Computer keyboard junkies

[John Coloccia]

Anyone else? Many years back, I had a Northgate Omnikey 102. GREAT keyboard. Some years ago, I stupidly tossed it because a couple of the keys were broken, notably the space bar kept coming off. I hadn't realized just how collectible they've become, and there are now people out there refurbishing them. Anyhow, that was a great keyboard, and it lasted a good 10 years or so.

Every since, it seems as though decent mechanical keyboards all but disappeared from the market. Well, thanks to gamers, they're back. I'm not a gamer, but I use their keyboard and mice for the features and the comfort.

Anyhow, I just picked up a DasKeyboard "silent" model...that has the Cherry MX Brown switches in it. I think I may like this thing better than my old Northgate. What a great keyboard! I tried the blue switches....I had a Razor Black Widow. I just didn't really care for them....way too clicky for me. The old IBM's were buckling spring key switches. The Blues weren't really reminiscent of that all. I thought they had a rather annoying high pitched *CLING* that I just couldn't live with. My old Northgate had alps switches, which were similar in feel to the buckling spring but less annoying sound.

Anyhow, just some musings from a keyboard junkie.

[Brian Elfert]

I bought a Rosewill keyboard with Cherry Blue switches for home just over a year ago. I like it so much that I bought another Rosewill keyboard with Cherry Brown switches for work. I couldn't stand the Cherry Brown switches and sent the keyboard back for another one with Cherry Blue switches. The Cherry Brown switches seemed mushy and not that much better than a cheap Dell keyboard. I did order some dampeners for the Cheery Blue switches that I installed on each key to reduce the noise a little bit.

I bought the keyboard with Cherry Brown switches as I thought the Cherry Blues would be too loud for work. Nobody at has complained about my Cherry Blue keyboard with the dampeners. People who have to use my keyboard for some reason love it.

[Larry Browning]

I too am very picky about my keyboard. I have an old IBM here at work, that I love. I will not give it up for anything. I am going to retire in a couple of years, and I plan on either trying to buy it or maybe they will give it to me instead of a gold watch. I actually had one of those Northgate keyboards a few years back. One day someone was sitting at my computer and spilled an entire can of Sprite on the keyboard. It was never the same after that, but that is when I got my hands of this IBM. It doesn't have the windows keys, but I don't use those on the one at home anyway. To me this old IBM is the perfect keyboard.

[David Weaver]

Only two things really irritate me, one is the microsoft keyboards that were divided, and two is any keyboard (notebook or otherwise) where the key doesn't have good spring and smooth depression if you don't hit it dead on in the center.

Most of the new keyboards I get are pretty dead feeling, but the bigger irk for me is a mouse that clicks a lot. If my wife is in my ear trying to get me to do something, and she's in another room, she can *hear* the touchpad clicking on our newest laptop. That doesn't help my cause.

[Stephen Tashiro]

To understand "cherry" switches (on a woodworking forum!), non-keyboard junkies may find this site useful: http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide

I appreciate fine keyboards intellectually, but my hands make too many typos when using a sensitive keyboard. For me, the cheap plastic membrance type of keyboard works best.

[Jacob Muldowney]

I am a gamer and have a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate with Cherry Blues in it. A bit loud wish I would have opted for the stealth model with Cherry Browns instead.

[Greg Portland]

I bought a Rosewill keyboard with Cherry Blue switches for home just over a year ago. I like it so much that I bought another Rosewill keyboard with Cherry Brown switches for work. I couldn't stand the Cherry Brown switches and sent the keyboard back for another one with Cherry Blue switches. The Cherry Brown switches seemed mushy and not that much better than a cheap Dell keyboard. I did order some dampeners for the Cheery Blue switches that I installed on each key to reduce the noise a little bit.

I bought the keyboard with Cherry Brown switches as I thought the Cherry Blues would be too loud for work. Nobody at has complained about my Cherry Blue keyboard with the dampeners. People who have to use my keyboard for some reason love it.
I went down a similar road but didn't mind the Brown switches as much as you did (still prefer blue though). I really want to try a keyboard with the Cherry Clear switches... supposedly these are a "quiet blue" or a "stiff brown" (depending on how you look at it). I also would _really_ like a wireless keyboard with either the Blue or Clear switches... I tend to drag my keyboard around with me quite a bit at work.

