
My Mechanical Keyboard - walterbell
http://joeposnanski.com/my-mechanical-keyboard/
======
rdtsc
I think people always are easily obsessed and get attached to things they
touch. Those things becomes extensions of themselves. I am that way about my
smart phone, keyboard and headphones. I could replace the monitor tomorrow
without thinking twice about it. Get a new hard drive, new router, even a new
a new laptop because I don't touch but use an external keyboard.

But, as soon as my IBM Model M keyboard stopped working last month, it really
bothered me (it was my fault for spilling coffee on it). So I got my backup
Cherry MX Blue keyboard from Rosewill (also a nice mechanical keyboard for
only $60 or so) and then proceeded to take apart my IBM keyboard in the
evenings, to see how it works and fix it. I just got a new membrane for it and
am doing what's called a "bolt mod" replace plastic rivets in it with bolts.

It is completely irrational spending all this time on it, but it am really
attached to that particular keyboard.

~~~
perryh2
Check out Unicomp keyboards:
[http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/UKBD](http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/UKBD)

~~~
cm3
IBM used to make tenkeyless Model M's, wish Unicomp would offer the same since
I'm very used to having the mouse closer to my hands. Then I could give a
Model M a serious try, having used Cherry MXes for two decades, with the
occasional one day excursion on a Sun or HP workstation keyboard.

~~~
saundby
I got the Unicomp with the trackstick mouse for quick mouse actions, then I
reach over for the real mouse for longer uses of it, but I'm with you on
wishing for a tenkeyless. Toshiba and Lenovo sold me on the mouse stick in the
90s, so it still feels natural for some things & my hand doesn't have to
travel far, but nothing beats a real mouse.

~~~
cm3
I tried and failed to get comfortable with thinkpad trackpoints, so if it's
anything like that, I'm afraid it will just sit there unused.

------
michaelgrafl
I don't know or care if mechanical keyboards increase my typing speed and/or
precision, but they feel great and make me enjoy work more. If I can choose
between a rocky desk and a sturdy one, I'll choose the latter, although they
both do the job sufficiently well for my needs.

A few months ago I got myself a tenkeyless with brown Cherry MX switches, and
I am getting a second one now, because I can't be bothered to type on a rubber
dome at home anymore. I might even paint this one and install PBT keys and
O-rings, which only shows that I'm enjoying these things enough to develop a
full blown fetish.

I also agree that the MacBook keyboards were pretty great before the retina
ones were introduced, and they seem to get worse (flatter) with every
revision. I now prefer the current Lenovo chiclets over the current Apple
ones.

The Apple Trackpad still rocks my socks off, though.

~~~
sixothree
As a programmer I am disappointed with the lack of innovation in mechanical
keyboards. They all look the same and have extremely similar layouts.

What I could really use is some navigation keys to the left of the keyboard;
maybe two columns of keys that are programmable; any innovation actually would
be nice.

~~~
brokenmachine
[http://geekhack.org/](http://geekhack.org/) . You're welcome.

I recommend the Ergodox wholeheartedly. You can put arrows wherever you want.
I have a layer always set up so I hold down a thumb key and the home row
becomes arrows. As a touch-typist, I can move the cursor and select text
(holding "shift") without moving my hand. I'm using Dvorak layout, but if it
was Qwerty, my (right hand) home row goes from this:

Y U I O

H J K L

To:

Esc PgUp Up PgDn

Home Left Down Right End

It is totally natural now for me, I get frustrated being on a keyboard without
this functionality.

Odd, I couldn't get that to format correctly, is there anyway to define a code
block in hacker news markup?

I blame consumers for the lack of (reasonably-priced/available) innovative
options in keyboards.

Everyone who notices my Ergodox thinks _I 'm_ the one who's odd, while I think
anybody who would use a horrible membrane keyboard for 8 hours a day at work
without yearning for something better is the one who is odd.

