There are not many new things that really grip my attention but this, with its warm, welcoming beige aesthetic and leanings to the Commodore 64 look and feel along with the modern improvements in mechanical switches is a perfect marriage of traditional look with modern enhancements.
At the time of writing, this keyboard is only available for pre-order and I am strongly considering making the purchase because of my weakness for this particular color of beige. The features of this keyboard appear to be quite robust and although they don’t directly support Linux. I am willing to bet that it would not be an issue at all. Would it be worth the $110 price tag? I’m leaning towards yes but without letting my fingers dance across the keyboard, I can’t be certain…. but I’m leaning towards yes.
Design
The designers of this keyboard took a lot of the look of the Commodore 64, even down to the contoured key profile. Looking at this keyboard, I would have loved to have had the inverted “T” layout for the arrow keys.
This also comes with a set of “Super Buttons” and a Super Stick and who doesn’t like large red programmable buttons.
The feature of this keyboard along with the buttons and stick is that it is programmable. You can not only assign functions to the giant red buttons or macros. There is an application for Windows to do this sort of trickery. Not sure if there is a Linux solution but if Reddit is a good source. This is the driver you should use with the stick and buttons.
https://github.com/medusalix/xone
This 87 key peripheral uses Kailh Box White switches, have a rather nice sound to them if the promotional video is of any indication.
This promotional video certainly does appeal to my sense of nostalgia and give a sense of quality based on the sounds. I certainly do believe that this was designed with love and care by technology enthusiasts with an appreciation for computer history.
Connectivity
There are three options for connecting this keyboard to your computer.
Bluetooth® 5.0
Wireless 2.4G
Wired USB
That means you should have basic functionality on anything you connect it to. It is very convenient to have these three options which allows you to connect it to pretty much any modern piece of equipment you may have.
How Would I Use It?
At the very basic level, I would probably use it at work along with my Framework Laptop and replace the keyboard I have there with something every so slightly bigger. Not that what I have is awful, I just find I would like separate Function keys. It would also underscore the level of nerd I am.
What I am doing is envisioning a kind of retro Commodore 64 like machine, something akin to a Commodore 128D, perhaps, but in the style of the Commodore 64. Another idea would be to perhaps take one of those full sized towers cases, paint it the right shade of beige and use this as the keyboard for it.
I absolutely adore my Commodore 64x / My Retro Computer, a machine that I built to be my primary desktop but truth be told, it is a bit noisy with the fans and such but I have also thought of making that “power tower” computer with all the bays for every drive I would ever want or need. I would love to have some sort of machine that was the perfect bridge of old hardware along with new and modern hardware and bridge the gap to everything that I own in one, neat, full-sized package. This keyboard is sort of reinvigorating that desire to build something like this.
Final Thoughts
The design of this keyboard looks fantastic. I do own a couple 8BitDo controllers and I am quite impressed with the quality of workmanship in their devices. If that is any indicator of how this keyboard would operate, I am quite confident in what this keyboard would deliver.
There is but one criticism that I have for this keyboard and that is the lack of PETSCII keys printed on the front of each key. With enough patience, someone could obviously do it but it would have been worth the cost of admission. Although, this keyboard is on the high side what I would be willing to spend the extra few bucks for that feature.
I have no plans to ever replace my Commodore 64x (Impostor) computer but I might like to add another workstation someplace. Some kind of workstation, also running openSUSE Tubleweed to do some function that requires a lot of processing power. I would make this the ultimate beast of a computer. Maybe it’s time to buy this keyboard and dust off some old ideas and nurture that 10 year old version of me. I think he’d really like that.
References
https://www.8bitdo.com/retro-mechanical-keyboard-c64
https://deskthority.net/wiki/Keyboard_profile
https://youtu.be/5T0_zj8nxTM
C64x