System76 Launches Open Source Mechanical Keyboard

[whm1974]

40 minutes ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

I don't understand why that product exists. Nobody needs an open source keyboard, and the rather high price tag would mean that I would never be able to justify purchasing it.

There already Open Source Keyboards around. They are basically DIY that you put together with what you want.

[whm1974]

40 minutes ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

I don't understand why that product exists. Nobody needs an open source keyboard, and the rather high price tag would mean that I would never be able to justify purchasing it.

There already Open Source Keyboards around. They are basically DIY that you put together with what you want.

[SADS]

44 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

There already Open Source Keyboards around. They are basically DIY that you put together with what you want.

I just can't see how this is an appealing concept.

For this kind of money, you can buy something that doesn't do everything you want it to... and mod it to add that functionality. Probably for much less!

 

If you want to have a custom keyboard, that seems to be the way to go about it, rather than pay through the nose for something like this.

 

Maybe I'm missing something of the 'open source' appeal/USP here?

[whm1974]

3 minutes ago, SADS said:

I just can't see how this is an appealing concept.

For this kind of money, you can buy something that doesn't do everything you want it to... and mod it to add that functionality. Probably for much less!

 

If you want to have a custom keyboard, that seems to be the way to go about it, rather than pay through the nose for something like this.

 

Maybe I'm missing something of the 'open source' appeal/USP here?

Simply don't buy this KB from System76. It would be cheaper to DIY anyway. Both WASD and Max Keyboards will sell you a custom made KB for ~$200 not counting S/H.

 

Or you could Build Your Own if you wanted to. I looked into this, and seems to be a lot of work....

[Fasterthannothing]

Wow and the award for dumbest product ever goes to this! What do they think the high end mechanical keyboard market is? I don't get it nothing about this is special other than the made in the US part and it's certainly not worth the price.

[Blademaster91]

This keyboard seems way overpriced and that uneven key layout on the left side is just weird and annoying imo. Although i couldn't really see spending nearly $300 on a keyboard anyway, but some DIY keyboards for $200 or less are better than this one.

[AlTech]

18 hours ago, Arika S said:

why does a keyboard need to be open source.

Because it’s better to know your keyboard isn’t secretly logging your keystrokes and is doing what you want. Also, allows for full customisation through software. Although as I understand it the hardware itself is open source.

[Arika]

14 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Because it’s better to know your keyboard isn’t secretly logging your keys and is doing what you want

Has this ever actually been done where this would be a valid excuse? i would imagine any company that did would no longer be around, so pretty sure the big players are safe. It's like tin foil hat territory

 

15 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Also, allows for full customisation through software.

just like the majority of other gaming mechanical keyboards, but this one is more expensive.

 

15 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Although as I understand it the hardware itself is open source.

i dont see this as anything more than a gimmick to say "we're open source"...it's a keyboard.

[Guest]

It's a misunderstood product. Perhaps misunderstood the most by the people who created it.

A QMK base means all of the open source chatter is nothing new and not a platform to base all of your marketing on.

The layout is baffling to even the most seasoned keeb enthusiast. Key cap compatibility is.... ugh.

 

They seem to have no idea who was going to buy this.

A keeb enthusiast wouldn't. (https://www.keebtalk.com/t/system76-open-source-hotswap-mechanical-keyboard/12946)

A casual user wouldn't.

Someone who wants the open-sourceness is going to spend time researching only to find there are FAR better options.

It is a product with no real audience.

[gr33nbits]

Looks good, and I love the 100% open source, the dual space is awesome but the price... I mean comes with a lot of features even USB pass through.

[Falkentyne]

This keyboard makes the Ducky Year of the Rat, which had hot swappable Cherry MX switches, seem like a bargain, if you got it for MSRP

[Bananasplit_00]

This just seems like a really awful keyboard. I dont see why anyone would want or buy this. I dont think the design team has had much of a look at alternative layout keyboards....