------
keyle
I have about 5 mechanical keyboards (WASD, Duckys, DAS, ...) and yet if I want
to type fast, I use an apple keyboard. The short travel distance of those keys
really work for me.

I've been waiting for switches that are somewhere in between, mechanical but
thin travel. I've looked at some really esoteric and rare keyboards as well
but I wouldn't fork $220 for a keyboard...

Anyways I totally understand his view though. I can't believe the latest
keyboards on the macbooks. I couldn't stand them for 10 mins at the apple
store trying to surf. My 2008 Mac book pro keyboard was the best thing on
earth. I found it better than my older thinkpad (I know, hot topic).

And I bloody hope that they don't mess up the external keyboard in that
fashion, or I will go out and buy 10 and stash them for the future. That's the
only down side of the apple keyboard, they last a year at most, after which
the switches get mushy.

~~~
edcastro
It seems the Razer Blade Pro comes with a low-profile mechanical keyboard,
maybe they will do a external keyboard with those. Petition? :D

~~~
bryanlarsen
they make an iPad pro keyboard case with them. Hopefully they make a more
general variant.

[http://www.razerzone.com/ca-en/gaming-keyboards-
keypads/raze...](http://www.razerzone.com/ca-en/gaming-keyboards-
keypads/razer-mechanical-keyboard-case-ipad-pro)

------
Void_
This is some amazing writing. I couldn't care less about what kind of keyboard
I use, but I kept reading and reading because this was just so easy to read.

Can anybody explain why what made this such a good read? Or point me in a
direction where I can improve my own writing?

~~~
SquareWheel
I guess I'll be the contrarian today, but honestly I found his writing to be
needlessly long and meandering.

I felt I already knew what he was going to say (based on the title alone), but
it took dozens of paragraphs to get to the meat of it. The history with
previous Apple devices didn't seem all that necessary to get to the real point
at the end.

Maybe I'm just more impatient as a reader?

~~~
somestag
It's totally fine to have a different opinion. When you went into the article,
you expected to read something about the author's mechanical keyboard. The
article was instead about technology that diverged from the author's tastes.
Even I—someone who really liked the style—found myself wondering halfway
through when the mechanical keyboard would come into play. It was only
relevant for a couple paragraphs at the end, despite being the title of the
piece.

Title considerations aside, I'd say the lead-up was more important than the
conclusion. The article could be summed up in a single idea: Apple's keyboards
are less enjoyable to type on than mechanical keyboards. However, the article
isn't really about the superiority of mechanical keyboards; it's about how a
loyalist can gradually become disillusioned with the decisions a company
makes. Although Apple is ostensibly headed in the same direction as it was a
decade ago, not everyone appreciates the trend of its technology. The issue is
subtle, as each customer will have a different preferred feature mix. The
meandering is important because it makes up the essence of the author's story.

------
superbaconman
IMO the keyboard is the software engineer's most important tool. I feel most
at home on a Chromebook keyboard (ctrl and alt keys on both sides with no win
or cmd keys), but I can't find a good external Chromebook keyboard. Even if I
could find one, it probably wouldn't be mechanical or wireless (two more
keyboard features I love). I'm with Joe, today's keyboards make me sad.

~~~
renke1
My favorite keyboard is an external Thinkpad keyboard [1]. I can't live
without a TrackPoint because I never have to leave the home row with it!

[1]
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3U4TQS/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3U4TQS/)

~~~
noir_lord
I keep looking at those and thinking about getting one, do they really feel
like the old Thinkpad keyboards in use?

~~~
rerx
I have got the same Thinkpad USB keyboard and I love it. I think it is very
close to the keyboard of the X230 generation of laptops. While the layout has
some flaws, I actually prefer typing on this compared to the "classic" pre-
cliclet keyboard built into my X220 laptop. It has a very nice tactile
response and my fingers find the right keys very easily. So it's "clicky" and
"precise". The trackpoint is very useful, compared to the older model of my
X220 it is much easier to comfortably travel long distances on a big screen.
Only the trackpoint buttons are a bit too mushy for my liking.

