Anyone tried a mechanical keyboard?

General Miscellaneous
1

I was wondering around YouTube the other day and I can see that a lot of developer types appear to be switching to mechanical keyboards. This is something that interests me because I’m over 40, my fingers are knackered, I work long hours and I often get pains in my fingers from typing. Anything that can make my life easier has got to be a good thing.

If you haven’t heard of a mechanical keyboard, it’s basically a kind of retro kind of keyboard type whereby the keys have little tiny springs, as opposed to rubber domes (as used by most modern keyboards).

There appears to be quite a lot of people swearing by these mechanical keyboards and they’re having all sorts of debates about whether or not to use MX Cherry reds, blues or browns. I very nearly bought a mechanical keyboard yesterday but in the end I decided against it. They’re certainly not cheap. Many of them are around the 200 dollar mark.

Anyway, if you are interested in improving your typing speed, looking after your fingers or even if you just have fond memories of typing on a Commodore 64 in the 80s - then maybe this is something worth looking into. On the other hand, maybe it’s a rip off.

So, I was just wondering if anyone out there has any thoughts on this.

2

I’ve used these when there was no choice i.e. when it was the only type of the keyboard available. Then switched to laptop-like A4 Tech KV-300H. Used 3 of these to death so far :)

http://mdata.yandex.net/i?path=b1011232452_img_id4341433840098588728.jpg

3

I’ve been using the Ducky Shine 5 RGB for about 2 years (there is a newer version Shine 6, I think). I must say I love it. Great feedback on each key, RGB LED, no clicky sound. And it’s great choice for gaming too.

PS: found a great list of keyboards for programmer here: https://hobgear.com/best-programming-keyboards/

4

I think there is a lot difference between mechanical keyboard and membrane keyboard. Challenger Prime from ttsports was my last membrane keyboard. Now I am using Corsair K95 RGB Platinum. Keyboard is nothing but pressing keys but you will feel the difference while typing.

5

If you have the money, then I would recommend Kinesis Advantage2:

https://www.kinesis-…hop/advantage2/

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advantage2-2.jpeg

I can’t afford one, but I do believe that having two separate, hand-shaped ‘bowls’ with non-staggered mechanical keys are going to be a wonderful experience for tired hands. :)

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advantage2.jpeg

Check out this guy’s keyboard articles: http://xahlee.info/k...board_blog.html

6

I used the original IBM model M keyboard back in the day - and it was awesome!

Built like a tank.

A small company makes them today: http://xahlee.info/kbd/keyboard_IBM_model_m_Unicomp.html

7

Never liked these. Probably because I’ve used this stuff too much:

800×510

8

I’m using a simple Ducky mechanical keyboard (brown Cherry MX) and I really like typing on it, you’ll immediately notice the difference when typing on a normal keyboard again. I’m making less typo’s, I’m typing faster and because you can really slam the keys, you’re not stressing your fingers as you type. Mine was around 100 euros and it was really worth the investment.