
Why the Amazon Basics Keyboard Is My Favorite Keyboard - nickjj
https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/why-the-amazon-basics-keyboard-is-my-favorite-keyboard
======
vladharbuz
> Jokes aside, I totally understand the appeal of mechanical keyboards. I’ve
> used them and it is satisfying to hear that clickity-click sound and the
> keys do feel amazing but that just doesn’t work for me due to being on so
> many pair programming calls and recording video courses.

I don't like it when people equate mechanical keyboards to loudness. They
don't have to be loud! My keyboard has MX Clear switches which are not loud in
the slightest, and I personally think they feel miles better than any non-
mechanical keyboard I've used.

~~~
sli
Yeah, no offense to the author, but this article read like one written by
someone who really doesn't know much about keyboards. There is a whole _slew_
of different silent, non-clicky, tactile and linear switches to choose from,
as well as sound dampening o-rings.

~~~
PascLeRasc
I can't really blame him though, if you assume Amazon is the standard
marketplace for everything all you'll find is Cherry blue and red switches,
and Razer/Logitech's versions of those. It wasn't until I attended a
mechanical keyboard conference that I found out about Zealios, by far my
favorite switch but near-impossible to find in pre-built boards. Even Clears,
which are really great and my favorite Cherry switch, are somewhat hard to
find if you don't know specific keyboard sites.

~~~
Havoc
So if I had to buy something off amazon, what would I be searching for? (Gamer
& programmer, preference quiet keys)

~~~
PascLeRasc
If you want to buy one right this second, get the Vortex Race 3 with Clears.
They sound and feel fantastic, and the aluminum case with the DSA PBT keycaps
makes for a great build quality overall.

If you want to spend some time deciding, we should go over what kind of
keyswitch and what kind of layout you want. This [1] is a pretty good overview
of the different kinds of layouts (60%, tenkeyless, fullsize) and linear vs
tactile switches. You can listen to sound tests for any switch on youtube to
get a better idea for how quiet it'll be. I personally use a Poker 2 with
brown switches for 90% programming/10% CS:GO, and I love it.

[1] [https://kotaku.com/how-to-pick-the-right-mechanical-
keyboard...](https://kotaku.com/how-to-pick-the-right-mechanical-
keyboard-1822737458)

~~~
Havoc
Well that's 2x vortex recommends. Bit more than I'd usually spend on a
keyboard though...

Size aside do the tenkeyless have any other advantage?

~~~
PascLeRasc
For me, tenkeyless allows me to keep my mouse much closer to my keyboard which
is significantly more comfortable. It's somewhat common to have long-term
shoulder injury from using a fullsize keyboard and mouse intensively, like for
gaming:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/a5ques/has_anyone_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/comments/a5ques/has_anyone_else_had_one_rolled_shoulder_from/)

------
nickjj
Author here.

A lot of people commented here saying it's questionable not to mention I
happened to use an affiliate link.

I want to thank those people for bringing that up. My intent wasn't to deceive
anyone and I hope my HN comment history (98% of what I post here are comments
on other people's stuff) separate me from yet another affiliate blog spammer.

I just pushed an update to my site that now includes a little snippet of text
at the top of every post that has 1 or more affiliate links.

If anyone is curious about the numbers. I have 243 public posts about a whole
bunch of developer focused topics at the time of writing this comment and 15
of those posts had affiliate links, and of those 15 posts most of them are
2,000 to 5,000 word articles evaluating and talking about a product or service
I really enjoy using and have used successfully for months or years before
even writing about it.

~~~
mtnGoat
Isn't it required by Amazon Affiliate to have a warning on ALL pages that link
back to Amazon using affiliate tracking? Isn't it also required by federal law
as well?

~~~
chrisseaton
Not sure if you're joking or not - are there really federal laws about
affiliate links?

~~~
mtnGoat
Not joking at all. If you are being compensated to place a link, the reader
should know. I think it's a fair law.

------
themaninthedark
>I’m sure you’ve seen keyboards where the lights of these keys are all grouped
together near the top right of the keyboard instead of being on the key, such
as what you see below:

>This comes down to poor UI design or bad tech choices. You want related
things to be together. If I have caps lock on by accident, I want to be able
to look at the caps lock key and see the light. I don’t want to have to look
on the other side of the keyboard.

Completely disagree. I want to have all the status information in one easy and
non-obstructed place. On my keyboard, when I have my hands on the home row,
Cap Lock is obstructed by my pinky. Also, Cap lock is much further down from
the top of the keyboard making the eye distance travel more to check it.

------
lewisflude
I'm a keyboard enthusiast, I have a collection of ~15 mechanical keyboards
with various switches, hand lubed, modded (spring swapped, stem swapped)
various materials and sizes from the plastic HHKB to the monstrous TX1800
(fits the keys you'd find in a full size keyboard into the frame of a TKL).

I'm happy the writer has found a keyboard that works for them. Although I
think that they'd be able to get a better typing experience by building a
custom keyboard, it would cost easily $300+ and take a lot of
time/research/etc.

Even though keyboards is one of my biggest hobbies, I still have a lot of
respect for OEM keyboards that maintain a good typing feel at a relatively low
cost.

I especially like the Apple Magic Keyboard, although many of my mechanical
keyboard-using friends may not agree with me.

Anyone interested in typing, I strongly encourage to check out
/r/MechanicalKeyboards on reddit.

You can customise anything!

\- Switch feel/tactility/sound

\- Case material, colour, size

\- Keycaps, feel, sound, look, legends

\- Custom software, macro keys

\- Talk to friendly people who love keyboards

~~~
moron4hire
I think they'd get a better typing experience spending $25. The Amazon Basics
keyboard is the worst keyboard I've ever used. This article is just forcefully
contrarian.

~~~
Havoc
>This article is just forcefully contrarian.

I've been typing on some <15 logitech keyboard at work for like 5 years.

I like it in the it does the job sense & I can leave it on my desk if away for
a month or three without worrying about someone damaging or stealing it.

~~~
lewisflude
Nothing wrong with logitech keyboards! It's a bit like high end audio, once
you've tried it, it's hard to go back but it's certainly not something you
absolutely need to do to get by.

I don't need to worry about someone stealing my current keyboard though, it
weighs over 6kg!

