I like the production value on your videos and I especially enjoy how much detail you put in. Wish I had known about some of the firmware difficulties before I purchased it, but I'm still very very excited nonetheless. I'm excited to see more videos from you in the future!
First of all, I LOVE your Ragdoll!! Second, great review. I have an Ergodox EZ with Gateron white switches which I love. Only differences between the original and the EZ are the LCD screen, a more standard case instead of the acrylic layers, and the one that matters--you don't have to put it together! I type 8+ hours a day, and those 35-gram Gaterons are a lifesaver on my hands! Cherry doesn't make a key switch that sensitive. There's a definite learning curve getting used to the layout, but I think the biggest learning curve is trying to decide exactly which keys or combos of keys you want to put where! I love the layers because I type on several different platforms and each uses a different shortcut for the same actions, so I have a layer for each software platform and set it up so that the same key on each layer performs the same action regardless of what the actual keystroke combo is. It's so UN-confusing! Now I don't have to consciously think about which software I'm using; my fingers can just automatically do what I want. Love it! Yes, I sound like an ad. I'm not. I just love this keyboard!
I don't have backspace or Enter on the thumb clusters. I only use the thumbs for modifiers and space. Cursor key, backspace, esc, enter and so on are on their own layer under my left hand. I use also an Atreus42 without any dedicated enter, tab, cursor keys and so on
I'm glad I'm not the only one with the kii-dfu utility problems. I'm going to have to copy your PowerShell. Thank you for posting this after hours wasted thinking it was my setup not working with kii-dfu!
Great thorough review! You answered many of my questions and gave pertinent background information. Real nice work and thanks for posting. One use for daisy chaining multiple units together would be homegrown game simulators. Specifically, I think flight simulator setups may benefit from something like this.
literally keyboard for people who use vim keys, or just coders in general.... after watching this video i still dont know wich one is better ? infinity or ez? or infinity is old version.... and ez is new version? also the amazon link doesnt work
Thanks very much for this- I also had a very hard time finding good reviews about the Ergodox. One thing I've had a particularly tough time finding out about- what are the differences between the Ergodox EZ vs the ergodox Infinity? Seems the additional feature the Infinity has is the LCD screen, whereas the EZ is pre-built and has some height/tilt adjustment levers built in. But I have been unable to find out if they're shaped differently aside from that, or if there are any other differences in the internals (like, are they both as customizable as each other in terms of the firmware flashing?)
I haven't actually seen/used the EZ in person, but I can tell you what i know. It looks like the key layout is exactly the same. They use different firmware and it seems different micro controllers, but either could use any firmware you want. From what I know of each firmware (which is fairly limited), they behave similarly as far as layers are concerned. So, I think the biggest difference is the LCD screen for the Infinity and the kickstands for the EZ. Also, the EZ appears to only be available with Gateron switches. For your last question, I'm not sure if the QMK (EZ) firmware has stack-able layers the way that KLL (Infinity) does.
I can fill in some information on the Ergodox EZ. It is fully programmable (flashing with new layouts), supports macros, multiple layers (stacking layers and have "transparent keys" where keys from lower layers can be used in a higher layer). The adjustable legs are fantastic. Quality legs with geared teeth and rubber feet. You can tilt your keyboard backwards, forwards, sideways or just keep it flat. The wrist rests are also really good and made for some weird rubber - kind of sticky at the bottom and a velvety feel on the top - works perfectly. The documentation for flashing the keyboard was fantastic. I use FreeBSD and thought I might have issues with it, because most software only support Mac, Linux and Windows. Good news was that it took me 10 minutes of reading through the documentation, installed two tools and I could flash my keyboard with ease. There are loads of pre-built layouts available. I grabbed a Dvorak one and tweaked it over a period of 3 days until I was happy with what I had. As for the key switches, they are indeed Gateron switches [edit: since then other switches are available too]. I have another keyboard with Cherry MX switches. I don't notice any difference between Gateron and Cherry switches. They both type and feel fantastic. Oh, I also choose the sculpted all blacked out key caps for my Erdogox EZ. They feel fantastic and allows me to reprogram my keys in any way I want without the issue of having incorrect printed labels on any key caps. I highly recommend the Ergodox EZ.
