
The Mechanical Keyboard Guide - akandiah
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide
======
buro9
For UK people I heartily recommend <http://www.keyboardco.com/>

I picked up a Filco Cherry MX Brown switch keyboard a few years ago and it's
still going great:
<http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_details.asp?PRODUCT=646>

It's the right balance between tactile feedback and just a little less noise
than the blue switches.

I actually need another for my workplace (the one I already have is at home),
and this time around I'm going for the ninja variant when they get it back in
stock: <http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_details.asp?PRODUCT=932>

~~~
tinco
I also own a Filco majestouch with brown switches and am the envy of my
friends ;) Although it is very nice, if all you do is type, and you don't mind
extra sound I can very much recommend blue switches. I've tested these at a
workplace that has them for all workers and in my experience they are a bit
less stiff and the feedback is just great.

~~~
shocks
I love my blues, but my girlfriend sleeping the other side of the door does
not. D:

------
szeevim
I totally agree. The keyboard space hasn't seen any innovation in the past 30
years or more. While most of us spend hours using this old device wasting
unnecessary energy, it is time for a new cost effective technology to change
this. Now the important part is not the change the existing experience we have
today.

~~~
VLM
You need a way to roll the tech out. We've got tons of unknown tech if you
search the marketplace hard enough. For example a couple people suggest the
Truly Ergonomic website. But that's never going to sell me, because I have no
idea how it actually feels compared to my "current" early 90s model M.

What we need is a middleman, maybe MLM, who will do keyboard "tupperware
parties" or maybe a stealth middleman under the cover of business RSI
prevention consulting. In the old days I could go to compusa and try
keyboards, err... and looks like best buy is failing too now... so if you want
to actually try a keyboard you're pretty much limited to walmart and the apple
store and they've only got one POS to try.

Its interesting how a pretty core part of the clothing retailing business
model is built around try before buy, but keyboards don't allow that. If I
have 14 business shirts I'll try on the 15th before buying it to "make sure"
even though if I totally screw up I still only have to wear it 1/15th of the
time even if it doesn't fit perfectly. Yet the keyboard that I have to use
every day for hours, eh, just order the cheapest, online, sight unseen, who
cares if the employee's hands rot and fall off we'll just hire another...

~~~
jfb
This is part of the reason that I have an extra Kinesis; I lend it out to
friends to try and get them to consider switching from shovelware garbage.

------
rdl
I feel kind of strange that my two favorite keyboards are the Das Keyboard
Professional Silent (Cherry MX Brown) scissor wired USB Apple keyboard. Kind
of on opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm also ok with Lenovo or Apple laptop
keyboards, although they do feel a bit mushy.

~~~
omni
We have similar preferences, but I've recently had to switch to a Cherry MX
Brown from my Apple keyboard because of a hardware-level delay on the caps
lock key that Apple somehow thought was a good idea. Emacs users, beware.

~~~
rdl
Am I the only Emacs user (admittedly, I don't live in it; I use the shell for
more) who leaves capslock unused, and leaves control as control? What I hate
is the Fn key position on the Apple Wireless keyboard, though (which strangely
doesn't bother me as much on the laptops)

~~~
omni
I'm sure you're not the only one, but for me at least, it was a no-brainer
when I started using Emacs. The caps lock key requires about a fifth as much
pinky movement as the control key does, and moving my pinky to the control key
also affects the rest of my left hand because of the awkward angle. I almost
stopped using Emacs after a day or two of trying it out before my friend told
me about using caps lock.

------
kmfrk
<http://www.reddit.com/r/keyboards> is also a good community for mechanical
keyboards.

~~~
shocks
Also: <http://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/>

~~~
jmorton
Also also: <http://geekhack.org/>

~~~
yankcrime
Also also also: <http://deskthority.net>

------
seanmcdirmid
Two questions:

* How many readers on Hackernews use a Model M keyboard?

* Who uses a keyboard that is better than a Model M (if such a thing exists)?

~~~
jfb
I use a Kinesis Advantage Pro, which is a Cherry brown equipped ergonomic. It
is fantastic. I used to use a Model M; also an old Sun; an old Next; a variety
of boutique mechanical keyboards (the HH, among others). For a variety of
reasons, I've come back to the Kinesis. I have three; I lend one out to
friends and coworkers who might want to try it.

I'm largely dissatisfied with the world of keyboards; I wish there were a
better way to interact with my computer, and until such a time, that people
would stop just getting by with whatever garbage the OEM decides to least
common denominator them with.

