Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

jackevansevo.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 389 posts

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#61

Post by darkteflon »

infecto wrote: post #19
frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

Depends on what you are doing of course. Cannot speak to the fashion side of it but my original motivator to move to a keypad less was to reduce the distance of the mouse to my typing space. I do not do any type of data entry and rarely type numbers with enough frequency to require it.

Same for me. The shorter distance seems to put substantially less strain on my wrists and shoulder. Can’t imagine sitting in front of a tenkey for hours at a time now.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#62

Post by [deleted] »

shermozle wrote: post #8

I've used the MS Natural keyboards for years. I'd love to move to a mechanical model but the sites selling keyboards are really confusing. What do I have to buy to get a functioning keyboard? A shell? Switches? Other stuff? I really don't know what I'm looking at. Anyone got a good entry point?

[deleted]

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#63

Post by coldpie »

chrsw wrote: post #5

Even after all these years it's hard to beat the Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite. I wish someone made a mechanical version. I'm typing this on a Keychron Q11 so maybe I'm in a similar boat as the author.

Feker Alice 98! It just came out this year and it's the perfect replacement for the old MS Natural boards.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#64

Post by EtienneK »

frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

I have a TKL for work and and also use it to game. Having more space for mouse movement is great when playing games. I never used a numpad anyway, so I don't miss it at all.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#65

Post by littlelady »

frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

1. I have narrow shoulders, switching to a smaller keyboard has dramatically decreased the amount of shoulder and elbow pain I had.

2. I almost never do number entry, but if I do I have a dedicated number pad.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#66

Post by coreyh14444 »

EtienneK wrote: post #56

I was expecting to see 10s of keyboards as you'd see from most in r/MechanicalKeyboards and was disappointed to only find 5. Not an unhealthy relationship at all!

I was going to do the Crocodile Dundee "That's not a knife, this is a knife" routine on this one. Taeha Types, Glarses, Hipyo Tech, Switch and Click, et al, would like to have a word.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#67

Post by coreyh14444 »

coreyh14444 wrote: post #66
EtienneK wrote: post #56

I was expecting to see 10s of keyboards as you'd see from most in r/MechanicalKeyboards and was disappointed to only find 5. Not an unhealthy relationship at all!

I was going to do the Crocodile Dundee "That's not a knife, this is a knife" routine on this one. Taeha Types, Glarses, Hipyo Tech, Switch and Click, et al, would like to have a word.

And I'm typing this on a fully custom, hand soldered, hand lubed, modded Maja V2 from KBDFans and MT3 keycaps from Drop. Easily costs more than all those boards in that post combined. And let's just say this is not my only keyboard.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#68

Post by serf »

h2odragon wrote: post #2

I got to start with Victor keyboards, which was a little bit of a "silver spoon". The only thing that was ever better than a model M. Sometime around '97 I got a bunch of real Model M's from a school; spent a while refurbishing up a bunch of them, and then used that stack for like 20 years. They lived an average of 3yr under my hands. Since then i use unicomp "new model M". This one has been going stong for 2+yr now,…

>Since then i use unicomp "new model M". This one has been going stong for 2+yr now, expect it to start losing function soon. Tried a couple different logitech "mechanical" and beat them to death in under a year.

I had one of those for a bit but it had constant firmware issues. usb dropouts and resets that required a full power-off. had to return it.

was an OK repro as far as the typing feel goes, though.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#69

Post by Jackevansevo »

sime2009 wrote: post #15
pelalmqvist wrote: post #7

I might be biased by spending too much time watching people dive into the hobby of mechanical keyboards, but I'm impressed he found the strenght to not go too far into it.

I'm just surprised that this low level of engagement with keyboards is considered on the "unhealthy" side of the fence. I mean, this is only about 5 keyboards and not even owned at the same time.

Apologies for the clickbait headline.

My dad worked in IT and used the same keyboard for like 20+ years. Part of me hopes that one day I can find a board that survives for an extended period of time, but I guess modern spending habits and build quality has changed. I have to buy a new phone every 2/3 years for the same reasons.

Re: My Unhealthy Relationship with Keyboards

#70

Post by VBprogrammer »

frameset wrote: post #16

I really don't understand the numpad-less trend of fashionable keyboards. Doing any kind of number entry beyond one or two digits is very annoying without one. They also don't take up that much space really. If your keyboard is a portable one you pack with you on trips, I get it. If it lives on a desk, why not splash out the small amount extra to make number entry much easier.

I particularly hate number pads on laptop keyboards because they put the touch pad right where my wrist occasionally touches as I type.

I've used the old Mac 104 key aluminium wired keyboard for about 10 years now. I originally used it with Linux and now with MacOS at work and my home Windows PC. I've occasionally had minor difficulties with mapping but nothing insurmountable.

Post reply on HN