Keyboard Fun

[wraiths_crono]

It is something I have been picked on for at work: I LOVE a keyboard that still makes a nice click sound with each key, everyone else here has laptops or laptop type keyboards that make no sound at all... it doesn't feel real to use one of those.

[sirwired]

Ah, a whole group of people who recognize the glory and greatness that is the legendary Model M; the standard by which all other keyboards should be measured. Never surpassed; rarely equalled.

But yes, if I have to type on a laptop keyboard for a long time, the IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad designed units are without question the best. The first time I saw one of the laptop-repurposed USB keyboards, it was while making a visit to a customer. The IBM Service Engineer on-site offered to order me one out of parts stock, but the system flagged it as a "Red Tag" part, meaning the "defective" one had to be sent back... I have a funny feeling there was a curiously high "replacement rate" on those units before it was Red Tagged.

I have to say, I was never a fan of the lighter buckling-spring on the Northgates (I think I'm thinking about the right keyboard...) But I admit that typing on a Model M in a cube farm isn't possible, so my Model M has to stay at home.

[It's me]

I also have a huge collection of keyboards! I spent ages finding the perfect keyboard.

If you like the old IBM Model M keyboards, you can get a new one from Unicomp:
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/cus101usenon.html. I have one of them, and it is an awesome beast!

A compact keyboard that is pretty good is the IBM SpaceSaver II, but I found that the keys start to stick and grab after a while. No idea why... I've had that happen with three of them across several revisions. Probably because they are supposed to live in a server enclosure and only get limited use. Nice keyboard otherwise, but sticking keys on a keyboard are a rather large show stopper!

Now, I know you didn't want to discuss laptop keyboards... but right now I use the Lenovo usb trackpoint keyboard:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...78400A33E7FE8A

It is literally the same keyboard in the T410s etc, mounted in a standalone enclosure. I am extremely pleased with this keyboard (I own several - home, work, travel). The keys are easy to locate by touch, and have a good "snap" to them. I love having the trackpoint right there (at the moment I am sitting back with my feet up on the desk and I have full mouse control literally at my finger tips).

[Pedersen]

http://www.cvtinc.com/products/keyboards/stellar.htm <-- Avant Stellar. It's the exact same keyboard as the Northgate Omnikey Ultras. Same design, same hardware. Brand new.

At some point, I will be replacing my current Omnikey with one of these. Just not sure when I'll have the USD 190 for it.

[Chromatix]

Okay, I'll admit it straight away: I'm a keyboard snob. I have a right to be - I'm a programmer, and therefore using a keyboard accurately is a fundamental part of my job.

Most people won't spend more than €15 on a keyboard. In fact, most people won't buy a keyboard at all, but simply accept what comes with their computer. Many other people will deliberately go for the cheapest keyboard they can find because they spill coffee a lot or have a cat, so minimising replacement cost is important.

I am careful not to spill my coffee, and I don't have a cat. I therefore am quite comfortable with owning and using keyboards that are old enough to be rebelling against their parents or even going out to the pub and buying drinks. Accordingly, I see nothing wrong with spending €70 on one which will last that long (often even if occasional coffee or cats are involved). In turn, I expect to get *exactly* the one I'm looking for.

The local mega computer store carries precisely one PC-type keyboard with an English layout. It's on a multi-week back order, and it's a Microsoft "ergonomic" type. No thanks.

They do also carry English versions of Apple keyboards, but I'm really not comfortable with the prospect of chiclets - which I thought had been thoroughly buried by the PCjr back in 1984. The Apple variant keyboards are also sufficiently different from the original IBM standard as to be awkward to use in Linux and Windows.

A colleague suggested I talk to the IT guys to find out where they got theirs from. However, there is a distinct shortage of English keyboards even in our company, and there were no spare ones in IT. I gave that up as a lost cause - after all, I aleady use my very own IBM Model M (this is the one that's old enough to drink) at my workstation, even though it periodically resets itself due to overloading the USB adapter attached to it.

I really should get around to building new USB controller boards for my Model Ms. Yes, I will have to hand-build them.

Instead, I discovered that Amazon carry some of the keyboards that are still made and worth having - the Cherry G80 series, in particular - and they now deliver to Finland within their "Free Shipping" zone. It's still on back-order, but at least I can get it at a reasonable price.

My existing G80, from 1996, has an AT connector which is especially difficult to attach a USB adapter to, and even then the USB converters have limitations which get annoying after a while (as proved by my much newer G84, which uses a lesser type of keyswitch) - but used natively, it is second only to the Model M. Modern versions of the G80 have a "universal" controller inside so they will work natively with both USB and PS/2 connectors, just like many mice these days.

I also found a very interesting-looking miniature keyboard in the G84 range while I was looking. This has only 86 keys, but all 105 keys from a standard keyboard are available via a laptop-style Fn modifier. I decided to get one of these as well for use with an experimental box which happens to be very small itself. If I like it, I might just show it to our IT guys as a suggestion for use with our many hardware-related projects.

As an aside, they also carry the relatively new Razer Black Widow keyboard. This uses the same keyswitches as the Cherry G80 - probably bought directly from Cherry - and while costing more than the G80, does have a few extra macro keys and the ability to disable the Windows key. What turned me off it, however, was the strange font they use on the keycaps, and the clearly deliberate de-emphasis of the symbols which I need for programming. If you're not a programmer, that might not matter to you as much as the availability of backlighting or the allegedly optimised-for-gaming key matrix.

Just don't get me started on laptop keyboards.