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- Hacker News
- Opened the site, thought it was teenage engineering... Which is a compliment to me, because I always love their designs! Unfortunately as a HHKB user I'm not a fan of low profile keyboards otherwise I would've bought this.by GZGavinZhao
- It couldn't have been Teenage Engineering: the keyboard was priced less than $999by waffletower
- I appreciate the TE comparison! I am very inspired by them. Maybe in the future we can make a thicker keyboard for you.by aemerson_
- Looks great, but at this point I’m too used to HHKB layout on custom MX/topre boards to go back to full time typical 65%/75% layouts. Standard Delete/Backspace position in particular is almost grating now. Totally understand if that’s too niche of a market to serve, though.
The switches look a lot like the new ultra low profile Cherry switches that Alienware was putting on their laptops a few years ago, is that what they are?
- I am a very happy customer of the Altar I. The first one worked so well I picked up two more on the secondary market. Have had no issues. Easy to customize the effective layout as advertised. Firmware was open-sourced as promised. Delivery schedule was normal or better as Kickstarters/prefunding goes.
I’m not sure I am the customer for the II, I bought the I as a good low-profile alternative to the Apple keyboards —- but it looks like a great product.
by doublerebel - This looks beautiful. While obviously a Mac keyboard, to what extent is it compatible with Linux?
Will there be documentation of its features beyond a standard Bluetooth HID, such that users could potentially develop software that utilizes the speaker and haptic feedback mechanisms?
by ethersteeds - It is fully compatible with Linux with respect to typing, volume control and so on.
The firmware source code will be published publicly on Github in the future, as our other keyboard (Altar I) is: https://github.com/electronicmaterialsoffice/firmware-altar-.... Anyone is welcome to play around with it.
by aemerson_ - I've built about 10 mechanical keyboards so far, including a bunch of split ergo ones and low profile variants too. From that, I know the layout matters a lot, as well as the switches themselves; the programability and other features to me are nice but ultimately can be worked around.
I'm curious about the switches you're using. On the tech specs it says: "Dual steel arm scissor switch w/ retention spring, 40gf actuation force"
Are they custom switches then? If so, are they most similar to current Magic Keyboard switch feel, or something Choc or MX low profile, or their own thing altogether?
by allenc - They are almost certainly the Cherry MX Ultra Low Profile[0], or else an almost 1:1 clone of them. Identical design, identical height and actuation distance. The actuation force is a bit off, but those numbers are more of a suggestion anyways.by crote
- The switches feel like a M-Series MacBook with a decent amount more travel and more "snappy", tactile feeling. They feel quite different to, for example, Choc switches (which we used on our previous keyboard).by aemerson_
- This is absolutely fantastic, but those gigantic numbers are just bizarre and not at all good to look at. They feel completely out of place there, like you enlarged them by mistake. Not good.by ifjeicjwidj
- The promo website is something to behold and by itself is sufficient reason to chuck a buck at the possibility of Altar II coming into existence.
Thank you, good luck, and looking forward!
by mistersquid - It looks nice on mobile but I initially viewed it on desktop and found it unpleasant to use.by dmhmr
- Thank you so much! A genuinely silly amount of time went into the website.
If you'll indulge me for a moment, because I never get to talk about this stuff: the corner radii of the cards on the site are actually "squircles" rather than perfect rounded corners. To me this is much more pleasing to the eye. The squircles are achieved by creating a PNG mask which is then 9-sliced and expanded to mask off the edge of the cards. Another mask is used for the stroke and laid on top of the first mask, to give the gradient border effect.
by aemerson_ - Love the design and have also wanted a super low profile mechanical keyboard like this! I have one question though - what is the travel or activation distance of the keys?
The one thing I actually like about the magic keyboard or Microsoft's designer keyboard is that the "click" is immediate and the entirety travel distance of the key is the activation bump. I dislike any amount of the "extra" travel distance (I'm not sure if I'm using the right words/description, but I hope you get what I mean) of regular mechanical switches and is the main thing that turns me off from them.
Oh also, is it possible to get a Windows version or switch the keys around to accommodate Windows as well?
by xingped - What you are referring to is called the pre-travel distance. There are mechanical key options with very short pre-travel, such as the Cherry MX and Kailh Silver switches. They're mainly used for gaming.
https://keychron.ca/blogs/news/kailh-mechanical-switch-guide
by glitchc - The travel distance on the Altar II switches is 1.8mm, so about 0.8mm more than on a MacBook keyboard. Similar to those keyboards, there is very little pre-travel on Altar II keys.
With regard to Windows keys that is a possibility. We shipped our previous keyboard, Altar I, with both Mac and Windows markings on the keys.
by aemerson_ - LOVE the industrial design. HATE the font, especially on the number keys. But, great job overall!by runjake
- The keyboard seems to be missing important symbols, such as - and =, so it's likely not the final design.by copperx
- I actually like the number font, the presence, but the loss of visibility for the shifted symbols is a huge loss. I know where the numbers are -- I admittedly need more reminding for the symbols as I never explicitly practiced them. The muscle memory for them isn't quite as strong and in low light I need to see them.by waffletower
- Great looking keyboard but why are the numbers on the number keys so large? They stick out like a sore thumb.by swingboy
- Agreed, the legends a huge turn-off. Would've bought this keyboard if it weren't for that.
Oh and the dial sticks out a bit too much too, would've preferred if it were a flat dial that sat flush with the rest of the keys.
by d3Xt3r - Agreed, I love a lot of the design but the unnecessary "quirkiness" in aspects like this are a bit of a turn-off.by LoganDark
- It reminds me a little of the large number keys (directly underneath the screen) on the original OP-1:by mft_
- Love the keyboard, looks solid. Out of curiosity, why did you make the numbers so big? It looks like an intentional design choice and I don’t know if I like it, but I’m wondering if there’s reasoning behind it that could change my mindby rckclmbr
- Yeah it seems like if they wanted to make it appeal to Apple people they would make it more consistent and subtle. It's all so clean and then the numbers look like they came off a special calculator for people with failing eyesight.by charlesrice
- To everyone who is about to pile on regarding the lack of a fingerprint sensor: you know it's not possible, we all know it's not possible, the creator of this project knows it's not possible.
What are you adding to the conversation when you complain about it? So it's a dealbreaker for you, don't buy it.
To @aemerson_: Congratulations on taking a risk. On first look this is great work. The attention to detail on both the keyboard and the website is really impressive.
by ary - The thing about hardware startups is you know they're not in it for the money.by tencentshill
- Fingerprint sensor is technically possible: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=120964.0
CC @gtsteve
by Andrew6rant - > To everyone who is about to pile on regarding the lack of a fingerprint sensor
This is a cheap way to try to subvert legitimate criticism by trying to shame others into not voicing their criticisms, and is exactly the opposite of what HN is intended for.
by throw10920