During the holidays I managed to cram in some time to update the extension to follow the new requirements. I just submitted the package for approval, so hopefully version 7.0.0 of the extension will soon be available in the Chrome web store again.

There are no specific functionality updates or anything like that, I thought that getting it to run again was of higher priority. Due to the changes done to the Viihde pages over the years, the FFMPEG command line generator UI is now only available on the “/tallene/katso/…” page.

Technical details: One thing I noticed was that the Viihde pages are now using React and behave like an SPA. This means that events like page load etc that the previous version was relying on do not happen anymore. I tried to work around that behaviour, and it seems to be working. However, if you run across any problems with the extension UI not being visible or something like that, just try to refresh the page and hopefully it will trigger everything again.

Unboxing

The Cleave is available with three different optical infrared mechanical switches; linear, tactile, and clicky. The keyboard I got to evaluate was equipped with the blue clicky switches. More about these further down.

The quick setup sheet looked quite overwhelming to begin with, but the actually required actions to begin with were just the numbered steps on top. The rest is for reference for further customisation of the functionality.

The package includes the keyboard, the reference sheet, a keycap/switch puller and a couple of replacement switches with blank keycaps.

Physical features

The keyboard has a 1.8m long USB A cord that can be routed to either side of the keyboard, in addition to the center. The body of the keyboard is made of aluminium, with a pair of firm but soft palm rests. The case does not come up over the switches, so the keyboard is easy to clean out. There are thin rubber feet under the keyboard to keep if from slipping around on the desk.

Firmware features

As can be seen from the reference sheet, there are quite a few capabilities included in the keyboard. There is customisable backlighting, macro recording, remapping of special keys, etc. Separate software is not required, since everything can be done directly on the keyboard. That being said, depending on which version of the firmware the keyboard is delivered with, you might have to update it. The update happens using a program available from the Truly Ergonomic website. The keyboard I received had a few problems with macros on macOS, but after updating the firmware, everything worked as it should. One thing to note though; the firmware update program is only available for Windows. I got it to work on Parallels on macOS, as long as I allowed Parallels direct access to the keyboard.

The layout

The keyboard features an ortholinear arrangement of the alpha-numeric keys. This means that instead of having the vestigial horizontal stagger of a regular keyboard, the keys are arranged in columns to follow the actual movement of your fingers as they bend and straighten. The columns are vertically staggered to match the difference in length of your fingers. The left and right half of the keyboard are also slightly angled towards each other to align with the natural angle of your arms and wrists. This allows for a comfortable typing position, while also keeping the footprint of the keyboard quite narrow to allow for a mouse or touchpad to be placed within close reach.

It also has a full row of function keys in addition to two cross-arrangements of left/right/up/down and home/end/page up/page down. Many keys that are frequently used (e.g. return and backspace) are moved towards the center of the keyboard to allow the stronger fingers to reach them instead of having to over-extend the pinky fingers. There are also a few special keys like dedicated Undo, Cut, Copy, and Paste keys.

Review

To begin with, I just need to address the clicky switches. They feel very nice, and have a satisfying and exact click when being pressed. However, they are LOUD. Personally, I don’t mind the clicking, but as soon as I’m in a meeting or having other people around, the clicking from the switches annoys everyone. My previous keyboard have the brown, tactile silent switches, and are much more suited for an office environment than these blue clicky switches. So, if you are going to use the keyboard with others around, I suggest you go for the brown tactile switches. Note, I haven’t personally tested the browns, since replacement switches are not (yet?) available for order.

The keyboard feels very sturdy, and the palm rests are really comfortable. I experience no discomfort at all when typing at the keyboard. The overall feel of the keyboard is of a really high quality. The shape of the keycaps naturally guide the fingers to their column, and the convex shape of the center keys are well suited for the thumbs. The white backlighting can be turned off if needed, and the brightness is adjustable.

Since I’m used to ortholinear keyboards, the learning curve for regular typing was nearly non-existing. I really tried to get used to having shift on my left thumb, but that did not work out for me since there is no corresponding shift for the right hand. I have been typing with the 10-finger system for 25 years, so not having a symmetrical right shift did not work out for me. It makes a lot of sense to move the shift to the thumb though, so I was considering reprogramming the enter key to also be a shift, and then perhaps have the delete to be return, but I haven’t evaluated that yet.