~~~
noir_lord
I think you just made the decision for it going on my christmas list, I always
loved the TrackPoint on my old thinkpad, not having to move hands from
keyboard was a nice win and I still occasionally use that machine if I have to
do a lot of typing and need to be away from my desk.

It's crazy that I'd pick an ancient R50E (Celeron 1.4Ghz feel the speed!) over
my vastly more powerful 17" Vostro but the keyboard really matters.

------
alfredxing
I find it a bit ironic that after complaining that Apple keyboards have lost
all of their "sound" and "force", he goes out and buys a keyboard with Cherry
MX Red switches, which have no tactility, no feedback, and very low actuation
force.

~~~
Svenstaro
Have you ever used a keyboard with Cherry MX Reds? It's actually great fun and
certainly has that mechanic feel to it.

~~~
alfredxing
Yup, I've tried most of the common switches, but ended up getting blues.
Obviously it depends on personal preference, but I'm just saying that if you
want a tactile, clicky keyboard, reds are usually not your first pick.

------
mojuba
It seems to me, the latest wave of disappointed Apple fans who declare their
break up is a sign of something interesting.

It means you picked up Apple in the 2000s, but you can't keep up anymore. It
might just be that Apple is moving forward, you are not.

Just as a hypothesis. Time will show.

~~~
Lio
Maybe that's true.

In the '00s it felt like Apple was designing hardware just for people, like
me, for whom Unix was important.

Now it feels, to me, that Apple has moved to prioritising a new niche.

That new niche is people for whom social media is a top priority, hence the
focus on emojis as a headline feature of macOS and now the MacBook Pro.

Maybe I'm just angry because I'm in an aging demographic and Apple is just not
chasing after me anymore.

~~~
mojuba
To be fair though, emojis are not central in their marketing messages. People
like you and me can view it as a passing gimmick. Remember Ping? The belly-up
mouse? We can forgive a few flops, right?

Or how do we know emojis are not the new language of some sort?

There is still a lot of good stuff going on. Logic Pro X now includes Alchemy
(acquired by Apple recently) and to many music producers this is huge. The
fingerprint scanner on laptops is also huge I think. "Huge" is on a relative
scale of course. And most importantly, the macOS is still UNIX we know and
love, with added security and a seriously good GUI.

What is the problem then?

~~~
hossbeast
The problem is all the software mentioned in the article. Pages, Numbers,
Safari, and God help us all, iTunes.

15 years from now Apple will be the most important hardware OEM for Andromeda
devices.

------
cm3
I'm just grateful pc gamers' realization of the benefits of proper key
mechanisms has led to more production when it seemed like mechanical keyboards
were only marketed in the enterprise. There was a time when flat rubber
keyboards were all the hype.

------
matt4077
I get the obsession this guy has with keyboards. It may be a pretentious
luxury problem, but if we didn't have those, we'd have a problem...

But I don't get the 5000-word Apple-rant of an introduction. It's not that
he's found a notebook with an excellent mechanical keyboard – it's just an
external one. Now if you need a keyboard that probably costs 200$, and is
actually thicker than most notebooks of any kind, and you have to attach it to
/some/ computer anyway, then Apple just doesn't seem part of the equation.

Keyboard enthusiasts should be singing Apple's praises right now. Not because
their new keyboards are great (haven't tried) but they've put it on the agenda
in the first place. Just like the retina Macbook made everyone scramble for
high-dpi displays (now followed by wide-gamut displays).

~~~
Bromlife
Yeah, but the fact that the new Macbook Pros use the same terrible keyboard as
the Macbook, means that this guy is not going to buy one for his next
computer.

> Keyboard enthusiasts should be singing Apple's praises right now.

Are you serious? These keyboards are TERRIBLE. What exactly have they put on
the agenda? How to replace pretty good laptop keyboards with crappy ones?

