Just buy the Unicomp then. Comes with two Windows keys and USB built in. Just as f-ing loud and still made in Kentucky. I like it (wrote my thesis on it), but it’s been banned from two workplaces due to the noise. Now experimenting with a Ducky with Cherry Browns as a compromise.
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Someone, in Oxford, might want to buy it, as is.
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I’ll admit, I’m really weird about keyboards in that I absofuckinglutely HATE full-height mechanical-style keyboards. Absolutely hate them. They’re too fucking tall and I have to move my fingers up and down too fucking much. Perhaps it’s because I’ve had Apple keyboards for all of my life, pretty much, and they’ve been the low-profile membrane style since 2007 (heck, the one I’m typing on now IS an A1243 with a design date of 2007). I might upgrade to one of the A2520s with the numeric keypad and touch ID, but that’s a “might”, since my A1243 is still working just fine.
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then maybe mechanical optical is for you. it has the old school click with a thinner profile because lasers ™ instead of actual switches
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Even better was the IBM selectric II. Loved the feel and sound of that thing. Nothing more satisfying than finishing a paragraph of test and hearing the typing ball complete the last several letters…
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THIS is creamy.
no talking or music in this video.
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The keyboard in the OP and the first, purple keyboard in your video sound amazing to me. I love the features and feel of my Filco Majestouch 2, but the sound does leave something to be desired. I suspect you couldn’t get that “creamy” sound with the soft detent that I prefer on the Cherry MX brown switches.
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that is pretty damn creamy
Mechanical keyboards do not have to be tall. I’ve got one, a Logitech K840, and it’s similar in height to most other PC keyboards I’ve used, but with the responsive and clicky keys of any other mechanical. Love the thing, although like someone said, there’s a deep black hole of switches and key replacements and overall styles and aesthetics I do NOT want to slide into. Just reading about the switches one day as I considered if I wanted to buy another one gave me a headache and I had to go lie down until my vapors passed.
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I have an IBM Rapid Access III SK-8805 - hooked up to my ‘desktop’ MacBook - and I rather like it.
(It also has a 2-port USB hub, which is handy. And the media control keys, especially the volume controls at the top left, are a boon.)
(Pic is not of mine!)
There’s one on US eBay right now for $16!
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Considering that it’s still nearly three times the height of my Apple keyboard, it’s still too thick for me. I’d have to embed it at least a centimeter into my desk, possibly two centimeters, to get the same sort of thin, desk-level typing I get out of an Apple keyboard. Sure, my A1243 only has a few millimeters of key travel, but when the whole thing is only 12 mm thick, proportionally it’s fine.
I’m just not in the target audience for mechanical keyboards, and I know it.
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I was intrigued by your post so I went searching. Its true that these optical switch keyboards are lower, but even if the keys were down against the body of the keyboard this would be 2-3x thicker than the apple keyboard.
Here is a picture. The optical switch keyboard is on the left. It seems like mostly theater to me because with the keys lifted up so far for all the travel, the body could be thicker without changing the position of the keys.
I think these are very bad for your wrists unless you have room for one of those large “on-ramps” to lift your resting spot.
The current keyboard culture is interesting, but products seem high on engineering and low on human factors/ergonomics.
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yeah,i suspected it might be theater. but ive never actually looked myself.
there’s a certain tone to people writing about them that reminds me of audiophiles writing about the warmth of gold tipped jacks or whatever. where people want to claim they can perceive a difference so they can feel like they have insider knowledge
i do love a good keyboard. i wish there were a hall of keyboards somewhere where i could actually try them out without first plunking down significant dollars
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Yep, use what works for you is the mantra I live by. The nice thing is, we both have excellent choices for our needs.
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Most keyboards are placed on desks that are too high. A proper typing height shouldn’t require a rest. If the chair or the typing surface are adjustable, the thickness of the keyboard is irrelevant—only the throw matters.
Keyboard thickness isn’t totally irrelevant. I can’t get my desk low enough for typing on a full height keyboard to be comfortable - even with my desk low enough that it’s touching my lap, the tops of the keys are still higher than I’d like them to be unless I’m using a low profile keyboard.
There are deeper niches within the mechanical keyboard niche - people who are into low profile keyboards (mostly built around Kailh Choc switches, which don’t feel or sound great, but are much lower profile than Cherry and similar); and ergonomic split, column-stagger layouts instead of the standard row-stagger which was designed around the mechanical concerns of typewriters rather than human ergonomics.
I’ve been typing on one of these lately:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/sy86py/corneish_zen_r3_ic/
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I dabbled with a split adjustable keyboard in the 90s, and for me the height of the keyboard relative to where I rest my palms is much more critical than the actual location of the keys.
Yes and no.
Surface height is critical to having a relaxed bend in your arms and wrist vs a position where you muscles are constantly applying tension to keep your hands in typing position. Thats the yes.
Keyboard height is critical to the position of your hand relative to your forearm. If you are able to rest your palms on the surface this takes the load of your arms and removes the need for arm muscles to be in constant tension supporting your hands in the right position. If the angle between your hands and forearm are near zero - meaning straight in line with your forearm, then the tendons operating your fingers (from the muscles in your forearm) will have the least resistance, and least likely to get sore at your wrist by having to actuate through a bend in your wrist (carpel tunnel). So thats the No. Your palms most certainly need support, and as your keyboard gets thicker, that means a ramp or pad infront. Simply approaching the keyboard at the proper angle is not enough. You need a resting platform for your hands. Thinner keyboards are better because they allow you to use the entire desktop for your resting surface, and more possible positions that you can type from.
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I suppose I disagree (pretty strongly) on the need, or even desirability, of having a hand rest. The big muscles in your arms are built to be in tension for a long time. If I can hold my phone up and browse for however long while watching TV, I can type that long without strain.
Of course, different strokes for different folks, and what works for me may not work for you. My only lament is that the prevalence of use as you describe has made it comparatively difficult to find furniture made to what I consider an ergonomic typing height.
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Tension in these muscle sets increase friction at the “tunnels” where your finger tendons and nerves travel from your forearms to your hands. Some people will never develop pain or numbness here, others will get it fairly readily. Some will require surgery. This will change from your 30s to your 60s.
Thats not my experience. Adequately adjustable task chairs have been available for decades, yet most people suffice on crappy chairs from outlets like Staples. I purchased a fully ergonomic task chair in 1990 for over $900, a robust piece of commercial office furniture from Herman Miller, and its still in service. Professional task chairs have improved markedly since then. Prevalence of adjustable keyboard surfaces and entire workspace adjustment has become common as well. Yet people seem completely unaware of these products. There is no reason to wreck your hands and arms typing anymore.
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