- Open Source. What does that mean to you?
Does it sound like software?
Does it sound like, I don't know, some kind of philosophy?
Or could it maybe be something a little bit more?
This is System76's latest product.
It's called the Launch Configurable Keyboard,
and as its name suggests, it is a configurable keyboard.
I'm not sure where the Launch name comes from.
Probably because of the galaxy theming here.
So there's not a whole lot going on on the packaging
for what is a very, very exciting product.
So let's pull this out.
There we go.
- [Jono] Nice.
- Nice.
Oh, wow. Ooh, it's actually really fancy on the inside.
"Ready for launch.
Welcome to the Launch Keyboard crew.
We're happy to have you onboard.
The configurator will allow you to adjust your flight path
to your liking at any point along your journey."
I don't like it. They're so nerdy.
"Make a difference at warp speeds.
And most importantly, have fun."
Ah, that's really cute.
Just grab it and, oh.
Oh, that's...
That is substantial.
It's a lot heavier than I thought it would be.
I mean, obviously it's got an all-metal chassis.
Get back to that in a second.
Let's dig through the rest of the box.
We've got a nice braided USB Type-C cable here.
Very nice. Actually Type-C to A, so this is a 3.0 cable.
This is a nice braided C to C cable.
And we've got a bunch of replacement keys. So we can set...
We can get different size Escape keys, is that right?
So this is the Escape key here.
I'm gonna use the key puller here.
So if I pull off this Escape key here...
Okay, yeah. So these are Jade switches, so they are...
(keys clicking)
(laughs) They're clicky.
So how does this larger Escape key work?
Presumably this would go somewhere else.
You can remap this keyboard
to basically do whatever you want.
So you can type in...
Like, you put in A, B, C, D, E, F, G
and set it up in the configurator
so that it actually works alphabetical,
like it actually matches your layout.
So I guess that's what these are for. I don't know...
Maybe if you replaced Tab, maybe Tab.
Or Caps Lock. Who needs Caps Lock?
Let's just do that.
We have different color Escape keys that we can use,
so I can use another blue one over here if I really wanted.
Oh. Well.
Put the Tilde key back in.
So that's that.
One other thing that I can do is...
I should be able to just pull these key switches off.
There we go.
So if you have your own key switches,
then you can replace these Jades
with whatever you want, basically,
as long as it's this Cherry-style mount
with the two pins here.
It's something you're seeing a lot more these days.
It's basically the perfect way to customize your keyboard.
You can have a mix of different keys,
like you can have Caps Lock feel like something different.
There's also...
This little...
Like a stand, almost.
And that just attaches magnetically.
- [Jono] Aw, that's cool.
- And it raises up your keyboard for you.
I love how smooth that looks.
I'm not sure if you can see that.
There's basically no seam.
They've precision-crafted this. It is...
Awe-inspiring.
I mean, maybe that's being a little bit too glowing,
but this is a level of detail you don't often see.
The point of the keyboard
is you can do whatever you want with it.
So you can remap all the keys,
like you can rearrange all the keys,
remap them to do whatever you want.
You can make it so that this Function
gives you another layer so you can have macros or whatever.
You could have multiple layers like that.
And it just passes through different keystrokes
for each of these functions.
- [Jono] Would you say this is one of the most
configurable keyboards you can get?
- Probably the most configurable keyboard you can get
would be the one that you build yourself,
but probably one of the more customizable once you can buy.
So you plug this guy in.
Like so.
You also get an integrated USB hub.
So you have two more Type-C's,
as well as two Type-A's just kinda chillin'.
- [Jono] Do you want to weigh it?
- I can weigh it.
I'm taking a lot of direction from Jono today.
That means I'm not doing very good.
- [Jono] I'm just trying to help you.
Let me help you!
- This is pretty hefty here. 867 grams.
1.9 pounds.
So it is basically a weapon. And when you add this...
How much is this? .182 pounds.
Which would make it, I think, a full kilogram, wouldn't it?
Almost. 950 grams.
That's that's pretty heavy.
- [Jono] Thing's a weapon!
- Yeah, there, there's no such thing as deck flex
on this board though.
If you try hard enough, you're just gonna bust it.
One thing I am noticing,
on the back here,
there's no such thing as a security screw.
All of these are Phillips screws,
and they're kind of inviting.
Do you have a screwdriver?
- [Jono] Do I have a screwdriver?
- While Jono gets a screwdriver,
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Neat. These screws.
So in order to not strip out,
or even mark the aluminum enclosure,
they use these little plastic...
Cups, almost.
So you drop the screw into that
and it just screws down into it.
I don't know if you can see that,
but it is ridiculously thoughtful.
It's almost like they want you to take this thing apart.
This is open source hardware.
You can build this on your own if you want.
- [Jono] I don't think you'll be able to find
a CNC machine laying around.
