Moonlander Keyboard (Mechanical) (Ergonomic) (Split) (Ortholinear)

120 WPM!! That’s about twice as fast as me :rofl:

I posted a thread here:

Maybe you can post in there every couple of months to keep track of how you’re progressing :smiley:

I think I should mention that in the speed test thread too - it will be interesting seeing whether the faster types are using custom or other layouts…

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Is anyone interested in a brand new White / Kailh Copper? I’m in Los Angeles and can meet up locally or ship at my expense. Mine just arrived today and I already know I’m not going to have time to learn a new layout for a while. I’ll leave this offer up here for a week. Thanks!

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You didn’t say how much you want for it @togepi420 :slight_smile:

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Oops. $350 shipped

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Just got mine a few days ago. This is my current layout (work in progress).

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Nice one @dasdom… you’ll have to post some pics :nerd_face:

I kinda wish I kept my Moonlander order now instead of the Planck, tho tbh, neither are ideal for me. I think the next iteration of the Moonlander might be tho!

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I’ll keep the Planck for when office days return. Right now I’m 100% remote. The Moonlander is to big to carry around, I guess.

But even though I still need to get used to the layout, I’m already loving it.

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Looks good @dasdom!

I’ll be curious to know how much you all use the wrist rests as it’s the thing that put me off the Moonlander the most…

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I use it. But if you don’t like it, you can easily remove it.

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I use it also, and prefer a hard wrist rest personally.

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Thanks both… I guessed they might be getting used.

Are you using the thumb keys much other than maybe the red triangle and the first?

Do you find it is just right as it is or are there any improvements/changes you’d make to it?

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Yep!

| Editor shortcut | ------------------------ | Fullscreen |
| Back | Enter | Macro | -------- | Macro | Escape | Space |

Also the Back (navigation layer) and Space (symbol layer) activate their respective layer when held.

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Thanks Finner (I was wondering whether it might be worth them cutting down on those keys to make the keyboard more streamlined :man_shrugging:)

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You could always take them off if yourself if you don’t like them.
From ZSA site:

image|547x600

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My Moonlander is gathering dust on my big desk behind my Mac. Used it 3 times but was too frustrated by the huge productivity hit. :frowning: But I have a lot going on still so it’s definitely not a priority. I’ll periodically be re-plugging it and trying really hard to get used to it. But so far it has been a struggle with the generic buttons. I actually printed out the default layout so I can reach for the keys with less delay.

I am getting there but it’s very far from enjoyable.

Build quality, ability to make it your own ergonomic style, and typing experience are out of this world though. I just wish I was able to get used to it quicker.

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I’ve had my Moonlander for a few weeks now. Having spent about 12 hours so far just trying to set it up (much less become proficient), I can’t imagine able to use it for actual development. My typing speed isn’t the concern, it simply doesn’t have enough keys. Coding requires the constant use of many symbol, modifier, and navigation keys. You can try and shove these into layers, but then this requires switching back and forth between layers, which is slower and takes up yet more keys for layer switching, and is a huge mental shift to try and relearn.

Maybe I’ll get there, but it’s becoming hard to justify the time sink.

For just typing emails etc. it seems like it’d be nice, and it’s a good build.

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I’m surprised at both how quickly I was able to adopt a brand new layout and keyboard setup, and at the same time how hard it is to feel 100% productive with the moonlander. I still rely on my Apple keyboard more than I should when I know I need to just crank something out, so there is definitely work that has to happen to make the moonlander worth it. I’m going to get back into doing the training exercises to try and boost my typing speed on the moonlander up - especially when it comes to symbols. I may yet tweak my layout to better support symbol access, but so far its not been too bad.

I’m confident that the moonlander can become the keyboard I use for work if I’m willing to put in the reps to get there.

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Anyone else spot @brentjanderson’s layout featured in the ZSA newsletter :smiley:

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As an update, I haven’t used my Apple Magic Keyboard in over a week, and I’ve gotten my prose typing speed up to 82 WPM at 97% accuracy. I’m still working on the accuracy, but it’s getting better.

A few learnings:

  1. I wish I’d bought a key tester up front, as I wonder if I’d have enjoyed a different key better. Even so, the MX Browns aren’t bad.
  2. Typing practice is so important - 5 minutes once a day over a few weeks makes a huge difference.
  3. It’s not bad to switch back to your old keyboard. I’m finding that I’m still able to use the QWERTY keyboard without too much trouble shifting between the two, and that is comforting since not all keyboards are like mine.
  4. I’ve made gradual tweaks to my layout over time, and it’s really starting to get to be just right. It was good to go nuts on all the stuff it can do (tap dance, layers, etc). I’ve come to value accuracy, so layer shifts are all momentary and not permanent.
  5. Is it worth all this? Maybe. It has been fun to try, and I’m far more mindful of how I interact with the machine. Some things are about the same speed, some things might be a bit slower, I don’t think anything has been so tremendously life-changing at this point to make me feel like it’s a 10x improvement. Even so, it has been very fun and enjoyable to dig into and make it work. I would get mine again for sure.

Tl;dr - I would get my moonlander again, follow a similar layout design process, but spend more time in typing practice to get up to speed.

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Also, if you’re using my layout or a fork of it, let me know! I’d love to reincorporate ideas into my workflow to make it a bit better.

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