And now time for one thing utterly completely different: the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard (UHK). Straight out of Hungary, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is a break up ergonomic design that includes deep customisation choices throughout a tiny footprint. What’s extra, it comes with a lacquered beech palm relaxation and whole tenting management – conserving you cozy when you break into the Pentagon or what have you ever.
To make up for its lack of actual property, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is supplied with two mod keys, with the flexibility to modify between a number of customisable layers pre-programmed by way of the included homebrew app. What’s significantly good, nevertheless, is that this straightforward app is by far probably the greatest going. How is it that keyboards constructed by tiny groups of fanatics at all times appear to outperform and outmanoeuvre these constructed by main firms? Wooting, ErgoDox EZ, and UHK all excel on this regard.
The open supply GitHub-hosted UHK Agent app is the important thing to unlocking the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard’s potential, providing up full management of each key’s perform, secondary perform, and tertiary perform. And there’s even potential for yet another layer alongside the keyboard’s built-in mouse performance. That’s proper, wave goodbye to mice – you gained’t want them the place we’re going.
Okay, possibly don’t throw away your gaming mouse simply but. I didn’t discover myself reaching for the devoted mouse toggle all that always, but it surely has its makes use of past our humble gaming remit.
What does turn out to be useful for a spot of gaming are the mechanical switches hiding beneath the floor. Available with Kailh Brown, Blue, Black, and Red, or Cherry Clear and Green, there’s a wide array of mechanical delights to dig your gnarled hacker fingernails into. All stay as much as the gold customary of key switches, so you possibly can’t actually put a foot out of line right here. Our explicit assessment unit got here geared up with Kailh Blue switches with a delicate audible click on bang on the actuation level.
From the switches out, the UHK is constructed to a excessive customary. With a sturdy metallic face plate holding each swap in place by way of the board there’s no flex by any means, and the palm relaxation is secured by a screw on both facet. The workforce behind the board tout themselves as “sworn enemies of planned obsolescence,” and can even attempt that can assist you out in case your UHK breaks out of the 2 12 months guarantee interval. So you’re not going to get misplaced within the RMA system.
Featuring an elective break up design, the keyboard may perform as each a single unified board or two unbiased halves. Each discrete half options two metallic struts to safe the connection level, with a five-pin connector permitting for knowledge to circulate between the 2 in lieu of the coiled cable throughout the highest. This may act because the connection level for considered one of 4 bonus modules. These elective extras embody three additional keys and a trackball, a sizeable trackball, a trackpoint, and a touchpad.
Ensuring entry to all layers, there are two undercover keys beneath the break up house/mod bars that gives switched performance – the important thing beneath house is a shortcut for mod, and vice-versa. So if you happen to fancy simply utilizing one half – maybe to liberate some desk house on your mouse whereas gaming – any layers and shortcuts you’ve designed bespoke for a game or app are nonetheless out there to you.
And it’s straightforward to know which structure or layer you’re at present working with, because the UHK options a big digital show within the prime left that gives a 3 digit, customisable short-hand for layers set within the Agent app. For instance, I’ve named my bespoke structure “420” because of the macros I’ve arrange. That’s why. That’s why I did it.
The display definitely provides to the retro aesthetic. And I’ve had combined responses to the UHK within the workplace, that’s for positive. While most will (accurately) lean in the direction of it being a beautifully-crafted throwback to days of computing previous, others haven’t been approving of our assessment pattern’s mustard yellow colourway and useful litter.
With a price ticket of $445 for each the UHK and the wood palm rests, this does, nevertheless, makes a Topre Realforce look low cost. The value displays the standard of the product, and the dimensions of firm producing it – but it surely does weigh closely on the options and performance on supply. The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is actually for die-hard fanatics and effectivity aficionados alone.
While I can’t say for the UHK’s proficiency in hacking, I can attest to its proficiency in nearly the whole lot else – together with making a greater, extra environment friendly typist out of you. As a keyboard for staunch workaholics that by no means wish to raise their fingers from the keyboard, to its efficacy as a break up ergo gaming pad, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is essentially a pleasure to make use of. It’s straightforward and succinct customisation software program makes it simpler than ever to raise your macro game and take management of your desktop – a feat seemingly solely doable with devoted fanatics behind the wheel.
Truly, you gained’t discover something fairly just like the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard anyplace else, even among the many best gaming keyboards going. And if you happen to match neatly into its audience, you probably gained’t accept something lower than what it has to supply. What it does, it does exceptionally effectively. However, if you happen to don’t fairly match into the slim overlap within the keyboard fanatic/energy person Venn diagram, you most likely stopped studying again at $445 – and I positive as hell don’t blame you.
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