It's crazy to think that just six years ago, a small team of three in a Spanish workshop got us to the point of what Dygma is today.
It's crazy to think that, indeed...But it's even crazier to see how much our community helped us through this journey; it was you, Dygmates, that made us come so far 🥰
Stories from six real Defy owners
Since the first Defy keyboards started shipping in the summer, they've landed in over 70 countries around the world. We thought it's quite a large number of countries already to get some experience from Defy owners from different spots of the globe.
We put out a message on Discord to ask for your stories, and you didn't fail to amuse us once again.
Let's first fly to the United States to meet Eric
"In the luminescent glow of dawn, I seamlessly transition from the coziness of home to the rhythmic hustle of my workplace as an IT Rep.
The Defy is a joy to transport, all thanks to its sleek design. Arriving home, the keyboard smoothly becomes an extension of my sanctuary; it transforms into the portal through which I traverse the interstellar wonders of "The Outer Worlds" on Steam.
When I'm not battling extraterrestrial foes, it serves as my quill, helping me pen down intricate character profiles for an upcoming short film.
It's not just a keyboard; it's an emblem of adaptability, accompanying me through diverse facets of my day, from the poetic to the pragmatic."
Wow, now that's a story. Eric really showed off his Defy as a multi-functional, travel-friendly control panel for dominating the world of IT while taking out the aliens on the side 👽
Now, it's time to travel to Peru to visit Zelig
Zelig has a marketing & AI business in Lima, Peru, and he had some serious goals upon purchasing his first split keyboard:
- Type as fast as possible to increase productivity
- Exploit the programmable aspect of the Defy
- Improve overall ergonomic
At the time of receiving Zelig's email, he had nailed the latter two, and he mentioned a problem that plenty of people have when transitioning to a split keyboard: TOUCH TYPING.
Zelig was a 7-8 finger typist for 27 years without any real touch-typing training. He told us he was still able to hit 80 words per minute, which is fast! But now, at 35 years old, and with a goal of hitting the golden 100wpm, Zelig has to go through the process of completely rewiring his muscle memory.
He actually wrote a very valid point in his email:
"I believe the younger you make the 10-finger touch typing switch, the easier it is due to more neuroplasticity."
This made us think of the age-old expression: 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.'
The switch made Zelig feel like a preschooler at first, but currently sitting at 60 words per minute, he'll be graduating from the 100 words-per-minute university in no time.
We took inspiration from Zelig's story to plan future videos that give tips on how to increase typing speed with a split ergonomic keyboard. So, thanks for that, Zelig!
Next up, we're heading to Jean-Yves to France!
Jean-Yves is a computer and musician based in Lyon, and he has quite the Defy story to tell.
His passion for keyboards began as a child in the 1980s. Upon noticing and not liking Jean-Yves' 2-finger typing style, his father introduced him to touch typing. Although hard on those young fingers, especially with heavy mechanical keys, Jean-Yves persevered and quickly became quite the touch typing master.
Fast forward to 2013, after going through a universe of keyboards and computers, Jean-Yves finally settled on the ortho-linear Typematrix keyboard.
Armed with his weapon of choice, Jean-Yves continued developing his skills as a keyboard master. But he wasn't just a keyboard master; he became a master of languages as well. From what we can confirm, he speaks at least 6...French, English, Spanish, German, Turkish, and Italian.
Speaking this number of languages required multiple keyboard layouts to accommodate typing in these languages!
As you may or may not know, switching between so many language layouts can be a bit of a drag. After using Azerty, Qwerty, Dvorak, Colemak, Bépo...Jean-Yves found Optimot.
This layout was optimized for French yet very comfortable for English and other languages, with no real decline in typing speed.
Optimot became his new universal layout. And all seemed right in the world of Jean-Yves...Until disaster struck! His holy keyboard, the TypeMatrix, did not have an N-Key Rollover.
N-Key Rollover means each key you press is registered separately. So, if you press three character keys at once in a text document, all characters will display on your screen. Something that's extremely important when typing in multiple languages.
The rabbit hole of programmable keyboards began with Dygma emerging as a choice for Jean-Yves.
Although The Raise was a strict no-no due to him being fully committed to the orthogonal layout, the Dygma Defy ticked all the right boxes. Here's a shot of his setup.
Yes, he loves chocolate, and yes, cable management.... let's say it's 100% adaptive!
There was so much more to this story that we couldn't fit in, but we can say that Jean-Yves' full story is nothing short of remarkable.
Our next destination takes us to Brazil to check the setup of Olof
Meet Olof, a Swedish Dygmate and Automation Engineer living in Brazil. Being an Automation Engineer, as you can imagine, involves a lot of typing.
Olof says that the Defy has helped correct his posture as well as reduce overall shoulder and back pain when spending long hours at the desk. Check out what a setup he has!
An Ikea Lidkullen sit/stand chair, an Ikea height adjustable table, an Ikea mousepad with a cork mat placed underneath, and a Logitech powerplay mat. Then he has the Dygma Defy, a Stream Deck for his most used shortcuts, a Logitech mouse, a Game Ball trackball, and an IFI ZEN DAC.
Heading back to Europe, Germany, to introduce Roman and his setup
Though new to the Dygma Defy, Roman has found it to have changed his outlook on keyboards in every possible way. He's about to embark on a Colemak DH journey for the first time with his Dygma Defy, and we wish him the best of luck with that and his studies!
With this setup, he'll succeed for sure.
Our final stop stays in Germany, and we go to Berlin to meet Denis
With chest and shoulder strain due to working and gaming, Denis was initially looking for an ergonomic split keyboard. He found the Moonlander, but it just didn't feel right for him.
So, after further investigation, he discovered Dygma and decided to give the Defy a chance because of the thumb cluster and ortho-linear layout. The wireless option was the icing on the cake.
After a stellar unboxing experience and setting up some basic levels, the struggle to learn the ortho-linear layout began. The split wasn't as much of a problem for Denis as he thought it would be, as he could already touch-type pretty decently.
Denis has been using the Defy for a month now and has gotten pretty used to it.
The split and tenting have been exactly what he was hoping for; his shoulders have opened up, and he has a more natural typing position while using the keyboard.
The Defy's programmability has helped him speed up his workflow, and the various shortcuts have made work a breeze.
We really enjoyed reading the stories that came in, and we plan this to be a regular theme here at Dygma. Our goal is to continue expanding our reach to new and exciting corners of the world, but none of that would be possible without our loyal Dygmates 🌍
