I could cut it off. The 5 innermost keys aren’t even used, and the one left over is just for (rarely) pressing alt, and that’s only on the left half. As for the top matrix row, it’s the same situation: I only use it for function keys which I only use for switching tty’s, and I know I would always ask myself “wait, how do I press f1/f2?” The outer keys are used for the enter key and print screen, which leaves 4 unused keys. That’s:
5 useless keys for the left thumb
6 for the right thumb
6 on each half for the top row which could be moved yo another layer, making the keeb smaller while only having to remember 12 logically placed f keys
4 outer keys on the 3 bottom rows
= 27 keys that could be removed. Yikes.
Now onto the xmodmap stuff: when I need to use the keyboard on a new computer, it will almost always be on an X11 Linux one, as that’s what my high school computers for IT use (the one specific to the classes I’m taking), and also what I managed to get my family to use. This means I’ll always be able to add the xmodmap stuff, plus it poses no problem to other users of the same account (if applicable) as it uses f13+ keys which nobody else would use (most people don’t even know these keys exist). I also like not having to change my keymap from us especially when doing work on server hardware (I sometimes physically access a think centre used for backups at renn.es, shameless plug). The configurator is not even really my thing anymore, I only ever change the config through the file nowadays.