Whew, pulled that one out of the fire.
I have several IBM Model Mâs stockpiled. Iâm still a faster and more accurate typist on them than on anything more recent, and Iâm convinced that itâs part of why Iâve never experienced significant RSI issues. Thereâs a lot of subtle ergonomic detail in that one which more recent keyboard designs simply ignored. (Iâve even got one with the Trackpoint, though given desktop space I prefer a trackball or serious tablet.)
I can work with my laptopâs keyboard⌠but prefer not to.
BTW, the right thing to do with Caps Lock on these is to remap it to something else. Under Windows, Iâve taken to making it the left Windows shift, for those rare occasions when I actually want that available. I havenât yet remapped Scroll Lock, but thatâs far enough out of the way that it hasnât been an issue, and I havenât felt a great need for another key in that location.
(I also have a few of the relatively rare blank and transparent keycap covers for the Model M. Havenât used 'em recently, but for a while one of my machines really did have an âAnyâ key.)
Oh, and yeah â I definitely use the numeric keypad. I can touch-type numbers from the main keyboard, but for nontrivial amounts of numeric data entry touch-typing the numpad really is faster. If you donât want it â if your computer use is all textual, or if you want a smaller laptop and canât spare the physical space for it â thatâs entirely reasonable, but if youâre using your machine for personal finances or any kind of data crunching youâre probably better off having it.
I take it you donât play nethack?
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Solution: use chopsticks.
Nothing beats the Model M. Iâve tried, in vain, to acquire a Model M that actually works (Iâve had two recently, both had minor issues). It seems, from the above discussion, I should keep trying for the Model M nirvana ⌠but in the meantime, Iâm perfectly happy with my buckling spring Unicomp.
I donât know what the big deal is about the Code keyboard. Ok, itâs neat to have the dip switches on the back, etc., but Iâve not used a Cherry clear keyboard - and Iâm not going to spend ~$50 more than I spent on the aforementioned Unicomp to try it. I have tried a few other Cherry keyboards (blue, I believe?), but the buckling spring wins.
In fairness, the Unicomp isnât exactly the Model M.
âThe Sculpt has flat, Chiclet-style keys.â
(insert âhow about noâ bear jpg)
If Microsoft kills their Natural Ergonomic 4000 Iâm going to have to stock up.
I want one but at $150 itâs too much.
Thatâs interesting, since weâre sold out and canât obtain any more clear switches. Could you please forward the names of your switch distributors that have clear switches âby the bagâ, because weâd love to buy a few hundred thousand of them?
Clear is roughly the same actuation force as blue, but â and this part is important â without the noise. The blues are quite loud. Not buckling spring loud, which is basically like firing a gun every time you press a key, but way louder than clear and brown.
However, if you want noise while typing, the original CODE run was definitely not for you. I find that for most people the noise does kinda matter unless they have the luxury of a private office.
That examination seems to conclude that it is not the Apple chicklet mini-keyboard, most of all, as @Medievalist noted. I donât think that person is in the market for anything remotely mechanical.
As for some of the other comments, Iâm curious why @anon18417063 says this is âjust like the Das Keyboardâ which isnât even backlit, for starters⌠the details here really matter, so pay attention. And if you donât think the details matter â this is not the product youâre looking for.
We are sold out of the first production run now, and Itâs unlikely weâll be able to get clear switches in any quantity at all for another year (unless we manage to find @polackioâs mythical distributor), so weâre going to be posting a poll soon to see what switch type people want next.
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OK, Iâm a touch-typist so Iâm biased⌠but I donât see a significant advantage in backlit keys. If you canât find your way around the keyboard without looking at it, the ergo ainât right or you havenât adjusted to it or both.
(My laptop does have a backlit keyboard. I groaned but bought it anyway)
The Filco Majestouch-2, Tenkeyless, NKR, Tactile Action, Keyboard with brown switches (tactile but not so clicky) or blue switches (clicky as all get out).
I have the Ninja, which has the the characters printed on the front instead of the top of the keys.
Close, but that half-sized shift key on the left is a deal breaker for me. I guess you could say Iâm nitpicking but why on earth would they compromise one of the most common keys to make room for two of the least common characters (the pipe and backslash)? Iâd way rather a conventional (smaller) sized enter key and a full sized shift key.
I donât understand why no one except Apple will make a completely regular keyboard minus the numpad. Iâm guessing it all comes down to some master mold in China that all keyboards are cast from, that was originally made in like 1982, and no one but Apple will make a new one.
Love that Ninja keyboard:
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I have to agree. The left size shift is annoying as hell as that is the one I use most. I donât think I even touch the right side shift - maybe I should try using it more.
Even though I am perfectly happy with my Filco Ninja Keyless (brown switches) I am hot for the 87-key code keyboard. Now, if the ESCAPE key came in a nice bright red colour that glowed due to the backlight⌠and it came in a UK layout⌠and I had any moneyâŚ
if youâre into mechanicals (and it looks like it) you might want to go and see WASD keyboards. they basically tailor up your keyboard letting you customize the switches, keys color and what is written on the keys. so you can replicate the CODE one (except they donât carry clear switches, only blue/red/brown/black) but with more customization. price is pretty much the same but you end up having your unique keyboard.
Hey Jeff, this thing seems pretty damn sweet. Although it seems that options for different grade switches would be goodâŚ
But you know what I reckon would be fucking super-awesome^2?
Just imagine it - being able to balance the bloody thing on your lap and type!
Having room on a tight desk for your mousepad without reaching left to type!
Being able to enter numbers easily without taking your hand off the mouse!
Not to mention how much the numpad craps all over WASD for gaming - so much so that I used to mouse left-handed for FPS.*
Please. Iâd pay $200.
*Oh, and I made this:
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Thatâs ⌠Interesting. Have any major keyboard manufacturers done this before? If so, how have I not noticed?
Edit:
After googling, it seems to have been done a few times. Cool. It makes a lot of sense, too.
There is an 87 key version of CODE, how is this not exactly a
keyboard with the numpad lopped off?
Indeed and awesome! I just went to the website to order it but it says the site is under maintenance. Hoping itâll be back up soon?
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/code-keyboard.html
Not like my layout⌠theyâre pretty much all âleft-handed keyboardsâ AFAICT, and move both groups of keys to the left, and most donât even mirror the numpad, they just plonk it there the wrong way around (IMO the numbers shouldnât be mirrored though). The only exception I could find was this, and it seems pretty crappy for the money, obviously related to the cheap wireless A4Tech I hacked above.
The only doppelganger for mine I came across was one of many proposals by some German dude.
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