What I am somewhat missing from the Cleave, that was possible on the TEK, is to freely remap every key on the board. On the other hand, the remapping of the special keys directly on the keyboard without the need to have additional software is really handy and allows you to find out what works for you.

There is also built in support for a custom layout that maps all the special keys to F16 – F23. This can work together with a third-party software (e.g. Karabiner for macOS or AutoHotKey for Windows) to provide additional functionality.

The addition of macro support can also mimic some of the remapping. For instance, what I did was to change the left thumb shift to be Fn, and then program in small macros on the alphas. I can now with my left thumb and N produce { } with the cursor placed in the middle, H produces [], and Y gives (). The capabilities of the keyboard can really spark some creativity in macros and mappings to help you with your toolsharpening.

One more thing to note is that there is no numlock, nor a way to get a numpad “activated” on the keyboard. This is not an issue for me since on the few occasions I need a numpad I have an external one, but it is a fact to be aware of.

Conclusion

The Truly Ergonomic CLEAVE is a great keyboard to type on. Especially if you’re feeling discomfort in your wrists or pinkies from over-extending to reach shift, backspace, and return, switching to this keyboard could alleviate that. The layout can take a while to get used to, but is really worth the effort.

The download button just downloads a text file with the information about the program. In order to download the recording, you need to go to the details page, configure the video and sound track you want to download.

There is also a separate section with a bit more settings, but that is not required to use.

I just thought I’d show you a screenshot of the work in progress.

NOTE! You are on your own with how to use this. The instructions below are the ones I have the possibility to provide currently:

The extension version needs to be downloaded from https://www.dropbox.com/s/x9zl13jjjs8u5qk/ViihdeHelper5.1.0.0.zip?dl=0 and loaded into Chrome in developer mode. The old old old information on how to load an extension in this way can be found in this old post: https://asmand.wordpress.com/2013/12/06/elisa-viihde-recordings-on-os-x/

What this version does is that it allows you to copy an ffmpeg command to download the recording in mp4 format. See the animated gifs below for demo:

You need to go into the details of the recording, click the ‘film’ icon, copy the quick command, and paste it to the command line. You need to have ffmpeg installed and added to your path.

Please let me know if/how it works. Google has changed their approval process, so the official release can be delayed with weeks….

More information from Elisa’s side can be found here: https://yhteiso.elisa.fi/elisa-viihde-sovellus-ja-nettipalvelu-16/elisa-viihteen-tallenteisiin-muutoksia-vaikutuksia-api-rajapinnan-kautta-kaeytettaeviin-sovelluksiin-518694

The possible solution to the problem is to have another program actually take the stream and save it to file. This is possible with both VLC and with ffmpeg.

I am looking into an approach with having ViihdeHelper together with a small launcher program to invoke ffmpeg to download the new streaming format that is available. I could also serve out a pre-generated url that can be given to ffmpeg or similar program.

Stay tuned for further updates.

If you feel that ViihdeHelper is useful, you are more than welcome to make a small donation via Paypal at https://paypal.me/asmand 

The specific change that broke ViihdeHelper is this: https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/extension-content-script-fetches

Since the authorization API lives on another server than the recordings (and the actual Viihde page), it counts as a cross-origin request.

If you feel that ViihdeHelper is useful, you are more than welcome to make a small donation via Paypal at https://paypal.me/asmand

Edit: The error message ViihdeHelper will display is “Error retrieving access code”.

Edit 09:00: I don’t know if this is related, but there seems to be other problems with Elisa Viihde too: https://corporate.elisa.fi/uutishuone/tiedotteet/tiedote/?id=30143876031203&tag=all

Edit 21:00: The API server is working as it should now, but the one serving out the recording stream is still not working properly. You will notice this by getting an “access denied” when trying to watch or download a recording. The latest word from Elisa is that they are aware of the problem, but they did not get it working today (Wednesday), the fixing will continue tomorrow.

Edit 2018-09-28 13:40 Still not working, discussion about the issue can be found here: https://yhteiso.elisa.fi/elisa-viihde-sovellus-ja-nettipalvelu-16/elisa-viihde-api-devaus-512105

Edit 2018-10-14 Still not working. Qotscha found an alternative API that seems to be working. Version 5.0.0.4 utilises that API.