Happy New Year

As we embark on the 2018 journey, I wish you all a happy new year.  CES is about to start, so there may be some interesting mechanical keyboard related news coming up.  Let's see what this year brings.  Personally, 2017 was more of a quiet year for me because I am getting more and more settled with Topre type switch based keyboard.  However, I do look forward to see what innovations 2018 have in store.  Hopefully it's more than just RGB LED lighting.  :)

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy a fantastic time with friends, family and loved ones.  It's the season of peace and reconciliation.  It is a season of reconnecting with long lost friends, saying sorry and returning home.  It is a season to remember that the heaven revealed the most wondrous gift of all- a baby boy who would take away the sins of the world and restored humanity's relationship with God.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow!  Time flies.  I realize that I haven't had much of a chance to update the blog lately. However, I do want to take this time to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  Of course, Christmas shopping season is upon us once again and there are tons of great keyboard deals out there.  However, I think it's important to be thankful first.  So, I suppose it is fitting that Thanksgiving comes first before the holiday shopping.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Big Logitech devices sales at Best Buy

Since other sales sites cover this type of news much better, I am just putting this out there in case someone missed it.  Anyway, looks like the traditional Black Friday sale in north America is happening a bit earlier than expected.  So, for those readers in the NA area, the retailer Best Buy is having some early BF sales.  A few of the Orion Spectrum  using Rom-G switch keyboards are on sale with very reasonable asking price.  So if you are in the market for one, enjoy!  Oh, some gaming mice and headphones are also on sale.

SteelSeries introduces Apex M750, featuring in-house designed switch

SteelSeries is no stranger to mechanical keyboards and just introduced Apex M750.  The keyboard has all the usual gamer friendly features as well as an in-house designed keyboard switch named QX2.  To my untrained eye, the QX2 is basically a tweaked rendition of the classical Cherry MX red.  The specs are pretty Cherry like as well, having about 40g actuation force, 2mm activation distance with linear resistance.  Of course, it is Cherry MX stem compatible to take advantage of that huge aftermarket key caps availability along with the usual durability claims.  One interesting thing is SteelSeries implying that is a pretty silent design.  So, those looking for a quiet linear keyboard may want to test it out first since there aren't that many silent Cherry MX red clones out there.

The keyboard retails for $140 US dollars.  So, it is not exactly bargain of the week, but places it in the mid-tier pricing range.  Those who are invested into SteelSeries ecosystem are likely to check it out.  For the outsiders looking in, this might tempt a few folks to take another look.

Another nifty feature for optical switches

Circuit design from Tech Resources

A couple of posting ago, I was wondering out loud what advantages an optical switch brings to the table that a mechanical switch cannot do or can only do so at a higher cost.  Well, I have thought that analog function might be the killer feature.

It's Computex time in Taiwan and I think I found one of the reasons optical switches might be better.  It's easier to water proof.  Gigabyte, a Taiwanese computer component maker debuted Aorus K9 keyboard.  An attendee has shot a video of it at the booth demonstrating such thing.  According to Tech Report, this keyboard is indeed outfit with an proprietary optical switch called Flaretech that is water resistant.  Gigabyte did not note any IP certification for the board.  So, we will settle on this device being water resistant rather water-proof.

Now, this is an interesting idea that I didn't think about, as I view Hall Effect switch to be better suited for this particular application.  However, it does make sense when it is thought out and I am glad people smarter than I am have thought carefully about it.  Since Gigabyte targets the gaming market with this particular board, I think being water resistance is a good feature to sell.  Accident happens, especially with an intense gaming session and drinks can spoil easily when the actions kicks into high gear.  So, it's one less thing to worry about.  If indeed there is a spoil, well, just wash it off, dry it and the board should be back for duty then.

Regarding to the Flaretech switch, no information has come out about the physical build of the switch itself, but I have a feeling that it will not wander too far from the Cherry MX design.  Hopefully Gigabyte will share some more information about this new switch in the near future.

Topre Realforce 104UG-HiPro (YK2100) image gallery

Here's the image gallery from a well used and loved 104UG-HiPro.  For some reason, Topre decided to give it an unusual model number YK2100, but it is indeed a bit different from the regular Topre Realforce around....

Front view

Left side view

Right side view

Key cap view, notice the keys are higher than the regular caps

Key cap view, on the side, it is definitely taller

Key cap view, on the back side

The switch view, notice the extra support casing around the center column

Key cap and switch view

Back side view

Keyboard foot retracted

Keyboard foot extended