[Chris Kennedy]

I loved my old IBM keyboards and despaired when they disappeared, but despair no longer . . . .

They sold the patents and machinery to Lexmark, who then sold it to some employees who went into business by themselves under the name Unicomp (just Google it).

I bought a Unicomp keyboard for my office and I will buy one for home just as soon as the junky one there dies.

CBK

[Stephen Cherry]

Only two things really irritate me, one is the microsoft keyboards that were divided, .

I really like those keyboards that are divided- much easier on the wrists.

[Art Mulder]

I really like those keyboards that are divided- much easier on the wrists.

Right, but awful if you're trying to use 'vi' on a Unix system.

Sometimes I miss the old Model M keyboard, but I've gotten used to the mac keyboard on my iMac.

Oh, but for anyone out there who has a source for Model M keyboards, I came across this adaptor (http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/11298/subcatid/0/id/124184) that will let you use your Model M keyboard with the PS/2 adaptor and plug into a USB port.

[David Weaver]

I really like those keyboards that are divided- much easier on the wrists.

There were several people who loved them where I worked before. As far as I can remember, they aren't accomodating for someone who sometimes types with one hand when they're looking through reference material or something else.

[Larry Browning]

I loved my old IBM keyboards and despaired when they disappeared, but despair no longer . . . .

They sold the patents and machinery to Lexmark, who then sold it to some employees who went into business by themselves under the name Unicomp (just Google it).

I bought a Unicomp keyboard for my office and I will buy one for home just as soon as the junky one there dies.

CBK
Well, that is just too cool! I know where my next keyboard is coming from.
BTW: You can speed up the demise of that junky keyboard with a well placed can of Sprite. (Or any other beverage with lots of sugar in it)

[Eric DeSilva]

The keyboard I'm typing on is a DAS Professional, which I love. Although it is slowly becoming a DAS Ultimate (the masking on the keys is wearing off, most notably the k, v, n and m). I've got a Deck keyboard at home, which has the Cherry switches, and I'm pretty happy with that too. If I was buying another, I'd go with the DAS again--I just don't really need to pay for the pimped-out backlighting on the Deck.

The one that I liked the best of all, however, was the keyboard attached to my DEC VT-100 terminal back in the day.

[Brian Elfert]

The keyboard I'm typing on is a DAS Professional, which I love. Although it is slowly becoming a DAS Ultimate (the masking on the keys is wearing off, most notably the k, v, n and m). I've got a Deck keyboard at home, which has the Cherry switches, and I'm pretty happy with that too. If I was buying another, I'd go with the DAS again--I just don't really need to pay for the pimped-out backlighting on the Deck.


Just so you're aware the DAS keyboards use Cherry switches just like your Deck keyboard. I went with Rosewill simply based on the price. The Rosewill also doesn't have any fancy features I didn't need.

[Tom Stenzel]

My keyboard of choice is a Zenith ZKB-2. It has individual switches and I really like the touch. I just thumbed through my old Heathekit catalogs and it listed for $149 in the 1989 Christmas catalog.

I've been using mine for over 20 years, moving it from computer to computer. I loath the day that it dies on me. It's one reason I have a no drinking rule at my computer.

-Tom Stenzel

[John Coloccia]

I thought this thread was just going to die. Nice to see there are others that appreciate a decent keyboard.

[Phil Thien]

I'd actually prefer going back to 84-key types w/ f-keys on the left.

But that is just me.

Also always preferred the Maxiswitch keyboards myself. The mechanical keyboards are just too loud. I often work very late, though, and the noise of the keyboard even in the next room can bother people that are trying to sleep.

[John Coloccia]

I'd actually prefer going back to 84-key types w/ f-keys on the left.

But that is just me.

Also always preferred the Maxiswitch keyboards myself. The mechanical keyboards are just too loud. I often work very late, though, and the noise of the keyboard even in the next room can bother people that are trying to sleep.

One of the best features of the Omnikey 102 is that the function keys were on the left. Function keys on top was nothing but cost savings. They're almost completely useless up there.

[Art Mulder]

you guys must have old PCs, as every PC we've bought at work in the past 18 months+ does NOT support PS/2 keyboards. Or have all of you bought fancy adaptors?

[Jason Roehl]

I'm getting a kick out of this thread. Not just that people have "from my cold, dead hands" opinions on keyboards, but also that they acquire them based on the name of the switching technology underneath!

