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The CODE Keyboard

codinghorror.com

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Re: The CODE Keyboard

#311

Post by RogerL »

fusiongyro wrote: post #184
mynameisvlad wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but your time-unit won't change if you get a Kinesis Advantage over a regular keyboard, so, even per time-unit, it's still more expensive.

I suppose that's true in a tacky arithmetic way. Shit keyboards are basically free. They also ruin your hands. So you have to prioritize a little. Having used the same Kinesis for six years I don't have a lot of sympathy for not being willing to shell out <$50/year for the most important part of the computer. In a discussion about someone trying to sell me a $150 dollar version of the free shit keyboard it seems even…

Yes, but people are reporting that the very expensive keyboards are not helping them. So, we are not solving a problem for $300 or whatever, we are taking a chance at solving a problem at $300. That's a different optimization problem, with a perhaps different solution.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#312

Post by chipotle_coyote »

kps wrote: post #278
chipotle_coyote wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ALPS still makes mechanical keyswitches and I think Filco makes their own, don't they? Also, Unicomp makes "buckling spring" keyswitches for their own use.

ALPS hasn't made their keyswitches for a long time, but Matias [1] has put a slight variant back into production. (ALPS switches are probably best known from the Apple Extended and other Apple keyboards of that era.) [1] http://matias.ca/

Interesting! I thought Matias was using ALPS switches, rather than producing their own "ALPS-like" switches -- although that makes sense. I own a Matias Tactile Pro and liked it initially, but over the course of a few weeks I realized it made my fingertips sore in a way that I didn't remember old Apple keyboards doing (or my TRS-80 Model 4 keyboard, way back when, which turned out to use ALPS keyswitches). My favorites now seem to be Unicomp's buckling spring, although the Cherry Blue switches are a close second. (I haven't been able to try any of the other Cherry switches.)

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#314

Post by throwit1979 »

tammer wrote: post #139
X-Istence wrote: post #97

I don't understand what the obsession is with the old IBM Model M type keyboards. I am able to type faster and more accurately on my Apple flat aluminum keyboard that I have ever been able to type on a Model M. On top of that, switching to a flatter keyboard that sits closer to the desk has actually caused any and all pain I used to get while typing to go away. The other thing is I'd miss the extra function keys I ge…

The difference is pressure - you have to be used to typing softly on newer Apple keyboards or else you'll soon get pain from the low travel. Learning to do so can be very rewarding, since the low travel allows a very fast keypress. Typing softly in general is great for finger pain, and mechanical keyboards allow one to use more force but retract before connecting with the keyboard's backplane (bottoming-out in keyboa…

or else you'll soon get pain from the low travel.

Huh? I am wracking my brain trying to figure out how, biomechanically, a short keystroke can cause pain.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#315

Post by chipotle_coyote »

dsuth wrote: post #174
EvanYou wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. I've used a Filco MajesticTouch (with Cherry MX Brown) for a like a month but switched back to Apple keyboards because I prefer its flatness.

This is the exact model I'm typing on now, and have a Das Keyboard for Mac at home (because I couldn't find anything less pretentious-sounding with Mac keys). The thing I prefer with this keyboard over the Mac standard, and similar low-profile keyboards, is the lack of 'mushiness' when you hit a key. Did I hit that key with the right amount of pressure? Did it really register, or just kinda mush into place? This is l…

Unicomp's Spacesaver M is a buckling spring keyboard with Mac keys. I like it a bit more than the Das, and it's both cheaper and seems to be built better. (It's pretty ugly, though.)

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#317

Post by throwit1979 »

pqs wrote: post #229
abecedarius wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still puzzles me: who touchtypes looking at the keys?

People that can't type! But, why would someone who can't type buy such a keyboard? I guess it's about aesthetics.

Aesthetics, right, ok.

Anecdotally: I've been programming for over 20 years. I am a fast and accurate typist, but I never learned to touch-type and as a consequence, I need to see my fingers relative to the keys occasionally. I cannot do this in the dark without backlit keys.

You should probably not assume that everyone who uses computers is a touch-typist.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#318

Post by nvarsj »

It should go without saying that keyboards are highly personal, especially for developers. Having said that, this keyboard looks pretty terrible to me - nothing novel and all the things I dislike in standard keyboards. Really, a keypad?

Look into a $100 10 keyless cherry switch keyboard for a big improvement (filcos are particulary good). Or my favorite layout, the happy hacker keyboard pro.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#319

Post by nvarsj »

throwit1979 wrote: post #314
tammer wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference is pressure - you have to be used to typing softly on newer Apple keyboards or else you'll soon get pain from the low travel. Learning to do so can be very rewarding, since the low travel allows a very fast keypress. Typing softly in general is great for finger pain, and mechanical keyboards allow one to use more force but retract before connecting with the keyboard's backplane (bottoming-out in keyboa…

or else you'll soon get pain from the low travel. Huh? I am wracking my brain trying to figure out how, biomechanically, a short keystroke can cause pain.

Because you bottom out. With some practice, you can use a mechanical keyboard with never hitting the bottom because you can tell when the key engages (e.g. with a click or change in pressure). Some people believe this can reduce stress on the finger.

Re: The CODE Keyboard

#320

Post by jacques_chester »

agumonkey wrote: post #294
jacques_chester wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So did I. For example, I'd think about reclaiming the top row, where the numbers live. On keyboards with a numpad, they're passengers. At the very least, invert the meaning of shift, so the default is to produce sigils.

Nice idea, even though I'd head toward a more dramatic different path.

Such as?

I mean the next step IMO is to borrow inspiration from some computer game peripherals and allow buttons to be physically laid out in a different way.

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