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Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

nickjanetakis.com

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Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#51
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The operative phrase in the original comment was “without mentioning”.

> The operative phrase in the original comment was “without mentioning”. As a reader you wouldn't be weirded out if the first section of the article was to justify why an affiliate link was used? That would annoy me as a reader a lot more than having an affiliate link used without mention. I mean, I'm not sitting there trying to trick people into clicking links. The blog post is just an honest look / opinion on the k…

> As a reader you wouldn't be weirded out if the first section of the article was to justify why an affiliate link was used?

Nope, and as the flagging of this article shows, it's worse without disclosure.

It's not just an ethical requirement, it's a legal one. (I believe Amazon's affiliate program guidelines requires disclosure)

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#52
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The operative phrase in the original comment was “without mentioning”.

> The operative phrase in the original comment was “without mentioning”. As a reader you wouldn't be weirded out if the first section of the article was to justify why an affiliate link was used? That would annoy me as a reader a lot more than having an affiliate link used without mention. I mean, I'm not sitting there trying to trick people into clicking links. The blog post is just an honest look / opinion on the k…

This is just routine disclosure and it might be legally required. There's been a lot of noise about it in recent years as a lot of blogs, reviewers and influencers started getting paid to pitch products without disclosure.

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/if-influencers-are...

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#53
post #46

> Jokes aside, I totally understand the appeal of mechanical keyboards. I’ve used them and it is satisfying to hear that clickity-click sound and the keys do feel amazing but that just doesn’t work for me due to being on so many pair programming calls and recording video courses. I don't like it when people equate mechanical keyboards to loudness. They don't have to be loud! My keyboard has MX Clear switches which ar…

I wouldn't say I'm a mechanical keyboard expert in the sense that I personally spent months assembling and disassembling a few of them while putting on custom switches and all of that but I have used (and listened) to a few of them in situations where it was in a controlled environment (I know what the room is like, the mic used, positioning of everything, the switches, etc.) and I haven't found any mechanical keyboa…

Silenced Cherry, Gateron, ZealPC, Aliaz, and Outemu switches are near inaudible when lubed.

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#54

Maybe it's just because my keyboard is >15 times as expensive but I have an extremely hard time believing that the Amazon keyboard is in the same league. I can't help but feel like if the author unironically prefers a $15 keyboard (and believes that mechanical keyboards are all loud) then maybe he shouldn't be writing a blog post about keyboards because he doesn't really know what he's talking about.

The article is just expressing the authors opinion on his favorite keyboard. He can't really be wrong about that.

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#55

I'm a keyboard enthusiast, I have a collection of ~15 mechanical keyboards with various switches, hand lubed, modded (spring swapped, stem swapped) various materials and sizes from the plastic HHKB to the monstrous TX1800 (fits the keys you'd find in a full size keyboard into the frame of a TKL). I'm happy the writer has found a keyboard that works for them. Although I think that they'd be able to get a better typing…

I've heard keyboards that use dome with slider designs, like Packard Bell keyboards, are about as cheap as generic non-mechanical keyboards, but avoid the mushy bottom-out, making the typing experience infinitely better.

Something like the Topre Realforce keyboards are nice if you want something a bit softer but still high-end. Most of the reasons we end up with bad feeling keyboards is companies looking to cut costs. I highly encourage other developers/typists to find an opportunity to give a good mechanical keyboard a try.

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#56
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it advertising? I'm the author of the post. I've used this keyboard for half a decade before I decided to write about it. If you read a few paragraphs of the article you'll see I am using this "generic" keyboard because it's great. Typing is also a pretty important thing for programmers and I've seen plenty of like/dislike posts about various keyboards. It very much applies to developers.

I (now) understand your intention was to simply share your opinion of the keyboard, I happened to see the post in the same format many other commodity-like product posts take: disguising themselves as a genuine review, but really just exist to peddle a product. Intention can be hard to convey on the internet, and if you meant it as a genuine product endorsement, sorry for misinterpreting you.

It's ok, no problem.

Actually posting this taught me a pretty good lesson on how hard it is not to be anonymous on the internet. That and I need to drop a 1 liner in the very few posts I have that contain affiliate links.

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#59

> Your rollover is the worst possible value you get. > With the Amazon Basics keyboard I’ve seen as high as a 6 key rollover when pressing spui c "As high as" implies that you've also seen lower. Which isn't the rollover of the keyboard. My crappy two-key rollover (QWA fails) keyboard supports that specific keystroke combination.

Unless he edited it in the last 10 minutes since your comment, it already says > Out of everything listed about this keyboard, its rollover is its biggest weakness as it only supports a 2 key rollover in the worst case.

I didn't edit it.

That was in the article when I originally posted it. He even quoted me in his quote with "> Your rollover is the worst possible value you get.".

Re: Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard

#60
post #40

> Jokes aside, I totally understand the appeal of mechanical keyboards. I’ve used them and it is satisfying to hear that clickity-click sound and the keys do feel amazing but that just doesn’t work for me due to being on so many pair programming calls and recording video courses. I don't like it when people equate mechanical keyboards to loudness. They don't have to be loud! My keyboard has MX Clear switches which ar…

Well the author also thinks pair programming is a good idea so I'd take what they say with a grain of salt. Also I get the impression this article is just a thinly veiled ad for their courses.

Sorry, enlighten me - why is pair programming such an awful idea, in your opinion?
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