~~~
gmrple
Assuming you write code, how do you feel about the key remapping? I have seen
people complain about the location of brackets and other keys; which is enough
to keep me away.

~~~
jfb
I've never noticed the brackets slowing me down; the only remaps I do are Caps
to Ctrl-L (which can now be done on the Mac side) and Shift-R to Cmd.

The big problem for me is that there's no way to create new modifier keys (I
spend all my time in Emacs, and having a Hyper and Super would be really
nice), but that's more a HID problem than a Kinesis one. A minor irritation is
that the USB hub doesn't output sufficient amperage to be useful for anything.
An even more minor irritation is that sometimes the keyboard will get confused
and apply a modifier lock function, but because of some weird quirk will lock
Meta rather than Shift, and my windows will go berzerk. It's a trivial state
to escape from (I just hit Meta and Caps), and it doesn't happen often enough
to rise to the level of I MUST FIX THIS NOW.

------
huhtenberg
Also of note - <http://stevelosh.com/blog/2012/10/a-modern-space-cadet/>

------
jiggy2011
Most of the mechanical keyboards I see are advertised as "gaming keyboards".
If I bought a keyboard it would primarily be used for writing code or english
text (don't see how a mechanical keyboard would improve gaming that much
unless you are a 300APM starcraft fiend).

What sort of keyboard should I look for for code typing?

~~~
quaunaut
For coding, you're gonna be fine with literally any keyboard, including some
$20 logitech piece.

Mechanical keyboards can be fun if you enjoy their feel, or if as a gamer,
you're needing to be able to hit a key 5+ times per second and have it pick up
each and every one. But honestly, for coding, you can get it done on just
about anything, as speed isn't the necessity, planning is.

~~~
justlearning
quanaut, sorry if i sound pedantic.

Here's my question - could you please share your experience with a mechanical
keyboard to conclude on your statement "For coding, you're gonna be fine with
literally any keyboard, including some $20 logitech piece". I am genuinely
interested to know.

In my opinion, what you wrote in reply to jiggy2011 is b.s. Mechanical
keyboards are good for gaming and equally good for coding (or for that matter
even data entry/processing jobs). The reason is they are way more responsive
and quicker than a membrane one that usually is on a laptop. It (imho) also
helps in your wrist pain and is easy on fingers (as in you don't have to go
pressing a key all the way down). If you have hands on a blue-cherry
mechanical keyboard, try for a month and then try typing on a laptop keyboard.

@jiggy2011 - i have many keyboards of varied styles. my personal favorite is
the CM QuickFire Rapid(tenkeyless and cheaper compared to others). If you are
looking for the best in the class (go Filco - made in japan and flawless).
Don't fall for the hyped keyboards - daskeyboard,razer,steelcase etc. They are
good, but not up there in quality. Specially daskeyboard used to be good when
they started out - i would not pick on any daskeyboard built after 2008. They
used to make keyboards sourced from Taiwan(better quality), but now source it
from an OEM from China. good luck!

~~~
quaunaut
My experience is that while a mechanical keyboard is more enjoyable and
slightly easier, I've never once in my life gotten frustrated at some cheapo
keyboard while coding. I've never needed to know the exact millisecond a key
was pressed, the rebound is just fine.

Lets be honest here. Programming is not some intensive exercise. Nor should
you be getting carpal tunnel as a programmer- if you are, you need to dial
back the boilerplate.

I don't enjoy laptop keyboards if only because they force my palms to be
raised- I have large hands, so for me it's natural to rest the bottom of my
palms on the desk or even on the side of the desk, whereas on a laptop it's at
an equal height to the keys- which is annoying as hell. I also dislike the
shape of too many laptop keyboards, if only because they seem to prioritize
style over feel and key differentiation(lookin' at you, Apple).

But this isn't intense stuff. If you're gaming, or doing high-speed data
entry, or even if you're a prolific writer, you may have a real claim. But as
a programmer, claiming that you need a mechanical keyboard is nonsense.
They're nice, and if you want nice tools, that's okay, and I encourage you to
invest. But they're not required, and they're never going to make you a better
programmer.

------
brudgers
Xah Lee has given serious thought to keyboards. Though you may find something
to disagree with, this page of his articles, reviews, and images is highly
informative:

<http://xahlee.info/kbd/keyboarding.html>

------
InclinedPlane
I use a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate, with Cherry MX Blue switches, that I got
for free. I love the thing though it is quite loud, loud enough to where I'll
have to turn up the volume of movies or music if I'm listening over speakers
instead of headphones. Also, typing on a rectangular keyboard for hours on end
doesn't bother me whereas some folks may have RSI issues.

