Planck vs Preonic vs Subatomic (Keyboards)

[AstonJ]

@svilen

They have a video, which is also accessible in the Advanced Settings, watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1rj9ZSBggg

Ah thanks - that looks very cool!

@svilen

Nah, I’ll stick to qwerty. I’m quite comfortable with it, and I see no reason to change.

No idea if this is real but…

10fastfingers: 227WPM Normal {Colemak}

Seriously tho, Dusty’s article (posted here) is worth a read, here’s an excerpt:

So here we are, on a layout that—no matter how you look at it—was not designed for the modern computer typist. Should we try to fix it? What would be some possible advantages? Here is a partial list:

• typing speed
• avoiding repetitive strain (RSI)
• ergonomics
• typing comfort and enjoyment
• efficient processes feel better than inefficient ones, even when the end result is the same—they improve our emotional well-being and quality of life

@svilen

I’d definitely make one change in the layout though: swap the Enter key with the quotes key. I’m used to the Enter key being right underneath Backspace

Haha… I’m sure your customisations won’t stop there

@SmithyTT

What can you actually use them for?

Well, a rotary encoder twists clockwise and counter clockwise. It lends itself to actions that you’d otherwise need to repeatedly press a button for, and to actions that have both a forward and a reverse direction. For example:

• Audio control, to turn the volume up or down;
• Scrolling, to scroll up or down a page or document with Page Up and Page Down;
• Tabbing, to go to the previous or next browser tab with for example Control Tab and Control Shift Tab;
• Window movement, to go to the previous or next window with Alt Tab and Alt Shift Tab;
• History scrubbing, to perform undo and redo;
• Scrolling horizontally by word, with Control Arrow Left and Control Arrow Right (if you hold down shift while turning the encoder, you can select words too!);
• Scrolling through search results, with Find Next and Find Previous when you map the encoder actions to your text editor’s shortcuts.

Of course, you can program them to do anything. I’ve seen people program common text snippets so you can enter text with the simple turn of the encoder.

Thanks Smithy!

I quite like the look of where one is place in the keyboard in this post. I wonder if PlanckEZ’s can make use of them actually…