Industrial design files for Keychron keyboards and mice. 100+ models with CAD assets in STEP, DXF, DWG, and PDF. Source-available, with commercial use allowed for original compatible accessories within the license terms.
Industrial design files for Keychron keyboards and mice. 100+ models with CAD assets in STEP, DXF, DWG, and PDF. Source-available, with commercial use allowed for original compatible accessories within the license terms.
It is in regards to Keychron. If I wanted I’d switch back to my custom build QMK build (I’ve literally contributed to the QMK firmware my guy…) but instead I opted to shell out over $100 on hardware that’s now needing me to do the same amount of work as my $30 build. I went with Keychron as they literally have an article on their site saying the Launcher is available everywhere. I (wrongly) assumed that meant it was a PWA or some other offline-capable web application framework. It’s absolutely not and not what I thought I was paying for. Sure I can compile my own builds but that’s not what I thought I was buying here.
Let me capture your comment in a metaphor: I wanted to upgrade from my old beater Toyota that requires me to bang on it and hotwire it just to drive, so I buy a BMW because I can push one button and be on the road. Instead, my BMW shows up, and while it looks, sounds, and feels great, I’ve still got to hotwire and bang on it just to get it going. Sure it’s an improvement, but from a usability standpoint I’m in the same place I started.
I totally understand your frustration. It was a bit of bait and switch. I don’t like relying on a tool being hosted either because if Keychron goes away, it’s electronic waste at that point. I had a Steele series Apex keyboard that I loved. The per key RGB configuration was awesome. But their proprietary Mac software was buggy at best and often a pain in the ass to get what I wanted. I eventually gave up on them and switched to more open keyboards.
Honestly I’m not sure why they chose to have the configuration tool online. Seems like something they have to maintain long term which seems kinda dumb. Most of the QMK keyboards are VIA/Vial compatible which can be locally configured.
But after configuring my keyboard, I haven’t touched it. So in your analogy I had to solder the wire once and it’s been stable.
I personally chose Keychron (I have three) because they are excellent quality and have Mac keys by default. I love Macs but damn the keyboards just suck. I have several other keyboards in a drawer that were based on QMK or circuit python (KMK) but they required sourcing cases, keys, switches, etc none of which I had to do with my keychron, well unless I wanted to.