Keyboards

[ffutures]

Keyboards have been much on my mind recently - I thought I was going to have to replace my favourite, used another for a couple of months and found that my speed and accuracy plummeted, and have now managed to get the old one working again.


[Poll #1147481]

Comments

[sharikkamur.livejournal.com]

The best keyboard ever was a non-Microsoft ergonomic keyboard that I used about 10 years ago. It was much lower than the Microsoft one, so that the keys were much closer to the table. I later tried the Microsoft one in the hope that it would work just as well, but the added height made it very uncomfortable on the wrists. It was absolutely horrible and I returned to the standard keyboard within a day.

[armb.livejournal.com]

Some keyboards are definitely better than others, but I don't have a favourite and I'm not especially fussy. And I prefer a quiet click to either silent or very clicky (but it's less important if the feel is good).

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

The last 3 keyboards I've had, the letters have worn off the keys remarkably quickly. Hell, even this new one from Dell which is only a few months old, the N and M keys are starting to go already. Don't know what sort of paint they're using these days, but it must be cheap.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

The one I've been using, and can't get on with because it has all the little Windows keys etc. which get in the way, seems to have been designed for people with sight problems and is exceptional in having all the letters etched into the key tops and filled with white paint, so that will presumably never happen. Made by Cherry, turns out to be phenomenally expensive.

http://www.keyboardspecialists.co.uk/product/by_manufacturer/bigkeys/K-LP-WB/Desktop.htm

Think I paid a fiver for it in Portobello Road. Before you ask, I'm going to keep it as my backup, it's better than any other non-IBM keyboard I've found.

[gonzo21.livejournal.com]

A hundred and twenty nine pounds! For a keyboard! Ye gods.

... I'd expect that one to last a lifetime. And then some.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

It feels robust, though not in the same league as IBM. As I said, it seems to be designed for partially sighted users, children, etc. so undoubtedly they thought about ruggedness.

[ggreig]

I'm currently using the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, both at work and at home. The key feature that makes me think this is the best keyboard I've used is that it includes an (optionally removable) support that raises the front of the keyboard a couple of inches off the desk. The result is that the keys are roughly level (or gently sloping away, if you close the legs at the back) and the heels of my hands are supported by the "wrist" rest.

This is excellent; even with a more traditional Microsoft ergonomic keyboard, I used to end up with my arms lying on the desk and my wrists tilted slightly back to keep my hands on the keyboard. Discomfort ensued. The raised front of the current keyboard doesn't allow that to happen. My wrists are kept much straighter and more comfortable.

The keyboard does look a bit odd at first, and you might have to adjust the height you sit at so that you're a couple of inches higher yourself. You might also have to consider what to do about your mouse. I use a trackball (a Logitech Trackman Wheel), which has the advantage of remaining stationary. At home I use it "as is"; at work, I've lashed up a support that raises the back of it so that my hand falls more naturally on it when coming off the raised keyboard. I'm not quite sure why I need this at work and not at home; it's probably due to different seating.

The trackball took a painful week to adjust to, after using a mouse for years; but since then the combination of keyboard and trackball have made me much more comfortable.

[sharikkamur.livejournal.com]

That sounds a little strange, but it would certainly solve my 'angle of keys' problem. I'm also a trackerball fan for RSI reasons, and I agree that the combination of trackerball and ergonomic keyboard are a lit more comfortable than the classic keyboard/mouse set up.

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

Likewise, Logitech Trackman FX that took me a couple of days to get used to and I would never go back to and an ergonomic keyboard. Microsoft at work, can't remember the make of the one at home, possibly Logitech again. Only the home one didn't take to having water spilt on it and died a month or so ago so I'm back to a standard keyboard there. Nowhere near as nice.

I've no problem with the letters wearing off as I can touchtype to some degree (no training, just lots of typing!) and don't need to see the letters. My last work keyboard was replaced after 9 years or so (another Microsoft Ergonomic) as 50% of the keys were blank and while I didn't care when anyone else went to use it they ended up befuddled so HR forced me to get a new one. Keep meaning to take the old one home, although I'd have to paint in new letters for the rest of the family!

