So much disappointment.

[ramnes]

Just like any foam and foil switch, no?

[Hak Foo]

GhostOfHarry (GeekHack)'s amazing disappearance and subsequent return with a mountain of Tai-Hao doubleshots.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58110.0

It's got it all: Intrigue! Tragedy! ISO enter keys! And a happy ending for most users at the end.

However, I'm not sure the story will resonate here. Waiting > 1 year for a group buy is par for the course.

[andrewjoy]

(I say cherry, for closing the UK office and for not letting you disable the windows key LEDs on the 6.0, and for using shitty PCB style stabilisers on the plate of the 6.0. 2 things that spoil an amazing keyboard.

[ramnes]

GMK for their trays and Massdrop for the packaging:

[chzel]

Oh, come on, GMK trays would be fine if they were put in a fitting box! Massdrop OTH, ping on so many levels.

[Muirium]

Indeed.

So I nominate Massdrop for once again failing to even acknowledge the assistance or even existence of Deskthority in their latest marketing for Matteo's Topre set, whose design thread took place right here on DT!

Screen Shot 2015-11-28 at 11.52.57 a.m..png (395.33 KiB) Viewed 85392 times

Would it really hurt them to remember us, even once?

Sure, it's a whine. But every goddamn time? Fuck those guys! Let's give 'em the prize they deserve for their attitude towards our community.

[ramnes]

Oh, come on, GMK trays would be fine if they were put in a fitting box! Massdrop OTH, ping on so many levels.

I don't know, I didn't get one, but everyone seemed to agree on the fact that GMK tray weren't tight enough to keep the caps.

[Halvar]

Indeed.

So I nominate Massdrop for once again failing to even acknowledge the assistance or even existence of Deskthority in their latest marketing for Matteo's Topre set, whose design thread took place right here on DT!

matt3o always does extensive interest checks on both DT and GH, and rightly so. I wouldn't be surprised to find interest checks from him on Korean, Chinese and Italian forums nobody here ever heard of... You should know this from Granite.

You don't read GH, Massdrop doesn't read DT, both is fine, and I don't see that much of a difference...

[Muirium]

I don't pretend GH doesn't exist.

Sure, I don't visit. But I'm not rubbing their face in an unreciprocated courtesy either. Matteo's IC / development threads aren't on so many sites around the web that it would be awkward to enumerate the list. Isn't it just us and GH? Reddit at s stretch? 3 short names…

Meanwhile Massdrop's registration barrier deserves a nomination too. You agree on that surely? Where's your pride?

[matt3o]

Apple Butterfly Mechanism. This time Apple looked just at aesthetics completely ignoring functionality.

@Muirium: Topre asked to open the thread on GH and that was the official channel Topre followed during the IC. I believe that is the reason why only GH appeared over there. On the other hand the WhiteFox was almost exclusively discussed on DT.

[Findecanor]

Heh... Nominated for Best keyboard switch and Ping award. I doubt the other nominator have even tried it.
I have. It is only marginally better than typing on a touch screen.

[JanitorJoe]

Got a 5th nomination for Massdrop, this time for the Infinity Ergodox drop.

Lets see if I can remember everything that's happened:
1) Product description made no mention that it wasn't already a finished product and that a final working prototype hadn't been made yet. All talk of which was buried in the comments section (and many people apparently buy expensive things without doing any research).

2) First batch ships 3 1/2 months late after missing an overzealous June 29th estimate that only gave them 2 months to complete the prototype and mass production. People who didn't know it wasn't a finished product started getting upset when they only found out in late June that there was an issue with the pcb still being resolved.

3) Half of all orders are delayed because only 1000 lcd's were ordered instead of 2000.

4) An additional 200 or so orders still currently waiting because of difficulty sourcing enough lcd's.

5) Some lcd's are having issues with their rgb backlight because of a defect in the batch. Also some issues with the tightness of the case causing further issues with the lcd's.

6) A combination of weakly connected usb connectors and stiff usb cables starts causing connectors to break off of pcbs.


I stopped paying close attention before people started receiving their kits, so 4-6 might not be 100% accurate.

[bhtooefr]

Heh... Nominated for Best keyboard switch and Ping award. I doubt the other nominator have even tried it.
I have. It is only marginally better than typing on a touch screen.

I actually have tried it, and for what it was, found it interesting and liked it.

Also, it's my protest for the KFC board winning a wingnut last year, and not being eligible for this year's Ping.