WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:04.200 - I've been waiting for this for a long time. And I can already tell just based on the size of the box, 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:08.570 that this is a lot different than the ErgoDox keyboard I used to use, 00:00:08.570 --> 00:00:11.960 which was the ErgoDox EZ. This is the company, ZSA. 00:00:11.960 --> 00:00:16.190 Sizza, zissa. And this is the new Moonlander keyboard. 00:00:16.190 --> 00:00:20.190 There's two, 'cause there's two colors. Thank you for supporting this company. 00:00:20.190 --> 00:00:26.790 You can see immediately that it comes with a carrying case. And other than that, there's just a combined keycap puller 00:00:26.790 --> 00:00:31.430 and key switch puller in the box. And I actually still have my old ErgoDox one. 00:00:32.660 --> 00:00:37.170 Ah, it's white! So there's two cables. This one is gonna be for connecting the keyboard 00:00:37.170 --> 00:00:41.000 to your PC. And then this one is for connecting the two halves 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:44.640 of the keyboard, because this is a split keyboard design. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:49.610 So there's a little Allen key in here. My initial impression is this is way smaller. 00:00:49.610 --> 00:00:53.150 It's almost half as thick. Couple extra keycaps in there. 00:00:53.150 --> 00:00:56.630 Hold on. (James makes machine clicks) 00:00:56.630 --> 00:01:00.950 Boom. Integrated, connected, and included wrist rests. 00:01:00.950 --> 00:01:04.757 On the earlier one, everything was sold separately. You could buy this thing, 00:01:04.757 --> 00:01:07.830 and then this tenting kit was extra. 00:01:07.830 --> 00:01:12.100 They just help you to change the angle, so it can stand up. And then it was also extra 00:01:12.100 --> 00:01:16.370 to buy these completely separated, big, rubbery, 00:01:16.370 --> 00:01:21.720 dust magnet wrist pads. Now they've got these wrist pads just integrated. 00:01:21.720 --> 00:01:25.230 They just come with it. Now it comes out being the same price 00:01:25.230 --> 00:01:27.880 or a little more than a fully tricked out ErgoDox EZ. 00:01:29.575 --> 00:01:35.220 Ooh. What is that? Is it magnetic? That's just so it can click on to that. (laughs) 00:01:35.220 --> 00:01:39.090 Oh, it's a cover. Okay, as you can see, there's actually a little connector in there. 00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:43.750 Because this articulates, you only actually have one tent peg to adjust. 00:01:43.750 --> 00:01:47.740 Whereas on this one, you had three. Which gives you a lot of options. 00:01:47.740 --> 00:01:51.050 You can still decide if you want to put it there or on that side. 00:01:51.050 --> 00:01:54.283 And then that goes down like that. Eh, it's not too bad. 00:01:54.283 --> 00:01:58.440 (keyboard clacks) Cool, and the reason you wanna have that is so your hand is not flat. 00:01:58.440 --> 00:02:01.660 When your hand is flat like that, that's called a pronated position. 00:02:01.660 --> 00:02:05.420 When you're in pronation, your radius and your ulna bones actually scissor each other 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:09.910 and they will pinch between their tissue in your arms. 00:02:09.910 --> 00:02:14.510 So that's why you can get sore, and you can get RSIs just from having your hands flat. 00:02:14.510 --> 00:02:19.810 What is this? Does this come out? Oh, I bet my past ErgoDox feet are compatible with this. 00:02:19.810 --> 00:02:24.928 I can have both. But what do I get, though, if I put this over here? You can super pronate. 00:02:24.928 --> 00:02:27.980 (James laughs) (crew laughs) Like yeah. You wouldn't want this. 00:02:27.980 --> 00:02:31.100 See. This is extension. This is another thing 00:02:31.100 --> 00:02:35.170 that ergonomic keyboards seek to solve. So take this off, flatten that out. 00:02:35.170 --> 00:02:41.861 Be like that. Tent it that way. That would be better. So just like on the past one, you've got this cable. 00:02:41.861 --> 00:02:47.470 And then you've got the long boy. What was it, mini USB before? 00:02:47.470 --> 00:02:52.530 Yeah, not a Micro B. Now it's a USB type C, and a change they made is it used to plug 00:02:52.530 --> 00:02:56.330 into the right side of this keyboard, now it plugs into the left side. 00:02:56.330 --> 00:03:02.600 And that is a selling feature on their website, because you can just operate it one half at a time, 00:03:02.600 --> 00:03:08.080 and give yourself a lot of mouse real estate on your Linus Tech Tips store.com. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.130 It's even more compact than before, because these aren't even double wide anymore. 00:03:12.130 --> 00:03:15.380 So yeah, it's kinda the same on the inside. 