Favorite keyboards you've used?

BMWguy said:
HHKB 2

Happy Hacking Professional 2

I LOVE the small form factor of this keyboard. Such a small size allows me to keep the alpha keys centered with my body while keeping the mouse in-line with my shoulder.
Ergonomics + nice keyswitches (Topre) = orgasm everytime I touch my keyboard.
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I have two of these and love them. Much nicer to type on than anything that comes with new PCs, or found at Best Buy/OfficeMax/etc. Yes, also much better than the overpriced gaming keyboards from Logitech, Saitek, Razer, etc (which really aren't much better than the cheap junk that comes with most new PCs, aside from some added bling).

To be fair, if I could change anything about the keyboard:
-Thinner
-2mm key travel instead of 4mm
-30g keyswitches instead of 45g
-Backlit

But that will never happen, and I'm okay with it.
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Reducing the key throw to 2mm would make the board feel too much like a laptop keyboard. Keyboards just weren't meant to have such short key throw. Not enough room to "feel" the keypresses, and it's too difficult to type without bottoming out every keystroke. No thanks. And 30g is very light; I've used a keyboard with 30g keyswitches on some of the keys and it just isn't enough resistance IMO. 45g, however, is just about perfect.

Moving on to a related topic... I've never understood how anyone can stand typing on chiclet style keyboards like those found on the Macbooks, many netbooks, and an (unfortunately) increasing number of other manufacturer's laptops. Their sole "benefit" is that they sometimes like a bit nicer than a more conventional keyboard -- but they're godawful in every other way. Not only are the keys flat and the keycap edges not tapered (ugh), but the edges of adjacent keycaps are often brought so close together that it's impossible to tell by touch where one key ends and the other begins. Yet another unfortunate example of style over usability... yet keyboards are a prime example of a situation where usability should always win out over style.
 
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My current favorite keyboard is the daskeyboard ultimate....it's blank, feels amazing and it makes me feel like I type 500 WPM when I really don't!

Yay mechanical keyboards, NEVER going back to a membrane after using this thing....its like typing on butta!
 
Filco Tenkeyless Tactile Touch.
Blue cherry ftw. About to start learning dvorak.
 
Salorian said:
My current favorite keyboard is the daskeyboard ultimate....it's blank, feels amazing and it makes me feel like I type 500 WPM when I really don't!

Yay mechanical keyboards, NEVER going back to a membrane after using this thing....its like typing on butta!
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+1, although I'd like to try a Deck just for comparison. I can stand membrane keyboards if they use laptop style keys which is why I keep an Enermax Aurora, Logitech UltraX, and Logi Illuminated Keyboard for those times when I don't want (or can't have) the noise of the DKU. Saitek Eclipse for troubleshooting customer PCs. It's still a good standby, and quiet, but the mushy keys tend to make my typing less accurate.
 
IBM Model M
Though for the past 5/6 years ive been using the microsoft natural keyboards. They just seem right to me.
 
The blue Cherry switches require slighty more force to depress than the brown Cherry switches. But the difference is so small -- 45g versus 50g, IIRC -- that you're unlikely to notice unless you have them sitting side-by-side for an immediate comparison. And possibly not even then. The primary noticeable difference between the two is the clicking noise of the blue switches.
 
Seems like you guys are very technical and picky about your keyboard selections. That's not a bad thing though. I just use whatever I have laying around or the $10 cheapo at the store heh
 
MS Natural Ergo 4000. i love this thing. just wish it had backlit keys....
 
If the Model M wasn't so damned loud and had media keys, I would use it until the day I died.
 
skriefal said:
The blue Cherry switches require slighty more force to depress than the brown Cherry switches. But the difference is so small -- 45g versus 50g, IIRC -- that you're unlikely to notice unless you have them sitting side-by-side for an immediate comparison. And possibly not even then. The primary noticeable difference between the two is the clicking noise of the blue switches.
Click to expand...

The guys at geekhack say that the click only clicks once then it fails to engage again until fully released, whereas gamers like to float the key right at the actuation point without fully releasing it to speed up the button presses, for fast dodging say. Just things I read about really, I have no idea in practice. Mind you this still presses the button in any event, but it is not as linear as the Brown and Black switches, which is prefered for gaming. Basically saying the click gets in the way more.

But this with the noise factor was enough to push me towards the Browns. I would love to try the Blue switches someday.
 