Huge misfire by Apple. Jony Ive will run that company into the ground in a
nice, thin, aluminium coffin.

------
ronnier
It's really annoying having to sit at work and listen to mechanical keyboards
all day. I would not inflict that on my coworkers.

~~~
bballer
I use a Leopold FC750R with brown mx cherry switches[0] at work. It uses a
sound dampening pad and is no louder than a regular membrane keyboard. My
coworkers were hesitant about me using a mech at the office when I first got
hired but now have no complaints after realizing not all switches and
keyboards sound like a type writer. Btw I absolutely love that keyboard and
Leopolds in general, I have 3 of them... Bottom line is some mech keyboards
are extremely loud, especially if you bottom out on every key press, but there
are many options for noise reduction; use brown switches, use a keyboard with
a dampening pad, install o-rings on each switch, don't bottom out.

[0]
[https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_det...](https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1564)

~~~
fredmorcos
The sound dampening pad does not dampen switch and keycap noise.

~~~
bballer
But it does reduce the sound made by bottoming out. Browns make very little
noise compared to some of the other switches though.

~~~
fredmorcos
No I don't think it does that either. What it dampens is the vibration caused
in the steel plate due to the switches - aka the dreaded "ping" \- bottoming
out can be a factor of course, but so are switch springs moving back into
position or even just banging the keyboard.

------
dbg31415
I love mechanical keyboards... similar reasons the author of hte article
posted. But I'm OK with the new MacBook keys too -- time and a place for
everything, right?

I do appreciate a thin laptop, but when I sit down at my desktop I love having
a "real" keyboard tactile feel, as well as a high DPI mouse.

Razer makes great keyboards and mice. Here's what I use.

* Razer BlackWidow Chroma - Buy Gaming Grade Keyboards - Official Razer Online Store (United States) || [http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-blackwidow-chroma](http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-blackwidow-chroma)

* Razer Taipan - Buy Gaming Grade Mice - Official Razer Online Store (United States) || [http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-taipan](http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-taipan)

All the little macro buttons come in handy for various applications too. For
example, I use one to type my email address, one to type my phone number --
same as I use shortcuts on my phone (on my phone I type @@ and have my full
email show up instead).

I like the silent Razer keyboard, I had a clicky one before, since I often
have to type while on the phone or Google Hangouts and having a non-clicky
keyboard is just the conscientious thing to do...

Only thing I would like to change: Razer used to have their "professional"
series (we're talking like 10 years ago), and instead of being all black and
green, they were white and blue... Whatever, at the end of the day if someone
wants to talk with me about Fallout or League of Legends I guess it's not a
terrible thing... but I do like not advertising "gamer" in a work setting.

------
tetraodonpuffer
I just wish somebody made an MS natural keyboard with mechanical keys and an
extra 25 or so programmable function keys (row above normal fn keys, double
row of 5 vertical keys to the left of caps/shift/...)

~~~
mamcx
I'm trying (sadly, a total noob about this!)

[https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/59r6wg...](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/59r6wg/lets_build_a_ms_ergonomic_keyboard_clone/)

However, MS update the line:

[https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/surface/accessories/surface-...](https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/surface/accessories/surface-ergonomic-keyboard)

Is sad is not mech.

------
caterama
Bought an imac in 2011 and the keyboard that came with it was amazing. I could
type like the wind, but unfortunately it was wireless. Within the last year,
it started glitching so I started looking for a new one... I wanted a wired
one so that I wouldn't have to keep changing the damn batteries. I couldn't
find the same version wired, so I took the dive and paid 100 some for a
mechanical keyboard. I have cherry brown switches, with backlighting now. It's
ok, but I can't type as fast anymore.

~~~
Palomides
was it the compact bluetooth aluminum one? there's a similar wired version,
p/n A1242, but they're getting a little rare.

------
sandGorgon
there's a really cheap and good mechanical keyboard that's manufactured in
India - the TVS E Gold at around 30$. IMHO its the cheapest mechanical
keyboard that has the Cherry MX blue keys.

