Do you have a favourite keyboard? Two of the best keyboards ever made...

[nikonian]

I have two keyboards I shall never give away, one of which a kind friend recently gave me (the Ergoforce KT2001).

Here they are, the Dell AT102W and the Ergoforce KT2001:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22008695@N03/sets/72157629469192935/


The KT2001 was to replace my creaky, bendy, sticks-when-you-press-off-centre Acer keyboard, that came with my X3950 i3 PC, in 2010. It has *anti-static* space bar... who'd have known?! Can't type on much better than this Ergoforce... except on the Dell AT102W.

Do you have a favourite keyboard, which you wouldn't get rid of?

[EDIT] ~~~ OH WOW... http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:8467&do=comments

&&

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Topre+Realforce+Reference+-+all+things+topre

[speedwell68]

The keyboard from an early RM Nimbus PC-186...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/212661813_6835391c4d.jpg

and my current Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000.

[szymon_g]

for me- the best keyboard is Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

http://www.everythingusb.com/images/list/ms-natural-ergonomic-keyboard-4000.jpg

i had 2 of them, really great. a bit laudy, but great. I love the wrist rest- it can be set higher than keyboard itself

http://www.everythingusb.com/images/list/mskeyboard4000drawer.jpg

also "thumb" buttoms are great- i use them for skipping into next/previous track in music players- really handy :P

[cariboo]

for me- the best keyboard is Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000

i had 2 of them, really great. a bit laudy, but great. I love the wrist rest- it can be set higher than keyboard itself


also "thumb" buttoms are great- i use them for skipping into next/previous track in music players- really handy :P

I use the same keyboard, I find it isn't as good quality as the previous beige version:

[TeamRocket1233c]

Microsoft Natural Keyboard and Natural Keyboard Elite, those keyboards are comfortable as hell to use, and are just no-frills keyboards. The Ergo Keyboard 4000 is supposed to be really nice too.

[mips]

Microsoft Natural Keyboard and Natural Keyboard Elite, those keyboards are comfortable as hell to use, and are just no-frills keyboards.

I purchased one of those MS natural keyboards at great expense, hated the thing and gave it away to a friend!

My keyboard I've now had for so long I can't remember how old it is is my favourite, it has laptop style keys and is really flat.

Logitech UltraX

http://b2b.sampro.rs/upload/2666_ultra%20x%20prem.jpg

[forrestcupp]

http://www.cantos.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/m1.jpg

[haqking]

http://www.cantos.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/m1.jpg

i tried that style once but i gave up after trying to find the caps lock, i think i needed a proprietary driver or something funky like that

[3rdalbum]

The "ergonomic" keyboards used to be fairly commonplace; or at least I kept bumping into them whenever I had occasion to use a PC.

Compared to most other PC keyboards of the time (and heck, even a lot of cheaper ones today) the ergonomic keyboards had good key action. However, I grew up with the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard 2; it had a stay-down Caps Lock and a solid clicky key action that ensured that any typos were your own silly fault. It was practically bomb-proof too. Heck, we had a clear plastic cover (not unlike a certain contraceptive device) on it 24/7 and it was still good to type on.

At my parents place I still have a Razer keyboard that's quite good for typing too, but it doesn't compare with the ADBK2.

IMHO my netbook has a better key action than the MS Ergonomic keyboards. Yes, I'd rather type on a 10-inch netbook keyboard than a full-sized "Ergonomic" keyboard with wrist rest.

[Copper Bezel]

Yeah, I'm really content with the soft-touch island-style keyboards. I'm happy to see that they're becoming available for desktops from people other than Apple. I hate the noise of clicky keyboards and really like the lighter feel of typing on modern ones.

I type weirdly on my 10-inch, though, even with its just-short-of-edge-to-edge keyboard. It's impossible to really position my hands for proper touch typing, so I don't use all the fingers of my right hand, and my typing speed is slightly lower than it used to be. (It actually looks like I'm touch-typing on the left and hunting and pecking on the right. It's very strange.) So I'd ideally want something a little wider-set.

[kurt18947]

Very old-school but feels great -- as long as the clicky-clacky doesn't result in bodily harm from others :-P. Somebody bought IBM's keyboard manufacturing operation from Lexmark. Price is around $85-$90 U.S. shipped but that price seems about par for mechanical keyboards. They also make a quiet rubber dome style but I have no idea how they feel. They also have a couple keyboards that are supposed to optimized for Linux.

213402
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/en104bl.html

[forrestcupp]

I'm not liking the chiclet style keyboards a whole lot. It seems like some of the keys don't work very well. It's nice not having junk get under the keys, though.

[Duncan J Murray]

Very old-school but feels great -- as long as the clicky-clacky doesn't result in bodily harm from others :-P. Somebody bought IBM's keyboard manufacturing operation from Lexmark. Price is around $85-$90 U.S. shipped but that price seems about par for mechanical keyboards. They also make a quiet rubber dome style but I have no idea how they feel. They also have a couple keyboards that are supposed to optimized for Linux.

