Comment on How do I avoid enshitification of my keyboard and mouse
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Keyboard wise? At this point, prices have dropped enough that there is no real reason to go to one of the major manufacturers for anything that isn’t disposable. And basically “all” of the smaller batch mechanical keyboards are dependent on QMK or VIA to some degree which means you can customize them on any machine that can run chrome.
For the logitech price point/build quality? Unless you know why you don’t want one, you can’t go wrong with a Keychron (www.keychron.com). The price and build quality isn’t “the best” but it is very much on par with the logitechs and razers of the world and they are perfect for someone who just wants “a keyboard that works” or someone who wants to learn what they ACTUALLY want out of a keyboard.
Mouse wise? There are an increasing number of “third parties” but… they basically all suck unless you are going to go crazy and mod them. And while I think the firmware matters less in these cases, there are an increasing number of qmk/via mice but… they mostly feel “cheap” or like they are just proving the viability. I have a friend with a ploopy but even he doesn’t really recommend it. So… you are still more or less suck with logitech and razer and the like for that. But hopefully as those companies lock their hardware down more it will lead to something in between “here is a cheap no name ergonomic mouse” and “here is a five hundred dollar mouse”.
hedgehog@ttrpg.network 2 months ago
The Keychron K2 and K6 both look solid. Starting at $70 for a Bluetooth/wired mechanical keyboard, RGB backlighting, extra keycaps for Macs / OS toggles… there’s even a hot swappable variant for $10 more (or heck, on sale for $70), option for an aluminum frame… shame they don’t run on QMK.
Oh - turns out they have several keyboards that do run QMK/VIA, like the K6 Pro.
If I used staggered keyboards for anything other than gaming, or if I didn’t already have a wireless gaming keyboard, I’d be considering one.
wjrii@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Keychron’s relationship with QMK is a touch fraught. If they claim a wireless board supports QMK, it only truly supports it in wired mode. In wireless mode, they’re either using a secondary MCU or an off-license fork of QMK, as the mainline doesn’t for licensing reasons.
Out of curiosity, what is your non-gaming keyboard? Lot’s of fun stuff over at !ergomechkeyboards@lemmy.world
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 2 months ago
Yeah. Keychrons are kind of a clusterfuck because they release like five limited runs every month. But… basically all of those are the same feature sets but might have slightly different internals based on whatever they bought in bulk the previous month. It DOES make figuring out what to buy kind of annoying but… logitech and razer have been doing that for years anyway.
HatchetHaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months ago
to add to the subject of gaming, i personally do not recommend using a keychron for gaming. the latency, at least the one i’m on (keychron C1) is quite a noticeable downgrade from the logitech keyboard i switched from, though at least it feels and sounds miles better than the logitech.
as a disclaimer, i am very sensitive to that latency since i’m a modern tetris player. it’s also way less noticeable in shooters and other 3D action games, so for most people it’s fine.
for a gaming keyboard from a non-shitty company, you can’t get much better than a wooting.