When we first heard about The Key, a small mechanical keyboard with just three keys, we decided to get our hands on one.
Created by the Stack Overflow coding forum with the help of designer Cassidy Williams, The Key has one purpose: copy and paste. A noble calling, if ever there was one.
The only problem was that the key didn't actually exist. It was just a cruel joke, a quintessential April Fool's joke.
However, sensing that the team had inadvertently come up with a pretty good idea, Stack Overflow secretly tasked Drop with creating a small number of boards. And in September of last year, The Key finally went on sale for the first time, priced at €29.
the joke is on you
The basic philosophy behind The Key is simple: everyone cheats at some point, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.
“They say that good artists copy, but great artists steal. They were wrong. Great artists, developers and engineers copy. Then they stick," Stack Overflow wrote, when The Key debuted.
"Every day, millions of innovators and creators around the world move society and industry forward by copying and pasting code. But for too long, this process has been stuck in the past. Say goodbye to finger cramps, sore wrists and unnecessary movements Say hello to the wrench.
The Key is mostly a joke at the expense of developers, who regularly steal code snippets from Stack Overflow to use in their own projects, but to whom being called a "copy-paste programmer" would be a deadly insult.
On April Fool's Day itself, Stack Overflow would throw up a popup whenever someone tried to copy material from the platform, telling them that they didn't get free copy and paste and that they had to buy The Key to unlock more.
Separately though, The Key is also a joke about gadget culture. Stack Overflow knew very well that people like you and I couldn't resist a quirky piece of equipment like this, even if we didn't really have a use for it. That's why there were plans to make the device early on, even before the April Fool's joke aired.
The fact that The Key sold out almost as quickly as it went on sale speaks to the unhealthy thirst for gadgets, especially when it comes to novelty products on a miniature scale.
"Not only can you copy, you can also paste!" exclaimed a delighted customer. "He's just brilliant at what he does," wrote another.
amazing depth
While The Key may seem like it's only good for one thing, it's actually relatively easy to reprogram it for functions other than copy and paste, thanks to its QMK firmware.
It's not the easiest process for the newbie, but if this writer can do it, surely you can too. And Drop provides an excellent tutorial that walks you through the process.
There are many possibilities, when you start to think about it; you can reconfigure the three keys to act as mute, volume up and down, or play/pause, previous and next track. Meanwhile, real power users may want to configure each key as a macro, in which a series of commands are executed with a single key.
In other words, while The Key is a perfect cut-and-paste machine right out of the box, there's more to this little chart than meets the eye, especially for anyone smart enough to figure out how to exploit its full potential.
As for the build quality, we were pleasantly surprised. Sure, the keys look a bit cheap, but they look great, and the Kailh Black Box switches provide a nice "thunk." The machined aluminum casing also has a nice weight to it, so the keyboard won't slide around on your desk when you get carried away with copy and paste.
The only obvious design issue is that you have to remove the backplate with a small screwdriver to access the button that allows you to load new keybindings, and some people have been disappointed that there's no option to change the switches, even though the keys are easy. enough to trade.
But otherwise, Drop did an outstanding job. We doubt anyone would expect that much care for a product that is essentially a joke.
Frivolous, but on purpose.
To be clear, we're not here to pretend that anyone really needs The Key. When we tried the card, we forgot to use it half the time. In contrast, moving your hands to another keyboard to quickly copy and paste took longer than with a normal setup.
However, asking whether The Key is useful enough to justify a purchase is rather beside the point. This keyboard is a celebration of hobby, meme culture, and novelty, not sanity and pragmatism.
Either way, those who find they can't find a way to fit The Key into their workflow will find it to be a great home office or home office shelf accessory, gift for a loved one. dear nerd.
The biggest shame is that the key is so hard to get right now. It's unclear when Drop will release another batch, so we were kind enough to ask Stack Overflow for a loan. But this year's April Fool's Day, three weeks from now, would be the best time for a relaunch, wouldn't it?