You had me until the price. I'm honestly surprised Tt would be on the expensive side of the market. Usually they're cheap. For what they're asking, I'll just get a Das Keyboard.
The first two days I had it, it pissed me off because the key travel and distance was so different from my Logitech G15. To be fair, I've been typing on the same keyboard for like five years, but I've never had this much trouble getting used to a keyboard. I got used to the keyboard on my HP laptop in about half a day, for example.
After I got used to it, it started to grow on me. I'm still not entirely thrilled with the feel, but I think I'm getting over it.
One thing that I cannot stand and that I cannot get over is the lack of a Windows key on the left side. Where the Windows key would normally be, there is a Fn key. I use muscle memory to Win+D and Win+L and even though I've been using the Meka for two weeks or so, I cannot stop hitting Fn+D and Fn+L before I realize nothing is working.
This keyboard is good, but it is definitely overpriced. I'd be happy to pay up to $70 for this keyboard, as the build quality is phenomenal. It's built like a tank. However, anything more than that is just too much, at least in my opinion.
I've been using the same Dell PS/2 keyboard since December 2001. 4 years of WoW, 1 year of Starcraft 2, miscellaneous other games, and a lot of typing on forums, telling people why they are wrong.:) It still works fine, but I think I'd like a true mechanical keyboard. But not this one for this price!
$100 for a quality mechanical keyboard using Cherry MX switches is not too bad. It's about what the market demands.
One thing all Cherry switches have in common is the 2mm actuation and 4mm bottom out distance. They are all identical in that sense. Certain flavors a clicky, certain require a little more force, some offer a little more or less tactile feedback.
I think they are all great for gaming and typing. Your favorite is based on preference. Personally, I don't mind a clicky switch that makes allot of sound, I actually kind of like it (my wife despises it though, but that's what you get when you marry a Geek).
My guess is that they probably used MX Browns given the description in the review. Could you check the switch type they used just out of curiosity?
For the curious, here is a nice little guide to mechanical keyboard tech.
My guess is that they probably used MX Browns given the description in the review. Could you check the switch type they used just out of curiosity?
For the curious, here is a nice little guide to mechanical keyboard tech.
We actually did check this, and verified it twice. These are the latest and greatest Cherry MX Blacks. I thought they were Browns too, initially. They're just not going to give you the positive tactile feedback of a buckling spring or an Alps, but that's because they're not meant to. The result has been a lot of accidental and double keystrokes for me, because my hands are trained for that high degree of positive tactile feedback. (One of the reasons I like my HP Envy17's keyboard; one of the few laptops with positive tactile feedback.)
Personally, I would have preferred to see MX Blues used. But my taste is different from a lot of folks; primesuspect and I actually discussed the noise level a lot, which is what started us digging into the keyswitches. Mine was the quietest I've seen in a long time, his was loud - though not obnoxiously so. The cause? Typing style - he uses the full key travel and bottoms out the keys, whereas I use minimum travel necessary.
It's definitely a keyboard that requires some getting used to, kind of like the original Das Keyboard. (You know, the one without any markings at all.) The biggest issue for a lot of folks will probably be the Fn key location. From an ergonomic standpoint, it makes the most sense. Pinky plus Index to bounce around your media quickly, mute your speakers, etcetera. Personally I love it, but here's the thing - I don't generally use keyboards that have a Windows key anywhere. People who have and are used to the Windows keys are going to have a very different experience. The remainder of the keyboard is the perfect layout though; it's traditional IBM Model M. (Single row enter with \ located above it.) I cannot adequately describe my ire for L-shaped enter keys, and I am very glad they didn't opt to use one.
I was interested... until Fn key on left. I've never seen a keyboard with the Fn key on the left and Super key on the right. That would screw with my head too much.
Actually, I used to have one of those back around '00-'01. Kinesis Contour is one of my favorite keyboards just because at the time, I was doing an average of say, 100,000 words per day of typing on it. (Probably more, given I was at about 150-180WPM.) The design is ergonomic focused, which is why it looks so weird. But once you get used to it, it's a dream. I forget what keyswitches they used, but I believe it was Cherry MX Brown.