213402
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/en104bl.html

Yep - I like those one's too... Will maybe get one, one of these days.

For the moment the keyboard on my T40 is pretty awesome.

D

[jwbrase]

those keyboards are comfortable as hell to use

Comfortable as hell? Wouldn't that be a bad thing? :p

[kurt18947]

Yep - I like those one's too... Will maybe get one, one of these days.

For the moment the keyboard on my T40 is pretty awesome.

D

Very true. (Classic) Thinkpad keyboards, the "eraserhead" pointers and Linux compatibility are reasons why there are Thinkpads and everybody else when I think of notebooks. We'll have to see if Lenovo can screw it up.

[sffvba[e0rt]

Well... this (http://steelseries.com/products/keyboards/steelseries-6gv2) is the one I will be purchasing within the next week or two (time I had a proper mechanical keyboard).


404

[ikt]

http://ikt.id.au/blog/2012/02/28/a-keyboard-with-a-volume-button-griffin-powermate-on-linux/

just got my ducky shine 9008S, going great so far, just the damn multimedia controls.

[nikonian]

http://ikt.id.au/blog/2012/02/28/a-keyboard-with-a-volume-button-griffin-powermate-on-linux/

just got my ducky shine 9008S, going great so far, just the damn multimedia controls.

I just watched a video review of this __^__; it looks nice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZxCJllb6hU

Who ever uses "multimedia controls"? Consumer fluff, imho.

[forrestcupp]

My favorite keyboard of all time.

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/C64-left.jpg

[haqking]

My favorite keyboard of all time.

http://oldcomputers.net/pics/C64-left.jpg

love em, i have a c64 and a c16 in my attic, great bits of kit and love the old keyboards from that era.

well not so much the sinclair series, they kind of went a bit mad with a few keyboard designs here and there ;-)


these sucked for touch typing
http://www.old-computers.com/museum/photos/sinclair_zx81_1s.jpg
http://uknet.com/gallery2/d/16638-2/072_Sinclair_ZX_Spectrum_Plus.jpg

and the infamous rubber keys

http://www.gadgaard.org/gadget_past/sinclair_zx-spectrum_hr_1s.jpg

Though i do have a rubber fold up USB keyboard which i keep in my laptop bag for specific occasions

[forrestcupp]

love em, i have a c64 and a c16 in my attic, great bits of kit and love the old keyboards from that era.

well not so much the sinclair series, they kind of went a bit mad with a few keyboard designs here and there ;-)
My uncle had one of those computer attachments for the Intellivision. That was a real winner.

[Copper Bezel]

Though i do have a rubber fold up USB keyboard which i keep in my laptop bag for specific occasions
I have one of those, but I still can't suss the purpose. It's a pain in the *** to type on, much moreso than a keyboard 2/3 the size made of actual plastic. I have to be very specific in how I strike the key to get it to register, and not register twice....

Edit: Oh, and something simple like this (http://www.amazon.com/Chicklet-Chocolate-Isolation-Mac-Style-Keyboard/dp/B003ZHJ6TQ) is what I'd want if I ever bothered to get a desktop, preferably combined with an Apple Magic Trackpad. I don't know why there aren't more touchpads of that kind.

[haqking]

I have one of those, but I still can't suss the purpose.

very specific requirement ;-)

yeah not the best for typing on

[nikonian]

Rubber keyboards are simply novelty items. How anyone could take those seriously is beyond all logic.

[haqking]

Rubber keyboards are simply novelty items. How anyone could take those seriously is beyond all logic.

its only novelty if you dont have a need for the item per se.

I dont have one for the novelty, i have one for specific reason, i use it rarely but when i need that specific scenario it suits perfectly.

But i cant imagine using for one for touch typing or extensive use

cheers

[HavarN]

My favourite at the time:
Logitech wireless solar keyboard k750 review/ (http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/12/09/logitech-wireless-solar-keyboard-k750-review/)

http://the-gadgeteer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Logitech-K750-05-500x375.jpg (http://the-gadgeteer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Logitech-K750-05.jpg)

[haqking]

well my favourite to date is my current one.

MS Wireless Desktop 3000 Keyboard which comes with a 5000 wireless mouse.

Fantastic and couldnt fault it.

Well actually i can fault it, it works fine in the bios/efi and in Debian and Slackware, but in Windows (bear in mind it is a MS product) it takes about 5 seconds at login until its registered and can be used....LOL....typical

[Grenage]

I'm a fussy bugger, and used the same old keyboard for at least 10 years; it survived whole pints of beverages at LAN events, numerous thorough cleans, and frequent fist-smashing. The day my new MB came without a PS2 socket (why, God, why?) was a very sad day.

Now I use a Dell keyboard, although I had to rub off the letters with 'wet and dry'. Like most companies, Dell now opt to pointlessly change the socket of 2-3 keys, so you can't change the layout. It took two weeks...