I'm one of the few that likes the MS Natural keyboard (that's the split one). Wired, though--I can't stand wireless mice and keyboards because I'm sick of everything being battery powered even if it never moves more than a couple feet from a power source in its entire life. I don't type as much as I once did (school, papers and such). I've found that a laptop keyboard doesn't bother me, but a standard non-split keyboard would just about have me in tears by this point in this post (I'm on a laptop now). I run the lyrics projection at our church, and I dread having to type in a new set of lyrics on the cheap keyboards we've had there over the years.

[John Coloccia]

you guys must have old PCs, as every PC we've bought at work in the past 18 months+ does NOT support PS/2 keyboards. Or have all of you bought fancy adaptors?

MANY motherboards come with PS/2 support these days....for gamers. PS/2 keyboards allow for "n key rollover", which means that it will record ALL keystrokes, no matter how many keys you press at the same time. You can get maybe 6 key rollover from USB keyboards. Any gamer will use the PS/2 port with an appropriate keyboard. That PS/2 port isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Personally, I use mine through the USB port because I'm not a gamer, but apparently USB keyboards are a problem for gamers.

[John Coloccia]

I'm getting a kick out of this thread. Not just that people have "from my cold, dead hands" opinions on keyboards, but also that they acquire them based on the name of the switching technology underneath!

I'm one of the few that likes the MS Natural keyboard (that's the split one). Wired, though--I can't stand wireless mice and keyboards because I'm sick of everything being battery powered even if it never moves more than a couple feet from a power source in its entire life. I don't type as much as I once did (school, papers and such). I've found that a laptop keyboard doesn't bother me, but a standard non-split keyboard would just about have me in tears by this point in this post (I'm on a laptop now). I run the lyrics projection at our church, and I dread having to type in a new set of lyrics on the cheap keyboards we've had there over the years.

The switching technology has to do with the feel of the keyboard, not the name of the switch. They are all VERY different unless all you ever use are what came with the PC or some overpriced monstrosity from BestBuy....then they're all pretty much the same. The Cherry Blues click...the Cherry Browns don't. Alps feel different. IBM (lexmark now, I think) buckling spring feels different. I'm not sure what you're point it, but I can assure you that we're not buying anything based on a name. We're using the name to identify what we're using.

[Larry Browning]

Keyboards are like everything else that is manufactured. There are different levels of quality, like Harbor Freight vs Woodcraft, or Central Machinery vs Festool. I think you can compare them to something like the blade that comes on a bandsaw or table saw. It will cut wood, but there are WAY better replacement blades.

[curtis rosche]

way more than I ever knew exsisted in keyboards

[Rick Potter]

Cherry Brown, Cherry Blue?? Sounds like a couple strippers to me:confused:

Rick P

[Curt Harms]

I too am very picky about my keyboard. I have an old IBM here at work, that I love. I will not give it up for anything. I am going to retire in a couple of years, and I plan on either trying to buy it or maybe they will give it to me instead of a gold watch. I actually had one of those Northgate keyboards a few years back. One day someone was sitting at my computer and spilled an entire can of Sprite on the keyboard. It was never the same after that, but that is when I got my hands of this IBM. It doesn't have the windows keys, but I don't use those on the one at home anyway. To me this old IBM is the perfect keyboard.

Hi Larry, do not abandon all hope! Lexmark sold off their keyboard operation and it's still in business. I've never seen one at retail though so I guess they're more a wholesaler/contract manufacturer. I have my eye on one down the road. They've added USB and 'windows' keys to the new keyboards. No media keys though. There appears to be an active market for used model M keyboards and Din(?) > PS2 conversions so you're not alone. An issue going forward is that newer motherboards and laptops may not have a ps2 port so having a USB connector sure is handy.

https://pckeyboard.com/

[Brian Elfert]

There are PS/2 to USB adapters and I don't believe they are very expensive. I found they don't work all that well especially with PS/2 KVM switches. You won't too many mainstream PCs these days with PS/2 ports although gaming PCs still have them. I don't believe my 2006 Dell that was supposed to be for gaming had PS/2 ports.

There are entire forums, or at least sub forums dedicated to talking about keyboards. There are huge debates about which of the mechanical key switch technologies are better.