------
CoolGuySteve
The responses from the keyboard enthusiasts here are a real life example of
this phenomenon:
[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZK8Z8hulFg](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZK8Z8hulFg)

The guy just likes this cheap keyboard. I use those aluminum Mac keyboards for
most of the same reasons: I like (somewhat) low key travel, they’re cheap and
easy to find, and last reasonably well.

Edit: Actually it looks like the $50 keyboard I’m talking about got replaced
by the “Magic” keyboard that’s considerably more expensive. Too bad.

~~~
anewguy9000
no, this guy is just selling his cheap keyboard via amazon referal link. and
"if they ever stopped making it, i'd buy a few if them!"

~~~
nickjj
You're quoting things out of context.

I only said that because it was something I did almost 20 years ago with the
Logitech Wingman mouse when it was officially labeled as no longer being
produced.

~~~
anewguy9000
thank you for adding the disclosure note to your post. it reads much better
and more transparently now.

------
maxaf
I’ve used many different keyboards. I can’t say I’m a keyboard connoisseur,
but I’ve probably used every possible combination of “keys” arranged on a
“board”. My takeaway from all this is that the switches matter a lot less than
how keys are arranged. You see, human hands will become injured over a
prolonged period of contortion into the shape needed to operate standard
keyboards. For this reason I prefer ErgoDox. [https://ergodox-
ez.com/](https://ergodox-ez.com/)

~~~
hollerith
>You see, human hands will become injured over a prolonged period of
contortion into the shape needed to operate standard keyboards.

There is no significant contortion _needed_ to operate a standard keyboard.
Sadly, the standard keyboard does _encourage_ a regrettable bending of the
wrist, but I have found it straightforward to learn not to yield to that
encouragement. (Boards such as the Amazon Basics or Apple's keyboards in which
the top of every key cap is flat rather than cylindrical help because
cylindricality encourages the typist to line the finger up with the axis of
the cylinder.)

I have learned to pay attention to the bend of my wrists (the bend in the
vertical plane, that is). Once that became a habit, it has taken very little
of my mental bandwidth to periodically bring my attention back to my wrists. I
do lots of typing and have not had any RSI since about 2004 despite my having
a chronic health problem that causes chronic inflammation, which in turn makes
me more susceptible to RSI and despite my using membrane keyboards for the
last 10 years or so. Specifically, I used 3 of the relatively expensive and
fragile Logitech K750 (not recommended unless you are rich), then one cheap
K120 (not recommended), then 3 Amazon Basics (recommended).

The Amazon Basics is $13 incl shipping ($10 each if you buy ten) whereas the
cheapest configuration (no tilt kit, no wing rests) of your board is $270.
Advocates of mechanical keyboards will reply that the mechanical switches will
last about 10 times longer than the membrane switches of the Amazon Basics,
which I do not dispute, but if you keep your keyboard that long, you've got to
clean it very well every year or 2 to keep the population of germs to
reasonable levels. My personal experience with mechanical keyboards is that I
never find the time to do the thorough cleaning maybe because of a nagging
feeling in the back of my mind that even a thorough cleaning won't reduce the
germ levels to anything nearly as low as the levels of a new keyboard.

And by the time the mechanical board is 10 times older than the age at which
the keys of a membrane board start to become mushy, you've probably had to do
1 or 2 repairs of electrical problems on the mechanical board. Case in point:
for a few (not more than 4) years in the 1990s I used a Kinesis Advantage,
which consists of about 10 PC boards internally. When one of these 10 boards
failed somehow (rendering the board useless) the manufacturer told me it could
be replaced by them for 50 bucks, back when a new board cost about 270. (I
decided not to pay that because I had learned by then that I didn't like
typing on that design of keyboard.)

In summary, being able to afford to replace my keyboard every year or 2 saves
me from tedious cleaning an repairing tasks, which I find worth the cost of my
having slightly less attention to give to the cognitive content of whatever
programming task or writing task I am engaged in when I am typing because I
reserve a very small fraction of my attention to how bent my wrists are.

Actually, the case for cheap keyboard is even strong than that. Here goes.

When a typist switches from a standard keyboard to an ergonomic keyboard, the
sheer unfamiliarity of the new keyboard basically forces the typists to pay
much closer attention to the physical act of typing than he needed to pay
while using the familiar keyboard. I believe it is this increase in paying of
attention that is the cause of most of the reports of ameliorations of RSI
after switching to an ergo keyboard, and that if the RSI sufferer had been
familiar with an ergo board, then switching to a standard board would produce
ameliorations at roughly the same rate and to the same degree!

In particular, regardless of what kind of keyboard we are using, we should pay
enough attention to the physical act of typing to ensure than (1) our wrists
are in roughly neutral position, (2) at the moment the tip of our finger hits
a key cap during a keystroke, the tip is moving faster than it would have been
able to move if the tip were resting on the key cap at the start of the
keystroke (3) at the moment of contact, the finger tip is moving roughly in
the same direction that the key will travel.

I am told that the reason (2) is important / desirable is that the human brain
is better at striking accurately than it is at pushing accurately. I am also
told that there is something about the "backswing", that is, the moving of the
finger tip _away_ from its target in preparation for a movement towards the
target, that improves accuracy and consequently reduces the strains that lead
to RSI.

If they made a cheap keyboard that did not encourage the typist to bend his
wrists and was otherwise as good as the Amazon Basics, I would switch to it.
But no matter what board I use, to avoid RSI I have learned I needed to pay
slight attention to ensure (2) and (3) above. Given that, it is very little
additional trouble for me to ensure (1).

~~~
alpaca128
The cost of the ErgoDox is why I bought a kit instead. It's more effort to
solder the switches, flash the board etc., but I saved a chunk of the price.
It can also be repaired more easily, although contrary to your experience I
don't have the impression that would be required for a long time.

It's not like such a keyboard is life-changing, but it's a significant
improvement in comfort. For a tool that I use every single day that was worth
it for me, if others are satisfied with an Amazon Basics model that's fine
too; I haven't tried it myself, but I do know that some non-mechanical
keyboards offer a great tactile feedback for much lower prices.

~~~
hollerith
>For a tool that I use every single day that was worth it for me

Well, sure if it were guaranteed to prevent or cure RSI then either spending
hundreds of dollars or getting out the soldering gun would clearly be worth
it.

But I suspect you didn't get my point, which is that I spent the $270 in 1997
dollars for a Kinesis Advantage (and later on a different mechanical board)
and it did not work for me. Or more precisely it did work for a month or 2 --
not because the Kinesis was more innately ergonomic than any other board, but
rather because I wasn't used to it. Once I got used to it, it stopped working.

