I really wish they would just make some keyboard-case-love-child for some of the more popular mainstream devices. I really want a physical keyboard, but I don't want to give up my daily driver for a $900 unknown variable.
I’ve not taken the plunge on any special keyboards. I am afraid of committing to something super custom and losing some of my already low typing speed when switching to use the laptops built in keyboard.
A shitty laptop keyboard way too often (hp dv7) and, when I have space to get it set up, a Apple Extended Keyboard II with a ADB converter that I built.
I'm currently looking at the Das Keyboard or the CODE keyboard.
Over twenty years I've spent too much money trying to get a keyboard that really worked for me... and I finally gave up and I now use the cheapest disposable crap from hole-in-the-wall electrical / electronics shop that I can walk to.
Nearly all the DIY keyboards I've seen are ruthlessly minimalistic and I really would prefer a larger keyboard with more keys, so I don't have to remember lots of meta-key combination short-cuts. I don't think I've memorised all the keyboard short cuts in a given piece of software in a decade... I just don't really use one particular thing enough to make it worthwhile.
That keyboard with the active LED keycaps came out in what... 2006? I expected a regular keyboard with small set of active keycaps for macro keys would have existed by now. Come to think of it, I never used an Apple laptop with that active TouchBar thing either but that doesn't seem to have achieved enduring popularity. but I guess there's no real market for that either.
Every time I read about people's obsessions with keyboards I feel like an outsider. Am I weird? I've been using the same Logitech K120 that costs around 10€/$10, my muscle memory is important.
The keys are in the usual places instead of multi-function keys, arrow keys are separated, it has a numpad... I'd like to have dedicated media keys, but that's the only thing I'd change. I keep buying it and have spare ones just in case.
This is my #1 priority now that I'm in the market for a new keyboard. I lose so much typing efficiency when switching between laptops, so functionality or comfort is no longer a leading factor for me.
I have been looking for a keyboard, but fails to find one.
- ergonomics
- wireless (bluetooth or a tiny USB dongle is OK)
- mechanical keys
- mac cmd-key
- below $200 USD
I am not sure why it is so difficult to find one like that :-(
The problem with a lot of these fancy and expensive keyboards is that they have far too few keys.
For instance, the Realforce 87U ($255) has only 87 keys.
My current $24 keyboard has 136 keys. And I still wish I had more keys! Using a keyboard with a mere 87 keys would be torture, no matter how pleasant the tactile feedback was.
The first thing that comes to mind is a computer, of course. Anything even semi-modern is fine, but right now I daily-drive a Ryzen 5 3600 with 16GB of RAM.
A quality mechanical keyboard has also been great. I use a TKL GMMK with Kailh BOX White switches, it's been awesome. ~$100.
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...
I want a laptop that has a standard keyboard with swappable keys. Granted it's sort of a desktop or large chunky thing at that point, but the idea of chic keys infuriates me to no end.
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