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Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#91

Post by PolygonSheep »

Unicomp Model M. When IBM discontinued production of buckling spring keyboards the employees at the plant in Kentucky bought the factory, the tooling, and the rights to the (now expired) patents and kept on making the Model M the same as in 1985. It's a bit like how they kept making the original air cooled VW Beetle in Mexico years after everyone else moved on.

They're nearly not as well known as they should be because they don't do any marketing at all. And at $104 they're not expensive by premium keyboard standards.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#92

Post by potatochup »

lcall wrote: post #88

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…

Another fan of the freestyle here (although I have the pro)

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#93

Post by jokab »

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.

3 months on Corne and Colemak. Dont attempt if you just started a new job, dont ask me how I know.

The only benefit for me is I started to appreciate keyboard macros (built in/QMK, or AHK), IDE custom snippets, and gaming mouse macros (navigation mainly eg: goto implementation/definition, booarks, etc).

It made me a slightly better dev because I now take advantage of these features

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#94

Post by d4rkp4ttern »

All of these fancy mech keyboards miss one key problem - the mouse still needs to be clicked and therein lies the source of numerous strains and injuries. I’ve tried several mech keyboards and my last one was a KeyChron 3, but recently I got tired of issues with my ultra wide monitor and returned to working on my 16” MacBook Pro and realized what a relief it is not have to deal with a mouse, because the built in trackpad feels so great, and I find myself looking not as much for keyboard shortcuts.

Anyway I wonder if there’s a set up that combines the benefits of a mech keyboard with a trackpad conveniently placed right below and feel as “natural” as when using a MacBook Pro (or similar laptop with built in trackpad).

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#96

Post by jmiserez »

johnm wrote: post #59
vladdoster wrote: post #56

If you need a keyboard NOW, take a severe look at the Kinesis Advantage 2. It has a learning curve, but it's a small price to pay to have a very comfortable typing experience AND incredible customizability it offers (e.g., macros & hardware-defined key re-mapping). However, don't bother downloading the software as it's not great. BUT, if you can wait a few months... they have a modern version slated to release this s…

I've worn out multiple of them over many many years of using the Kinesis Advantage (and then Advantage 2) (before I went down the splergo rabbit hole). One thing to note is that people with large hands and/or long finger lengths can find the fixed size hand wells too cramped. Another thing to note is that they are loud .

The version with MX Silent switches is considerably quieter than the standard MX Red version. I'm hoping the Kinesis 360 coming out this year will be even quieter.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#97

Post by cutthegrass2 »

BoorishBears wrote: post #36

Toore is highly overrated, build quality is not there with most common implementations (looking st you HHKB) Get a Keychron hot swappable, buy some Boba U4/U4T (U4 is silent, U4T is thocky) and install them. and for under $120 and 0 soldering you have a world class typing experience

I have a couple of HHKB's (hybrid type s) and I find the build quality to be excellent.

Granted, they feel lighter than i'd expected for a ~$300 keyboard, but they've been rock solid for me for the past few years.

Maybe you got one made on a Friday afternoon?

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#98

Post by organsnyder »

reirob wrote: post #79
organsnyder wrote: post #44

I've really enjoyed using my Ultimate Hacking Keyboard. It's helped me get over a lot of wrist pain, and I love how customizable it is (every key can be customized to send any scancode, macro, mouse, etc.). I also have the touchpad and extra key modules. Not cheap, but I use it for ~8 hours every workday. https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

I am quite curious about using this keyboard without a mouse (in the demo video there seems to be a key called mouse, just above the left shift) - maybe someone who uses it as a mouse can chime in? Alternatively would be interested as well about the trackpoint module - does somebody use it? How precise is it to use it with a thumb, compared with the usage of an original ThinkPad trackpoint or is the TEX Shinobi [1].…

The mouse layer maps keys to mouse movements, buttons and scrolling: hold down the mouse key (or lock it on if you have that mapped) and you can use the arrow keys (JIKL by default) for mouse movements, and other keys for buttons. From a USB HID perspective it behaves identically to a regular mouse.

I haven't used the trackpoint module, but they've put a ton of thought into every other module, so I expect it would be quite good.

I'm a bit of a pointing device hoarder (I have at least four different trackballs and a couple of ergonomic mice), so I always have a few close at hand. I find myself using a regular trackball/mouse (alternating between my favorites to reduce RSI) for my primary pointing device, but the mouse layer is very handy for when I just need to move the mouse a bit and don't want to move my hands from the keyboard.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#99

Post by johnm »

d4rkp4ttern wrote: post #94

All of these fancy mech keyboards miss one key problem - the mouse still needs to be clicked and therein lies the source of numerous strains and injuries. I’ve tried several mech keyboards and my last one was a KeyChron 3, but recently I got tired of issues with my ultra wide monitor and returned to working on my 16” MacBook Pro and realized what a relief it is not have to deal with a mouse, because the built in trac…

I use Corne(-ish Zen) that is a split-ergo on top of my MBP keyboard. It's low profile (uses choc switches).

I have an additional touch pad that I use with the same keyboard on my desk.

Re: Ask HN: What are some good keyboards?

#100

Post by ohm »

lcall wrote: post #88

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…

If you are willing to part with the keyboard I would buy it from you. My Microsoft 4000 keyboard finally stopped working and I’m looking for replacement.
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