[PCWorld]

Post your comments for The 10 Worst PC Keyboards of All Time here

[NotSure]

This is nothing more than a thinly veiled attack on everything not PC or Mac. Yes, the IBM PC Jr is there, but that is every PC users whipping boy. There were good reasons for some machines having many uses on keyboards. Why not point out the PCs history of bad keyboard layout? Backspace on the left of the keyboard? How about the bad keyboard layout that has survived in both the PC and Mac over the years? The Delete key not situated to the right of the Backspace key? The Return/Enter key smaler than one of the two shift keys even though it is the third most used key? The Tab key used to switch text fields when the Return/Enter key works perfectly (and has done on many dead machines)? The PCs insistance on having a disjoint between the Capslock and Numlock keys and their LEDs? Apple has not been the only manufaturer in the past who could fit an LED into the keys themselves.

How about some real improvements? I have been asking for a decade now for a keyboard with LED/LCD keys that will not wear out with use, that can be set up to show custom key usage and will change to the Alt and Shift usage when Alt and Shift are depressed. The technology has been there for a very long time now, yet we have to put up with keyboards that would not be out of place in 1912.

Do not throw stones when your own house is not made of safety glass.

[tdigennaro]

There have indeed been many bad keyboards, before it settled down to the "standards" that we have today.

A major remaining flaw is the Caps Lock key. Only useful to people who don't understand the etiquette of email.

And the Insert key: "Get me into trouble immediately!"

And of course the cryptic obsolete markings on the standard windows keyboard. What is "Pause" or "Scroll Lock" now?

Above all we should drop QWERTY and go to that other layout.

I liked the VT-52 keyboard the best. Very fast. Moving to the VT-100 was traumatic.

[motrucker]

This piece missed some of the really bad kayboards, and seemed to focus on Commodore. I can't believe people are STILL flogging CBM! Although one Sinclair keyboard is mentioned, what the original Timex/Sinclair with that great little membrane "key"board. This missed so many truly bad keyboards, it shows it wasn't well researched at all.

[Mobicor]

every page in this article has a javascript error...

[mcbarker]

How about a modern nightmare keyboard... Has anyone tried Logitech's modern looking, very pretty, and grossly overpriced DiNovo keyboard set? Between them, the keyboard and number pad use six AA batteries, which don't last very long. The included Bluetooth drivers, which have to be installed for the system to recognize the keyboard, are incredibly intrusive, and want to control much of the computer hardware and software which have nothing to do with the keyboard, and in my experience, conflicts with numerous programs and devices, causing crashes, programs stalling or acting erratically, etc. The software is almost like a virus, and is very difficult to completely remove from the system.



!http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1!

[raycoulter]

This computer had an awesome feature, they made little plastic cut outs you put over the keyboard and the remote. The cut out placed what the buttons did for each game under the button. Very cool. :)

[raycoulter]

I was talking about the Mattel Aquarius listed at 3.

[jhnatko]

As someone who uses AutoCAD on a regular basis, I couldn't imagine NOT having a "caps lock" key, it is definitely not obsolete! It could stand to be moved, or made smaller, there have been many accidental 'caps lock' hits resulting in incorrect passwords but eliminating caps lock would be a detriment to more people than just e-mail and message board spammers.

[greg1975]

"Dad's IBM PC?" I hated PCs in the early to mid 80s. Video (CGA) in a card slot? They were absurdly slow! The only thing they were quicker at was disk i/o. Secondly, Commodore was a pioneer in home computers, so anybody was up to define the "standard" for their keyboards...does "open apple" and "closed apple" ring a bell? Custom keys are not a knock. "CTRL ALT DEL" That's REAL intuitive! As far as the "home" key being near the backspace, it never bothered me. I maybe hit it on accident four times in 10 years. Even then, it didn't clear the screen (has to be shift home) so it didn't create problems. Ironically, my favorite keyboard of all time was my VIC-20's keyboard. Same layout but mine had a unique travel and feel with a different font on the keys (wish I knew who made it). I miss using that keyboard... If I miss it how can it be "10 worst of all time"? Hello!!!!