[http://candytech.in/review-tvs-e-bharat-gold-cheapest-
mechan...](http://candytech.in/review-tvs-e-bharat-gold-cheapest-mechanical-
keyboard-india/)

really recommend you pick one up if you can.

------
comex
It's a bit odd to compare the MacBook Pro's keyboard to a mechanical keyboard.
I mean, mechanical keyboards are great, but _laptops_ with mechanical
keyboards are almost nonexistent due to the extreme bulk required. Sure, there
are many laptops with far more key travel than Apple's latest offerings, but
it's not fair to hold them up to _that_ standard...

~~~
matthewking
> laptops with mechanical keyboards are almost nonexistent due to the extreme
> bulk required

Here's some hope for the future: [http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-
systems/razer-blade-pro](http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-
pro)

It's big, but because of the screen rather than the keyboard.

~~~
dbg31415
Certainly promising.

Looks like a great replacement for people turned of by the toyification of the
MacBook Pro line.

$3,699. Ouch.

------
jsz0
It's the total opposite for me. I used mechanical keyboards for over a decade
but I'm just much faster and accurate on modern non-technical keyboards. Every
now and again I get the nostalgia and hookup one of the many mechanical
keyboards I've collected over the years. After about an hour of nostalgia back
into a box it goes.

------
alexellisuk
I moved over to a mechanical keyboard this year and it was the best kit
decision I'd ever made.

[http://blog.alexellis.io/mechanical-
keyboards/](http://blog.alexellis.io/mechanical-keyboards/)

I can't imagine having to type on mushy membrane keyboards again.

------
fnj
I learned to hunt and peck at a very young age in the 1950s on a mechanical
portable typewriter, and have always felt more comfortable with keyboards
which have good travel, positive feedback, and loud audible clicking.

To this day I never learned touch typing, and doubt I could. I can't learn
foreign languages either. I have a reputation for being the fastest 2-finger
hunt and peck typist anyone has ever seen, but I must say a clicky keyboard
like the model M makes your apparent speed sound twice as fast as it actually
is due to the click on release. A mechanical typewriter doesn't have that.

------
thght
I am 100% sure My macbook pro keyboard is really damaging my fingers/joints. I
stopped coding all day on my macbook because my hands really started to hurt
very badly, suffering some sort of RSI.

Then I decided to start coding on my Cooler Master mechanical keyboard to see
wether that would give some relieve. Within 2 weeks the pain was completely
gone! I now only use my mac keyboard for short messages like this.

I think it's really sad when aesthetics rule over ergonomics, and with the new
mac books it only seems to get worse.. Especially the escape key on the oled
bar, what idiot made that decision?

~~~
slashblake
Ctrl-[

~~~
ihuman
Or swap escape and caps lock. My keyboard supports macros, so I swapped them
on one of the macro layers and never looked back.

~~~
majewsky
If anyone of you needs to remap keys on a Mac in software, I can recommend
[https://github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-
Elements](https://github.com/tekezo/Karabiner-Elements). I use it myself to
remap Caps Lock to Esc.

------
jtreminio
I've been using Macs for less than most of you - only 3 years.

However, in that time I have become used to the keyboard shortcuts that come
with OSX - CMD + Q for closing _any_ program, copy/paste/cut/etc all using CMD
vs CTRL. These have turned out to be _much_ better than what's offered on
Windows.

The few times I've grown curious again to try Windows 10, the keyboard
shortcuts are absolutely the main reason I jump back to OSX. The terminal can
be emulated, there's usually programs on Windows that match what I use on OSX,
but the shortcuts, I have been unable to figure that out.

Any tips?