Thanks for putting this video together. As you said, this is more than just an advert like some of the other videos on the Ergodox. It's a shame the experience isn't yet as smooth as it ought to be.
I agree, but at least Input Club is still moving forward and creating new things and hasn't just fallen to the wayside after collecting on a couple keyboard drops. For the age of the Infinity Ergodox, I would like to see a smoother/more complete user experience, but I think it'll get there, it's just a matter of time.
Input Club here, great video! Most of the fancy things that you mentioned in the video are all possible if you compile your own firmware, but as you mentioned that does require the ability to write some small amount of code. We wanted to match the programming functionality of the previous ErgoDoxes, while giving a path forward for what the future might be. Improving on the UI for the configurator is definitely a high priority, but this process does take time, energy and engineering resources to get done on our end. Fortunately, we have open sourced all the software on this, so if someone brave and adventurous is interested in helping out, that is definitely possible and welcomed.
As Jay said, it seems like you guys are serious about making things better on the software side as you've done with the hardware so I applaud you for that. Hope to own one down the road too.
Great review! Recently got myself an infinity 60% keyboard, and I must admit it is quite dissapointing how bad the configurator is, yes it does have the most basic features. But lacking macros and other features like mouse keys and dual role keys, I would like to see this added for people without programming background. like yourself I had to fight the kii-dfu.exe file to get it working.I have other keyboards that requires flashing the microcontroller, so I have done it before, but it is always a different way with each keyboard that you need to learn. Just wish they will make everything smoother and better experience for us users, not only do we pay 250$ + for this thing. But having to deal with all the other issues makes it feel like an unfinished product, and needing a lot of research in order to optimise it. :c happy with the quality of the keyboard though, nothing bad about how it performs.
Hi, i'm a french transcriptionist, and I am interested in this keyboard. But before to buy it, I'm have some questions : I want to know if it's possible to reach 200 wpm for a long time : 1 hours and more (not a top speed with an easy to write sentence) Kind regards Arsène Witz
The Ergodox Infinity uses a different controller to the Ergodox EZ. So no, you wouldn't be able to use Oryx to build a layout for this keyboard. However, you can use the same QMK firmware software to build your layout from source code (that's quite easy these days).
I came here looking for advice on how to change the keys on the keyboard. If you who are reading this also need to know this, and you're running OSX or Linux, you're in for a treat. Create your config here: input.club/configurator-ergodox Click "Download firmware" when done Unzip the downloaded file. Instructions on how to load firmware is here: github.com/kiibohd/controller/wiki/Loading-DFU-Firmware I'm going to repeat what that page says, as there was one thing missing. First install dfu-util If you're on linux you probably know how to install stuff, but on OSX you'll need something like brew (brew.sh) You'll need to use the terminal and type some commands. Navigate to the unzipped folder you downloaded, with the keyboard firmware. Turn on "Flash mode" on the keypads. Press the upper leftmost key on the right hand, and then the upper leftmost key on the left hand to do this. If you're in the terminal in the folder where the firmware files are, you only need to run one of the two next commands. I don't know why there is two files to choose from, but one of them left my keyboard completely mirrored. # This one was the rigth for me dfu-util -D right_kiibohd.dfu.bin # This one left my keyboard mirrored, your mileage may vary dfu-util -D left_kiibohd.dfu.bin
Nice video! Yeah...there are still a bunch of rough edges on Windows machines unfortunately. If you're running a developer preview for Windows 10, bash makes compiling the firmware yourself much easier (still have to use the windows version of dfu-util). As for the driver and kii-dfu. I have some plans to make them go away, but we're still a bit of a ways away from being able to. I've had a lot of requests (even on the original Infinity 60%) to have dynamically programmed macros. One of the things I need to figure out, is how to save these macros later and export to another keyboard.
