[...] Keyboards, Keyboards :: dirtystylus - On keyboards. Why can't manufacturers get it right? I for one quite like the old Compaq / new HP desktop keyboards. (tags: keyboard typing) [...]
After typing on laptops, it’s very difficult and slow to type on most desktop keyboards. They feel like the old manual typewriters, with key presses measured in meters, not millimeters. The angle makes my hands and wrists ache after only a few minutes use.
Even laptop keyboards differ wildly on useability. On my Dell laptop keyboard, the keys take too much effort to depress, but it doesn’t seem to slow my typing. I’ve typed on friends laptops that had the most wonderful feel to the keys(Lenovo?). I find myself catching the sides of laptop keys moving my fingers from the depressed key to the next, once even popping a key off.
To date, best desktop keyboard I’ve typed on is the new Apple keyboard. Perhaps I’ll order one.
But you are dead on, why is such a prolific device so poorly engineered?
I have the Tactile Pro, but it’s not *quite* the Apple Extended Keyboard II (which is sitting in the attic after 10+ years of flawless function). The feel isn’t quite there, and it gets DIRTY.
The AEK2 could easily be taken apart–the keytops pried off easily, so all the gunk that accumulated underneath could be blown out. Not so the Tactile: as confirmed by experiment and by Matias, the keyboard can’t be taken apart at all (keys or back), so all the dust, hair, and other unpleasant stuff accumulate (neither compressed air or vacuum can get them out). Worse, the surrounding plastic is clear, so you can see the all the nasty bits.
I just started work in a new place and got a MBP. SInce it has an external monitor and Bluetooth, I wanted to at least try to find something.
I’m trying out the Logitech diNovo Edge. It’s probably too squishy for you pros, and it lacks a keypad, but I am enjoying the wireless aspect. It’s also not very loud.
I have fond memories of the Extended Keyboard II. My favorite memory is whacking the power button over and over and over again while Photoshop predictably crashed the computer during a slide scan, for hours and hours and hours. Ah, the good old days.
By far my favorite keyboard was the translucent bronze one on my PowerBook G3 “Pismo”. The same keyboard, in white, was used on certain iBook G3 models. The scissor action has a nice feel, and the key travel is short enough to type very quickly.
One reason why you’ll never see me using a Model M or an Extended Keyboard II on a modern computer is their lack of useful extra keys. The keyboard I’m using now has dedicated keys for volume control, mute, and starting or stopping media playback. These are genuinely useful when the phone rings. It also has un-shifted dedicated keys for =, (, and ) which are handy for the programmer.
Of course your modern operating system can map any key to any purpose. But there’s something nice about just having /more/ keys to work with.
[...] mentioned on his blog that he’s looking for a “mouse that doesn’t suck“. I started writing a comment in response, realized it was getting really long, and decided [...]
I really don’t understand the preference for “clacky” feeling keyboards. They require more key travel to register a key press. As a musician, this flies in the face of practicality.
Musical instruments are (for the most part) tuned so that the least possible movement is necessary to register a given note. Saxophone pads on a good saxophone are tuned to travel as little as is practically possible, guitar strings are as low to the fretboard as possible without rattling.
The same concept should and does hold true for a keyboard.
The extra tactile feedback of a “click” in the key is unnecessary when you can feel a key bottom out already.
To me, this issue is more about old timers that are unwilling to let go of old habits and learn something that is both new and better. I’m not saying the aluminum keyboard is great ergonomically - personally I don’t like how small its footprint is. But I would suggest giving a modern keyboard more than a single day’s use before deciding if it is worthy.
If I recall correctly, the Extended Keyboard II’s development code name was “Enterprise” because of it size.
I really like the new aluminum keyboard. the low profile means I don’t have to prop my wrist up on a foam pad, and it makes just enough tactile feedback (sound and physical click) but not enough to make it a noisy annoyance. I like being able to pause iTunes with a function key, and get to the dashboard widgets with a button.
My only design gripe would be that the USB cables should extend rearward instead of out to each side. If they must extend out sidewards, then moving the sockets both inward, away from the edge, so that the USB plugs and cables don’t add a couple of inches to the effective physical width of the keyboard.
Me, I like my Apple Keyboard (the current Aluminum one); have one at home on my iMac, and one at work on my Windows PC, both purchased retail and worth every cent.