------
banachtarski
This article is an affront to everything I know and have experienced about
keyboards, all to post a non-disclosed affiliate link.

~~~
GarrisonPrime
I have no problems with affiliate links not being disclosed. Why does it
matter? If they're providing a useful link to someone, I don't care if Amazon
gives them a few pennies as a reward. If their link is not useful, no one is
harmed.

~~~
corobo
Because it may just be that the article is written around the links, rather
than the links inserted into the article.

Sure you might not bother buying the keyboard after clicking through but the
affiliate link is tied to you for x days, so they'll get a bit of cash of
anything you buy in that time.

Why is it a problem if it doesn't cost you? It costs you the time to read it.
Disclosing acknowledges this potential and explains what's going on in advance
so you know you're not just reading trash someone wrote to make a quick buck.

~~~
nickjj
I don't think you can make that assessment just by looking for affiliate links
or notices.

What if you found a 2k to 5k word article on something you really wanted to
know about and maybe buy.

Also what if that person spent 5,000 hours over 5 years building up their site
and only 5% of the posts on their site has an affiliate link for something.

Would you discard that post as trash / scammy because they happened to drop an
affiliate link into it because they personally used that product for years
before writing about it?

IMO you can't really gauge any of that just by looking for an affiliate notice
or not.

~~~
corobo
Please do note the difference between me answering "Why does it matter?" and a
review of your article. I have made no comment on this specific article.

I don't make the assessment by looking for affiliate links. I make the
assessment on _undisclosed_ affiliate links, which I believe the article was
at the time. It's one of many things that could indicate an article written
around affiliate links and nothing is perfect.

You've since added disclosure so it's a moot point now :)

~~~
nickjj
Ah true. Yes there was no disclosure before.

------
sonofgod
> Your rollover is the worst possible value you get.

> With the Amazon Basics keyboard I’ve seen as high as a 6 key rollover when
> pressing spui<space>c

"As high as" implies that you've also seen lower. Which isn't the rollover of
the keyboard.

My crappy two-key rollover (QWA fails) keyboard supports that specific
keystroke combination.

~~~
the_jeremy
Unless he edited it in the last 10 minutes since your comment, it already says

> Out of everything listed about this keyboard, its rollover is its biggest
> weakness as it only supports a 2 key rollover in the worst case.

~~~
nickjj
I didn't edit it.

That was in the article when I originally posted it. He even quoted me in his
quote with "> Your rollover is the worst possible value you get.".

------
nwah1
I despise terrible laptop keyboards, even though I'm using one at this moment.
This Amazon keyboard is very much like a laptop keyboard, and thus I know that
I would hate it.

I fundamentally don't like low profile keyboards where there is barely any
perceptible pressing. I don't like cheap plastic. I want a solid, heavy,
mechanical board with real keys.

Also, I'm spoiled because I buy custom keyboards where all the labels and
colors and configuration is up to me.

Though, no matter how grippy the rubber and how heavy the board, my keyboards
always slide. My solution was to buy 4 long angle brackets and double-sided
adhesive, and this proved to be a perfect backstop.

Doubleshot PBT keycaps would be the ideal way to ensure the labels _never_
wear off.

------
freetonik
I've tried many mechanical and on-mechanical keyboards, but always come back
to Apple's magic keyboard, simply because it's the thinnest of all. It's
virtually flush with the desk, and I can't for the love of god get used to
anything else. Mechanical keyboards are often quite thick. Palm pads don't
help, I'd still feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated.

~~~
jacobolus
> _feel my hands are uncomfortably elevated_

If you are bending your wrists to type, then you need to reposition or re-
orient the keyboard, and/or change your posture or arm position, or you are
setting yourself up for RSI.

For most comfortable typing, neither arms, wrists, nor palms should rest on
any surface. But the palms should definitely not be resting directly on the
table, even with a low-profile keyboard.

Generally it’s a good idea to have the keyboard close to the edge of the
table, and oriented so that its surface is parallel to your forearms while
typing. With the keyboard relatively close, the upper arms can remain close to
the body with the shoulders relaxed, and the torso and head upright.

Most office workers use a desk which is uncomfortably high for typing when
sitting on their chair. So the most obvious first thing to try is lowering the
desk, installing an under-desk keyboard tray, raising the chair, adding a
booster seat above the existing chair, switching to a standing desk, or
similar.

If the furniture can’t be changed, then the keyboard must be tilted up at the
back so that when the upper arms are kept close to the body, the keyboard
surface sits parallel to the forearms. For many office furniture setups this
tilt must be very aggressive (think mid-20th-century typewriter).

Office workers often instead compensate for the high desk by pushing their
keyboard far in on the desk, with their elbows either extending out to the
side or far in front of the body, and either slouching or hunching their
backs, and uncomfortably bending their necks. To take strain off their
shoulders they rest elbows, forearms, or palms on the table or an armrest or
palmrest. All of these workarounds are causing static muscle load and non-
neutral joint positions for the back, neck, shoulders, etc. That’s fine for
very short bursts for someone who frequently changes position (and better than
having bent wrists), but pretty bad for long stretches for someone who sits in
more or less the same position throughout the workday.

------
linsomniac
FYI: The author of this is "not a home row typist", not mentioned in the
article. YMMV if you touch type.

~~~
nickjj
Touch typing and home row typing are different things by the way.

My hands aren't on the home row but I do type by touch. I don't look at the
keyboard except for a few weird key combos.

~~~
linsomniac
Not according to my typing teacher. :-D

~~~
nickjj
Ask him / her if all hot tubs are jacuzzis.

------
meddlepal
My favorite keyboards is the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort.

I can type for hours without any wrist pain compared to all my other
keyboards.

~~~
neogodless
My previous favorite was the Natural 4000 Ergonomic, and now the Sculpt
Ergonomic. In both cases, I have had keys wear out* and have gone through
quite a few, but like them enough to put up with the trouble. Of course, I
could get the 4000 for $20; I tend to have to spend closer to $60 to get the
Sculpt!

* The Natural 4000 space bar was the worst offender. On my Sculpt Ergonomic, I've lost an 'L' and 'F5'.

~~~
bt848
In the easy-to-clean category MS Natural wins easily. I never used the 4000
but my Elite (still work after more than 20 years) can be washed in the
dishwasher.