00:03:15.380 --> 00:03:19.810 These are smaller. They used to be double high. And then for the thumb clusters, 00:03:19.810 --> 00:03:23.230 we get a lot fewer keys. 00:03:23.230 --> 00:03:27.600 We had two, four, six keys before, and now we just have four, 00:03:27.600 --> 00:03:31.580 which is probably enough. I seem to recall not using all the keys in my thumb cluster. 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:35.900 I had some pretty obscure keys in here. I really do use thumb clusters, 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:39.286 and love ergo keyboards with thumb clusters. I wouldn't use one that doesn't, 00:03:39.286 --> 00:03:43.670 because there's your strongest digit, and you should be offloading as much typing as you can 00:03:43.670 --> 00:03:48.080 onto them. But I think that five is sufficient. They look like they're the principle buttons down here, 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:52.280 just 'cause they're off color. You would think that's like the main one to use, but no, you have to shift, 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:57.330 and that causes you some ulnar deviation. I found that the software that they offer 00:03:57.330 --> 00:04:01.700 to help you configure your layout is quite good, quite intuitive, and very visual. 00:04:01.700 --> 00:04:04.810 I went through 11 or 12 different configs 00:04:04.810 --> 00:04:09.420 before I settled on what I wanted on this thing. And that all has to do with the keys on the side, 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:13.690 'cause you can see, you have a lot fewer keys here than you do on a standard, even tenkeyless. 00:04:13.690 --> 00:04:19.250 The other thing is it doesn't have an F row. That's annoying if you're an Office or Excel user. 00:04:19.250 --> 00:04:23.880 I like to use F four, 'cause it repeats the last action. So I've hit insert a row in a spreadsheet. 00:04:23.880 --> 00:04:27.102 I can just F four, F four, F, F four a bunch of times, it'll keep doing that. 00:04:27.102 --> 00:04:30.380 (James sighs) But if you want this tight, minimal look, 00:04:30.380 --> 00:04:35.770 that's the kind of the sacrifice you have to make. These are really cool keycaps. 00:04:35.770 --> 00:04:40.200 They're really gritty, and like, matte, and chalky feeling. 00:04:40.200 --> 00:04:45.710 I like them. This, I believe, I ordered with box whites from Kailh, 00:04:45.710 --> 00:04:49.630 a very popular switch. When we did our big key switch round up, that was one of the most popular ones. 00:04:49.630 --> 00:04:53.300 It's a clicky switch. And that's why this feels so awesome. 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:57.300 Okay, I'm gonna, I got my laptop. I'm gonna power this thing on, and see the RGB lights and everything, 00:04:57.300 --> 00:05:01.230 right after this message from our sponsor, Grammarly. Thanks to Grammarly for sponsoring today's video. 00:05:01.230 --> 00:05:04.658 Grammarly is a digital writing assistant that helps you with grammar and spelling suggestions. 00:05:04.658 --> 00:05:08.412 Simply install the browser extension, log in, and start typing. 00:05:08.412 --> 00:05:12.980 (keyboard clacks) There's also Grammarly Premium, which provides more in-depth feedback on your writing. 00:05:12.980 --> 00:05:16.280 We recommend checking out the vocabulary and clarity suggestion tools. 00:05:16.280 --> 00:05:20.324 It helps you save time and make your writing more compelling by finding synonyms for overused words, 00:05:20.324 --> 00:05:23.340 and completely removing unnecessary words, 00:05:23.340 --> 00:05:27.640 at an epidemic among emailers, you know. Just get that crap out of there. 00:05:27.640 --> 00:05:31.110 These features make it super easy for job hunters to save time and make a great first impression 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:34.180 on every application or introductory email. 00:05:34.180 --> 00:05:40.090 So go ahead and go to grammarly.com/shortcircuit today, and get 20% off your Grammarly Premium subscription. 00:05:40.090 --> 00:05:43.575 To help you save time and start emailing and writing more efficiently. 00:05:43.575 --> 00:05:46.860 (keyboard beeps) Sweet retro noise. 00:05:46.860 --> 00:05:50.674 These nice and spread. Ah! Look at the RGBs. 00:05:50.674 --> 00:05:53.780 All right, let's get to typing. (keyboard clacks) 00:05:53.780 --> 00:05:56.790 Oh, oh, they've got this... Ha! 00:05:56.790 --> 00:06:01.280 If you're coming from a QWERTY, it's probably easier for you than me, 00:06:01.280 --> 00:06:05.790 where I have my thumbs are so... Oh no, use... 00:06:05.790 --> 00:06:10.300 No, it's not escape. (laughs) My thumbs are so used to doing other things. 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:13.960 I don't know where they have... What do they use for space on default? 00:06:13.960 --> 00:06:17.960 James, space. No, that's return. What do we got over here? 00:06:17.960 --> 00:06:23.252 This is space. Oh, I don't like having space on my left thumb. Not used to it. (laughs) 00:06:23.252 --> 00:06:26.760 Oh no, I minimized it. (laughs) 00:06:26.760 --> 00:06:30.010 Don't try any special functions or shifts. This is an adventure. 