The Best Keyboards For Every Occasion 523
ThinSkin writes "ExtremeTech has written an article on the best keyboards in every category, such as gaming keyboards (macro and hybrid), media center keyboards, keyboard gamepads, and so forth. Of course, the big companies like Microsoft and Logitech dominate these lists, while smaller companies like Razer, Ideazon, and others play an important role as well."
Re:There is only one keyboard (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Really bad review (Score:5, Insightful)
I explain it by the fact that not everyone likes 'clicky' keyboards. Personally, I prefer to have a light-touch keyboard that I can feel the key hit the bottom of the stroke, but makes no noise doing so. It should have a little tension, but not so much that I have to work at hitting the keys.
And yes, I'm talking about office work (programming, emailing, document writing, etc in this case) and not gaming.
Mac? (Score:4, Insightful)
I didn't RTFA (Score:5, Insightful)
The link brought a two paragraph page, designed not for useability but for page views. If a TECH publication can't do something as simple as designing a useable web page, it has no credibility with me whatever.
C|NET was always bad about this, too. Do they still use this incompetent madnes? Whatever these sites are paying their webmasters and visual designers, they're getting ripped off. The site is simply shoddy.
Lastly, does anyone have a link to a "printer-friendly" (i.e., human useable) version?
Re:There is only one keyboard (Score:5, Insightful)
WTF? Included the Phantom Lapboard (Score:3, Insightful)
I wish I could get the last 5 minutes of my life back. That list was bad, but so far no one has included the most telling reason that this list came out of left field... it includes the Phantom lapboard!
Re:Seriously, why model m? (Score:5, Insightful)
I've heard a lot of people on slashdot say the model M is awesome, but why? Supposedly annoyingly loud clicky noises are... good?
I agree with these people. The reasons are:
1. Durability. The keyboard is built using the design principles first worked out during the construction of the pyramids. It contains lots of metal. In a pinch it can be used to deflect RPGs. The key switches do. not. wear. out. ever. because they are based on a mechanical switch with a 10,000,000,000 activation duty cycle where the standard rubber dome design is good for at best 100,000 activations. The standard rubber dome designs also become squishy and unreliable with age. Model M keys work the same way always.
2. Ease of maintenance. Easily disassembled and cleaned of foreign debris. Nose hairs, Cheetos, Pepsi, spray from food fights not a problem. If you should spill Pepsi into it, disassemble and cycle in the dishwasher and you are good to go.
3. Tremendous tactile and auditory feedback. There is no doubt that you have completed a keystroke. Yes, I can see where the person you are sharing your cubical might not like this but that is a sign that you should be working for a company that provides its developers with offices.
4. Keypress distance. All too many modern keyboards have 0.001" keypress distance. This drives me nuts.
5. Full sized. No compromise in key spacing meaning people like me with relatively large hands do not have trouble using these keyboards.
6. No newfangled keys. The good old One True Way ANSI-101 design. No learning bizarre key loacations every tine that new age girly-keyboard needs to be replaced.
7. Chicks can tell you are a real man who will satisfy all their needs if they see you using a Model M keyboard.
Re:Weird priorities.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Is WASD really that hard to use?
If you learned to play games using something other than WASD then yes, it really *is* hard to use. I've played every AAA FPS game (and a ton of non-AAA titles; I'm looking at you UT3) since the original Quake with keyboard & mouse, and haven't used WASD (or the arrow keys) once.
On that note, I'm still waiting for EA to release a patch for Dead Space that allows better/complete remapping of the keyboard and mouse. It's a PC, not a console...
I've just been investigating this myself. (Score:4, Insightful)
I wanted to get out of bed and clean then you people post this, lovely - I'll be here 20 minutes typing this one up.
So anyhow I'm in the process of hunting for a new keyboard myself.
I personally feel one of those most important things to focus on first is the layout of the keys themselves on the board, if you don't have a layout you're happy with, what's the point?
You've got several varieties, I'll show several here and my personal opinion on them (and also why you may like or dislike them)
http://img.clubic.com/photo/00351428.jpg [clubic.com]
First up the enermax aurora keyboard.
This is absoloutely 100% standard US key layout, every key is exactly where you would expect it, the only slight change is slimmer and closer function keys to the number keys, I think likely quite acceptable and my favourite layout.
http://ak.cdiscount.com/pdt/0/0/0/1/f/PCK8000.jpg [cdiscount.com]
Here is the Samsung Pleomax Zen edition keyboard, this also has perfect and standard key layout, with NON intrusive multimedia keys at the top, aesthetically they look simple (cmon, I'm a slashdotter) but they also don't look like they will get in the way.
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_images/microsoft_ergonomic_keyboard_4000_black_usb_large.jpg [keyboardco.com]
An ergonomic keyboard, I have no interest in these at all as I like consistency from machine to machine that I use, if they are good or not, I simply don't care as consistency = speed and that's important to me (I use many, many PC's)
https://ssl11.chi.us.securedata.net/miccomputers.com/merchantmanager/v4/images/microsoft-keyboard.jpg [securedata.net]
Now this is one of the ones a lot of you should be paying attention to.
I used to use a similar model to this, you will note the multimedia keys are again mostly non intrusive, not in an area you could likely hit them accidentally, HOWEVER! This is one of those new keyboards where MS have opted to well..frankly fuck up the delete key and the function keys (3 grouping not 4) - look at that abomination - it's a disaster, I don't know why they've deviated from the norm but I've accidentally hit delete many a time on one of those things.
AVOID - I hope they die out >:(
http://techgasm.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/logitech-g15-gaming-keyboard-2007.jpg [wordpress.com]
Finally a 'gaming' keyboard from Logitech, the G15, nice and backlit and frankly one of the worst keyboards humanity has created.
Firstly, I want all of you to press control escape.
I use left thumb (ctrl) and middle finger or index finger on escape.
Where do your remaining fingers go? Mine dangle off the edge of the keyboard - on the G15 however they hit these stupid keys strapped to the left - UGH.
Next problem, the distance between left shift and right shift (ie the keyspace) seems to be ever so partially smaller than most, maybe it's 1mm maybe it's 2 but the whole keyboard feels slightly smaller AND the physical key caps are small!
What this means is I end up typing something and always hitting S intead of D or F instead of D snd "studd csn rnd up lookung lukw thus"
In conclusion fuck that keyboard!
OK! So we've got the layout out of the way, the only really remaining thing is the keytype
This link should explain it better than I can
http://www.ergocanada.com/ergo/keyboards/mechanical_vs_membrane_keyswitches.html [ergocanada.com]
(regular rubber pushback, laptop scissor switch with rubber pushback, or 'full on' mechanical (likely noisy) with spring pushback but reliable)
Over the past 4 years of owning a laptop I've come to enjoy usin