~~~
neogodless
I washed one of my Natural in the dishwasher, and it still worked for a while,
but as hard as I tried to make sure it dried afterward, the keys started to
feel more "scratchy." It's possible this would all be in my head, but I feel
like the water did do some level of damage.

~~~
tech2
It might be the heat you ran the wash at, what temp/setting was it?

~~~
neogodless
Ah sorry this was way too long ago for my memory!

------
pmiller2
I know it’s been mentioned already, but my favorite is the MS Sculpt Ergonomic
keyboard. I picked it up when I was starting to have RSI issues in my wrist
and forearm. Together with some wrist braces, I was able to eliminate all pain
in a few weeks.

When I was looking, my criteria were: comfort, usability (bonus points for a
standard layout), and PC/Mac interoperability. The Ergo Sculpt met all of
those well, although some individual units seem to not work properly with the
Mac.

The best thing is, it only cost $65! Not bad for a tool that’s probably the
reason I’m still in the industry 2 years later.

~~~
stronglikedan
> bonus points for a standard layout...The Ergo Sculpt met all of those well

My main problem with it is that it _isn 't_ a standard layout. For that
reason, I went with the Surface Ergonomic instead, which, while still not
standard, is more standard than the Sculpt.

~~~
pmiller2
What do you find nonstandard about it? I was able to start writing code on
mine right away, and I’m a touch typist.

~~~
stronglikedan
The nav keys, right control key, and function keys are all in the wrong place,
and IIRC, all the keys are a bit too small, so I was hitting two at a time
sometimes. I also prefer a right hand super key so I can lock my workstation
with one hand.

~~~
pmiller2
I guess I never really noticed about the nav keys and function keys because I
don't use them much. I would like to have slightly bigger keys, but it's not
enough of a downside to me to use a different keyboard. (Side note: why don't
keyboards come in different sizes by default? Hands come in different sizes,
so should keyboards.)

------
firethief
> Yes, but I'm not a home row typist so it's very hard to me to adjust to a
> wavy or split design keyboard.

So... It's a surprisingly serviceable keyboard for $14, as long as you don't
know how to type

------
lcall
For what it may be worth to anyone, as someone who prefers an "ergonomic"
split keyboard with a softer touch (so my hands and wrists don't get stiff; I
also use a brace on the right hand just when typing), I have used several
keyboards, and strongly disliking the Microsoft one (my hands hurt worse: some
keys I use heavily like Alt and/or Space felt stiff), I tried a probably
inexpensive one I really liked (but left the job that bought it and now I
don't remember the name), sprung for a couple of Kinesis freestyle ones that I
_loved_ (one at work, and one at home), then decided to make the leap and
actually try the Kinesis Advantage2 (LF), and after rearranging some keys and
about a month of use, it feels strange to go back to a "normal" keyboard
again, even the Freestyle, though if I did go back it would only be because
the keys seem to require a very little more force than the Freestyle. (No
other connection to the company.)

There was another interesting split keyboard ("SafeType") on Amazon that moves
the keys to a vertical position, each hand basically facing the other, that is
on my someday list to try if I ever get enough desire to spend more money. Now
I see that the freestyle can do that too, but I would want some way to rest
the forearms during intermittent use.

~~~
smacktoward
The Microsoft ergonomic keyboards have been on a long, slow decline since they
first came out in the mid-'90s. The original Natural/Natural Elite/Natural Pro
keyboards were fantastic, real tanks. Those eventually devolved into the
Natural 4000/7000, which had the same good layout as the originals but soft,
mushy keyswitches that would fail if you looked at them funny. And _those_
eventually devolved into the modern Sculpt Ergonomic keyboard, which mated the
mushy keyswitches with skinny laptop-style keycaps (ugh), and merged the
function keys and media keys into a single row of keys that you have to use a
switch to move from one mode to the other.

If Microsoft were to bring back the original Natural keyboard today and just
replace the PS/2 connector with a USB one, it'd single-handedly improve the
line more than 20 years of redesigns have managed to.

~~~
01100011
I eWasted all my old MS Naturals in favor of the Sculpt. Yeah, the function
key switch sucks, but other than that I prefer the sculpt. I see the reduced
key travel as a benefit. Extra travel does nothing but slow me down and
require me to move my joints more. Sure, I like the satisfying feel of
mechanical switches, but not when I'm pushing them thousands of times an hour.

------
jhallenworld
I like keyboards with built-in USB hubs. Some Lenovo keyboards have this.

[https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-73P2620-Enhanced-
Performance-K...](https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-73P2620-Enhanced-Performance-
Keyboard/dp/B0002376KW)

------
war1025
My favorite keyboard is a silicone roll-up keyboard. I first got one probably
fifteen years ago as a result of my brother getting in a fight with me and
pulling the cord out of the keyboard we had. The Radio Shack in town only had
this odd blue silicone roll up keyboard, so we bought it.

Turns out it's basically silent to type on, which was very nice at the time
because my dad would always wake up from the keyboard noise and get after us
to go to sleep.

Served the same useful purpose in college when I had roommates.

The thing these days that I like most about it is that it's completely flat,
which means I can rest my wrists on the desk and not get weird RSI issues from
my wrists being out of alignment.

The main complaint people have ever had about using it is that it forces you
to learn how to hit the keys exactly on center because just hitting them on
the edge will cause the silicone to buckle without hitting the switch. Really
I think it's made me a better typist overall.

They do tend to break maybe every five years or so. More often if you pick it
up or attempt to at all take advantage of the "roll up" feature.

Also it's sealed, so if something spills on it, you just needs to wipe it up
and no harm done.

~~~
test1235
I vaguely recall using one once, ages ago, but don't the keys take quite a bit
of force to press? Maybe it was just a cheap one I was on ...

~~~
war1025
I guess I don't really notice it being much different from say a laptop
keyboard, but I suppose maybe it does take a bit more force to push the keys
down. Not a metric that I ever really considered being important or not in a
keyboard, I guess.

------
bakli
I don't even remember why scroll lock exists

~~~
jmkb
It's an early implementation of the same idea as the mouse scroll wheel.
Engage scroll lock, and the arrow keys are used for scrolling the current text
view instead of moving the cursor.

The idea of also using it to pause scrolling console text, I _think_ ,
originated in Linux.