00:06:30.010 --> 00:06:33.050 See, unlabeled keys, you gotta get used to it. 00:06:33.050 --> 00:06:39.640 One thing that you'll have to used to, probably regardless, is this is an ortholinear or columnar layout. 00:06:39.640 --> 00:06:44.140 So in a QWERTY, these keys are actually staggered, instead of up and down like this. 00:06:44.140 --> 00:06:49.010 X and C. When I switch to a QWERTY, these days, I hit X and C differently. 00:06:49.010 --> 00:06:54.380 If I'm gonna write "cat," I hit C with my index finger on a QWERTY keyboard. 00:06:54.380 --> 00:06:58.370 But on these keyboards, you can see, it's actually underneath the middle finger. 00:06:58.370 --> 00:07:03.170 So on this, I would hit it like that. That'll take some getting used to, same with X. 00:07:03.170 --> 00:07:08.200 because the way they're staggered on a QWERTY, you kinda wanna just curl your finger down in that way. 00:07:08.200 --> 00:07:13.420 Oh yeah, another thing that I remember is kind of a drag to get used to is having your arrow keys split out. 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:18.700 So you've got left and right on the left hand and up and down on the right hand. And that's just, 00:07:18.700 --> 00:07:22.500 you can get used to it, but it's kinda tough. 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:25.930 Oop! You can see the switches come out. You can put whatever switches you want in here 00:07:25.930 --> 00:07:29.693 that are compatible with this pinout. I do notice now that, build quality wise, 00:07:29.693 --> 00:07:34.890 there's is a bit of a weirdness. Right in there is, like, a little janky 00:07:34.890 --> 00:07:38.810 on both of them. So it just looks like how they're made. It gets thinner right at that point. 00:07:38.810 --> 00:07:42.689 There's a little bit of a concave arc. And it just looks a little rough. 00:07:42.689 --> 00:07:47.910 For the most part, this is pretty nice, though. Like, even other parts of this curved rest look good. 00:07:47.910 --> 00:07:51.650 Then you've up these threads, which I didn't notice before. 00:07:51.650 --> 00:07:55.211 You could actually mount these to, let's say, the side of your chair. 00:07:55.211 --> 00:07:59.800 So you could just be, you know, way back here. Oh, why don't we look at the black one? 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:04.793 Pretty badass. I will say that. This is called Dark Matter. 00:08:04.793 --> 00:08:11.070 (keyboard clacks) It might be more durable, in terms of discoloration and just marking it up. 00:08:11.070 --> 00:08:15.080 If your hands are dirty, this might look newer for longer. I don't know. I just like the white one. 00:08:15.080 --> 00:08:20.950 I feel like the product was designed to be white. There it is. I think that's basically it for this keyboard. 00:08:20.950 --> 00:08:25.570 Fold this puppy up. Got one pouch for each module. 00:08:25.570 --> 00:08:28.930 Feel like that is a good amount of Velcro to keep everything 00:08:28.930 --> 00:08:33.480 in together. And so that's about it. If you're asking yourself, "Should I upgrade my ErgoDox EZ?" 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:36.513 It depends on what you got, because they iterated a bit, 00:08:36.513 --> 00:08:42.280 I believe, in terms of RGB. The one that we have here, actually, is not RGB on the keys. 00:08:42.280 --> 00:08:46.810 It's the Shine package, which is just LEDs that are RGB on the back. 00:08:46.810 --> 00:08:50.720 So it's like an underglow. But they did have the Glow variant later on, 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:54.222 where it's actually RGB under each key. If you wanna upgrade just for RGB, 00:08:54.222 --> 00:08:57.900 just looks more modern, and it's more portable. 00:08:57.900 --> 00:09:02.290 It's easier to fold this up and put it in the case than it is to carry around all this cumbersome crap. 00:09:02.290 --> 00:09:05.645 They're not cheap. They're not cheap. They've never been cheap. 00:09:05.645 --> 00:09:09.610 (James sighs) But they're cool. If I was still using the ErgoDox EZ, 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:14.930 I would definitely upgrade to this newer one. It looks like there's no downside to it. 00:09:14.930 --> 00:09:18.060 Sure, this thumb clusters have a few fewer keys, 00:09:18.060 --> 00:09:22.410 but I don't think that really matters. This just looks cooler and cleaner. 00:09:22.410 --> 00:09:27.270 It's pretty sweet. I'm happy with this. This is a worthy sequel, worthy successor. 00:09:27.270 --> 00:09:30.790 And you know what? You can use it for gaming, too. So, subscribe to ShortCircuit. 00:09:30.790 --> 00:09:34.820 Thanks for watching. And we're blasting off now. 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:35.653 Bye.