Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#11

Post by mattbriggs » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 11:51 AM UTC

I find the feedback of a mechanical keyboard makes typing more enjoyable in a general way. At home I have a razor black widow which has cherry blue switches (which are my favorite), at work I have a dasKeyboard with cherry brown switches (much quieter so I don't irritate my team).

For me, nothing matches the visceral feel of mechanical keyboards. I have a friend who described it as feeling like he was typing with a machine gun

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#12

Post by sellably » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 11:52 AM UTC

I think one of the biggest failings of Macs/Macbooks is the "feel" of their keyboards. I'd love to see what their industrial designers could do if tasks with making an IBM Type M sort of feel with an Apple twist.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#13

Post by mcartyem » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 11:54 AM UTC

What makes you believe there is a negative correlation between keyboard age and keyboard goodness?

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#14

Post by rizumu » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 11:54 AM UTC

I have a Happy Hacking and a DasKeyboard, and often I prefer the Das because I like the clicking sounds it makes. They are both excellent, but the keys do feel much nicer on the HHK. You have to learn to live without easy access to the arrow keys on the HHK. On the HHK arrows, pgup, and pgdwn requries holding the FN key.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#15

Post by aerique » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 11:57 AM UTC

I was on a 3 month gig recently coding for iOS and I liked the keyboard that came with the iMac so much that I've bought another one for my main Linux development machine.

It does have a numeric keypad but there's also a wireless version available without: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Keyboard#Apple_Keyboard_.... (I've got the A1243)

It does have some issues with key placement but that was easily solved with xmodmap.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#16

Post by officialchicken » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 11:59 AM UTC

drKreso wrote: post #3

Two best are Dinove Edge & IBM model M... I have both and I prefer IBM (buckling spring is priceless when you grook it)

The IBM 5150 with model M was released in 1981. I still use the keyboard every now and then. It's a nice contrast to Apple keyboards which have no travel, no mechanical switches, and weird spacing/sized keys that float.

Here's a modern variant: http://www.daskeyboard.com (which refers to the Model M the "god of keyboards")

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#17

Post by tzaman » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 12:01 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #9

Here's an excellent (and funny) overview from Ars Technica of different kinds of switches in keyboards. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/02/ask-ars-ergonomi... The "Happy Hacking" keyboard looks very nice, and has no numeric keypad. But it's ridiculously expensive. edit: apparently RMS http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?13526-Richard-Stallman-%2... and Bjarne Stroustrup http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?1855…

I second this, I've been developing with Apple wireless keyboard for years now, and I love it mostly because it's really small and I can access pretty much all the keys without moving hands much.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#18

Post by sudonim » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 12:07 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #9

Here's an excellent (and funny) overview from Ars Technica of different kinds of switches in keyboards. http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/02/ask-ars-ergonomi... The "Happy Hacking" keyboard looks very nice, and has no numeric keypad. But it's ridiculously expensive. edit: apparently RMS http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?13526-Richard-Stallman-%2... and Bjarne Stroustrup http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?1855…

I have a "Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite 2" that I bought from an old co-worker. It's noisier than the apple keyboards. The keys are loud, but it's a great keyboard. Once you get used to it, you don't want to use other keyboards. My co-founder has the pro and the action is better. The keys are a little quieter too.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#19

Post by philh » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 12:07 PM UTC

I'm a fan of the TypeMatrix 2030: http://typematrix.com/

It's not perfect - in particular, the double-height shift keys take too much good pinky real estate. But it's very comfortable.

I haven't tried any other ergonomic keyboards, so I can't compare.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best Keyboard nowadays?

#20

Post by angdis » Fri, Apr 06, 2012, 12:07 PM UTC

asselinpaul wrote: post #2

I've heard really good things about Topre keyboards but can't afford one myself since I am a student. Google around to learn more but good models are: -Topre Realforce 87U (around $260) -Happy Hacking keyboards (around $300) I told you they were expensive. Otherwise older IBM keyboards tend to have a good reputation (model M). To find some great keyboards, you can have a look here : http://www.elitekeyboards.com/ (no…

Elitekeyboards also offers models from Leopold.

(http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=leopold,tenkeyles...)

These are a lot less expensive than happy hacking and also have a reduced size form-factor (no numpad).

I got the model with cherry-mx blue switches (very clicky and tactile like the old 80's IBM keyboards). I got the "otaku" model without the key markings and it looks very cool.