Ultimate Hacking Keyboard review: mechanical, ergonomic and adaptable keyboard - Hardware Info

2022-05-21 17:37:37 By : Ms. Lily Wang

Hearing the name "Ultimate Hacking Keyboard" might make you feel like you've stumbled upon an input device for Hollywood crooks and Internet pirates who outsmart others online by typing complex commands in a flash on flickering screens filled with techno gibberish.Nothing could be further from the truth: the mechanical keyboard we are looking at today relies on its ultimate adaptability and expandability, allowing everyone to 'hack' their optimal working environment together.The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard - in full the 'UHK 60' - is not for sale in a Dutch store, but must be ordered on the website of the Hungarian company Ultimate Gadget Laboratories.While working as a software developer, founder László Monda was bothered by the lack of adaptability and ergonomics of his main tool: his keyboard.From there, the idea arose for a 'hacking keyboard', which should give users the opportunity to adjust all aspects of the typing experience to their own taste.Permission required to view YouTube This site contains external content originating from YouTube.Showing this content may lead to YouTube setting cookies on your computer or other device.You must first give explicit permission for this.Open cookie preferencesThis place contains external content that comes from YouTube.Showing this content may lead to YouTube setting cookies on your computer or other device.You must first give explicit permission for this.The dream input device could be split into two parts to improve the ergonomics of the whole, with additional key functions to minimize your hand movements.The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard also had to give the user every opportunity to adjust key functions as desired.The open development process should allow everyone to iterate on it further.After gathering a team of people with knowledge of hardware - as a software developer Monda hadn't had much of a taste for it before - a crowdfunding campaign went online in 2015.It was a success and a few years later anyone who wants it can now order their own Ultimate Hacking Keyboard.Of course, Monda and team are not the only or the first developers to build a keyboard themselves.There are countless examples online of clever tinkerers or collectives who, dissatisfied with the options of well-known manufacturers, have built alternatives with adaptable or ergonomic properties.Perhaps best known is the Ergodox, a Canadian keyboard that started as a DIY project, but is now also available as a fully assembled keyboard on its own website (the Ergodox EZ).Many other such keyboards - this page on Github offers a nice overview - you have to assemble yourself from start to finish.For those who are not a hero with the soldering iron, products such as the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard are a godsend.With all its customizability and extra features, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is quite a niche product.That means the price is high.Now fans of mechanical keyboards are accustomed to spending more on the input device they want, versus a standard keyboard that you can get for less than a tenner.However, the entrance fee for this 'niche within a niche' is much higher.Without accessories, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard now costs 315 euros.If you also want the wooden wrist rests, you pay another 86 euros.In addition, additional modules such as a trackball or key cluster will soon have to appear in order to be able to completely customize the device;You can now preorder them for about 69 euros each.For those who are not into keyboards, more than three hundred euros sounds like an insane amount, but if you look at it in perspective of the prices that you pay for solutions similar to the aforementioned Ergodox EZ keyboard, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is not even extremely expensive. .Moreover, a good keyboard is ultimately a tool that you, as a professional, can enjoy for hours on end.With all its special features, the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is really a product for a niche of a niche, also because you can buy a great basic laptop for the purchase price of a 'decorated' variant.It will therefore depend - in addition to the contents of your wallet - on the specific advantages and disadvantages of the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard, whether the keyboard is the perfect tool for you.