I call this one Daisy ;) This set went to a user in Alabama. Units also shipped to Poland and Eureka CA. So hype for more feedback from early users! Current build queue is a couple weeks long, feel free to jump in if you want one!

Svalboard is my Datahand style small-volume production keyboard – I build every one by hand here in Pacifica, CA.

Learn more at [www.svalboard.com] and come check out the Datahand/Svalboard/lalboard discord https://discord.gg/kqNhKjxca where we geek out about this stuff!

    • claussen@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      When traditional methods literally cripple you… yeah. This isn’t a hobby thing, it’s more like a survival tool/prosthesis – RSI is way more prevalent than a lot of folks realize, and for people who make a living typing, it’s worth a lot of adaptation. I wish nobody needed my weird keyboards, but damn there are a lot of us RSI cripples out here! The weird-keeb enthusiasts are just a niche submarket in that context. :)

    • sin_free_for_00_days
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      1 year ago

      Once you try a different keyboard, and like it, you wonder what else you’ve been missing out on.

      • redchlorophyll@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I wish I could but man, I can’t even get used to a Xbox style controller for gaming, much less a different keyboard layout. More power to ya tho. I may not understand it, but the boards y’all pump out are novel.

        • sin_free_for_00_days
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          1 year ago

          Most of the weird-looking keyboards have the same QWERTY layout. If you can touch type, they don’t take long to get used to. I personally don’t get the people that change their keyboards to DVORAK or COLEMAK (Not sure why I shout those names, just the way I tend to write them). More power to them, but I think if I changed the layouts like that it would take me months to get back up to speed.

          • claussen@lemmy.worldOP
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            1 year ago

            If you don’t have RSI or fatigue issues, then yeah, QWERTY’s fine. I’ve been using QWERTY on Datahand for years. But the increase in comfort going to Dvorak/Colemak is huge, reducing the frequency of the worst movements. Dvorak basically fixed my dad’s RSI issues and he made the change at like age 65!

            • sin_free_for_00_days
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              1 year ago

              I tried out Colemak for a couple months about 10-15 years ago. I just could not get my stupid head to wrap around it. Knock on wood I haven’t had any pain issues, but I’ve been using an ergodox since I got one of those group buy ones that I had to solder together. I actually bought a stenography keyboard recently. I’m trying to spend a little bit each day learning it, but I expect that to take years.

          • Nora@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I use Colemak. The issue is not learning the layout really, although it does take some time. The issue is now your QWERTY ability is gone so you look like a caveman any time you have to type on a device that isn’t yours. It took me just as much time to forget Colemak and go back to QWERTY.

            However, I recently decided to learn Colemak while switching back to QWERTY intermittently to be able to use both. I guess I still have the muscle memory since I’m learning it much quicker this time, but my QWERTY is still perfectly fine.

            tl;dr work is boring so im melting my brain with multiple keyboard layouts lol

            • Leilys@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              1 year ago

              I got a Sofle V2 and committed to using Colemak DHm on it. Typing’s a bit awkward but relatively fluid on both keyboards, since split keyboard muscle memory is slightly different.

              Not very good at mod layering myself, but it’s been a pretty fun time. Only kind of sucks when my split is plugged in and I boot up a game and my character just backs off a cliff cuz it’s not WASD.

          • dpflug@hachyderm.io
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            1 year ago

            @sin_free_for_00_days YMMV, but it only took me a month to get back to my previous speed when switching to Dvorak. Years later, I can still type QWERTY. A bit slower, but not unreasonable.

            The difference in comfort is so stark I could never go back.

          • pixelprimer@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            For me swapping to Colemak was mostly comfort as you move your fingers way less. Plus I never actually learned how to touch type on QWERTY anyway, so if I was going to have to learn why not something that’s just better hahaha. If I was comfortable on QWERTY and could touch type I probably wouldn’t have swapped.

          • redchlorophyll@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Haha, I grew up on the Gameboy Advanced, so pretty close! But most of my gaming happens with a good old mouse and keyboard.

    • athos77@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      This looks like it’s great for a disabled person: you can do the entire keyboard without moving anything other than your fingers, while your hand rests on a nice platform built to support it without fatigue. If it’s something you need, it looks really nice!