Thanks! I forgot that Windows 10 will support bash, I'll have to look into using that. I'm not sure how much this came across in the video, but I definitely get that the firmware side is still in its infancy. I haven't actually looked at the firmware yet, so no suggestions ;) but I definitely think that the LCD screens could give the Infinity Ergodox a big leg up over other dynamically programmable keyboards like the Pok3r.
It's a great mouse for the price. I'm on my second and bought both for under $30, after the price drops on Amazon. I carried the first one around with me a lot and as a result it developed cracks in the ball socket and eventually stopped working. I'm much more careful with the new one and it's help up just fine so far. The only negative I have encountered is needing to pop the ball out every couple days to clean it, otherwise the movement slows.
The link is just my Amazon affiliate link, in case anyone wishes to support the channel :) Unfortunately, you can't just buy the Infinity Ergodox (unless you find one used). It comes as kit either through Massdrop (www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops?guest=true) or the maker, InputClub (input.club/devices/infinity-ergodox/).
Sorry, no such thing as “infinite layers” possible. With enough firmware flash to work with, you can have a large number of layers, but you’re still finitely constrained.
I like the production value on your videos and I especially enjoy how much detail you put in. Wish I had known about some of the firmware difficulties before I purchased it, but I'm still very very excited nonetheless. I'm excited to see more videos from you in the future!
Thanks! Maybe I will find a direct way to get everything working and make a video on it :)
First of all, I LOVE your Ragdoll!! Second, great review. I have an Ergodox EZ with Gateron white switches which I love. Only differences between the original and the EZ are the LCD screen, a more standard case instead of the acrylic layers, and the one that matters--you don't have to put it together! I type 8+ hours a day, and those 35-gram Gaterons are a lifesaver on my hands! Cherry doesn't make a key switch that sensitive. There's a definite learning curve getting used to the layout, but I think the biggest learning curve is trying to decide exactly which keys or combos of keys you want to put where! I love the layers because I type on several different platforms and each uses a different shortcut for the same actions, so I have a layer for each software platform and set it up so that the same key on each layer performs the same action regardless of what the actual keystroke combo is. It's so UN-confusing! Now I don't have to consciously think about which software I'm using; my fingers can just automatically do what I want. Love it! Yes, I sound like an ad. I'm not. I just love this keyboard!
I don't have backspace or Enter on the thumb clusters. I only use the thumbs for modifiers and space. Cursor key, backspace, esc, enter and so on are on their own layer under my left hand. I use also an Atreus42 without any dedicated enter, tab, cursor keys and so on
I'm glad I'm not the only one with the kii-dfu utility problems. I'm going to have to copy your PowerShell. Thank you for posting this after hours wasted thinking it was my setup not working with kii-dfu!
did you end up getting it to work i am having the same problem?
Great thorough review! You answered many of my questions and gave pertinent background information. Real nice work and thanks for posting.
One use for daisy chaining multiple units together would be homegrown game simulators. Specifically, I think flight simulator setups may benefit from something like this.
Thanks, glad you liked it! I had not thought of the flight simulator thing, that's a good point.
use qmk from github for programming it. super powerful, hackable, easier to use, and plenty of examples.
literally keyboard for people who use vim keys, or just coders in general.... after watching this video i still dont know wich one is better ? infinity or ez? or infinity is old version.... and ez is new version?
also the amazon link doesnt work
Thanks very much for this- I also had a very hard time finding good reviews about the Ergodox.
One thing I've had a particularly tough time finding out about- what are the differences between the Ergodox EZ vs the ergodox Infinity? Seems the additional feature the Infinity has is the LCD screen, whereas the EZ is pre-built and has some height/tilt adjustment levers built in. But I have been unable to find out if they're shaped differently aside from that, or if there are any other differences in the internals (like, are they both as customizable as each other in terms of the firmware flashing?)
I haven't actually seen/used the EZ in person, but I can tell you what i know. It looks like the key layout is exactly the same. They use different firmware and it seems different micro controllers, but either could use any firmware you want. From what I know of each firmware (which is fairly limited), they behave similarly as far as layers are concerned. So, I think the biggest difference is the LCD screen for the Infinity and the kickstands for the EZ. Also, the EZ appears to only be available with Gateron switches. For your last question, I'm not sure if the QMK (EZ) firmware has stack-able layers the way that KLL (Infinity) does.
