A New Keyboard Idea? (possible software mod)

Gimpenstein

Verified member
Nov 12, 2022
19
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Random cornfields in Iowa
Hey all,

So I've been glued to this website since I found the Cyborg by accident on Amazon. The more I read, the more I want one of these for my own. While I don't have one yet, I certainly plan on getting one as soon as I can afford it!

As a keyboard enthusiast, I'm always on the lookout for a new keyboard that works better for me. A lil backstory here: My mother had carpel tunnel surgery on both of her hands before I ever delved into computers (early 90s). So when I started playing on a computer in 1997, mom made sure I had a Microsoft Natural Touch keyboard (split keyboard). Thus, I've always used a split keyboard. There were a few occasions when I used a regular keyboard and quickly discovered that my hands are simply too big and I've always struggled with using regular keyboards as a result. When mechanical keyboards came around (razor, Logitech, etc.), I fell in love with the feel but still couldn't use them. Split keyboards seem to be hated by most as well, for some strange reason. This means I've replaced my keyboards at a rate of once every 2-3 years, always buying Microsoft natural keyboards w/ their squidkeys. I recently found a KinesisGaming keyboard, the board itself is actually split into two pieces, has tenting mods, and has cherry blue keys and omg I love this thing.

Now to get to my suggestion.

The layout of the Cyborg (and all of them really), puts a series of keys at our fingertips that would allow us to purchase both left and right pads to use as an effective keyboard replacement. But here comes the catch-22: To do this effectively, we would need to be able to assign multi-key-combos as their own button. For example, ASDFG would be keys 2, 6, 10, 15, and 19 (numbers according to customizer layout, as I don't have the software yet). Q would be 3, CAPS would be 36, Tab would be 36+3. In this sense, laying out the keystrokes would mean you could move your fingers in the direction of where the keys would be in a QWERTY layout (or however you want to set it up, of course), using multiple keys to strike the keys that would be at an angle (like B being 14 + 19). Number keys would be 3, 7, 11, 16 and Function 4, 8, 12, 17, and so on (though there aren't exactly enough keys to fully layout a regular keyboard - but work-arounds would be possible).
To do this, the software would need to be able to accommodate using multiple key presses as specific keys as well. I'm not sure if the software already does this, but I really like the idea of being able to assign two key combos as an individual input. Granted, this would take some getting used to, but I remember seeing experimental keyboards laid out in this fashion years ago (using key paddles to mimic alternate keys). Would take some tricky programming to make sure keys all work together correctly, but the software could be setup to work as it currently does and accommodating for multi-key inputs.

I'm aware of how easy this sounds compared to how complex it would be to program, but I think it would help with accommodating folks who struggle with regular keyboards, especially if a pair of cyborgs would replace a keyboard while being more comfortable and easier to use (lighter touch for keys for one thing).

In this sense, Azeron could develop a keyboard that incorporates the current designs into a keyboard replacement as well.

What do you think? I'm curious what others think of this idea.

Thanks for reading!