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My Mechanical Keyboard

joeposnanski.com

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Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#71

Post by type0 »

Svenstaro wrote: post #27
alfredxing wrote: post #26

I find it a bit ironic that after complaining that Apple keyboards have lost all of their "sound" and "force", he goes out and buys a keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches, which have no tactility, no feedback, and very low actuation force.

Have you ever used a keyboard with Cherry MX Reds? It's actually great fun and certainly has that mechanic feel to it.

I tried reds and its worse than chiclet or butterfly keys, a lot of mistyping. I bet it's good for games though. Blues are annoying, the browns are the sweet spot.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#72

Post by arvinsim »

alfredxing wrote: post #26

I find it a bit ironic that after complaining that Apple keyboards have lost all of their "sound" and "force", he goes out and buys a keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches, which have no tactility, no feedback, and very low actuation force.

He is very new to this mechanical keyboard thing. He can be forgiven that he is not familiar with the different types on that account.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#73

Post by dom0 »

ipsin wrote: post #37
hueving wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does cross into irrational territory though when you can make money with an equivalent tool.

I don't even know what "irrational" means in this context. If I enjoy using the keyboard and think it improves my performance, even if I am mistaken, how is that irrational? Happiness is not a measure of efficiency.

Don't you see, you always need to optimize yourself and everything around you using rational methods. If no rational methods are available, fall back to pseudorational methods. Easy.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#74

Post by mojuba »

It seems to me, the latest wave of disappointed Apple fans who declare their break up is a sign of something interesting.

It means you picked up Apple in the 2000s, but you can't keep up anymore. It might just be that Apple is moving forward, you are not.

Just as a hypothesis. Time will show.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#75

Post by noir_lord »

rdtsc wrote: post #10

I think people always are easily obsessed and get attached to things they touch. Those things becomes extensions of themselves. I am that way about my smart phone, keyboard and headphones. I could replace the monitor tomorrow without thinking twice about it. Get a new hard drive, new router, even a new a new laptop because I don't touch but use an external keyboard. But, as soon as my IBM Model M keyboard stopped wor…

I used the Cherry MX blues for quite a while, the 3000's series are exceptional value for money.

Sadly I had to switch to an Ergo 4000 at home and work due to postural issues and while it is a lovely keyboard and works well I miss the clicky-clack (even used https://github.com/skkeeper/linux-clicky for a while) :)

I fully understand what you mean about getting attached to technology though, I feel like that about my franken-desktop and my old(ish) Vostro laptop which I nurse a long, it's dented, battered and scratched but it's mine.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#76

Post by noir_lord »

renke1 wrote: post #62
superbaconman wrote: post #7

IMO the keyboard is the software engineer's most important tool. I feel most at home on a Chromebook keyboard (ctrl and alt keys on both sides with no win or cmd keys), but I can't find a good external Chromebook keyboard. Even if I could find one, it probably wouldn't be mechanical or wireless (two more keyboard features I love). I'm with Joe, today's keyboards make me sad.

My favorite keyboard is an external Thinkpad keyboard [1]. I can't live without a TrackPoint because I never have to leave the home row with it! [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3U4TQS/

I keep looking at those and thinking about getting one, do they really feel like the old Thinkpad keyboards in use?

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#77

Post by michaelgrafl »

I don't know or care if mechanical keyboards increase my typing speed and/or precision, but they feel great and make me enjoy work more. If I can choose between a rocky desk and a sturdy one, I'll choose the latter, although they both do the job sufficiently well for my needs.

A few months ago I got myself a tenkeyless with brown Cherry MX switches, and I am getting a second one now, because I can't be bothered to type on a rubber dome at home anymore. I might even paint this one and install PBT keys and O-rings, which only shows that I'm enjoying these things enough to develop a full blown fetish.

I also agree that the MacBook keyboards were pretty great before the retina ones were introduced, and they seem to get worse (flatter) with every revision. I now prefer the current Lenovo chiclets over the current Apple ones.

The Apple Trackpad still rocks my socks off, though.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#78

Post by fnj »

kpil wrote: post #44
nitrogen wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a matter of ergonomics, as well as aesthetic taste. Some keyboards allow some keyboardists to make more money than other keyboards. If you can type faster and enjoy typing more, you can make more money, and you're more likely to stick with the profession. If your keyboard makes you hate every moment of your day because of the way it feels or because it injures your hands or wrists, then you will likely make less…

A colleague snapped once at the recently delivered $5 keyboard attached to a really expensive workstation, and ripped out the cheap rattling keyboard with keys that twist and hooks into others, and smashed it into a pillar and then broke it in half. Keys where flying over the office. Silence. And then applause. I don't really understand why professional tools are allowed to be so absolutely horrible.

Destroying a keyboard is actually pretty hard - something like physically cracking a CD. I have accomplished it however. I am notorious for keyboard rage, and have hurt the heel of my right hand pretty badly on multiple occasions pounding mercilessly on keyboards.

I'll say one thing about my Unicomp keyboard. I have beat it savagely while enraged at some other screw-up in the computer or OS. I have sent keys flying, but always I could find them and snap them back in easily. It is physically as strong as a brick outhouse. After many years I have succeeded in wearing away some of the corners of the lettering on the E, S, and A keys, but they are still readable, and it is still as tight mechanically as new.

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#79

Post by fnj »

mojuba wrote: post #74

It seems to me, the latest wave of disappointed Apple fans who declare their break up is a sign of something interesting. It means you picked up Apple in the 2000s, but you can't keep up anymore. It might just be that Apple is moving forward, you are not. Just as a hypothesis. Time will show.

Jobs' reality distortion field has outlived him!

Re: My Mechanical Keyboard

#80

Post by bryanlarsen »

edcastro wrote: post #23
keyle wrote: post #14

I have about 5 mechanical keyboards (WASD, Duckys, DAS, ...) and yet if I want to type fast, I use an apple keyboard. The short travel distance of those keys really work for me. I've been waiting for switches that are somewhere in between, mechanical but thin travel. I've looked at some really esoteric and rare keyboards as well but I wouldn't fork $220 for a keyboard... Anyways I totally understand his view though.…

It seems the Razer Blade Pro comes with a low-profile mechanical keyboard, maybe they will do a external keyboard with those. Petition? :D

they make an iPad pro keyboard case with them. Hopefully they make a more general variant.

http://www.razerzone.com/ca-en/gaming-keyboards-keypads/raze...

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