My G19 is pretty awesome. I'm not the kind of guy that would spend two bills on a keyboard (still not) but its pretty cool. Still getting used to some of the apps.
 
i freakin love my G15 g1, i would not have got it in the first place were it not for a BB gift card but now i cant live without the 18x3 macro keys. if it dies i will just get a G11 (the lcd screen is still pretty usless)
 
IBM Model M -- great for typing, stopping bullets, bashing heads, and doing bicep curls.

Old compact Compaq/Dell desktop keyboards made by NMB. They're a lot heavier than the newer ones, and despite having virtually the same rubbery dome key mechanism they feel a lot better.

Focus, Alps, Fujitsu and about anything with metal key switches. Some NMBs have this, too.

It seems the best keyboards don't have Windows keys.
 
larrymoencurly said:
IBM Model M -- great for typing, stopping bullets, bashing heads, and doing bicep curls.

Old compact Compaq/Dell desktop keyboards made by NMB. They're a lot heavier than the newer ones, and despite having virtually the same rubbery dome key mechanism they feel a lot better.

Focus, Alps, Fujitsu and about anything with metal key switches. Some NMBs have this, too.

It seems the best keyboards don't have Windows keys.
Click to expand...

Which, at least for me, makes them unusable. I use Winkey+D and other similar stuff way too often.

Has anyone ever used any of the Model M copycats that are anywhere near as good? I'd love to try one out.
 
right now I'm using the Razer Lycosa, it works pretty good. I mostly got it for the rubberish non-slip coating over the keys, but I really dig the blue backlighting too. Keys are perfect clickyness for me, though I'm coming from a macbook with external apple slim keybaord so most keyboards will feel a bit better. Easy to disable the windows button too.
 
I had used a Dell branded IBM model M for years, Yeah sure I could hear myself typing over loud music with headphones, or someone else using it in the next room, or in the case of my brothers IBM model M, in his room with two doors shut, but that shit was built for the long haul, I had to get rid of it because A, the N key wold randomly stick and I couldn't get it to stop no matter how much cleaning I did, and my keyboard tray on my old desk didnt allow me to have a model M AND a mouse, I wish I didn't throw that thing away, minus the N key, that thing probably would of outlasted my grand kids.

Right now I have a steady stream of cheap Dell Model L100 keyboards I get for free courtesy of a friend who works for a webhosting company, they don't care about em. I got 4 of these things new in the box, and I throw one out about every 4-6 month, whenever I notice any stickiness / difficulty pressing keys, IE the opposite end of the keyboard spectrum.
 
I've owned several low-end and middle-end keyboards, but my three favorites have all been from Microsoft, and my top two are both ergo (Natural Keyboard Elite, which is my current backup, and my Wireless Keyboard 6000 V.3, which I use now).

Having spent a LOT of time using computer keyboards (and also growing up with a major addiction to pinball machines) hand cramps and carpal-tunnel syndrome can indeed be a real bear. (Ever have your fingers literally "cramp up" just as you're going on a roll? And by "cramping up" I mean literally lock straight from tip to wrist!) Ergonomic keyboards (such as my pet NKE and the Wireless 6000) pretty much put such problems to rest, no matter how much time I spend whaling away. However, I'm also somewhat of a cheapskate; I won't overspend if avoidable. (I picked up two Wirelss 6000s at, of all places, TJMaxx, for less than the cost of one almost anywhere else.)

The same thinking applies to mice (both wired and wireless); I currently have the Logitech V220 Cordless Notebook Mouse (despite the "notebook" in the name, it's equally at home on desktops, which is where my V220 gets used). Amazingly, it can use either Logitech OR Microsoft's mouse software (I use IntelliPoint 7.0 with my V220 with zero issues). The only quibble I have with the V220 is that it tends to over-track in games (too sensitive, as opposed to not sensitive enough), which is not a quibble I expected to have with a wireless/cordless mouse (especially since most complaints with wireless mice are of a lack of sensitivity). However, the over-track problem can be compensated with (remember, I did call it a quibble) adjustments in the software; I'm more used to mechanical wired mice, as opposed to any sort of optical/laser mouse (the V220 is an optical/laser mouse, as opposed to mechanical/ball-type mouse, in addition to being wireless/cordless, and optical and laser mice are more sensitive than their mechanical counterparts).
 