~~~
bitwize
There was a PC Magazine utility from the 80s, WAITASEC.COM, that allowed you
to use Scroll Lock to page through command output that had scrolled off the
screen.

------
bluedino
>> Robust Wire / USB Cable

This is one cost-cutting area that drives me nuts. As the PC price wars raged
on, keyboards got cheaper and cheaper. Wires got thinner, and _shorter_.
HP/Dell give you something like a 3 foot cable these days. You can't keep your
PC on the floor or route around monitors anmymore.

I liked the old days, where you got a 6+ feet long cord on your keyboard.

------
AhtiK
I wish they had a tenkeyless edition, so it would be worth a try :)

Having mouse too far at the right side or adjust to using left hand for mouse
does not seem to be a good tradeoff just to have a numpad, which gets close to
zero use.

filco ninja majestouch tenkeyless with silent red mx cherrys is definitely
better at every aspect than this amazon basic kb (except the price).

------
ltbarcly3
They gave me one of these at work and I gave it back. One of the worst
keyboards I have ever used. Awful mushy chicklet keys, short key throw, the
whole thing flexes with finger pressure. Its cheap rebranded junk.

------
daguil68367
These are just things that most generic keyboards already have.

I see no reason why anyone should buy this keyboard over the one that probably
came with their computer.

Unique features, like doubleshot keycaps, N-key rollover, layers and macros,
actuation that is seperated from the bottom-out, good build quality, and more
can all be found on a decent mechanical keyboard.

Also, mechanical keyboards don't have to be loud! Linear and tactile Matias
switches, Cherry MX/Gateron silents, and Topre are all great keyswitches that
are as quiet, if not more, than your standard rubber dome.

------
icedchai
IMO, that keyboard feels terrible. There's a reason it's so cheap. I use it
for some local servers where I rarely (almost never) need to be at the
console.

------
tomc1985
I'm really surprised that ergonomic, split-key designs aren't more popular. Do
you all enjoy unnaturally squishing your hands or something? Fans of RSI?

~~~
isbjorn16
Some of us just don't get that. I've been typing at around 120wpm since my
Typing II course on an actual typewriter back in '98\. With every other part
of my body degrading far faster than I ever would have expected it to, my
wrists and hands still feel right as rain while using a standard keyboard
layout.

At least so far, I've won that lottery. I'll take it.

------
brianpgordon
Maybe it's just because my keyboard is >15 times as expensive but I have an
extremely hard time believing that the Amazon keyboard is in the same league.
I can't help but feel like if the author unironically prefers a $15 keyboard
(and believes that mechanical keyboards are all loud) then maybe he shouldn't
be writing a blog post about keyboards because he doesn't really know what
he's talking about.

~~~
criddell
The article is just expressing the authors opinion on his favorite keyboard.
He can't really be wrong about that.

------
whycombagator
I'm all for being frugal, but from my few interactions with Nick's blog, he
appears to like to nickel and dime almost everything (building his own standup
desk[0], cheap linux laptop[1]), so the Amazon Basics keyboard (and him loving
it) is no surprise.

IIRC he also has a course where he teaches you to build a SaaS app with flask,
but you don't build it from scratch - he starts with a fully built app and
walks you through it/has you implement parts of it. It's a project he used for
clients, and instead of investing time to reimplement it from scratch he just
made a course based on the existing app (which is fine and better than no
course, but an example of his frugality)

[0] [https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/build-a-home-made-standing-
de...](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/build-a-home-made-standing-desk-
for-50-dollars-in-10-easy-steps)

[1] [https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/transform-a-toshiba-
chromeboo...](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/transform-a-toshiba-chromebook-
cb35-into-a-linux-development-environment-with-galliumos)

~~~
nickjj
> I'm all for being frugal, but from my few interactions with Nick's blog, he
> appears to like to nickel and dime almost everything

I don't think those are fair comparisons but if you did buy my course, thanks
for the support (it really helps).

Now for the fun stuff, let's break down those posts you linked!

I built the standing desk because it fits my exact use case for what I want in
a standing desk and I have the ability to build it, so I built it. Price
wasn't even a factor, it just so happens you can build something cool for $50
so I did it.

I wanted a 3 tier desk:

A top tier for my 2 monitors

A middle tier for my keyboard and mouse to fit exactly at the height where my
posture is perfect

And finally a bottom tier for my regular desk with enough room where I can use
a laptop and do other "desk things" without the standing portion getting in
the way. I also happened to have this regular desk beforehand and think it's a
great size for my office. I had no reason to switch it.

Very shortly after building it, I built a 4th tier where I now have a stylus /
drawing pad hovering over my keyboard on a ledge and it doesn't get in the way
so I can draw live slides in my courses. You can see a picture in another blog
post you missed where I built an 8x4 whiteboard for $15[0] (:D). Oh and my
mic's boom arm latches on from the side now where it doesn't get in my way at
all and minimizes keyboard rumble.

There's no standing desk at any price point that accomplishes all of the above
in a way that works for me. To me what I built is the perfect desk because it
addresses everything I need it to address. The fact it was only $50 (well $60
now due to adding that 4th tier) is just a nice side effect.

[0]: [https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/build-your-own-8x4-foot-
white...](https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/build-your-own-8x4-foot-whiteboard-
for-15-dollars-instead-of-200)

\---

As for the Toshiba Chromebook. After dozens of hours of research and a few
recommendations I picked it up because it's an amazing piece of hardware. A
1080p display, IPS panel, good keyboard, good trackpad, upgradeable SSD,
weighs less than 3 pounds, SD card, USB ports, 3.5" jack (!), decent battery
life and it runs native Linux.

Why wouldn't I use it? Sure it costs $350 (fairly cheap in price) but why
would I purposely spend more money for something equal or worse just for the
sake of it? I still use it all the time 3+ years later and it's working fine
for what I use it for (a portable computing device where I can do on the road
dev work or comfortably read outside or in bed).

If you squint you can see that Toshiba getting some usage when I went to Cloud
Field Day last year. I'm in the back left:
[http://nickjanetakis.com/assets/blog/cards/coming-back-to-
cl...](http://nickjanetakis.com/assets/blog/cards/coming-back-to-cloud-field-
day-for-the-second-time.jpg)

> IIRC he also has a course where he teaches you to build a SaaS app with
> flask, but you don't build it from scratch - he starts with a fully built
> app and walks you through it/has you implement parts of it. It's a project
> he used for clients, and instead of investing time to reimplement it from
> scratch he just made a course based on the existing app (which is fine and
> better than no course, but an example of his frugality)

We don't build it from scratch because it's a very involved app. It has 4,000+
lines of just Flask code. You can't make a video course and code something
like that up line by line from scratch. It would be an unreasonable amount of
video (possibly even approaching 100 hours of video), and when I asked
thousands of people if they would rather have an 80+ hour course or a ~10 hour
course they all picked 10 hours.

This is also made aware on the course description's FAQ at
[https://buildasaasappwithflask.com](https://buildasaasappwithflask.com) (near
the bottom, 2nd FAQ item down from the top) so I'm not trying to hide it and
we also do cover every single line of the code and you get to see it all come
together from 1 file to the final app in stages, and you have git diffs to see
what changed between each section. There's also 50 to 100 hours worth of
coding exercises to add features into the app to get experience building
specific things.

That decision wasn't due to frugality. It was out of necessity and user
feedback. It also took me almost half a year of full time work to make the
course. If anything it would have been faster to do it live from scratch
because then I wouldn't have had to break things up so carefully into
sections. The course is based on -some- existing production code I used in the
past, but that's not a negative thing. It just means I used well tested code
in the course instead of building some untested toy example for the sake of
the course.

\---

Lastly, just to wrap up, you skipped commenting on my audio / video set up. I
spent close to $1,000 on everything and the reason I spent that much is
because I felt it made a big enough difference in the quality of my audio to
warrant spending that amount.

I could have just bought a Blue Yeti for $100 bucks and called it a day (I
actually did this in the past, which I didn't factor into the above cost since
I don't use it anymore) but I didn't stick with it because I believe the set
up I use now produces better audio than my older videos. Basically I spend
money when I feel like it makes a positive difference.

If there were a $100 keyboard that's better than the one I'm using now in
every way shape and form with zero compromises I would instantly buy it, but I
don't feel like typing is my bottleneck and I haven't found such a keyboard.

