A lot of potential non-US-buyers might wish they could buy a Librem 14 with a different keyboard-layout. If you think, you would buy a Librem 14 if it had a certain keyboard-layout, please leave your vote to give Purism an idea what to expect.
If you’d like to see more layouts not represented yet, add a message to this thread mentioning the new layout, i’ll add them (poll can’t be modified anymore, but i’ll count them manually below poll).
Chinese
Swedish
French
Spanish
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
German
0voters
Additinal votes:
UK 5
Finnish 1
Dvorak/Blank 1
Swiss 2
To be added:
UK International (big Enter)
Finnish
Dvorak/Blank
Swiss
To be modified:
Swedish (big Enter/ISO)
German (big Enter/ISO)
Additionally to allow for a more precise idea, here’s a second one:
I’d only buy a Librem 14 completely assembled with my wished keyboard-layout
I’d also buy a Librem 14 + a separate set of interchangeable keycaps for my keyboard-layout and swap the caps myself
0voters
Info: UK, Swedish and German-layout use a big Enter - ISO. That differs from small Enter US-layout (ANSI) physically.
Conclusion so far (to be updated later)
physically different keyboard-layouts: 2 (US - small enter - ANSI; UK - big enter - ISO)
different keyboard-layouts (possible via keycap-change): 7
percentage of users that would change keycaps themself: 68%
UK International (I prefer the the big “enter” key, that’s something you can’t replace with swapping key caps, it’s physically different than the US layout).
Exactly! That is something those who say “Simply use stickers” don’t take into consideration. That is my problem too, and why I would like to see a Swedish layout.
German keyboards have the big enter, too. Would mean at least 2 non-directly interchangeable layouts - say US vs. UK?
Oh shit. Can’t change the poll anymore. It’s not possible after the first 5 minutes it told me. Can any more priviledged user/admin change it? If not, that would be a pity.
Finnish layout (most laptop layout models are identical with swedish but not all). Big enter would be nice, but might come in the way of having enough keys in that space. But if it’s an option, then yes.
Your image misses the best part - PgUp and PgDown together with Delete, home, end buttons on the top right. But your point is fully correct - Brilliant keyboard.
Thanks for the hint to ANSI vs. ISO. As poll’s not changeable anymore, i’ll update the entry-post once somebody is adding a post for a vote regarding a layout not represented. It might give an interesting rough overview what people are looking for.
As Purism itself should have a good overview which keyboard-layouts were already delivered to customers having bought Purisms laptops, both things should give at least an idea.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want one regardless of which particular keyboard layout they install, as long as they don’t adhere to the layout completely. I wish laptop manufacturers would stop trying to deviate from the standard keyboard layout. But unfortunately it’s even worse than that: for some inexplicable reason they’re changing it up with every model they release. And they make insane layout decisions that totally ruin the experience. If you’d apply current laptop design practices to the field of taxidermy, you’d end up with the lion of Gripsholm Castle…
I own a Thinkpad X220, T520 and W520. They all have the same fully standard keyboard layout (sans numpad). They have decent keys with enough travel that feel very similar to the keys on my bog-standard desktop keyboard. I don’t need to adapt when switching between them and the desktop. But if I got myself a modern laptop, I’d have to learn to type all over again with each new machine that I buy. I mean, just look at the Librem 14:
Arrow keys double as home/end/pgup/pgdown with the use of the fn key
Arrow keys crammed into the alphanumerical area, disturbing the layout
Even worse: the up arrow is where my pinky expects the shift key. That’s a cardinal sin! I used to own a similar keyboard: every time I’d want to type a capital letter on it I’d be typing its lowercase version on the previous line. Why? Because unfortunately, I’m handicapped in the sense that I can type blind. Laptop keyboards nowadays favour hunt-and-peckers.
Zero spacing between esc-F1, F4-F5, F8-F9, F12-SysRq. You can’t do F5, F11, Alt-F4 or any of that stuff blind, since you’re lacking the gaps to guide your fingers.
No, having backlit keys does not alleviate any of this. Sure, they make it easier to see which keys are where, but that completely misses the point that a keyboard should adhere to the standard layouts so one can type blind on them, without slowing down to visually hunt for keys!!!
And the worst part? They have more real-estate available for the keyboard than the X220 has. Yet the X220 manages to adhere to the standard layout of the good old desktop keyboard while the Librem 14 is a random hodge-podge of “meh, whatever”. The layout wasn’t changed out of necessity, there is PLENTY of room available to put in a standard layout.
Give me a modern laptop, with an actual keyboard, as opposed to the junk we currently get under the “but the keyboard doesn’t matter; who would ever use a laptop for anything other than to watch movies?” mentality. I use my laptop for work. I expect a decent keyboard. At the moment, every single laptop manufacturer who’s been blindly copying Apple’s disastrous design decisions is letting me down. Not every laptop is a “DVD player with built-in screen”; some of us actually work on them.
