The *Ping* Award 2015

[webwit]

Please vote for your winner of the The *Ping* Award 2015. What was the worst keyboard or keyboard/input device related experience in 2015?

This is the final round. See the first round and second round for reference.

The final round ends on Monday 14 December, 20:00hrs UTC. You can change your vote until the end of the round. The winner and full results will be released soon after the vote closes. EDIT: The winner has been announced here.

The official nominees are:

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


Working title, later renamed by marketing to the euphemistic "butterfly".

Cherry for multiple reasons
For closing the UK office, 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.


Cherry UK offices restyling, before & after.

GMK for their trays
GMK made some cool keycap trays so your keycap sets can be shipped neatly and orderly to the customers. Except no one seemed to have tested if they in fact do.


Fail.

Massdrop for multiple reasons
You must be logged in on Massdrop to view this nomination.


In order to collect and sell your data, please log in to view more about Massdrop's scruffy KC60 and Infinity Ergodox drops, the bad packaging of GKM trays, and the failure to even acknowledge the assistance or even existence of Deskthority in Massdrop's latest marketing for Matteo's Topre set (whose design thread took place right here on DT).

[bhtooefr]

The tray typer didn't make it? Damn.

[webwit]

The good news is that the tray typer not making it to the final round is eligible for nomination in next year's *Ping* Award.

[scottc]

> You must be logged in on Massdrop to view this nomination.

Fantastic. I'd probably vote for this one, but I don't want to give Massdrop the attention that they so desperately crave...

[ramnes]

Damn, we forgot to talk about Massdrop huge fail with their CNC HHKB case.

[E3E]

Damn, we forgot to talk about Massdrop huge fail with their CNC HHKB case.

Was there an MQO on those? I'm so curious to see what people think of them, though that really uninspired and blocky design was pretty hideous.

[ramnes]

Yeah, there was a MOQ, something around 20 if I remember correctly.

[E3E]

Seems like the results were really underwhelming. Well, hopefully a revised design that can make everyone happy comes around eventually. IIRC, there were two special anniversary editions that came out in very limited quantities that had aluminum cases.

I've never seen anyone mention them outside of being an observer. The cases were really elegant though, imo.

[JanitorJoe]

Too many reason to not vote for Massdrop.

Also this is the first time I zoomed in and noticed the GMK sticker saying open and handle with care. That's beautiful.

[webwit]

The vote closes on Monday 14 December at 20:00 UTC. Vote now!

The two nominees with currently the most votes are (in alphabetical order):

Spoiler:

Apple Butterfly Mechanism
Massdrop for multiple reasons

[KRKS]

I don't get the Apple nomination voters. Sure, it does feel meh, but I'd rather type or even play games on that than anything made by Razer.

[Hak Foo]

You're the wealthiest corporation since the demise of the Dutch East Indies operation; you decide "let's spend R&D money to make keyboards better." You could do pretty much *anything*-- bring back capsense, develop an adjustable weighting technology, innovate a new layout, figure out how to get some decent feel into a laptop key... and what do you go for? A means to make things thinner.

[codemonkeymike]

Apple keyboard, because they are pushing the market to thinner crappier keyboards. We are all worse off because of their need for thinner design.

[Muirium]

Unless you plug a 1979 IBM beamspring into your Mac, like I do. That board's thicker than a 27" iMac, let alone my laptop!

[codemonkeymike]

Got my Ergodox hooked up to my mac, that being said cherry/alps switches alone are taller then a macbook. That is without keycaps or bottom plate etc etc.

[riffraff]

I haven't been online in awhile and all these seem like pretty worthy candidates. But the Massdrop one, that won my heart.

[TuxKey]

Ahh to bad missed this one..
But really can't fully agree with this one..

I really love Massdrop but it's not for people living in the EU unless you like paying 40% ??

Current example ; WhiteFox Keyboard Assembled - Cherry MX-clear
- keyboard $204
- shipping $13 (Netherlands)
TOTAL ; $217
- euro coversion €200
- tax 21%
- DHL custom fee 10%
Grand Total €262

For the Varmilo VA68M we would have to pay $300 !! that's crazy..
After paying around €65 to €80 extra on drops that i got from massdrop i got really really picky about what i buy..
Thy would have to bring down the price so people living in the EU could also enjoy a real saving..

But that's live.

[codemonkeymike]

Cant blame massdrop for their shipping fee, they use a drop shipper and plus shipping across seas is actually really expensive.

[SL89]

Cant blame massdrop for their shipping fee, they use a drop shipper and plus shipping across seas is actually really expensive.

Massdrop Apologist... burn the heretic

[Muirium]

Ungodly expensive foreign shipping is the least of their sins. That bastard of a registration wall is the one that nags me. And the arbitrary restrictions on information even to their members. They're gaming their customers. I understand why — hype optimisation and cold hard cash — but I don't have to like it. Massdrop's venture capital is very welcome, as is their teamwork with Matteo and others deep inside the community, but they could learn a lot when it comes to treating their customers as anything better than excitable eyeballs with ever ready wallets.

Just look at the percentage who voted for them! They're turning a lot of people off with their antics. I think they'd make more money and win more friends by treating us better so we can trust them better too.

Anyway, I'm not giving them my Ping! Webwit can pull another one from the stash…

[TuxKey]

@codemonkeymike I partially agree with you.

i dont't blame them for the shipping fee as is.
But i do expect a bit more from them when it comes to finding a solution for the shopping / custom fees /tax fee.
If artists like U2 can find a loophole by using postal box constructions in different countries thereby avoiding the need to pay tax..Massdrop would be able to ship from amazon or a different third party solution..
There is always a solution but the question is are they willing ??