2025-07-04 - Brainstorming

Ok so what exactly do I want? Well I've been stuck on a membrane keyboard for as long as I've been a bean on this earth. Hence I want to split from that connotation asap and become a pea in a pod with my computer. Enough puns for now. Now requirements: I think I want a split wired keyboard (because I never can get my linux laptop to connect to bluetooth) with ergonomic design for my hands. Oh a scroll wheel would be nice but I don't think it fits with the low profile keyboard I'm thinking of. Ideally it would have a large thumbpad (my bassoon training will finally pay off!). I also saw a really cool adjustable stand thing for a keyboard a while back (unfortunately I can't remember where it was from) and I'd like a swivelable stand I can use for superior ergonomics. An OLED screen would also be quite nice, for both sides maybe not. What else then... Oh I think it'd be really cool if the two halves could fold up into a clamshell of sorts for easier carrying.

Hardware wise I'm a noob but I want to get better. I think the RP2040 chip would be a nice chip to work on. It has plenty of GPIOs (what like 29?) and seems to be a good pick according to the reddit and the Keyboard Atelier discord. I'm dreading soldering it onto the PCB though, I think I might have to get the pcb preassembled. That'd allow me to use smaller size components too... Is it worth the cost though?

Hmm maybe it'd be easier to make a RP2040 dev board and then move onto the keyboard... lol. Imma take a detour to do that right now.