On Thu, 18 Jun 2026 at 17:47, Evan Leibovitch via Talk < talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:

Hi all,

I found last week's discussion very useful and informative, It also prodded me to learn about "keyboard culture", arguably going far deeper down that rabbit hole than I expected.

In the process I did discover a GTA-area keyboard specialty store, though it does not have a storefront. Mino Keys <https://minokeys.com/> is mainly an online store but you can pick up orders near Clark & Dufferin in Thornhill (about 1.5km north of Steeles). What's also interesting is that they operate a Discord server <https://discord.gg/vwacqzsmP> and the owners responded to questions of mine quickly. Prices are decent; I just ordered a set of "Gateron Zero Degree <https://minokeys.com/products/gateron-zero-degree-silent-linear-switches>", apparently some of the best silent switches available, for 50 cents each (less expensive than Amazon *or* Aliexpress).

Anyway ...

Some people liked the idea of having a GTALUG meeting on the topic ... not just a virtual one, but an in-person location where people bring their own keyboards so that others can try and hear the difference between the various options. I have five myself that I could bring. And we haven't had a physical meeting in a while.

Does this idea attract any interest? We still have access to the previous meeting room at TMU downtown. Or maybe we could partner with other orgs who might be interested in the issue as well.... Unix Unanimous? Hacklab? Someone else? If there's enough interest we might even be able to get the interest of a computer store (or Mino) to lend some samples.

I was thinking that the best time is to do this in September or October since summer availability is so spotty, pluslus it gives us time to plan..

Thoughts?

Works for me ... depending of course on what else is on my calendar that night. I would try to attend. I could probably bring a Kinesis Advantage 2 (hmm, do I bring the one with the Cherry Browns? or the Cherry Blues?) and an IBM Model M as test boards. I don't have a lot more to offer, and would have trouble carrying anything more anyway as I come on public transit. People wouldn't be allowed to plug the Kinesis Advantage into their computer: remapping a Kinesis is a PITA and you wouldn't be able to type with my current layout anyway. This is probably a good policy (no plugging in keyboards) for security reasons, as a lot of modern keyboards have enough memory to contain malicious macros so they should be treated like any unknown USB device and not plugged in. -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ gilesorr@gmail.com