I can fill in some information on the Ergodox EZ. It is fully programmable (flashing with new layouts), supports macros, multiple layers (stacking layers and have "transparent keys" where keys from lower layers can be used in a higher layer). The adjustable legs are fantastic. Quality legs with geared teeth and rubber feet. You can tilt your keyboard backwards, forwards, sideways or just keep it flat. The wrist rests are also really good and made for some weird rubber - kind of sticky at the bottom and a velvety feel on the top - works perfectly. The documentation for flashing the keyboard was fantastic. I use FreeBSD and thought I might have issues with it, because most software only support Mac, Linux and Windows. Good news was that it took me 10 minutes of reading through the documentation, installed two tools and I could flash my keyboard with ease. There are loads of pre-built layouts available. I grabbed a Dvorak one and tweaked it over a period of 3 days until I was happy with what I had. As for the key switches, they are indeed Gateron switches [edit: since then other switches are available too]. I have another keyboard with Cherry MX switches. I don't notice any difference between Gateron and Cherry switches. They both type and feel fantastic. Oh, I also choose the sculpted all blacked out key caps for my Erdogox EZ. They feel fantastic and allows me to reprogram my keys in any way I want without the issue of having incorrect printed labels on any key caps. I highly recommend the Ergodox EZ.
Thanks for putting this video together. As you said, this is more than just an advert like some of the other videos on the Ergodox.
It's a shame the experience isn't yet as smooth as it ought to be.
I agree, but at least Input Club is still moving forward and creating new things and hasn't just fallen to the wayside after collecting on a couple keyboard drops. For the age of the Infinity Ergodox, I would like to see a smoother/more complete user experience, but I think it'll get there, it's just a matter of time.
Input Club here, great video!
Most of the fancy things that you mentioned in the video are all possible if you compile your own firmware, but as you mentioned that does require the ability to write some small amount of code.
We wanted to match the programming functionality of the previous ErgoDoxes, while giving a path forward for what the future might be. Improving on the UI for the configurator is definitely a high priority, but this process does take time, energy and engineering resources to get done on our end.
Fortunately, we have open sourced all the software on this, so if someone brave and adventurous is interested in helping out, that is definitely possible and welcomed.
As Jay said, it seems like you guys are serious about making things better on the software side as you've done with the hardware so I applaud you for that. Hope to own one down the road too.
Great review! Recently got myself an infinity 60% keyboard, and I must admit it is quite dissapointing how bad the configurator is, yes it does have the most basic features. But lacking macros and other features like mouse keys and dual role keys, I would like to see this added for people without programming background. like yourself I had to fight the kii-dfu.exe file to get it working.I have other keyboards that requires flashing the microcontroller, so I have done it before, but it is always a different way with each keyboard that you need to learn. Just wish they will make everything smoother and better experience for us users, not only do we pay 250$ + for this thing. But having to deal with all the other issues makes it feel like an unfinished product, and needing a lot of research in order to optimise it. :c happy with the quality of the keyboard though, nothing bad about how it performs.
Hi, i'm a french transcriptionist, and I am interested in this keyboard. But before to buy it, I'm have some questions :
I want to know if it's possible to reach 200 wpm for a long time : 1 hours and more (not a top speed with an easy to write sentence)
Kind regards
Arsène Witz
arsène Witz i don’t know, but it wouldn’t be a limitation of this keyboard. It would be a limitation of your brain, as that is world record territory.
heh, ergodox EZ does all of that (easy layout changing and overall ease of use), I don't know if it was available back then
The Ergodox Infinity uses a different controller to the Ergodox EZ. So no, you wouldn't be able to use Oryx to build a layout for this keyboard. However, you can use the same QMK firmware software to build your layout from source code (that's quite easy these days).
Can you program a key to launch a program?