(I like, in theory, having 19 function keys, though I really never use any of them except the sound control ones on the Mac, and the “standard” F-keys in Windows.
I sorta wish it had a real num-lock key, if only so I could be sure of its state when using it on a Windows machine.)
My co-worker has a $100 mechanical switch keyboard he loves… but when he’s typing on it, it’s so loud I can’t think, and the throw and pressure required more than compensate (in a negative direction) for the feedback abilities, in my book.
(And to riff on Jason Clarke’s note, said co-worker is also a musician… but he’s a trombone player, so he’s used to long movements rather than short valves…)
This is, of course, all entirely subjective.
Jason Clarke says:
‘I really don’t understand the preference for “clacky” feeling keyboards. They require more key travel to register a key press.’
That’s not necessarily true. The premise of the model M is that the key snaps over before reaching the end of its travel so you don’t have to pound the key into its base. The model M was actually more sensitive allowing a lighter touch than some newer designs.
The thing people miss about these older keyboards was the distinctive tactile feedback which improved their typing performance. Part of it was just what they got used to, but it was also a good design that naturally trained the user to become a better touch typist. I’ve written more about this as part of an introduction to “Keyclick” which helps close the typing feedback loop.
http://www.sustworks.com/site/prod_keyclick_overview.html
The response from users with special needs has been gratifying. It really makes a difference in some cases.
I have to say that I can type way faster (and more accurately) on mechanical keyboards than I can on any of the new, oddly shaped membrane keyboards that are out there. I loathe the Apple keyboard that was available a few years ago - tons of typos and not at all enjoyable to use.
My favorite keyboard is the Das Keyboard II. I’m sure many will baulk at the idea of using a keyboard that has unlabeled keys, but it is so enjoyable to type on. And yes, it’s loud, but that’s your problem. :)
http://www.daskeyboard.com/
Hello.
Interesting read. Have you tried the Das Keyboard II (http://www.daskeyboard.com)? I could honestly care less about the pure black aesthetic, though it is quite striking and definitely gets noticed, but it’s got some great mechanical key switches, and the F and J keys are scalloped to allow one to easily position their hands without looking, which is a nice feature.
While the Matias Tactile Pro 2 would seem to maintain the previous model’s key switch quality, it would appear to have other problems.
Kyle, John: A coworker of mine has the original Das Keyboard, I’ll ask him what he thinks of it. I don’t mind the unlabeled keys, but again it comes back to a balance between good mechanical feel and low noise.
Jason Clarke: I agree with what Peter Sichel posted. It’s not so much the key travel (you make a good point about musical instruments) as the tactile feedback that the mechanical switch keyboards possess. There’s a bit of key travel before the switch engages, and then a bit more before you bottom out. I find that with the three-stage feedback I type faster and more accurately with less strain than with keyboards that only have a binary on/off contact.
I got quite a few suggestions both here and via email so I’ll be making a follow-up post collecting those.
I have an Apple Extended II, but you’d have to pry it out of my cold dead fingers.
I think all this is a matter of what people are used to. I have always typed on membrane keyboards and actually find the old mechanical keyboards harder to use. With the membrane keyboards I find it easier because all I have to do is tap the key, the only feedback I need is visual. People also say the Macbook keyboard is too small and cramped, but I find other keyboards too large. Maybe I am just crazy?
The keyboard on the current iMac is the most pleasant keyboard I’ve ever used, by some margin, including those on Apple machines going back to the ][+ and on any PC or terminal.
Its low-rise keys feel accurate, tight, and wobble-free. They have very little travel. The key-surfaces are cool and smooth, without a painted or lacquered or abrasive feeling. Key-strikes are beautifully quiet. The board as a whole is low-rise, with very little front-to-back height increase so that hands can be kept at one height. There’s no wasted real-estate around the edges of the key-area. The aluminum surface is pretty and smooth. It’s essentially perfect.
Unfortunately, Apple portable’s keyboard standards are declining too as they are getting cheaper and cheaper: their click (sound and tactile feed-back) gets more and more anemic and hesitant. The Wallstreet and Lombard had the best keyboard, the Titanium’s was worse but still better than MacBook Pro’s. Keyboard click is a lost art.
I just wanted to express some kudos for Matias. A few months ago I busted off the foot of my Tactile Pro keyboard and called them to see if it was possible to purchase a spare part. They promptly shipped out two feet at no charge.
I love my Tactile Pro.
