[cpassa]

is there a keyboard that has a key pressure adjustment?

[jonljacobi]

Yeah, verily. I'm glad I bought 4 of them before all the articles singing their praises came out. $10 apiece.

Cheers, Jon

[CaptainKeyboard]

The keyboard of the IBM PC was the best keyboard ever made. In fact, I wish that all the computer companies, including my favorite microcomputer Cybernet, would have keys with the touch and feel like the IBM PC. The keys had a nice "clicky" tacticle sound that was perfect for the typist who has been using the typewriter, even the IBM Selectric typewriter for many years.

Now that I have a Cybernet ZPC-9000 "Zero-footprint" computer, I call my computer my keyboard. I surely miss the world's greatest keyboard.

[ChuckEtheridge]

All this commotion about the IBM keyboard seems a bit silly. For several years now I've been using a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. This one is wired, but there is a wireless module called the 7000. This is by far the most comfortable keyboard to use that I have ever seen. The arrangement of the keys allows far faster and more accurate typing than any other that I know of. It also has several ancillary features which are very convenient. One is a "zoom" feature. In the area between the two sides of the keyboard there is a small tab which will enlarge whatever is on the screen. When used in conjunction with the Microsoft Comfort Mouse which enables lateral movement of the enlarged monitor screen you can have the image on the monitor attain a size and lateral location that makes reading satisfyingly comfortable. One other feature of the keyboard is a set of five buttons at the edge of the keyboard with which one can select whatever program that is needed, without having to click on any icons. In that same row of small tabs at the front edge of the keyboard there are also buttons that allow control of access to your browser, email, a search function, as well as keys to give control of mute and volume as well as ending Media Center, and a key to enable a calculator. Above the number keypad there are several keys such as =, a back arrow, and keys that bring on parentheses without having to having to use the shift keys.

The keyboard is split in the middle at an angle which allows the wrists to stay straight with the arms, and it comes with a snap-on mount that fits under the near edge of the keyboard, raising the section under the wrists and actually letting the front edge of the keyboard rest a bit lower than the section nearest you. This arranges the keyboard so that the fingers can type with virtually no rise, allowing them to stay straight with the wrist end of the hands. These arrangements allow truly extraordinary comfortable typing and one from which there is no fatigue.

As opposed to the IBM keyboard mentioned in the article, the keys operate very quietly and smoothly and they, too, are a great help in avoiding fatigue. Microsoft has done a remarkably good job in the design and execution of this keyboard and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

[JimH443]

What I find amusing is that back in its day, the only thing you'd hear people say about this "fantastic" keyboard were the complaints about how loud it was. How it was difficult to concentrate with a room full for these #@$% noisy keyboards.

[jonljacobi]

Though you are correct in that it is noisy, I'm afraid I can't agree about that being the only thing you heard about them. I never complained once and I never heard a complaint from anyone who did a lot of typing. ;-) It's that noise that allows you to establish a good typing rhythm..
This is not a new or trendy thing with me, I purchased my current units 8 years ago after another went electronically dead (I've since repaired it). I've tried virtually every keyboard made in the last 15 years and there isn't one I would trade for. I ain't selling them either no matter how much value they accrue.
That said, it's purely personal taste so I'm not saying this keyboard is the "greatest". It's simply my favorite.
Cheers, Jon

[JimH443]

So you don't remember how all the other keyboards for sale at the time would brag about how quiet they were? And how very few (if any - I can't recall a single one, but it's been a good while) other brands keyboards would click?

[jonljacobi]

You said it was the "only" thing you heard... I do remember the quiet keyboard thing but that was far from a universal complaint despite the marketing. They marketed SUVs like mad in the 90's.

I also remember someone chastising me for not mentioning the absolute best thing about SSDs being that they were silent. It never occurred to me because I have no problem with these kind of noises. Now subwoofers are another story.

Cheers, Jon

[JimH443]

Yes, at the time when they were standard IBM issue and the topic of conversation happened to be that specific keyboard, all I heard were complaints about how annoying the sound was. I heard no one defending them, only apologies.

[jonljacobi]

I'm guessing we never worked in the same place.

[JimH443]

Highly unlikely. :D

[AirCooled]

Tue Jul 08 22:19:18 PDT 2008 bluefalconloyd
"As a gamer I've tried out about every name brand keyboard - Logitech G11 and G15, Merc Stealth, Razer Lycosa, etc...."

Just wondering, blue, have you, perhaps, tried using an IBM Model M? While it's nowhere near as fancy as modern boards, and doesn't anti-ghost as well (4 or 5 keys), it's one hell of a keyboard, doesn't slide, and feels much, much, better than any modern keyboard I've tried. Though I've heard the DAS keyboard has a similar feel, and are gaming oriented.

[Miller88]

I spend 8-12 hours a day infront of a computer. I type hard and fast - minimum of 90 wpm. I have broken almost every keyboard thrown at me (sometimes literally!) ... except the IBM model M.

[CaptainKeyboard]

Thank you for a sterling eye-opener. Now my wonder of where the good-old keyboards have gone is over. Too bad, I would not be able to have the IBM M keyboard, because my computer is made by Cybernet. The computer is inside the keyboard. Hence, I named my computer Keyboard, because I am an avid typist. Mainly, I use my keyboard for keyboarding by doing computer typewriting on it. I miss the IBM PC in the late 1980s during my search for a word processing job. Now that I have my own keyboard since 2002, the work can search for me. - Captain Keyboard

[wildbill313]

I just found a IBM model M in the dumpster,I love it!There was also a newer IBM and an almost brand new dell.Hands down the M is the best.

[rollsroyce]

I just bought a Velocity Micro computer that came with this keyboard. There is no way you can read the keys even with the lights all on unless you turn off all the other lights in the room. Then you have to stand over the keyboard to see the keyboard lights. The easy start guide is so sparse that the little information available is worthless. The information is on a sheet 22" long and 5 1/2" deep. This is barely more than ONE regular 8 1/2x 11 sheet of regular paper. In a game I spend so much time trying to read the key I need to push that I wind up getting killed. Gaming is the worst thing the keyboard should be used for.

Keyboard documentation is NOT on the computer. I have no idea what their small references mean on the tiny diagram. in the Start Guide. I am looking for a keyboard to replace the Razer Lycosa. Maybe some other company will spend dime to explain the keyboard features.

C. H. Knight

Reedville, Va 22539

[PGelsman]

No IBM keyboard can compare to the old Northgate keyboards. I used to have (forgot the model#) one with 12 extra programmable function keys across the top. What a great KB.

I now use a Focus Electronics FK 9000. It also has 12 programmable function keys across the top. Wish I could get another one as a spare.



PG

[dlauber]

Let's not forget the incredible keyboards that Northgate produced. All three of the computers in our small office are still using Northgate Omnikey keyboards with their clicking keys and rtock solid construction. Their big advantage over the IBM keyboard? The Control key is where God meant it to be -- to the left of the "a" key, the Enter key is huge, and the OminiKey Ultra has an extra asterick key to the right of the space bar.

Not to mention that they keep going, and going, and going. Ours are all 18 to 20 years old and still rock solid.