~~~
whycombagator
> I don't think those are fair comparisons

> I built the standing desk because it fits my exact use case

Maybe, but I don't think my original comment was unreasonable. Funnily enough,
today I went to hackernews and the top comment on story is a guy who put a
black garbage bag on his bedroom window to blackout the light[0]. Then I
realized that guy was you.

[0]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20885736](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20885736)

~~~
nickjj
Indeed haha. But look at the situation of the comment.

I had an immediate problem that I wanted solved that day (to prepare for that
night). I thought about how I can block light and the only thing that came to
mind was a black bag. It worked amazingly well and I guess it ended up being a
top comment because it's something everyone can try with minimal effort /
investment.

Now that I know it's possible to block out so much light, I will upgrade the
trash bag to something less ridiculous looking.

Think of the black bag as whipping up a proof of concept that ended up being
quite effective. Switching it to black out curtains is the refactor. That sure
beats not taking any action on the first day, ordering curtains without even
knowing what to get and if it would work and then having to wait for shipping.

The trash bag isn't a question of being cheap. It's being pragmatic.

------
cr0sh
I might have to try that keyboard - it looks nice, and maybe it might feel as
"ok" as the keyboard on the MBP I use at my job (older 2014 edition).

But nothing could really replace my keyboard at home.

I just can't get away from my Lexmark Model M - I love the buckling spring
sound and feel, I love the "heft", I like the fact it has a built in "pen
holder" ridge at the top, I love that it's almost 30 years old and going
strong. I love that it still uses the PS/2 connector. I love that it's beige
in a world that's forgotten what computers used to look like. I love that it
doesn't have any "microsoft logo" keys.

Dunno if I could ever really replace it. I have a backup Model M if I ever
need to. Plus a Unicomp USB classic in black. Then an old SGI keyboard (that
needs an adapter/converter box or something built for it to be usable -
another project for another day).

But this Amazon keyboard does look intriguing on it's own, so maybe I throw
down the bit of money and try it. Might be worthwhile for those times I need
or want a quieter keyboard...

------
zzo38computer
I would want more key rollover. I like the Model F keyboard, with full n-key
rollover; just, it doesn't have lights. Also, I would like to have a Fn key
which can be used to send arbitrary scancodes and possibly other options (such
as key repeat). If a key with Windows logo is added, I think that it should be
changed so that it has text (perhaps "Super") instead of a logo.

~~~
reaperducer
_I think that it should be changed so that it has text (perhaps "Super")
instead of a logo._

The Windows logo is on the Meta key. Super (and Hyper) are other keys.

~~~
zzo38computer
OK, although someone told me that it would be "Super"; maybe they were wrong.

------
bluedino
Somewhere around 2009 or so, our Mac users wanted 'real' keyboards, and they
almost universally started using the Dell OEM keyboard of the time.

It wasn't anything fancy, but it worked. They were dirt cheap, like $7 on
eBay, and we had piles of them from buying new PC's for teh rest of the
office.

------
LeifCarrotson
One of the major advantages of this keyboard, like several other cheap options
such as the Microsoft or Logitech $15 offerings is the adherence to the IBM
105-key layout and standard key sizes.

If you, like me at times, bounce around between various machines with mini
keyboards, trackpad keyboards, laptops with various function keys, arrow key
layouts, integrated/adjacent numpad and nav key clusters, etc: it can be a
relief to find something where your fingers just know where to go. I request
the Microsoft Wired Desktop 600 in all the mini server/dedicated function
computers we build for this reason.

My personal machines have a mechanical Rosewill keyboard. I like and quickly
readjust to my old ThinkPad's 7-row layout for laptops, but don't always have
that available.

~~~
AceyMan
> I like and quickly readjust to my old ThinkPad's 7-row layout for laptops,
> but don't always have that available.

This is a hill I would die on: wth did Lenovo ruin the greatest laptop
keyboard is beyond me.

The lack of the 7th row mades many of my go-to shortcuts unwieldy (Winkey +
Pause/Break) or impossible; e.g., ALT+codes for non-Latin characters.

I shouldn't have to open charmap.exe to get a stinkin' em dash.

/rant

My workstation keyboard is a Ducky One with MX Browns and doubled bumper rings
... but I already have leds dying after two years <sadface>. fwiw, I'm
interested in a Topre or Topre style key action for my next primary keyboard,
whenever that happens. /aamof, I'm going now to comb the comments for any
specific mention of those.../

------
moron4hire
I just can't imagine how this person can say that this particular keyboard is
their favorite.

