

Detailed Critique of Jeff Atwood's CODE keyboard - pdeva1
http://movingfulcrum.tumblr.com/post/59601153792/critique-of-jeff-atwoods-code-keyboard

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vutekst
From the critique:

> The CODE keyboard is just a very expensive version of your standard keyboard
> that can make cool clicking noises (which some of your co workers may not
> find that cool).

From the product page:

> These switches are unique in the Cherry line because they combine solid
> actuation force with quiet, non-click activation, and a nice tactile bump on
> every keystroke. These hard to find switches deliver a superior typing
> experience over cheap rubber dome keyboards – without deafening your
> neighbors in the process.

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swalsh
Why not put special keys for things programmers use, eg:

" Build Debug Step In Step Over Step Out"

Isn't this F10,F11,F12 etc...

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babo
A keyboard critique without even touching the keys, nice. 15 minutes fame
IMHO.

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orclev
Yep, he didn't even bother to actually read and understand all the features
even. He complains right at the end that it's noisy, but they mention right in
the details that it uses the silent version of cherry switches so it isn't in
fact "clicky".

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ChuckMcM
An interesting rant. I ordered one of the keyboards to play with and see how
it holds up. For me the "features" for keyboards are:

1) accuracy

2) repeatability

3) positional awareness

#1 is about hitting the right key that you wanted to hit and is facilitated by
keeping distances correct. I had a vaio keyboard where the keys to the right
of the home key were a bit further away from the home row than the left ones
and it drove me nuts.

Repeatability is about allowing your muscles to actually train. Since much of
what I type is by muscle memory anyway the more often the exact same muscle
sequences are actuated the more 'trained' into the muscles they become.

Positional awareness is about "feel" and knowing where your fingers are,
relative to where they should be, by how the keys feel. This is something I
really didn't appreciate until I learned to play the piano where playing a
chord can happen anywhere your hands are in the right place, and getting from
one chord to another is again a function of where you are vs where you want to
be.

I use a Logitech G15 at work (a G10 at home) which is ok, although I can type
faster on my old ThinkPad keyboard. (black with cherry key switches and heck-a
loud.) I like the programmability of the "macro" keys so that I can put basic
sequences in them, but would appreciate better Linux support :-) Anyway, we'll
see how this keyboard compares.

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kaonashi
I can't say that I find any of these critiques relevant.

~~~
geoka9
Yes, it's the thing with keyboard preferences - they are highly subjective.
They can depend on what OS you use, IDE/editor, shell, even your least hated
browser.

For example, I don't care for the Step in/Step out keys because I don't use
debuggers much and even if I did I probably wouldn't need a special key for
those tasks - I would've just mapped them to a chord that I use without
looking at the keyboard - or something like that.

I think the "ideal programmer's keyboard" should cover the tactile front (key-
press depth and feel, size and arrangement of the keys) and allow as much
customization as to mappings as practically possible - perhaps going as far as
providing several sets of stickers on a sheet and letting the user attach them
to the keys.

~~~
orclev
It should be noted that the maker of that keyboard (WASD Keyboards) sells
customizable keycaps for their other keyboards. It seems reasonable that if
the CODE keyboard sells well they'll probably offer to sell customizable
keycaps for it as well, so you wouldn't even need stickers, just order a
handful of custom keycaps and swap them out yourself.

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jchung
Surprised at how many posts here are disparaging this keyboard. Seems pretty
rude to me to put down a pet project like that. You don't have to buy it.

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holyjaw
> Why not put special keys for things programmers use, eg: Build, Debug, Step
> In, Step Over, Step Out, and a special key between Ctrl and Alt just
> dedicated for ‘Auto Complete’ so we don’t have to hit Ctrl+Space ever again!

Because those aren't system commands, where as media keys are.

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Zweihander
If it made cool clicking noises, I'd be more interested. It makes a standard
quiet cherry noise. Now if it was a complex white ALPS switch or something
completely new, we'd be talking something genuinely interesting (or at least
actually rare/difficult to come by).

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paddy_m
I would love to find a clicky key keyboard with the function keys on the left
side like they once were.

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ElliotH
Has anyone actually substantiated this 'vast majority' of coders who prefer an
ergonomic design?

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shervinafshar
Another fact which is ignored in this "review" is the possibilities for
tweaking and customization; e.g. switching the layout, pulling of key-caps,
etc.