[Falkentyne]

4 hours ago, James Evens said:

If you look at the GitHub repo you see that the switches are hot swappable.

I see that now.

[AlTech]

10 hours ago, Arika S said:

Has this ever actually been done where this would be a valid excuse? i would imagine any company that did would no longer be around, so pretty sure the big players are safe. It's like tin foil hat territory

 

just like the majority of other gaming mechanical keyboards, but this one is more expensive.
 

i dont see this as anything more than a gimmick to say "we're open source"...it's a keyboard.

The firmware and software for the keyboard is open source. My comment on customizability is regarding the fact that you can easily make changes to what each key press does in software, easily replace the firmware and software that control the keyboard etc.

 

Another reason that occurred to me as to why this is so expensive is that I believe System76 intends to make this a product you won’t need to replace for a long time.  The high asking price also shows that in their view that this isn’t some disposable product that’ll past a year or two, that it is a product with a high upfront cost: to be easy to repair, easy to get replacement parts, easy to get customer support for even years down the line. It’s also the cost of being made in America. Their labor costs aren’t cheap and they’re using expensive premium materials. 
 

Anyone seriously bothered by the price is likely not the target audience of this keyboard or is likely too used to the old way of paying lower costs for unrepairable and unsustainable products

 

If I knew this keyboard would last me 10 years and I could afford to spend that kind of money on a keyboard then I would have no problems with it’s asking price. It’s steep but it’s a front-loaded price with more coming out of it as the software and hardware ecosystem around it matures.

I’m not personally a fan of TKL for gaming tasks. For non gaming tasks I’d be fine with TKL but that’s a preference thing. I’m still personally waiting for a keyboard manufacturer/designer to make their keyboards spill resistant either partially or fully (similar to how Thinkpad keyboards are) but I realize that would add further expense and drive up cost further as well as requiring more R&D time. It does feel like a missed opportunity but this product is easily more than enough of a gamble for System76 as is and I doubt System76 care about the issue in the first place.

[whm1974]

Surely the Employees of System76 use Mechanical Keyboards at work and home. At the price they are asking I expect something Novel and a Major Improvement over other MKBs.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, whm1974 said:

Surely the Employees of System76 use Mechanical Keyboards at work and home. At the price they are asking I expect something Novel and a Major Improvement over other MKBs.

$285 is not a ton of money for most hotswap keebs, so they probably thought they were priced right.

However, they got so much wrong with the audience that would spend that much that's it's a ridiculous price point because the only people left that would want it are used to $100 being expensive for a keyboard.

[whm1974]

Just now, Den-Fi said:

$285 is not a ton of money for most hotswap keebs, so they probably thought they were priced right.

However, they got so much wrong with the audience that would spend that much that's it's a ridiculous price point because the only people left that would want it are used to $100 being expensive for a keyboard.

Well I don't ~$100 all that expensive for a really nice well made Keyboard. With decent Mechanical Switches. In fact it is damn cheap considering they will last a decade  or more.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

The firmware and software for the keyboard is open source. My comment on customizability is regarding the fact that you can easily make changes to what each key press does in software, easily replace the firmware and software that control the keyboard etc.

 

Another reason that occurred to me as to why this is so expensive is that I believe System76 intends to make this a product you won’t need to replace for a long time.  The high asking price also shows that in their view that this isn’t some disposable product that’ll past a year or two, that it is a product with a high upfront cost: to be easy to repair, easy to get replacement parts, easy to get customer support for even years down the line. It’s also the cost of being made in America. Their labor costs aren’t cheap and they’re using expensive premium materials. 
 

Anyone seriously bothered by the price is likely not the target audience of this keyboard or is likely too used to the old way of paying lower costs for unrepairable and unsustainable products

 

If I knew this keyboard would last me 10 years and I could afford to spend that kind of money on a keyboard then I would have no problems with it’s asking price. It’s steep but it’s a front-loaded price with more coming out of it as the software and hardware ecosystem around it matures.

