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User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

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Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#61

It always seemed odd to me that an American company tries to use an ostensibly German brand name to imply quality, instead of going for Made in US. Of course, they don't make these in the US... they're made by some contractors in China and/or Taiwan.

Sorry to break this to you but outside the US "made in the US" is up there with "made in China" as an indicator of quality.

I personally associate "made in the US" with technologically simple but robust.

I guess that's because my two points of reference are my CST LaserTRAC trackball and my Oster beard trimmer.

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#62
post #4

If you're looking for a high quality cherry switched keyboard, Das was already company you wanted to avoid - and now possibly even moreso. Das is definitely a "brand over product" company and the market is flooded with much better alternatives, eg Leopold, Varmilo, IKBC, Vortex, Filco, etc.

I own two Corsair keyboards, the Strafe RGB(with Red Silent switches for office use) and a K68 with Red switches for home - they are both fantastic, and Corsair support has been nothing but stellar for me - the Strafe had a small issue with one of the keys, they have shipped a replacement straight away and only then I had to ship the old keyboard back. Well worth the money, and the software is very decent too.

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#63

Any recommendations for a quiet mechanical keyword (or switch)?

No. It's too hard to recommend anything. Different people have different tastes.

There are Cherry Browns, Gateron Browns, Kailh Browns, Zealio (bunch of them with different activation weight), and bunch of others. I have 2 keyboards with browns and one with blues. I don't like browns, I want some thing with bigger activation weight.

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll throw my support for Filco here. I've been using the same Filco Majestouch Tenkeyless with Cherry Browns as my only home keyboard for 10 years, and it's as good as it was on the day I bought it. Absolutely fantastic build quality.

My Filco Majestouch lasted barely a year before the USB cable failed at the keyboard end. It's currently lying in the corner whilst I try to stomach paying £25 for a third-party cable made with their custom internal connector. I'd prefer if they just had a USB female socket on the keyboard and then I could use any cable. Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow? They have plenty of space for a socket and it wou…

  Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow?
Captive cables only need enough copper to supply enough current for the device they're built into.

Separate cables, OTOH, need enough copper for 500mA with a certain voltage drop to be USB standard compliant. Means 24AWG or bigger for a 2m cable [1].

That's why your keyboard, mouse and webcam have skinny cables while other USB cables are much thicker.

[1] http://cdn2.goughlui.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/USB-Cabl...

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll throw my support for Filco here. I've been using the same Filco Majestouch Tenkeyless with Cherry Browns as my only home keyboard for 10 years, and it's as good as it was on the day I bought it. Absolutely fantastic build quality.

My Filco Majestouch lasted barely a year before the USB cable failed at the keyboard end. It's currently lying in the corner whilst I try to stomach paying £25 for a third-party cable made with their custom internal connector. I'd prefer if they just had a USB female socket on the keyboard and then I could use any cable. Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow? They have plenty of space for a socket and it wou…

A large proportion of modern mechanical keyboards have a mini/micro USB port on the bottom, with a strain relief channel for the cable. It's my preferred configuration - it won't accidentally unplug, strain on the cable won't damage the port and you can easily replace the cable if it's damaged.

https://www.mechtype.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/cable-ro...

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak of outside of it, but inside the US, "Made in China" isn't an indication of quality either ways. The cheapest flimsiest forks are made in China, but then so are Apple computers. Also, counter intuitively, "Made in the USA" within the USA is seen as a generic product that is obviously trying to trade on Americanism to interest you in buying it. Quality products usually name the specific state they are ma…

I think by ""made in the US" is up there with "made in China" as an indicator of quality", he meant really low quality.

I think the person you're replying to understands that, they were responding to the snark with facts: basically saying "hey, your stereotype is out of date: in the US, made in China doens't necessarily mean "crap" anymore, e.g. Apple."

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll throw my support for Filco here. I've been using the same Filco Majestouch Tenkeyless with Cherry Browns as my only home keyboard for 10 years, and it's as good as it was on the day I bought it. Absolutely fantastic build quality.

My Filco Majestouch lasted barely a year before the USB cable failed at the keyboard end. It's currently lying in the corner whilst I try to stomach paying £25 for a third-party cable made with their custom internal connector. I'd prefer if they just had a USB female socket on the keyboard and then I could use any cable. Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow? They have plenty of space for a socket and it wou…

> Why do keyboards have hard-wired cables anyhow?

Low-speed USB devices are not permitted by the spec to have a detachable cable. The fancier keyboards are probably full- or high-speed, though, so that doesn't apply to them. As someone else said, mechanical strength may have something to do with it. Keyboards get shoved around a lot, and a connector would likely break off too easily.

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#69
post #59
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They’re just popular because literally no one else makes cheap linear “gaming” switches. Gateron, Kailh, etc. there are plenty producers of all kind of switches.

Both of those are clones[1] of Cherry. [1] https://deskthority.net/wiki/Category:Clones_of_Cherry_MX_sw...

They copy "physical form of switches" but have different tactile feeling. Zealio has bunch of switches with different activation force. Cherry Browns might match just one type.

Re: User banned from Das Keyboard forums for telling people of open-source drivers

#70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've bought three DasKeyboard Model S's, and so far I've had one starting to fail on me (one block of keys not getting their key presses registered) in five years (I have one at home and one at the office in use). That's not a bad track record, but I did notice a decline in their offering. The newer Model S introduced the 'fn' key left of the left super-button, resizing that one in the process. Now the old key-caps d…

A high-end keyboard failing after 5 years is "not a bad track record" ? I have 40-year-old keyboards at home that still work great - one or two are even the awful membrane type.

There are still two left in parents inventory that can survive til 40!
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