Logitech wave, very comfortable -- although my wife hates it (she's not used to the ergo style)...

other than making it Backlit as mentioned by zero2dash -- integrated usb ports would be nice...
 
just a cheap $5 microcenter keyboard, they are all the same
 
HardUp4HardWare said:
What does a scroll lock key do anyway?
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Well in Excel, without scroll lock if you use the arrow keys it switches your selected cell. Scroll lock on and the arrow keys move the window instead.

Yeah, thats it. :rolleyes:

I use it for my push-to-talk.
 
Ritorix said:
Well in Excel, without scroll lock if you use the arrow keys it switches your selected cell. Scroll lock on and the arrow keys move the window instead.

Yeah, thats it. :rolleyes:

I use it for my push-to-talk.
Click to expand...

Yeah, scroll lock -> mouse button -> Ventrilo PTT is how I roll.
 
Sidewinder X6, the keys are low-profile like laptop but dipped like normal keys, best of both worlds.
 
*ScrollLock*

In Freebsd, if I was browsing with a text browser (uncommon) or
listing a directory's contents (common), I can press the ScrollLock
and the cursor disappears, and one can page up through the buffer
(what has scrolled off screen). The buffer is configurable upwards
from default.
(Some percentage of the text browsers only may show the first page
in the buffer, though).
(Not applicable to "desktop", i.e. if "X" (the binary that loads before
the "window manager" usage) is running.
 
Maybe a Poll would demonstrate the what are the most poplular.

My vote goes to the Dinovo Edge. I love the style, smooth laptop keystrokes, the wireless is great, and the battery lasts forever! The only thing missing is the illuminated keys.
 
I have a Raptor-Gaming K1 which I really like, even though it was horribly expensive. Also using a Logitech Ultra-Flat, which is terrific for the throwaway price. Avoid budget Perixx, unless you can try one - a local store sells them, but the key feel is really spongy and horrible, which just emphasises the value of the basic Logitech.
 
scanido said:
Maybe a Poll would demonstrate the what are the most poplular.

My vote goes to the Dinovo Edge. I love the style, smooth laptop keystrokes, the wireless is great, and the battery lasts forever! The only thing missing is the illuminated keys.
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A Dinovo Edge with illuminated keys would be my all-time hall of fame keyboard!
 
I've hoarded six Model Ms (in addition to the two I'm using) that I've picked up from school and university surplus auctions over the years. And I've spent months cleaning and rehabing those keyboards. Super Clean automotive degreaser works best.

Seems unnecessary given the Model M's average life span. But my clicky-keyboard goodness is covered for the next century I think. :)
 
While I may not be a keyboard snob like some of you, I like my HP Wireless Elite keyboard. I didn't have to "get used to it" like I have with other keyboards. Then again - it's just a keyboard. No fancy do-dads on it. I really like that it doesn't have a bunch of extra, goofy function keys I'm never going to use. There are media functions (ie. play/pause, next, etc) you can access by pressing the fn+F2-12 keys. That's more than enough for me. All I can say about battery life is...I don't notice it. I've had the keyboard at least a year and think I've changed the batteries once. It also has pretty good range. I typically surf the web from my bed 15' away from the receiver. I guess it's not a "gamer" board, but it's a good, solid keyboard, it looks nice and there are no cables to get in the way. I'm not going to say, "I'll never use another keyboard", but I will say, "I'm pretty sure my next keyboard will also have laptop style keys".

http://h71016.www7.hp.com/html/inte...lite/ProdPage/other/CSMR/NonIDP&usePopup=true

For portable use - I really like this cheap thing from Frys:
http://www.frys.com/product/5874793?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

It is very sturdy - the bottom is metal. It doesn't have laptop keys, but it is very low profile. Maybe a quarter inch thick total? Very packable. I have two - one I keep around the house - just in case - and another in my computer tool bag. The keys are a bit more cramped than a standard keyboard, but I don't have an issue typing on it. Great backup keyboard IMO.
 
definitely my apple aluminum keyboard. I had a razer lycosa, but the durability wasn't that great and it only looked good right after I wiped the gloss with a surface wipe. Otherwise it was covered with fingerprints/dust and looked like garbage. plus I'm not really sold on gaming keyboards since I don't play MMOs. The apple keyboard really is perfect in every way. Best key feel I've ever experienced.
 
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