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Blank Keyboards (Das)

maximharper.co.uk

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Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#11

Post by pudgereyem »

QUOTE : >"In 2005, in a personal quest to improve his own typing speed and accuracy, Metadot Corporation founder and self-proclaimed “Uber Geek” Daniel Guermeur asked to have a totally blank keyboard created. To his surprise, his typing speed doubled after just a few weeks of use."

When reading the history of Das Keyboard I get the feeling that the founder (Daniel Guermeur) felt an increase in typing speed due to the "blank" keys?

As hackers tend not to look at the keyboard when typing, is there any reason to have blank keys other then the badass feeling of it?

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#12

Post by exDM69 »

swah wrote: post #8
moistgorilla wrote: post #3

Mechanical keyboards are amazing. Typing on one is actually a pleasurable experience. I could go on about the benefits but other people have written guides that are much better than what I could post here. Here is one great guide. http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide What I will say is that for anyone that has a job that involves massive amounts of typing I really recommend you invest in one. I…

How noisy is it? Can you type at midnight with someone sleeping near you?

> Can you type at midnight with someone sleeping near you?

No, you can't. Not even with the "silent" model.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#13

Post by Paul_S »

pudgereyem wrote: post #11

QUOTE : >"In 2005, in a personal quest to improve his own typing speed and accuracy, Metadot Corporation founder and self-proclaimed “Uber Geek” Daniel Guermeur asked to have a totally blank keyboard created. To his surprise, his typing speed doubled after just a few weeks of use." When reading the history of Das Keyboard I get the feeling that the founder (Daniel Guermeur) felt an increase in typing speed due to the…

The only reason I can think of is to confuse your coworkers. Maybe it's to force people to learn to touchtype by going cold turkey on the visual aid?

As far I as I can tell it's just an overpriced gimmick.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#14

Post by sneak »

jgrahamc wrote: post #2

If you want to try this you can go the cheap way and just stick black stickers on your existing keyboard.

Or just stop looking at it. I've never understood this. Why does it need to be blank?

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#15

Post by Paul_S »

moistgorilla wrote: post #3

Mechanical keyboards are amazing. Typing on one is actually a pleasurable experience. I could go on about the benefits but other people have written guides that are much better than what I could post here. Here is one great guide. http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide What I will say is that for anyone that has a job that involves massive amounts of typing I really recommend you invest in one. I…

Unless you're willing to spend in excess of £300 on a keyboard you can't buy a mechanical keyboard that is also ergonomic. And I think it's more important for a keyboard to be comfortable rather than enjoyable. As long as you keep replacing the cheap ergonomic keyboard every few years you're still better off, I think.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#16

Post by sethco »

pudgereyem wrote: post #11

QUOTE : >"In 2005, in a personal quest to improve his own typing speed and accuracy, Metadot Corporation founder and self-proclaimed “Uber Geek” Daniel Guermeur asked to have a totally blank keyboard created. To his surprise, his typing speed doubled after just a few weeks of use." When reading the history of Das Keyboard I get the feeling that the founder (Daniel Guermeur) felt an increase in typing speed due to the…

I started using blank keyboards about three years ago and it did in fact force me to touch type and has increased my typing speed a lot. Even after ten years of programming I was a 4-6 finger hunt & peck typist. Once I started using a blank keyboard I quickly broke the habit of looking at the keys and picked up proper touch typing form naturally.

Plus it is badass.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#17

Post by lazerwalker »

Can anyone speak to the difference in key feel between using one of these and using one of the more traditional modern-day Model M clones (e.g. Unicomp/http://pckeyboard.com)? I love the idea of getting a mechanical keyboard, but can't shake the feeling that the blank keys is just something of a gimmick.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#18

Post by Confusion »

sneak wrote: post #14
jgrahamc wrote: post #2

If you want to try this you can go the cheap way and just stick black stickers on your existing keyboard.

Or just stop looking at it. I've never understood this. Why does it need to be blank?

Because you may think you're not looking, but -- unless you're a trained touch-typist -- you actually are looking. Even if only occasionally noticing something in your peripheral field of vision. 'Looking' is not necessarily a conscious act.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#19

Post by sethco »

I am a big fan of mechanical key switches; blank keys are partially a gimmick but also can be a useful tool to force you to touch type. I use a Filco tenkeyless board with cherry blue switches and blank key caps today and am very happy with it.

I have a Das Ultimate in the closet but overall I didn't like it. The usb controller was flakey and occasionally froze or doubled key strokes, hopefully they have fixed this issue but it was just too much. Other than that, it has a glossy finish that shows dirt and smudges too much and the size is overwhelming; I like to keep my trackpad close to the right side of the keyboard and having the number pad on that side meant a long movement.

Re: Blank Keyboards (Das)

#20

Post by makmanalp »

sneak wrote: post #14
jgrahamc wrote: post #2

If you want to try this you can go the cheap way and just stick black stickers on your existing keyboard.

Or just stop looking at it. I've never understood this. Why does it need to be blank?

Because expensive keyboards make more profit than black stickers and people love showing off how badass they are.
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