81–90 of 282 posts
I have an Unicomp but right now use a Pok3r to save desk space. Both are fine mechanical keyboards. I like the programmability of the Pok3r. Unfortunately, I've realized that I really want a tenkeyless. The Unicomp is too large and the Pok3r too small. Does anybody know an affordable mechanical tenkeyless where Capslock and Ctrl is or can be switched in the hardware?
leopold fc750r, you can swap caps/left ctrl with the dip switches
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>Unfortunately the world has moved on and I want my separated inverted T arrow keys. They have more modern layouts including inverted T arrows. Just look at the pictures on the homepage...
> Just look at the pictures on the homepage... Maybe after scrolling there are pictures of more modern layouts, but not before. 16:10 deskop monitor with the browser maximized. > to me and american-made keyboard just sounds like grandure posturing It makes me think of Razer requiring to be signed into a cloud account to configure your mouse and keyboard. Yeah, I know they gave up on that, but only because of the back…
Is anyone else not a fan of these mechanical keyboards? I seem to have missed the hype (and I had old computers in the early 90s) Just don’t understand the current hype. If you use these please know bringing them to an office will make most dislike you due to the noise they make
My keyboard has "silent" switches (tiny rubber bits so bits of plastic don't hit together), and is comparable to Apple keyboards.
(The first time I took one to the office, I checked with my neighbours. Between about 6 people, there was no consensus on which of my keyboard, an Apple one, or an old Microsoft one was loudest/most annoying.)
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Check out the Happy Hacking keyboard [0]. It's got a great layout - Ctrl to the left of A. They're really well made in Japan. The Classic model isn't super expensive, I wouldn't pay extra for the "Professional". [0] https://www.hhkeyboard.com/uk/products/classic/
HHKB is a great keyboard (it's my personal choice of keyboard too, I love the Unix layout), but it's a 60% keyboard not a Ten Keyless, it sounds like the GP has a need for function keys.
Unicomp had piqued my interest when the first rumors about a new SSK were brought up 10+ years ago. Today I'm a bit with other posters in this thread, regarding the design and build quality. When it finally comes out, I don't think I'll buy one. In 2021 you can buy much, much better keyboards. I really enjoy my Leopold with PBT keycaps and Cherry silent red switches, even more than my expensive Topre Realforce
As someone who owns one of their keyboards since the retooling in 2020, it pretty much invalidates reviews on their keyboards prior to it.
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> Sure they are a bit more customizable, but is that really worth all the drawbacks? Yes. Or at least, "mechanical keyboards" is broad enough that it also includes ortholinear or column-staggered designs, as well as split keyboards. (i.e. I mean a more narrow "some mechanical keyboards are much better than non-mechanical" rather than arguing "mechanical keyboards are always better than non-mechanical"). Typical keybo…
> These benefits are orthogonal to the switches being mechanical. Yeah you raise some good points, but as you mentioned here it doesn't really have anything to do with the types of switches. It's just that most of these non-standard keyboards happen to be mechanical. In my comment I am mainly talking about the pros/cons of switching to mechanical switches.
The cost of mechanical keyboard is far lower in low quantities.
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For a cheap keyboard, 10 years is forever . I was burning them out every year or 2 for a while. Then I bought a decent mechanical keyboard, and it's been a beast. No signs of aging and it's been 4 years. Dramatic improvement. His comparison wasn't between mechanical keyboards. It was from a cheap keyboard to a mechanical.
But I am using a cheap keyboard. About 10 times cheaper than the cheapest mechanical keyboard that's decent enough to spend any money on. That's the entire point of my comment above.
The IBM Model M hype is absurdly overblown. Anyone who has used decent mechanical keyboards should be able to pretty much immediately notice just how cost-reduced that keyboard is. It is quite literally the cheapest buckling spring keyboard IBM managed to make in '89, and it shows. Cherry boards are often bashed for their flexing and wobbly cases, but the IBM Model M is hardly better with the top and lower parts of t…
I think a lot of the hype around mechanical keyboards in general is overblown. I had a period of transitioning to mechanical keyboards. I couldn't get used to the high-rise keys and long travel times which made my wrists hurt and made typing a chore. I kept convincing myself that I just had the wrong type of switch, so I changed keyboards every few months seeking that perfect feeling. The closest I got was low-profil…
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> These benefits are orthogonal to the switches being mechanical. Yeah you raise some good points, but as you mentioned here it doesn't really have anything to do with the types of switches. It's just that most of these non-standard keyboards happen to be mechanical. In my comment I am mainly talking about the pros/cons of switching to mechanical switches.
It does, a bit. If I wanted to make a rubber some keyboard, I'd have startup costs in the thousands of dollars range for molds and such. But I can make PCBs for a mechanical keyboard for only $30. The cost of mechanical keyboard is far lower in low quantities.
I feel to say about "mechanical keyboard vs standard keyboard", these niche ergonomic keyboards should be considered.
I only recently discovered these weird keyboards. So I figure that's as good an excuse as any to extol these benefits. (And complain about how weird a standard keyboard is!).
Capital required to come up with a keyboard design is a much more minor factor.
I own a real model m and an unicomp endura pro. The model m was cheap because I literally pulled it out of the dumpster. The endura pro was a complete waste of A LOT of money considering double shipping (usa to usa and usa to europe since they would not ship to europe, and that implies a re-shipping handling fee) and import duties on top of that. The keyboard is loud but doesn't add anything really to my typing. And…
They are real Model M keyboards. Unicomp got the Lexmark machinery and IP and essentially continued manufacturing them ever since. They aren't recreations.