Still rocking this one?
@4.27 did the cat eat your mouse?
I came here looking for advice on how to change the keys on the keyboard. If you who are reading this also need to know this, and you're running OSX or Linux, you're in for a treat.
Create your config here: input.club/configurator-ergodox
Click "Download firmware" when done
Unzip the downloaded file.
Instructions on how to load firmware is here: github.com/kiibohd/controller/wiki/Loading-DFU-Firmware
I'm going to repeat what that page says, as there was one thing missing.
First install dfu-util
If you're on linux you probably know how to install stuff, but on OSX you'll need something like brew (brew.sh)
You'll need to use the terminal and type some commands.
Navigate to the unzipped folder you downloaded, with the keyboard firmware.
Turn on "Flash mode" on the keypads. Press the upper leftmost key on the right hand, and then the upper leftmost key on the left hand to do this.
If you're in the terminal in the folder where the firmware files are, you only need to run one of the two next commands.
I don't know why there is two files to choose from, but one of them left my keyboard completely mirrored.
# This one was the rigth for me
dfu-util -D right_kiibohd.dfu.bin
# This one left my keyboard mirrored, your mileage may vary
dfu-util -D left_kiibohd.dfu.bin
Great info, thanks for posting!
Nice video!
Yeah...there are still a bunch of rough edges on Windows machines unfortunately. If you're running a developer preview for Windows 10, bash makes compiling the firmware yourself much easier (still have to use the windows version of dfu-util).
As for the driver and kii-dfu. I have some plans to make them go away, but we're still a bit of a ways away from being able to.
I've had a lot of requests (even on the original Infinity 60%) to have dynamically programmed macros. One of the things I need to figure out, is how to save these macros later and export to another keyboard.
Thanks!
I forgot that Windows 10 will support bash, I'll have to look into using that. I'm not sure how much this came across in the video, but I definitely get that the firmware side is still in its infancy. I haven't actually looked at the firmware yet, so no suggestions ;) but I definitely think that the LCD screens could give the Infinity Ergodox a big leg up over other dynamically programmable keyboards like the Pok3r.
how would you say is the Logitech trackball? have you compared it to the Kensington expert?
It's a great mouse for the price. I'm on my second and bought both for under $30, after the price drops on Amazon. I carried the first one around with me a lot and as a result it developed cracks in the ball socket and eventually stopped working. I'm much more careful with the new one and it's help up just fine so far. The only negative I have encountered is needing to pop the ball out every couple days to clean it, otherwise the movement slows.
thanks Jay. great info. on the ergo dox too. keep it up
thank you for your review! found it very useful.
thanks that was really the best and complete review found
where can I buy this? the link doesn't work?
The link is just my Amazon affiliate link, in case anyone wishes to support the channel :)
Unfortunately, you can't just buy the Infinity Ergodox (unless you find one used). It comes as kit either through Massdrop (www.massdrop.com/mechanical-keyboards/drops?guest=true) or the maker, InputClub (input.club/devices/infinity-ergodox/).
After watching this i was really surprised to see you only have 46 subs. lets make that 47.
Thanks!
A tip: you can watch series on flixzone. I've been using them for watching lots of of movies recently.
@Xzavier Nash yea, I have been watching on Flixzone} for years myself :D
@Xzavier Nash Definitely, have been watching on Flixzone} for months myself :)
Are you performing? Or reviewing a keyboard?
Cute kitty.
Good video, I just subscribed!
Thanks!
Sorry, no such thing as “infinite layers” possible. With enough firmware flash to work with, you can have a large number of layers, but you’re still finitely constrained.
Cats are the best.
I like the Half-life keys.
Ergodox is great! However, if they want to gain market, they need to make it easy for the user. For now, this keyboard is for power-users.
Agreed.
I'm not sure ergodox was ever making plans to be everyone's keyboard. they know what market they're after.
If you are referring to assembly, the ErgoDox EZ comes already assembled. I have one. Love it!
I love the points, but I think your still a little stuttery in your delivery. Lots of promise though
Thanks for the feedback!