I can chime in here. I've been on a quest for the last 18 months for an apple layout mech keyboard. I thought I found one in the z70 pro board, but it's just subtly off. I want 4 keys to the left of space, and 5 to the right. I don't need both up and down arrows, just one there.
The first person to build a "row" based multi layout platform will really start to hit the right spot because some people would want a function row, others not, some would want an ISO enter, others ANSI, and as long as it was plug and play, it would eat the market whole.
People on Geekhack seem to love collecting keyboards. I just want one, that I can use, that will match my mac layout.
Hmm, 4 keys left of space and 5 to right is a really specific requirement. My Filco TKL JIS(Japanese Layout) has this and I made it fully reprogrammable using the Pegasus Hoof from here: http://bathroomepiphanies.com/controllers/
right, and that keyboard has a weird shift to try and accommodate the arrow. I wish it didn't. If I could pick row by row, I might spend more upfront due to cost of components, but not having to solder, and getting the "perfect" layout, I think it'd take off as long as it was stable.
It's one of those "I wish someone else solved this so I could spend my money on it vs. my time"
I think you're talking about the Minila Air, I removed that sugguestion as I noticed that it actually had 6 keys right of space. The keyboard I left has the correct number of keys on each side of the spacebar and arrows are separated: http://www.diatec.co.jp/products/det.php?prod_c=883
I'm gonna sound like a jerk, but the _dream_ is 60% with those 5 keys. That also has ISO enter :(
It's clearly possible, but nobody does it yet. I considered building my own board, but now I'm leaning modular. Thanks for the suggestion though, it's helpful to illustrate how "close" so many keyboards are and the obsession us KB nerds have.
The first person to build a "row" based multi layout platform will really start to hit the right spot because some people would want a function row, others not, some would want an ISO enter, others ANSI, and as long as it was plug and play, it would eat the market whole.
People on Geekhack seem to love collecting keyboards. I just want one, that I can use, that will match my mac layout.