lol back to using an MS Natural Keyboard Pro. Returned the topre for a refund. Topre was ok, but too underwhelming and too similar to slider in dome to justify the high price tag.
My Natural Pro died after I spilled coffee on it. I took a hard look at what's out there for keyboards. They've gone all in on the goofy gamer aesthetic for keyboards. Everything has RGB lighting, looks like it belongs on a starship, and costs $170. Logitech seems to have largely abandoned Cherry MX for their in house Romer G swtich. A lot of people say the Romer G just feels like a nicer rubber dome. That's pretty much what I thought when I tried it. I've pretty much decided I don't like mechanical keyboards. Not a fan of the noise or the long keystrokes. I find them fatiguing to use. The cherry switches with a tactile bump feel weird for gaming. It's like gaming on a typewriter keyboard. And the linear ones are bad for typing. I also don't like the lack of ergonomics. There are only a handful of ergonomic mechanical keyboards and they all have weird layouts. I did like Topre, but I can't justify spending almost $300 on a keyboard that basically just feels like a high-end rubber dome and that I will probably just destroy at some point by spilling water or coffee on. I ended up just picking up a Natural 4000. It's not as nice as the Natural Pro, but it's fine and it cost $30. If I spill coffee on it I can go spend $30 and pick up another and still not have spent anywhere near what I would have on a mechanical keyboard.
I'll be switching back to a membrane keyboard at some point. I don't experience any personal benefits with mechanical and I like a new clean keyboard every couple of years.
Domes are fine for me. I've owned four modern mechanical keyboards at this point. I've concluded that keyboard snobs on the internet exaggerate about the benefits of mechanical and ignore the drawbacks like noise, lack of ergonomics, and high price. The durability argument is moot when you can buy 4 or 5 normal keyboards for the price of one mechanical. Also I didn't find the modern mechanicals to even be that durable. They aren't like the old ones. I had two of them that basically crapped out with major issues within about a year.
Exaggerated? We've been gaslighted! I'm old enough to remember when people wanted to get away from them. It always boggled my mind seeing old tech being sold as new tech.
I too remember those times in the early-mid 90s when people were trying to switch to quieter keyboards. I'm half expecting in a few years when everyone is tired of all the noise and wrist strain for quiet ergonomic keyboards to be marketed as the new big thing. And the cycle of history repeating itself would be complete.
Dude that MS keyboard is a favorite of mine. I looted it from a departing co-worker and don't think I could go back to a square keyboard. Hope you got the soft material wrist pad for $30 instead of the hard plastic. I never liked ergonomic keyboards with the hard plastic.
Yes, it's the one with the soft wrist pad. It's very comfortable. They're only $27.49 right now, usually $39.99 to $49.99. Most places will price match. Might be a good time to pick up a spare. I grabbed a second one. https://slickdeals.net/f/12012647-n...ergonomic-keyboard-4000-retail-best-buy-27-49
Someone should make a keyboard that like doubles as a hookah or bong or something with a big hose sticking out of it. I'm surprised something like that doesn't already exist.
I finally got one of these mechanical keyboards after years of ignoring the hype. I don't like it. Atleast not the $50 Keychron C2. The internet said to get red switches but now I'm wondering if I should've gotten the browns. I have a $35 Logitech Wave and I love everything about it except occasionally it doesn't register keypresses. This can totally throw off what I was doing so I figured I'd upgrade to mechanical on my employers dime lol. Any recommendations, what's the PC MasterRace™ keyboard these days? I preferred a full size keyboard not those tiny house keyboards for ants.
I dunno but I think I'm in the market for a new keyboard. I have the Corsair Strafe and it's fine but I need a non-mechanical quite keyboard. I'm on the phone all day and I don't want people to hear the clicky clack.
So that was the other thing. I though only the Blue mechanical keyboard keys were noisy but my god is this mofo loud. I really don't get all the hype. It looks and feels like a premium product but it isn't the greatest user experience.
I horde late 90s MS Natural Keyboard Pros that I buy on ebay. I don't really like mechanical keyboards, and modern keyboards kind of suck. I don't really feel like you were missing anything by ignoring the mechanical keyboard fad of the 2010s. I feel like I got taken by the hype and wasted a bunch of money on bad keyboards. I don't think the people pushing these things are old enough to have experienced actual good keyboards. The only modern key switch I liked was Topre. Topre is extremely expensive and feels nearly identical to the dome with slider switches that were common in better quality dome keyboards in the mid to late 90s. It's kind of like a cross between a dome and a mechanical switch, but so was dome with slider. I hated all of the Cherry MX switches I tried. They're loud, harsh, and fatiguing to type on. They made my fingers and wrists hurt. I didn't like them at all for gaming either. What also sucks about mechanical keyboards is they have no ergonomics. There are only like 3 of them that have split or curved designs, and they're super expensive and have bizarre layouts that I can't be bothered with. I think the 90s was really the golden age of keyboards. Nothing beats old school IBM and Microsoft keyboards. Modern keyboards just don't compare in terms of build quality and ergonomics. I think the truth is that good keyboards are actually extremely hard to make and it's kind of a lost art.
I think you might be right... it's all just youtuber hype. Every video for the last month is about how we all need a $4000 macbook to render video... I think I used a similar Microsoft ergonomic keyboard until like 2019. It was a nice ergonomic keyboard with programable buttons for about $30. They discontinued it in 2019 and replaced it with a $130 keyboard. I've been getting by with the Logitech ergonomic keyboard since then. I think it would be fine if it was wired but it has an input lag with sustained high speed typing. I agree that nobody makes a great ergonomic keyboard right now. For the last few years I've been trying to get my work to buy me the $350 Kinesis keyboard but they refuse. No way I'm gonna pay for that experiment myself lol.
I ordered a SteelSeries Apex 3. There is nothing fancy about it other than many people say it's very quiet. Best Buy said they'd do next day shipping, which I didn't believe. Got a notice today saying shipping status is "delayed". It's in stock at the store, but going to the store is so 2019.
I did not like the Keychron or linear switches. I got an actual Cherry MX Brown keyboard from ASUS for $100. This keyboard is really really nice and I can understand the hype. It's actually super smooth to type on and I noticed that my natural typing speed is significantly faster. I've been doing typing tests and can hit 90-100wpm with this keyboard. Also, as my first RGB keyboard I don't think I can ever go back lol. The bad: I don't like missing the numberpad. It's so goddamn fucking loud.
I got a little carried away... bought a Logitech G915 on sale for $200. I expected this to be the zenith of keyboards, but I don't like it. - The slim profile slams my delicate fragile fingers against the frame. - The left side macro keys throws off my no-look hand placement. - There is something a little off about the left control key as I miss hit it frequently. - The RGB auto-shuts off to save battery life. I only have 2 good thing to say about this keyboard. - Much much quieter than other mechanical keyboars. Exponentially so. - I hit a lifetime best type test of 125WPM. I suspect because the keys don't have to be pressed deep. But it takes a heavy heavy toll on my pristine, baby bottom soft, fingertips. The worst keyboard I've ever used was the Apple Magic Keyboard. This is the 2nd worst. But it's fast. And quiet.
I like my SteelSeries Apex 3 but the back lighting is utter shit. The light around the keys is brighter than the light coming through the keys. I'm contemplating modding it by blacking out the silicon sub-base under the keys. Using a sharpie wouldn't be too difficult but it might look like crap.
The G915 doesn't light up the characters you'd get if you hold down shift... wasn't happy about that when I was looking for *.