------
mxfh
In this context one should mention

<http://deskthority.net>

which holds gems like this:

<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2415265>

and their wiki, which sorts this knowledge a little bit more accessible:

<http://deskthority.net/wiki/>

------
ceeK
I have a Das Keyboard with Cherry MX Blue switches. At the moment it's just
gathering dust as the home entertainment centre keyboard. The sound really got
annoying after using it for awhile. I couldn't type at night because of it.

I switched to the standard Apple keyboard instead. I can't type as fast on it,
but it's tolerable at least.

------
rdl
The keyboard I really want to try is the DataHand Pro II
(<http://www.datahand.com/products/proii.htm>) -- but it's a bit expensive.
I've used them briefly in the past, and it was interesting for typing, but
didn't work as well for keyboard+mouse.

------
meerita
An all time classic for reading.

I have just started using a mechanical keyboard a year ago or so. I had
already used a few but very little and did not pay attention to the issue they
were mechanical until a pro-gamer said he was playing better with mechanical
keyboards than normal keyboards.

My Keyboard is one black keyswitches from SteelSeries.

------
shocks
I am using a Ducky Shine 1 (DK-9008) with Cherry MX Blue switches. It's a
lovely keyboard and I've really enjoyed using it. Definitely a keyboard I
would recommend. The Shine 2 is out now, but afaik the difference is minimal.
You can probably pick the Shine 1 up for a bit less now.

------
davidroberts
I spent years as a technical translator. When I understood the source
documents well, typing speed was the main limitation to how much money I could
make in an hour, and so the keyboard I used was very important.

I discovered the key to fantastic typing under those conditions was not the
mechanics of the keyboard--it was the layout of the letters.

After working at it full-time for a year or so, I started suffering wrist pain
so bad I had to use voice recognition software (which sucked). I switched to
the Dvorak layout and by the time I was proficient, the pain had disappeared,
and I could type about 10 WPM faster. The pain never came back

It took about six months to remap my brain and muscle memory. Nowadays, it's
sometimes a pain if I have to temporarily use another computer and I don't
have access to the settings that change the layout. If I see that situation
coming, I just bring my own keyboard to work. The only time it became a bigger
problem was in a job where IT required a doctor's note before even allowing me
to connect another keyboard to the computer or change the setting. I solved
that problem by getting another job.

I use a keyboard that can be switched between Dvorak and normal, mainly for
the convenience of non-Dvorak users who need to use my computer from time to
time (This one: <http://www.typematrix.com/>), but I find the mechanics or
type of keyboard (for example ergonomic or not) fades into insignificance
compared to the difference between Dvorak and QWERTY.

Still, a nicely built keyboard can really improve the typing experience. My
laptop is a Lenovo, and I love the feel of the keyboard on it.

I don't care what the keycaps say, because I totally touchtype. I bought the
cheapest keyboard available for my Raspberry Pi, and the cheap feel is kind of
annoying, but the difference between that one and the Lenovo is like between
70% and 90%, despite the quality difference, and most of that is based on
having to get used to a different layout of the non-letter keys like delete
and control, and not the quality of the mechanism.

I've been coding a lot these days and the work happens much more in the brain
and less on the keyboard than in translation. That being the case, I think the
appeal of a very high-quality keyboard for programming is probably more a
matter of taste than practicality. It's like owning a Ferrari. You will never
push it near its limit, but its really fun to drive.

Another consideration: programming makes very heavy use of symbols compared to
text writing, and I think a true programmer's keyboard would be one that puts
those symbols in easy reach.

So my keyboard recommendations to hackers would be: Find a keyboard with a
layout that supports your programming efforts. Next consider what feels good
and appeals to your taste. Finally, if you write a lot of text in other
contexts besides coding, and if you have some time to suck at typing for six
months before getting much better at it, try Dvorak. It will speed up those
really long HN posts.

------
virtualwhys
compact G84-4100 Cherry mechanical keyboard here, $20 new off eBay ;-)

Makes a racket _if you hammer away_

Wish the cord was a bit shorter (might be 6 feet), other than that, love it,
tiny little gem.

------
dallagi
Why is the Truly Ergonomic missing? I tried TEK, Kinesis Advantage and
SteelSeries Keyboards, and I think the TEK is the most comforable one and I
definitely love it.

I suggest that you take a look at <http://www.trulyergonomic.com>

~~~
sanoli
Could you comment more on why you thought the TEK was the more comfortable
one, and how does it compare to the Kinesis? I'm thinking about getting either
a Kinesis, a TEK, or a Ralforce (never tried those topre switches though). I
was leaning so far to the Kinesis, thinking it was the more comfortable of the
three. But I never tried the TEK, so I have no way of comparing.