~~~
softawre
keyboard shortcuts can be easily remapped. This seems like a silly reason to
pick one OS over the other. (e.g., switch alt and control)

~~~
AlexandrB
IMHO this is worse than just learning to live with different shortcuts because
whenever you walk up to someone else's computer you will experience a moment
of confusion as you try to use your remapped keys.

I have this experience frequently with remapping Caps Lock to CTRL.

------
cm3
I cannot type comfortably on anything but MX black or browns, so I wasn't able
to use an ergonomic keyboard yet. There's one company in Australia that builds
to order ergonomic keyboard with mx keys, but the price is in the same range
as HHKB, which makes it hard to order blindly from across the world, and
custom built on top, which means hard to send back for quality deficiencies.

Are there other ergonomic keyboards with mx switches?

I'm using a tenkeyless mx black at the moment where I had to insert multiple
layers of padding to dampen the echo sound of the pcb on each key press.

~~~
nilliams
The ergodox maybe? Not easy to get hold of though, especially if you want it
pre-built (edit: and potentially just as expensive as the HHKB):
[https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ergodox](https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ergodox)

~~~
cm3
If that's the same company, then the price seems to have dropped
substantially.

------
n1000
Maybe he should try Atom's power mode: [https://atom.io/packages/activate-
power-mode](https://atom.io/packages/activate-power-mode) :)

------
desireco42
OK, one more thing, (I am typing this on blue switches mechanical keyboard). I
broke previous one, well 'O' stopped working (vim).

Anyhow, mechanical keyboard doesn't mean you have to break the budget, I am
quite happy with this one I paid $37:

[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DBJTZU2/](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DBJTZU2/)

~~~
godd2
> I broke previous one, well 'O' stopped working (vim).

If it was just the mechanical switch, you can always desolder out the old one
and solder in a new one.

------
seanwilson
I'm not sure what the appeal is personally about mechanical keyboards. As long
as I can feel where the keys are so I don't need to look down and feel that
I've pressed them I don't understand why you'd want a lot of noise and a lot
of travel to the keys. I'm very skeptical about having to work with a touch
based ESC key though on the new MacBooks.

------
binaryapparatus
Sorted by ergonomic importance, it goes like this:

1\. Keyboard 2\. Chair 3\. Desk 4\. Monitor 5\. Computer

Sorting where you type, then where you sit, then how you sit and finally how
relaxed or strained eyes are is making old age less painful.

Model M -> HHKB -> Kinesis Advantage -> Ergodox EZ

Right now after using Kinesis then Ergodox I can't comfortably type without
thumb clusters. They are so important to relax rest of the hand.

------
ggreer
> This keyboard makes real noise — more of a clacking than a typing sound but
> satisfying just the same — and I had forgotten how much I love the noise.

I hope the author realizes that others might not appreciate the sound. I find
it very hard to do work when someone else in an office is typing on a buckling
spring keyboard.

~~~
venomsnake
If you work into an open office it is time to change jobs ... I use mechanical
keyboards as a management deterrent when they try to move me from remote work
to on premise.

~~~
kalleboo
I work remotely and one of my coworkers still manages to annoy everyone with
her mechanical keyboard - whenever there's a Skype meeting, it overpowers what
everyone is saying and she has to mute, then forgets to un-mute...

------
scottmf
I never got the appeal. I can type extremely fast on my MBP and would rather
not carry around a keyboard. What would a mechanical keyboard offer me?

Seems to me the writer simply got bored of Apple and wants something less
ubiquitous to evangelize.

~~~
Bromlife
I don't think you understand what the author saying. The author is saying that
the new keyboards are terrible, and when he realised why he thinks they're
terrible he went out and bought a mech keyboard.

He's sad that Apple are choosing this new keyboard technology for the MBP
range, and from what I gather, he won't be purchasing a new Macbook Pro.

------
isaac_is_goat
Mechanical keyboards are overrated. They're _great_ , don't get me wrong - and
I've used them for years - but they are not the end all be-all to everything
your fingertips will press down.

I've actually given up on my Cherry MX Brown DAS and switch to a Microsoft
Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop and it's absolutely fantastic. The design is odd at
first, but after using it for a few hours I realized that the way I thought
about mouse and keyboard ergonomics has been wrong my entire life until now.
The pain and finger fatigue that I'd started to feel from the mechnical
keyboard and gaming mouse I'd been using as my daily drivers simply vanished
after just under a day of standard use. It really is a thing of beauty.