I get not liking the click of mechanical switches. I mean, I like the click,
but I understand it is well in the realm of personal preference.

But the Amazon Basics keyboard is legitimately trash. It doesn't adhere to
keyboard HID profiles, so there are systems on which it just doesn't work
(like the Raspberry Pi). I have very little room in my life for _basic_ IO
devices that don't work reliably on all of my systems.

But also, the build quality is terrible. It _feels_ like a $14 keyboard. Thin,
plasticy, sharp edges. I have used a lot of keyboards and this one is
legitimately the most painful and unpleasant one I've ever used.

This just comes off as intentionally contrarian navel gazing.

~~~
nickjj
Sharp edges in what way?

I've never been stabbed by it and the corners are all rounded. The long edge
running across the bottom under the spacebar is the only thing that could
maybe be described as sharp but it's nothing like the edge of a piece of wood
or anything sharp. I wouldn't have even noticed it after years of usage
without you mentioning it. I've also never once hit it with my hands.

I also used the device on Debian without issues. It just worked out of the
box. No idea about a Raspberry Pi but Google mentions others are using it
without problems.

Maybe you had an older model of this keyboard?

------
leshow
I got into custom DIY keyboards. Specifically split ortholinear. A bonus to
using these boards is they are flashable with the wonderful QMK firmware, they
can have multiple layers, dual function keys, mouse emulation, almost anything
you can think of on a keyboard.

I could never go back to having a 'normal' keyboard after I've enjoyed writing
my own layouts. I use normal qwerty for the alpha keys, but almost everything
else is changed.

Should also note, mechanical doesn't necessarily mean clicky or loud. I have 7
or 8 mech keyboards and some of them have silent switches and are basically
noiseless, others make a little bit of sound but not much. I don't like
'clicky' switches.

------
larrik
I really want a keyboard that is:

1) Backlit (soo addicted to this) 2) Quiet 3) Has media keys
(volume/mute/play/pause/etc, and ideally calculator)

There's not a ton of options out there. My Corsair K55 is good but flawed
(stupid useless "programmable" macro keys that can't be rebound, wonky
electronics don't let the computer boot properly the first time, doesn't
actually store the config onboard). It's not all that quiet, either.

I'd pay more for a better one, but I can't tell if they meet my needs since
the descriptions are rarely aiming for what I'm looking for.

~~~
PascLeRasc
I used the V1 of this for about 6 months and really liked it [1]. It has a
nice adjustable backlight, media keys, it wasn't too loud in an open office,
and the switches felt pretty nice, especially for being ~$30. There's a Mac
version as well, but I couldn't find it on Amazon.

[1] [https://www.amazon.com/VELOCIFIRE-TKL02-Mechanical-
Copywrite...](https://www.amazon.com/VELOCIFIRE-TKL02-Mechanical-Copywriters-
Programmers/dp/B07DFBKYT5)

------
bobloblaw45
This is pretty funny because I got an Amazon Basics Keyboard a few years ago
and remembered thinking "This isn't half bad. Pretty dang good for the price."
and bought 3 more for backup.

------
heroHACK17
Every machine at my alma-mater's CS many computer labs were outfitted with
Amazon Basics keyboards... needless to say I share your sentiment. It too is
my favorite!

------
httpz
One of the great things about a mechanical keyboard is the repairability. When
I spilled a drink on my keyboard and a few keys got sticky, I just ordered a
few switches online and replaced them with some basic soldering. You probably
won't be able to find any replacement parts for most keyboards. Also, while
it's not best keyboard, it's fairly easy to find replacement key caps for
Apple keyboards as well.

------
axaxs
I'd love to find a quiet keyboard that requires a lot of pressure and has
tactile feedback. The only two keyboards I can comfortably use are the old IBM
Buckling spring(or unicomp), or a keyboard with blue switches. Typing on say,
red or black switches felt unnatural and gross to me. That said, both are
quite loud. If anyone has any recommendations(reasonably priced, of course),
feel free to shoot it my way.

------
modzu
this is an ad. notice the referal link at the bottom.

if a keyboard _actually_ matters to you, please look for unbiased information.

a couple of suggestions that aren't just meant to net me a few bucks:

\- tenkeyless reduce wrist strain (a full size keyboard forces your hands
further apart than is natural). if you need a numpad you can always add one.

\- consider a backlit if you work at night.

\- mechanical keyboards tend to last forever and they are easy to clean
because all the keys come off.

\- non mechanical are quieter

happy coding!

~~~
modzu
edit: the author has since added a disclosure to the top of the post. thank
you!

------
JustSomeNobody
My keyboard of preference is the HP Wireless Elite Keyboard v2. I've been
using them for a half dozen years. At first, I didn't care for it because
there was some central flex. I fixed that with some rubber sticky feet and now
it is very solid. The only other thing I would change is to add back lighting.

The bundled mouse is rubbish. Don't get that unless there's a better deal on
the bundle and then toss it.

------
mark-r
I've always been a fan of mechanical keyboards, I just think I type faster and
better with them. I had an old Zeos that I used for many years, until my wife
insisted I remove it from our shared home office because it was too noisy.

For a few years now I've been using a Microsoft 600 which seems very similar
to the Amazon Basic, including the price range.

------
cyberjunkie
I use a Cherry MX Blue keyboard at home and I have the same model I bought 12
years ago for work too. I wanted to try out something quiet, affordable, with
lesser travel and something that doesn't annoy people around me. The post
makes me want to try out the AmazonBasics one and the Logitech K120.

Not too much to lose.

------
veidr
The striking thing to me about this is that is is purportedly a "mechanical
keyboard" and yet it failed after only 5 years.

I have purchased, or somehow gotten, at least 15 mechanical keyboards (and 10+
membrane-or-whatever keyboards) over the past 25 years.

Most of the cheap rubber-membrane-or-whatever keyboards failed within a few
years, although there are some that kept on working.

But _none_ of the mechanical ones did: Apple Extended Keyboard II (two of
them) lasted 20+ years, IBM Model M, Unicomp Model M clone, Das Keyboard
somethin something with Cherry MX blue/brown, 3 or 4 chinese knockoffs with
cherry knockoff switches, two or three Mattias mechanical keyboards, 4 Filcos,
3 Code Keyboards (the WASM + Jeff Atwood venture) a couple Japanese hackety
hacker boards... plus like 5-10 more at least.

 _None of them_ ever failed. I gave them away or whatever eventually but
probably the average time span of which I was aware of them being in use is
15+ years.

So what Amazon may have innovated here is a mechanical keyboard that can fail
as fast as the new rubber membrane inferior crap that came later?

