Keyboard recommendations
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
I have been using wireless Logitech mice and keyboards for 20+ years - they were the first quality brand to offer wireless keyboards, which to me is essential. It is an undisputable fact that wireless mice more easily fall to the floor than cabled ones. I still can't understand how Logitech manages to make things that still function flawlessly year after year of almost daily falling down on a stone floor. Logitech makes quality components. Any keyboard gets sticky keys after a while, at least in my working environment and with my sweating fingers. So every now and then, I flip all the keytops off, put them into one of these string bags made for keeping sock pairs together in your washing machine. The bag with the keytops, I put it in the dishwasher (make sure to place the bag so that it isn't washed down onto the heating element!). The keys come out shiny and black and lots of water in small openings on the underside; it takes several hours, usually overnight, in front of a fan to make all the water evaporate. While the keytops are being washed/dried, I brush out the keyboard "bed" with a discarded toothbrush. If you have never flipped off the keytops, you'll probably get shocked by what you can find there! With the keytops off, you can also far more easily clean the top surfaces of the keyboard, between the groups of keys. I do this sort of cleaning "whenever needed" - I guess the average would be around once a year. It takes some effort, but afterwards, the keyboard is as good as a new one, at zero cost. And the keyboard is familiar: No need to re-train your fingers to modified positions of functions keys etc. The mechanical stroke provides the familiar feedback. The keytops have the same curvature or flatness as you are used to. I hate changing keyboards!
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I have been using wireless Logitech mice and keyboards for 20+ years - they were the first quality brand to offer wireless keyboards, which to me is essential. It is an undisputable fact that wireless mice more easily fall to the floor than cabled ones. I still can't understand how Logitech manages to make things that still function flawlessly year after year of almost daily falling down on a stone floor. Logitech makes quality components. Any keyboard gets sticky keys after a while, at least in my working environment and with my sweating fingers. So every now and then, I flip all the keytops off, put them into one of these string bags made for keeping sock pairs together in your washing machine. The bag with the keytops, I put it in the dishwasher (make sure to place the bag so that it isn't washed down onto the heating element!). The keys come out shiny and black and lots of water in small openings on the underside; it takes several hours, usually overnight, in front of a fan to make all the water evaporate. While the keytops are being washed/dried, I brush out the keyboard "bed" with a discarded toothbrush. If you have never flipped off the keytops, you'll probably get shocked by what you can find there! With the keytops off, you can also far more easily clean the top surfaces of the keyboard, between the groups of keys. I do this sort of cleaning "whenever needed" - I guess the average would be around once a year. It takes some effort, but afterwards, the keyboard is as good as a new one, at zero cost. And the keyboard is familiar: No need to re-train your fingers to modified positions of functions keys etc. The mechanical stroke provides the familiar feedback. The keytops have the same curvature or flatness as you are used to. I hate changing keyboards!
Thanks for the tip, I will try that!
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
I've got two (one for home, one for work) - I use a [Filco Majestouch 2 with Cherry-MX Browns](https://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/uk-filco-majestouch-2-nkr-tactile-action-keyboard.asp) at work, which is very nice, and an Aukey keyboard (like [this one](https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUKEY-Mechanical-Keyboard-Anti-ghosting-Resistant/dp/B071HBFN2T), but without the key backlighting) which, for £35 (about $45) is an absolute bargain. The Filco one is better made, I'm sure, but the Aukey one will also take years of use & abuse...
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p
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Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard. Takes some time until you get used to it, but then it's much better for your health. And I use it daily, and it is about 15 years old, still no problems (okay, except for some dirt ;-)).
I have had one of these for about the same time and agree with M.Vo
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
I use a buckling spring keyboard from Unicomp. I like the old clickity-clack and feel. Heavy-duty. Feels like you could hammer nails with it. https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/UB40P4A
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
This is the one I am using after my Saitek died. It even came with extra key switches and a tool to help swap them out. It's a gamers keyboard so they expect some keys to get worn out... It is clackity clack, though and that was the only thing I miss about the newer membrane keyboards.