~~~
jccalhoun
I wish there were some split mechanical keyboards. I know there is the
"Ultimate Hacking Keyboard" but that is out of my price range.

~~~
gwern
Have you considered eBay? Mechanical keyboards are durable so used is likely
to be worthwhile. I got my Kinesis for $170, which is much less than the new
price.

------
paozac
I hate the new Apple keyboard, too. The full-height left and right arrow keys
(they used to be half-height) have broken a 15-year old muscle memory. I'm
tempted to carve them out.

------
majewsky
> _Geeky observation: If you lay it flat on a table and lift up the top, it
> opens. I have yet to find another computer that does that._

My 2012 Asus Zenbook UX31A does that, too.

------
gnarbarian
If he likes those red (linear non tactile) switches so much He's going to go
nuts when he tries a nice set of blues or browns.

~~~
fredmorcos
I like red switches and I hate browns and blues. What the hell are you talking
about?

~~~
gnarbarian
You're the first person I met who does. With a linear red switch there is no
tactile bump or click when the key passes through the actuation point.

~~~
fredmorcos
So? I adore the buttery smooth feeling and even more so the consistency of all
switches: blues are super inconsistent in sound if you pay attention and
browns feel like there's sand in the switches.

------
ripripster55
Be sure to try /r/MechanicalKeyboards

------
joshu
/r/mechanicalkeyboards' wiki and deskauthority have been significant in my
keyboard addiction.

~~~
brokenmachine
What about geekhack??

~~~
joshu
Good point. Geekhack is awesome too.

I am currently making a cad model of keys so I can make molds.

~~~
brokenmachine
Just curious, how do you get molds made, and is it injection molding or
something else? I always thought it was ridiculously expensive to do custom
molds.

------
logotype
Anyone interested in a mechanical FN-key only keyboard for the new MacBook
Pro's? :)
[https://twitter.com/logotype/status/792337059050459140](https://twitter.com/logotype/status/792337059050459140)

------
loeber
> I thought about selling off some of the anniversary gift jewelry I bought
> for my wife through the years so I could preorder

Slightly off-topic, but that moment is when you know you have a problem.

~~~
pipio21
That is the problem with jokes on writing. There is always someone out there
that will take you seriously.

------
mproud
Has it occurred to anyone that the headphone jack is probably the quickest way
for liquid to enter and damage a mobile device?

~~~
evjim
No. I have a waterproof nec terrain. The headphone jack only has a simple non
watertight flap to keep dust out. While every other orifice has rubber seals.
I think mfgrs have figure out waterproofing headphones long ago.

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bnastic
This is a terrible article, in every way. Mechanical keyboard jerking has
reached the peak, it's not even funny anymore.

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desireco42
I don't know how to tell this, but I had this realization immediately. I
didn't understand why everyone is praising almost gummy keyboard, where
mechanical is the sh*t. Anyhow, those gummy ones are not without it's
qualities, but I totally get what you are saying.

I for example stopped buying ipads when they switched from wide connector to
small one. Just didn't feel like having another set of connectors and stands.
Those ipads still work, and I still use old cables. I yell at kids not to
break them, because aftermarket cables will not charge ipads (devious apple).

I just want alternatives, I am not against Apple, it sucks lately, but we
should have MSs and Apples, but strive to go towards Linux and open source.

Oh yes, Go Cubs buddy!

~~~
sosborn
> aftermarket cables will not charge ipads

That's not true.
[http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=112&cp_id=11213&cs_id=...](http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=112&cp_id=11213&cs_id=1121301&p_id=9414&seq=1&format=2)