I’m not personally a fan of TKL for gaming tasks. For non gaming tasks I’d be fine with TKL but that’s a preference thing. I’m still personally waiting for a keyboard manufacturer/designer to make their keyboards spill resistant either partially or fully (similar to how Thinkpad keyboards are) but I realize that would add further expense and drive up cost further as well as requiring more R&D time. It does feel like a missed opportunity but this product is easily more than enough of a gamble for System76 as is and I doubt System76 care about the issue in the first place.

Except they got too much of it wrong.

QMK is means all this talk of complete customization is.... well, nothing special.

 

As far as being long lasting, again.... not hard to do with a keeb half the cost. Esp since these keycaps are so terrible that they would need to be replaced quite quickly.

 

Repair/replace/upradability is at a common level with other hotswap boards in this price range.

 

15 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Anyone seriously bothered by the price is likely not the target audience of this keyboard or is likely too used to the old way of paying lower costs for unrepairable and unsustainable products

If I knew this keyboard would last me 10 years and I could afford to spend that kind of money on a keyboard then I would have no problems with it’s asking price. It’s steep but it’s a front-loaded price with more coming out of it as the software and hardware ecosystem around it matures.

This would be true, had they not gotten so many things wrong.

In the mech world, you would have done what is called an [IC] Interest check, and this board would have been ripped to shreds with critical feedback. Something that likely would have saved it because all of this would have been pointed out while it was still just a drawing. Companies like Glorious and Razer have been through this phase where they finally hop on r/mk and directly ask the people they intend to sell the product to what they want.

 

This will move a few units because System76 has a loyal fan base, but it missed the mark with literally anyone else.

 

[Jtalk4456]

On 5/13/2021 at 1:55 PM, Tensimeter said:

Summary

System76, the Colorado-based computer manufacturer, has launched their "Launch" open source mechanical keyboard for pre-order for $285 USD. The keyboard is tenkeyless, uses a detachable USB C cable, and acts as a USB hub with 2 USB A and USB C ports. There is a choice on order between tactile and clicky switches.

You had me until tenkeyless.

On 5/13/2021 at 2:04 PM, AndreiArgeanu said:

Also the RGB feels out of place with those keycaps

because no backlights, just light between the keys, not on the letters, makes the whole thing look too dark

On 5/13/2021 at 2:34 PM, Eschew said:

...

...

...Can't see this taking off, at least, not if their market is the custom keeb community. Keeb kit is rather basic (no gaskets, integrated plate, no weights) for a $280+ item.

  Reveal hidden contents

System76 Launch Configurable Keyboard

Also, very not a fan of this:

 

 

Irks my OCD.

Oh god, why did you have to point that out?! Now I can never unsee that. My soul will forever feel the hole left by that spacing...

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Jtalk4456 said:

Oh god, why did you have to point that out?! Now I can never unsee that. My soul will forever feel the hole left by that spacing...

Better than buying it then noticing it lol.

[Jtalk4456]

9 minutes ago, Den-Fi said:

Better than buying it then noticing it lol.

true but I didn't have the money for a custom keyboard anyways and now my soul is damaged XD

[AndreiArgeanu]

21 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

On 5/13/2021 at 7:04 PM, AndreiArgeanu said:

Expand  

because no backlights, just light between the keys, not on the letters, makes the whole thing look too dark

not only that but also the keycap color doesn't really work that well either with rgb.

[Elisis]

Ah yes, a company reskinning an already existing, popular firmware suite and using that fact to try and excuse their totally unattractive product. Classic. 

[whm1974]

21 hours ago, Elisis said:

Ah yes, a company reskinning an already existing, popular firmware suite and using that fact to try and excuse their totally unattractive product. Classic. 

Geez and I read a lot Reviews on System76 offerings and while they are good product, they sure are expensive for what they are.

[whm1974]

Forgot this:

 

For the Price they asking I can and rather spend that kind of money building my own custom Keyboard. Come to think of it, this can be done for ~$100 to ~$200. So you will have save money doing exactly that.