Tossing my two cents into the air as I sip my coffee here;
I think it’s important to consider who this keyboard might be for - and how that may or may not relate to this community. Most of the keyboards we discuss here are aimed somewhere into the keyboard community - or into the adjacent space of gaming. It’s usually very easy to distinguish those - and when there’s overlap, there tends to be some laughs and maybe the occasional small innovation.
While it’s only natural to consider this keyboard through the lens of custom and commercial boards we know, it might not be totally fitting to judge it with the same criteria - unless we’re talking about a demographic-specific review. That is, I’m looking to make the distinction between this keyboard’s value to the custom keyboard community and this keyboard’s value within its intended lane.
As a custom / high-end commercial the way we tend to to think of them here, this product is something of a mildly-curious “meh” - but I believe that’s because the designers weren’t aiming in that direction.
I think this keyboard is for a certain kind of person; one that isn’t otherwise specifically into keyboards - but uses one often and knows they want something better. Specifically, this person wants something well-built, adaptable, versatile, and open-source - like their favorite Unix-based operating system. It doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing or approachable in a traditional sense - just malleable, effective, and functionally elegant. Material quality is a plus.
For most folks in the keyboard hobby itself, this keeb probably isn’t it for plenty of reasons. For someone who isn’t looking for a new hobby (or a showpiece keeb) but that wants a keyboard with a personality like Linux - well, this might be it. I blank on his name, but the guy from ShortCircuit makes for a good example of who I’m thinking of.
Basically, a demographic that might otherwise be strongly considering other products in the System76 family (but who isn’t otherwise knee-deep in the keebverse). For these folks, I honestly think this product makes plenty of sense.
@jackpot51 I can tell that you and the rest of the team have put a lot of work and passion into this project - and for what it’s worth I think you have a strong product for a very specific market. Harsh criticism from demographics outside those you’re aiming for can be frustrating, but I promise it can also be useful.
My advice to you moving forward is to take criticism like that you see here as an indicator of where the demographic boundaries lay for your products. For any and every product, there will be harsh criticism available - take it for what its worth, whether or not you find agreement with it. Feel free to offer up thought processes and reasoning as you have here - I think that’s only a good thing - but a defensive posture towards the public won’t help your efforts regardless of any valid points you may have to make.
Keep it positive even in the face of “hate” - articulate what you have to offer and/or why you do as you do, and then move on to folks more specifically interested in what you are doing. I think you’ll be more likely to at least earn some respect for the brand from those who otherwise aren’t going to be customers - respect which may find its way to people who will be customers.