Back in those days I had Northgate keyboards. Those were keyboards you could use to smash other keyboards to tiny bits and go right back to typing. But it's true, today you can get some pretty nice keyboards without having to try to retrofit a 30-year-old bit. And a much wider array of key types and layouts.
The new keyboards are pretty good (perhaps even the best) relative to other modern laptop keyboards, but probably wouldn't even have earned a mention eight years ago before the great chiclet revolution...
I still can't quite comprehend how the market could have managed to conspire to so thoroughly eradicate the technologically superior option that not even obscure non-US vendors serving only local markets offer it anywhere anymore.
I've had a lot of keyboards over my 35 years of computing. I stuck with Thinkpads for years because they had scissor keys that compared with a desktop, had decent travel and a distinct click. Desktop's included Microsoft Natural, standard OEM, through midrange to Roccat with cherry browns, and a Razer with blues.
None of them have lasted, or had the build quality, or felt as nice. More than a few have been actively irritating. The silly price Roccat was the least reliable of the lot.
I keep coming back to my M. If it's placebo it's a convincing one.
In the mainstream market, absolutely, but the hardware keyboard niche has been absolutely thriving as of late. I just bought a chocopad keyboard to make a gift for a friend.
Yes, we're actually in the midst of a new golden age of keyboard hardware (and hobbyist electronics in general). I've constructed a Planck from Ortholinear Keyboards and keep trying to find time to get it set up for my One True Programmer's Layout!
If price is my primary selection criteria, it's hard to beat free. I suspect I'm not the only one that has keyboards literally laying around: home, the office, friends houses, friends offices...
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