The keyboard has been a huge factor in which laptop I go for. Looks like it'll be an Acer because it had the nicest feel to it. Not too spongy, not too light and clacky, with a bit of feedback to it and a decent spacing on the keys.

[pengshui-master.livejournal.com]

I really liked the first acorn Archimedes keyboard , it was a quiet keyboard it- being a membrane keyboard and I they managed to get the 'snap' at the bottom of the travel just right for me.

I use to like real keyswitch keyboards, but you see so few of them these days I got used to membrane keyboards. But I send so long using other people's keyboards - the only thing I care about is that they have a reasonable amount of travel and have the keys where I want them. I hate keyboards with the wake/sleep/power buttons - as I'm always hitting them by mistake.

[whswhs.livejournal.com]

My preference is for keyboards without function keys. I never use the stupid things; they demand memorization. I still have horrid memories of my first encounter with a word processing program, Word for DOS, in which the only way to do anything was to remember what function key to use for what command; it was so frustrating that I swore never to use a word processor again. Then I discovered the Macintosh interface, many generations earlier.

My keyboard has function keys, but I haven't touched them in years. Happily, I still don't have to.

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

My fave non-IBM keyboard was a Logitech Wireless. I believe I could get 40 feet before it couldn't work. But it died too quick.

A friend who was a grad student loved his IBM keyboards, for this reason: If a disgruntled student came during office hours with a gun, he could deflect the bullet with the keyboard, beat him down with it, and use the extra-long cable to tie him up until the police came.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

40ft is very good - I have a wireless computer on my backup PC, which is mostly used for home cinema stuff, the range is about 15ft and it eats batteries.

The defence scenario sounds pretty plausible, especially with the really early PC keyboards where each key had its own little weighted counterweight hammer to give the true "just like a typewriter" tactile sensation. They weighed a ton!

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

That they did.

DasKeyboard is my current holy grail. All black, no fingerpecking allowed. Only touch typing!

But it seems like the PC model for keyboard position indication is dumb. Old Macs had the keyboard "nipples" on the D and K. Your index fingers cover six letters each, so you shouldn't have them be the ones that tell you if you're at home position.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I'm not much of a full-fingered typist - I can get up to a reasonable speed with 2 fingers and thumbs, occasionally get more fingers into gear when I'm at top speed but it never lasts. A heavy keyboard seems to work best.

[ckd]

The classic Apple (ADB) Extended Keyboard (either original or II; I think the II is slightly better, but not enough to make me hate the original). So good that people are still getting ADB-USB adapters so they can keep using them.

I'm currently using the Kinesis Advantage, which is a "well" keyboard with the keys recessed in two areas. It works really well for me. (It did take some getting used to, but once I adjusted I found my RSI was significantly improved.)

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

I can be happy with just about any computer keyboard but my cat definitely prefers the ergonomic model for sleeping purposes.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Hope it's easy to vacuum...

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Not really, but I do still have the keyboard from my previous computer if the current one gets kitty clogged too bad.

I have to turn off the computer when my cat sits on the keyboard because he has an uncanny ability to start and manipulate multiple programs. His favorite is Outlook Express. Its a good thing I never set it up for use or my friends might get some kitty spam.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

I've got a Mac Pro keyboard I sometimes use with my iBook, that seems a nicely made keyboard too.

Worst Keyboard Ever...

[dsample.livejournal.com]

I worked for a company in the 80s that tried to make a computer. They had someone who couldn't type pick out the keyboard for it, and I think they just went with the cheapest one they could find. Among other things it had a shift lock--instead of a caps lock--key on it, like an old mechanical typewriter. It shifted *everything*, not just the letter keys.

Re: Worst Keyboard Ever...

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Some sort of CP/M box?

Re: Worst Keyboard Ever...

[dsample.livejournal.com]

Nope. It had a Motorola 6809 processor, which was pretty much the best 8 bit processor there was. The operating system was called OS-9, which was kinda Unix like.

Later the Radio Shack Colour Computer would use the same processor and OS.

Re: Worst Keyboard Ever...

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Yes, I remember it - in the UK the Dragon computer was very similar.