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
I've been using an IBM KB-7953 keyboard since (?) 1998. It requires a PS-2 to USB adapter and has no special function keys. Great key feel with long travel, reminiscent of the great IBM Selectric typewriter keyboard. Bulletproof, from my experience. You can find them cheap in thrift shops, eBay, etc. When I get a new PC I don't even unpack the new keyboard -- I just clean this old one and transfer it to the new PC> Desktop keyboard reviews – Cloaked Thargoid[^]
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
Once you use a "split"/ergo keyboard for a while, you will recognize the "stress" in your wrists every time you go back to a "block" layout. If you are getting a new keyboard, I highly recommend a "split" layout. I have one of these at home and a coworker has one in the office for the last 12 years. Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 $49USD I have an old Mouse Systems ergo at the office for about 19 years. (no touch pad as the touch pad version would hang after a few hours and probably put the company out of business due to returns!).
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That surprises me, I had a Logi K/B for five or so years without problems - it replaced a fifteen+ year old "really cheap" k/b I bought with my first "real" PC (i.e. with a 486 processor). And I only replaced that because Herself complained I'd worn the legend off nearly all the keytops and she couldn't work out what letter was where ... Currently using a MS 600, and it's not too bad at all: good travel and the feel is ok, if a little noisy. "A" and "S" are unreadable already though, and it's only a few years old (maybe four?) The one I'd like is The Datamancer "Seafarer" Keyboard[^] but I'll leave it in the shop for the moment.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
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Quit spilling your soda into it. This is possibly the best keyboard I've run into since the end of the mechanical keyboard era. I have one on my desk that's three years old, after replacing the same model keyboard that was almost 10 years old.
They should be able to handle a little soda...WTF?
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
Mike Hankey wrote:
the keys start sticking and get worse quickly
I thought you were supposed to put your keyboard in the dishwasher[^] when they get sticky :)
I live in Oregon, and I'm an engineer.
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Mike Hankey wrote:
the keys start sticking and get worse quickly
I thought you were supposed to put your keyboard in the dishwasher[^] when they get sticky :)
I live in Oregon, and I'm an engineer.
Oh hell no! :) I was cruising some ads for Cast Iron skillets and one of the reviewers gave the skillet a one star because they had put it in the dishwasher and it had rusted after only one use. The worlds full of em!
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
I would suggest considering a Unicomp keyboard, especially if you like an IBM Model-M type of keyboard -- as they are a direct descendent of IBM, by way of Lexmark. You can buy directly from Unicomp's site: Unicomp, Inc.[^] I own two of their "Classic 104" models and one of their EnduraPro models. I'm very happy with all three. Great thing about Unicomp -- if your keyboard ever needs repaired, they can do that too. BTW...within the last year or so, Unicomp keyboards are now available at Amazon.
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
Static electricity is the enemy in my house for some reason so I switched to this wireless keyboard. The old dell had metal around the frame of the keyboard and cooked a mother board. The folks at Kensington shipped a new one for free a few years back as the original would no longer pair with the computer. After 10 years and no PB&J only issue is residue on my finger from cleaning the toilet removed the white lettering on the E & D keys. Mouse is responsive and the padding at the bottom of the keyboard is a great feature Pro Fit® Wireless Comfort Desktop Set | Computer & Laptop Keyboards - Ergonomic Keyboard | Kensington | Kensington[^]
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I've gone through 4 of these [^] over the last few years and after about a year the keys start sticking and get worse quickly. Looking for an inexpensive mechanical keyboard! Something like an abacus but with more keys. :)
They call me different but the truth is they're all the same! JaxCoder.com
Take a look at the Das Keyboard 4 Professional Mechanical Keyboard[^] . I've been using one of these for about 5 years now and it's worth every penny. The two port USB 3.0 hub is a plus (I use it constantly), but would stick with this keyboard even without it. It's sturdy, all Cherry-MX. It's not a programmable but for work (non-gaming) I use AutoHotkey (and a misused StreamDeck).
Ken - I build things that allow others to build their things.