Basic model:
http://pcsclite.alioth.debian.org/ccid/img/Dell_SKU_6317_PB.png

[t0p]

My favourite keyboard at the moment is my Active PA-KB wireless keyboard. It came with a nice wireless optical mouse, which happens to be my current favourite mouse. They tend to play up when their batteries are running low, but don't we all?

I'm thinking of getting a wireless keyboard with built-in trackball pointer control - my wireless mouse is nice, but if there's nothing to move it around on it's a PITA. Anyone here got anything (good or bad) to say about trackballs?

[Grenage]

Anyone here got anything (good or bad) to say about trackballs?

We once purchased a trackball for someone here, probably 10 years ago - a Logitech thing. I thought "that must be horrible", but to be honest after 5 minutes I wasn't even thinking about it.

I'd rather have a mouse, and they'd probably be awful for games, but they're fine for desktop use.

[Hells_Dark]

http://typematrix.com/style/img/tmx-2030_gallery-1.png

:KS

[kurt18947]

My favourite keyboard at the moment is my Active PA-KB wireless keyboard. It came with a nice wireless optical mouse, which happens to be my current favourite mouse. They tend to play up when their batteries are running low, but don't we all?

I'm thinking of getting a wireless keyboard with built-in trackball pointer control - my wireless mouse is nice, but if there's nothing to move it around on it's a PITA. Anyone here got anything (good or bad) to say about trackballs?

I think trackballs are an acquired taste. Trackballs are my preferred pointing device when I have a choice. They tend to take up little space and they're always in the same place, they don't move around. My current is a Kensington orbit scroll. The scroll ring is a great innovation IMO, better than wheels though it doesn't have middle-click like the wheels. Keyboard & trackball are about 24"/610 mm. I did find it useful to make a wedge shaped base to tilt the front of the trackball down. The base is about .25"/6mm in the front and .75"/18mm at the rear. I found the removable rest that came with the trackball a waste of plastic.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826125107

Another model with 4 buttons and scroll ring:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826125017

Or more stylish:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826125097

The single biggest factor in making a trackball usable IMO is a good sized ball -- the Kensington models' ball is a little smaller than a billiard ball.

213554

Oh, another consideration -- make sure the ball is easy to remove to clean. Living in a house with multiple long haired critters, fuzz gets everywhere. The ball is supported on 3 hard plastic points. It doesn't take much lint accumulation to make the ball drag. The Kensington base is open so it takes less than 10 seconds to pop the ball out, clean the lint off the points and pop the ball back in.

[nikonian]

Silly me. I thought this thread was discussing keyboards. :p

[Lokireloaded]

I'm quite fond of my G15.
Oooooooooh shiny lights!

and on a serious note the lcd screen is handy at times and the G keys, I like.

[forrestcupp]

How about this one?
http://www.aardware.com/computers/VKB/ProjectedKeyboard_LG.jpg

[haqking]

How about this one?
http://www.aardware.com/computers/VKB/ProjectedKeyboard_LG.jpg

i had one for a while then sold it on ebay, it was less accurate than the rubber fold up one i have, though my buddy has one and he loves it

[forrestcupp]

i had one for a while then sold it on ebay, it was less accurate than the rubber fold up one i have, though my buddy has one and he loves it

At one time, there was a rumor that the next iPhone would have one built into it.

[MisterGaribaldi]

I really miss the full-stroke keys they used to have on keyboards. IBM used to make some amazing keyboards back in the day. I'd buy a DAS Keyboard but right now I can't justify the cash for that.

[kurt18947]

How about this one?
http://www.aardware.com/computers/VKB/ProjectedKeyboard_LG.jpg

It seems like tactile feedback may be a bit lacking ;). Futuristic though, if it had debuted in a techno thriller type movie, they'd probably have sold a ton of 'em.

[koleoptero]

http://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/index.php

That's the most interesting I've seen so far.

I haven't used it though, the best one I've had and used is any of the comfort microsoft ones. Esp the one I have now (comfort curve 3000). If only it had an armrest though.

[Copper Bezel]

That's beautiful. It's a goddamn piece of art. I'd still prefer island-style keys on it, of course, but that layout is very well thought-out.

Needs a Super key, though. = )

[forrestcupp]

http://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/index.php

That's the most interesting I've seen so far.

I haven't used it though, the best one I've had and used is any of the comfort microsoft ones. Esp the one I have now (comfort curve 3000). If only it had an armrest though.

That looks nice. I'd like to try it out. Keyboards don't mean a lot to me now, since I use laptops.

[nikonian]

That looks nice. I'd like to try it out. Keyboards don't mean a lot to me now, since I use laptops.

Do you have a keyboard-less laptop, then? :p

hehe

[forrestcupp]

Do you have a keyboard-less laptop, then? :p

hehe

No, but I can't really replace the style, so it doesn't much matter. ;)

Although, I have in the past had a monitor, keyboard, and mouse hooked up to a laptop with a broken screen.

Edit: I guess you could consider my Asus Transformer a type of keyboardless laptop. :)