[chstevens]

NotSure said:

How about some real improvements? I have been asking for a decade now for a keyboard with LED/LCD keys that will not wear out with use, that can be set up to show custom key usage and will change to the Alt and Shift usage when Alt and Shift are depressed. The technology has been there for a very long time now, yet we have to put up with keyboards that would not be out of place in 1912.


Do not throw stones when your own house is not made of safety glass.

Well NotSure, just for the record, this keyboard is out there -- except not cheap. So yes, this technology is there, but unless you really want to spend that much, wait a few years.

[Zuke]

Meh. You're picking on keyboards that are between 20-30 years old? This is not even sporting. Heck, "ergonomic" wasn't even a word back then. What's next, The 10 Slowest Personal Computers? You could just use the same selections and change the captions. :
Why not pick something more recent/relevant, like the tiny hand claw cramp inducing netbook keyboards?

[raymondmerriam]

You need to update Java. I keep everything updated and had no such errors.

[raymondmerriam]

My first computer was a C64, bought in April 1987. By then the C64 had a different case design than the photo shown with this article. Here's what mine looked like:
www.richardlagendijk.nl/cip/category/computer/c64c

It came with the GEOS operating system, that mimicked the Apple OS at that time. I used it for my business, which was publishing small booklets on military history topics. In 1990 I moved up to an IBM PC compatible (10 mHz in Turbo mode, 5.25" floppy drive and no hard drive; added a 40 MB hard drive the following year for $250) ... ah, the "fun" of tweaking autoexec.bat and config.sys to get a program to load into memory. My first Windows PC didn't come until late 1993 (33 mHz, 200 MB hard drive); within three years I was building my own.

And I HATE black keyboards! Or any black computer hardware. Or any black electronics hardware. Why? Because they show the dust - which is light colored. I have an Epson inkjet printer that is mostly black; the top is shiny black plastic and attracts dust like a magnet. I have to wipe it off with a damp cloth every day, nothing else works. I've tried anti-static wipes and sprays and still have to clean it every day. I let it go more than a day and it looks disgusting (I have a touch of OCD, if you haven't guessed; I also have asthma so the dust is an issue for me and even with a large, expensive HEPA air cleaner the dust still builds up pretty fast). I always try to buy silver/gray colored hardware but it's getting harder andharder. My LCD monitor, keyboard and computer case are silver/gray. My flatbed scanner has a partially silver case except the top is dark gray. The laser printer is a mix of light and dark gray (this one makes some sense as the dark gray areas are those that would most likely get dirty from toner and such that would show up on the light colors). The dust still builds up just as fast on the light colored hardware, but it doesn't show up like it does on dark colored hardware, so I don't have to clean it every single day.

[RACinWNY]

Having used more keyboards on more computers, of many flavors, over the past 28 years I feel it comes down to personal choice. Very personal. My current keyboard, which I've had for a bit over 3 years, is a Logitech G15 and I adore it!
I still love the old IBM PC XT clickety-clack metal (I think it was metal) keyboard more than anything else, ever. I also still remember, with horror, the TI-994a keyboard, but I used it for a couple years! And so on and so forth. One of the best portable computer keyboards, IMO, is the Tandy TRS-80 Model 100. LOVED it. I still have several of those kicking around here with all the extras. Don't use them anymore but can't part with them. And my newest, an Acer Aspire One netbook has a pretty darn nice keyboard for its size, and I've large hands for a female and always have had, but it works fine for me.
But for a keyboard ONLY I think this Logitech G15 is the most I've ever spent on a keyboard. Overall these days I've been pleased with Logitech keyboards and all my keyboards for the past 12 years I believe have been from them. My current desktop mouse is a Logitech too, purchased at the same time I bought this keyboard...it's a G5 and although it was more than I'd ever paid for a mouse alone it is the best EVER.