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Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#81

Post by pomatic »

thebeastie wrote: post #22
ridiculous_fish wrote: post #10

What sort of keyboard are you looking for, for what use? It might help by sharing your favorite keyboard, and what you like about it. Some of the features to consider (by no means exhaustive): 1. Width: 60%, TKL, or full-size 2. Height: Normal or low-profile 3. Key layout: Ergonomic, ortho, staggered 4. OS-friendly layout: Mac or Windows 5. Switches: clicky, tactile, linear 6. Misc: RGB, programmable keys, wireless P…

I very much like my Lenovo thinkpad laptop keyboard. I like the compact layout, proportion and sturdiness of it. Do you think I’d be happy with the Keychron?

You’re in luck! There are a number of USB Lenovo thinkpad keyboards with track points, and sometimes trackpads in full and ten key-less formats. (I believe it’s also fairly straightforward to convert a ‘replacement’ x220/x230 keyboard to USB). Here’s a couple of model numbers to get started: FRU 0B47221 FRU 40K9427

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#83

Post by onetimertwo »

qudat wrote: post #17
kalessin wrote: post #12

I strongly recommend split hands, ortholinear layout and thumb clusters too, as well as a programmable firmware so you can setup your own layers.

I’ve been using corne (40% ortho split) for software development for over a year now. It is most definitely the way to go. Having common symbols () {} be on a layer on the home row is so fantastic for typing speed.

Same, the corne (and generally 40s with layers) are great for programming.

I had to learn touch typing, but it was well invested time.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#84

Post by jnxx »

I am using a Matias Tactile Pro, which is similar to that old mechanical IBM keyboard with an layout with a lot of symbols (which might be nice if you do math and data science). It is heavy, big, and super loud but I really like the sound, and it feels just good. I have good experiences with it, using it since about eight years. Has also two USB ports which is useful for charging stuff and gadgets.

I have to warn about the Matias Quiet versions though - they are not durable and keys are failing quickly. Unbelievable the difference in quality.

Many people make a fuss about ergonomic keyboard layouts. I just do not understand why. My recommendation is this:

1. Chose a layout which is useful for your language(s) and programming - best layouts for this are often from multi-lingual countries like UK International (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY#United_Kingdom_(Extende...), or Canadian, or such. (Some national layouts like German are horrible because keys like '{' or '}' cannot be reached in an ergonomic way. It might therefore be better to put rarely-used regional characters on dead-keys, which is exactly what UK International, for example, does.)

2. Learn to touch-type on that one layout, and stick to it.

Anything else is very unlikely to ever give any return in time you invest. Especially when you are coding - the key that is used most often for code is empirically the "Delete" key, and that's for a reason.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#85

Post by drudoo »

It really depends on what you want to use it for. I have multiple different keyboards for different tasks.

Mechanical keyboards is a huge rabbit hole (reddit.com/r/mechanicalKeyboards).

I split my keyboards up in three categories: writing, programming, gaming.

For gaming i like to have a smaller keyboard with easy reach for all the essential keys. Here i often use a split keyboard or a 60% keyboard.

For programming i dont like too small keyboards (less than 60% is frustrating) and i don't enjoy programming using split keyboards.

For writing i often use 40% or split keyboards.

Currently at my home office i use an Alice-style keyboard from Switch Couture [1]. Here i have silent linear switches (Rosélios [2]). I like the alice-style for my general work, as i both write a lot of emails and do a bit of programming. From time to time i switch to one of my split keyboards, if i have a lot of writing to do. I currently don't have a favorite split board, but i use both Kyria [3] and Lily58 [4]. The stagger is a bit different and i'm not sure which i like more. I have an unbuild Corne [5] that i'm gonna try soon.

I don't often go to the office, but when i do, i take a small 40% board with me. It's a simple AMJ40 [6] that doesn't take up much space. At the office, most days go with in-person meetings anyway, so not much typing is done.

When i'm off work, i usually switch to either a Space65 or Think6.5 V2. Both are 65% from Graystudio [7]. The Space65 uses Holy Panda switches, which are louder tactile switches on an aluminium plate, whereas the Think6.5 V2 uses Gateron Milky Yellows on a FR4 plate, which are much more quiet. If i decide to do some gaming, i usually pull out one half of my Kyria and switch to one of my gaming layers. I have layers for WoW, Diablo, LoL, HotS etc.

I have other boards too, but they rarely see use, as these 6 boards seems to cover my needs.

As i said to start with, this is a rabbit hole. I've spend $3000 on keyboards in 2020, as i needed a covid hobby. I stopped buying new boards and accessories in the start of 2021, as the spending and FOMO got out of hand. Had to go cold turkey.

[1] https://switchcouture.com/products/switch-couture-acrylic-al...

[2] https://zealpc.net/products/sakurio-roselio

[3] https://splitkb.com/

[4] https://keyhive.xyz/shop/lily58

[5] https://keyhive.xyz/shop/corne-v3

[6] https://flashquark.com/product/amj40-40-mechanical-keyboard-...

[7] https://graystudio.club/

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#86

Post by swah »

I recommend a TKL from Aliexpress. Gateron Yellows are fine switches.

(For example - recently I tested a Keydous NJ80 - didn't get used to the layout - but loved the quality. Most mech keyboards are great unless you try the really high end stuff first... I'd say you get what you pay for and around 80-100 USD you can get a good enough keyboard)

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#87

Post by perrylaj »

kalessin wrote: post #12

I strongly recommend split hands, ortholinear layout and thumb clusters too, as well as a programmable firmware so you can setup your own layers.

This is my suggestion too. I had a Kinesis, switched to keyboardio and am really happy with it. There is a learning curve, and you feel quite unproductive at first, but you learn quickly and once comfortable, they are better than anything else I've tried.

edit: meant Kinesis

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#88

Post by lcall »

For me, the angle matters, but also the softness of the touch. For this reason I have loved the Kinesis Freestyle 2. I really tried hard for some weeks, and much customization, to like the Kinesis Advantage, which is programmable, but the keys were just too stiff for my hands' comfort.

Maybe someday I'll have to try more of the other kinds, that people discuss. Time/$/priorities...

Edit: I've tried multiple MS split keyboards but they were also a bit stiff. The nearest other I've liked was a Belkin that I found somehow at work, but I forget which model.

(Ps: if someone seriously wants to try my Advantage enough to make it super-easy for me to mail it to them, it's just sitting here in the box...)

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#89

Post by mrvenkman »

rootusrootus wrote: post #23

I've been using a CODE keyboard [0] for the last five years or so. Been pretty happy overall, the only complaint I could have is that some of the paint is wearing off on well used keys. It is a traditional layout, no split, nothing like that. But I have personally found that I only get sore wrists and fingers when I let the room temperature get too low, so I keep it warm and my keyboard choice seems to have no effect…

They are about $200?

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#90

Post by mrvenkman »

thebeastie wrote: post #22
ridiculous_fish wrote: post #10

What sort of keyboard are you looking for, for what use? It might help by sharing your favorite keyboard, and what you like about it. Some of the features to consider (by no means exhaustive): 1. Width: 60%, TKL, or full-size 2. Height: Normal or low-profile 3. Key layout: Ergonomic, ortho, staggered 4. OS-friendly layout: Mac or Windows 5. Switches: clicky, tactile, linear 6. Misc: RGB, programmable keys, wireless P…

I very much like my Lenovo thinkpad laptop keyboard. I like the compact layout, proportion and sturdiness of it. Do you think I’d be happy with the Keychron?

I also have a Lenovo laptop, it’s an Ideapad. And am very happy with how it is for coding - which is what I use it for.
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