- Probably not.
You could 3D print it. Why not?
Actually, there are CNC websites,
kind of like 3D printing sites now,
so you can actually get custom CNC done.
All right.
Let's see what happens when we drop this panel off.
There's not a whole lot on the inside.
This is part of how they got that structural rigidity.
This is thick.
What we're looking at back here, though, we've got this...
Probably either the keyboard's controller chip
or the USB hub, I can't quite make out.
But over here, you can see that there's actually
a little test point here.
I guess, presumably, if you really wanted to,
you can either probe or...
Yeah, AVRISP.
So that would basically let you un-brick it
if you were to brick the firmware here.
So that's pretty cool.
These little bumps here.
Obviously, if you look around the other side,
they match up with the actual keys themselves.
These are the hot swap sockets.
And I think the reason
why the LEDs are on the back here as well
is because these hot swap sockets
need a certain amount of clearance
in order to actually work properly.
So that is a design consideration that they actually made.
I saw somebody ask a question about that,
which is actually really cool,
like you can talk to their actual engineers on Twitter.
It's pretty great.
Can you tell that I like System76?
So let's talk about the actual feel of the keyboard now.
From what I can feel...
Well, I mean, they're Jades. They feel pretty good.
The keycaps themselves
feel like they're pretty good as well.
Think they might be dye sub.
So yeah, it's fine. You can replace them later if you want.
The split space, I think, for me anyway,
would take a little bit of getting used to,
but one thing that it does do
is it gives you a much more stable spacebar
than a traditional long format spacebar would be.
So you can actually map one of these
to something completely different if you'd like.
- [Jono] Backspace.
- Yeah, this one is Backspace, this is forward space.
(Jono laughs)
I think I would actually prefer it
with the 15 degrees of incline that this provides.
Yeah, that's a little more natural, for me anyway.
But yeah, I actually quite like it.
It's compact without being like too compact.
You're not missing a whole lot of keys.
You got your Page Up and Page Down.
You've got Home and End.
You have Delete and Backspace here.
You have all the F-keys.
Interestingly there's no...
What is it called? Properties key?
You know, the thing that gives you a context menu,
like right-clicking.
But it's something you can put back in
because it's completely customizable.
In fact, this actually is QMK-compatible as well,
so if you're used to that, there you go.
I think the only thing left to do is to plug it in
and see what it's actually like, eh?
- Let's do it. - Yeah, let's do it.
- [Jono] Hell yeah.
- So if I want to do something with this here spacebar...
Let's say I want that space to be Backspace.
Let's see what happens here.
Backspace. Okay.
Testing Backspace.
Oh yeah! Yeah. (laughs)
I went to hit spacebar with my right hand
and it deleted the G.
That's... (laughs)
It worked.
It doesn't even need you to hit Apply or anything.
It just does it.
If I wanted the Alt key to be where the Super key is,
I can just do that, Left Alt.
And this can now be Left Super.
This can be Function.
Okay, so that's now Alt.
So if I wanted to replace those keys...
So that's now Alt,
that's now Function,
and that is now Super.
That might take a little bit of getting used to,
but, you know, depending on who you are,
that may not be a problem.
But yeah, you can rearrange this layout
to your heart's content.
You can do whatever you want with it.
What they have for patterns, as far as the RGB goes,
right now it's on 100% brightness.
It's on Space Time right now.
Looks like it's just a moving rainbow.
"Bound keys only."
Oh, so this just lights up all the keys
in the current layer that are actually used for anything.
So if I were to hit Function,
a lot of these keys will blank out
because they have no function.
But these keys over here do have functions.
Splashdown.
So that's like your lighting propagation thing.
Like you press a key and it just propagates out.
Guess the only thing that's really left
to talk about is the price.
So it starts at $285.
(Jono laughs)
I don't know what your problem is, Jono.
Mechanical keyboards is a expensive hobby.
It sounds like a lot of money, which is because it is,
but the thing is,
you're getting a really well-engineered keyboard
that is completely open, completely customizable,
works on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
You can basically do whatever you want with it.
I do not think this is a bad price for what you're getting,
considering what the options are.
It's exorbitant.
and I wouldn't personally
spend that much money on a keyboard,
but this thing feels pretty indestructible
and it is very configurable.
Screw you, Jono, it's a lot of money
but I can't not recommend it for somebody
who's looking for a custom mechanical keyboard.
For everybody else, it's a bad deal, okay?
Just so we're clear.
You can get a $80 keyboard
like a Red Dragon or a G.SKILL or something like that
and be perfectly happy.
But if you are a keyboard nerd,
you would do well to look at this.
And you'd well to like and subscribe
and check out more ShortCircuit videos in the future.
Screw you, Jono.
Maybe I could kill someone with this.
(Jono laughs)