~~~
daguil68367
Nothing in the article indicated that this is a mechanical keyboard.

This is some generic rubber-dome over membrane keyboard.

~~~
veidr
Oops, you are right! I re-read it, and... not sure where I got that impression
from.

So, Amazon made a status quo membrane keyboard. OK, uh, then yeah I guess I'll
just move on then.

------
kristianp
It looks like the tops of the keys are completely flat. As someone who did a
lot of typing on XT clone keyboards when they where common, this wouldn't be
comfortable to me. I like some curve to the tops of the keys. Thinkpads have
that feature for me.

~~~
nickjj
It's hard / impossible to tell from the images but there's the tiniest amount
of rounded concave to the keys.

When I look at it from the side you can see the keys sink towards the middle,
but it's a lot less than other keyboards where this feature is more distinct.
It's much less than the Thinkpads.

Thanks for the tip though. As I was writing the post I was thinking about what
other characteristics there were of keyboards and I never thought about that
one.

------
paxys
I urge everyone to get an ergonomic keyboard. Your hands will thank you as you
get older.

~~~
cr0sh
How much older is older?

I'm 46 years old, been programming a computer since I was 10 (TRS-80 Color
Computer 2 - with the "melted" keyboard - not exactly ergo), and I currently
use a classic Model M (not a Unicomp - a real one made by Lexmark, that
inexplicably has the flow-thru option on it for some reason - bit of a unicorn
from what I gather).

I've used keyboards in my career of all types, including ones on a VT-100,
VT-220, and WYSE-320, 370, and 380...

I have never had any RSI issues. Not saying it can't happen, but one would
think something would've happened by now...

~~~
drivers99
What is flow-thru option? Google just brings me back to this thread. Wikipedia
mentions "drainage holes to deter damage from spilled drinks" in the options.
Is that what you're talking about?

------
3b18
The happy hacking keyboard is my favorite and is made for programming
[https://hhkeyboard.us/](https://hhkeyboard.us/)

It has a pretty different compact layout and very nice keys that arent loud.

------
leonlag
The noise problem can be mitigated by using a proper directional
microphone/headset. It's a worthwhile investment if you are recording videos
or are in conference call.

------
r00nb00m
I was very specific about my keyboard needs: I wanted basically a keyboard
layout from a notebook (mac) so i don't have to adjust to layout, it had to be
wired because bootcamp and bluetooth are not working good together, ISO layout
(which is TERRIBLY hard to find), full size keys but compact design (think
magic keyboard). In the end i settled with penclic, which had the added
brilliant advantage of having those media keys right next to fn key, so you
can adjust volume with one hand. Stil prefer logitech k780 feedback and feel,
but couldnt handle the extra length. Once you go TKL it's hard to go back

------
visarga
I switched to Input Club WhiteFox with heavy buttons (Hako Trues) and after
getting accustomed to it I find it the best keyboard I ever had. It's sturdy,
small (tenkeyless) and I learned not to bottom out. That makes the typing
experience smooth. The noise is OK with my colleagues. Hard to describe the
feeling of these keys - it's as if you're floating on a bouncy and precise
spring. Used to get tired after a full day in the beginning, but this problem
disappeared in a few weeks. Now I miss it when I am travelling, that's how
great it is.

------
paggle
Even if it's your favorite, a straight keyboard with no curve / separation to
it is not good for your health.

------
jamisteven
Is this really worth writing about.

------
lol_jono
ignorance is bliss, i suppose

------
qzx_pierri
"2 Key Rollover"

Dropped.

------
j-c-hewitt
He even picked the bad variant of the Amazon Basics keyboard.

~~~
toephu2
Which is the better one you recommend?

------
SwetDrems
This is blatant advertising on the front-page of HN. How did a post about a
generic keyboard rise so high in such a short period of time?

~~~
pyronite
What makes you believe the author of this article, who from what I can tell is
a long-term active HN user, is advertising for Amazon?

Skepticism is good, but you should also be skeptical of the first conclusion
it leads you to.

~~~
egdod
Using an affiliate link without mentioning it is scammy.

~~~
nickjj
Yes, I have a few affiliate links on my site (on products and services I've
used for ~20 years). And those are all super in depth articles. Such as a
4,000+ word post on monitors that I still get emails about years later saying
it is the best resource they found on the internet for purchasing a monitor,
etc..

I spent about 3,000 hours over 5 years writing the content on my site asking
nothing in return. The affiliate sales on my site help pay for hosting and I
don't think it's scammy to drop them in when it applies. I also think it would
be a little weird if I started every article that has an affiliate link with a
5 paragraph disclaimer to justify why I am using that link, but maybe I should
write a post about that and then drop a 1 liner link somewhere.

Literally opening a lemonade stand as a grown man would be more profitable
than what I make on affiliate sales on my site if you factor in hourly rates.

~~~
minimaxir
The operative phrase in the original comment was “without mentioning”.

~~~
nickjj
> The operative phrase in the original comment was “without mentioning”.

As a reader you wouldn't be weirded out if the first section of the article
was to justify why an affiliate link was used?

That would annoy me as a reader a lot more than having an affiliate link used
without mention. I mean, I'm not sitting there trying to trick people into
clicking links. The blog post is just an honest look / opinion on the
keyboard. If you decide to click and buy one, that's cool. If you close the
article in 5 seconds after skimming around, that's cool too.

~~~
minimaxir
> As a reader you wouldn't be weirded out if the first section of the article
> was to justify why an affiliate link was used?

Nope, and as the flagging of this article shows, it's _worse_ without
disclosure.

It's not just an _ethical_ requirement, it's a _legal_ one. (I believe
Amazon's affiliate program guidelines requires disclosure)

~~~
nickjj
> I believe Amazon's affiliate program guidelines requires disclosure

Good call, I just found it in their agreement in section 5:
[https://affiliate-
program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreemen...](https://affiliate-
program.amazon.com/help/operating/agreement)

Technically I do mention it on my site but maybe it's not clear enough since I
only wrote about it once or twice in a comment on a different post.

I'm working on something now to make this more apparent on all pages that have
an affiliate link (which is less than 10 out of ~300 pages).