Problem is: the Contour is $360. Yes, you read that right. $360 for a USB keyboard. So yeah. I would never buy a Contour for home.
Isn't the G15 a mechanical keyboard? What type of switches are in it? I didn't see it in the list in that article. Good information there. I just took apart a Gateway SK-9925 USB keyboard to see what was inside, because it has keys that click some when hit, but it had the rubber membrane in it.
I was also surprised to read that the old school PS/2 is better than USB for keyboards in several ways. See there, newer (USB) isn't always better! I believe I've mentioned that once or twice.
"...zero tactile feedback from the keystrokes, and zero audible feedback...no fancy LED backlighting...exposed 3mm LEDs...“Windows†key and Menu key are next to each other on the right side of the keyboard..."
Fn key on the left? Be glad you haven't been developing on a mac... and their backwards use of the Home and End keys; "clover-leaf + arrow key" for start/end of line? No thank you.
Comments
The first two days I had it, it pissed me off because the key travel and distance was so different from my Logitech G15. To be fair, I've been typing on the same keyboard for like five years, but I've never had this much trouble getting used to a keyboard. I got used to the keyboard on my HP laptop in about half a day, for example.
After I got used to it, it started to grow on me. I'm still not entirely thrilled with the feel, but I think I'm getting over it.
One thing that I cannot stand and that I cannot get over is the lack of a Windows key on the left side. Where the Windows key would normally be, there is a Fn key. I use muscle memory to Win+D and Win+L and even though I've been using the Meka for two weeks or so, I cannot stop hitting Fn+D and Fn+L before I realize nothing is working.
This keyboard is good, but it is definitely overpriced. I'd be happy to pay up to $70 for this keyboard, as the build quality is phenomenal. It's built like a tank. However, anything more than that is just too much, at least in my opinion.
One thing all Cherry switches have in common is the 2mm actuation and 4mm bottom out distance. They are all identical in that sense. Certain flavors a clicky, certain require a little more force, some offer a little more or less tactile feedback.
I think they are all great for gaming and typing. Your favorite is based on preference. Personally, I don't mind a clicky switch that makes allot of sound, I actually kind of like it (my wife despises it though, but that's what you get when you marry a Geek).
My guess is that they probably used MX Browns given the description in the review. Could you check the switch type they used just out of curiosity?
For the curious, here is a nice little guide to mechanical keyboard tech.
Those guys update fast
Thanks
We actually did check this, and verified it twice. These are the latest and greatest Cherry MX Blacks. I thought they were Browns too, initially. They're just not going to give you the positive tactile feedback of a buckling spring or an Alps, but that's because they're not meant to. The result has been a lot of accidental and double keystrokes for me, because my hands are trained for that high degree of positive tactile feedback. (One of the reasons I like my HP Envy17's keyboard; one of the few laptops with positive tactile feedback.)
Personally, I would have preferred to see MX Blues used. But my taste is different from a lot of folks; primesuspect and I actually discussed the noise level a lot, which is what started us digging into the keyswitches. Mine was the quietest I've seen in a long time, his was loud - though not obnoxiously so. The cause? Typing style - he uses the full key travel and bottoms out the keys, whereas I use minimum travel necessary.
It's definitely a keyboard that requires some getting used to, kind of like the original Das Keyboard. (You know, the one without any markings at all.) The biggest issue for a lot of folks will probably be the Fn key location. From an ergonomic standpoint, it makes the most sense. Pinky plus Index to bounce around your media quickly, mute your speakers, etcetera. Personally I love it, but here's the thing - I don't generally use keyboards that have a Windows key anywhere. People who have and are used to the Windows keys are going to have a very different experience. The remainder of the keyboard is the perfect layout though; it's traditional IBM Model M. (Single row enter with \ located above it.) I cannot adequately describe my ire for L-shaped enter keys, and I am very glad they didn't opt to use one.
This, a thousand times.
Actually, I used to have one of those back around '00-'01. Kinesis Contour is one of my favorite keyboards just because at the time, I was doing an average of say, 100,000 words per day of typing on it. (Probably more, given I was at about 150-180WPM.) The design is ergonomic focused, which is why it looks so weird. But once you get used to it, it's a dream. I forget what keyswitches they used, but I believe it was Cherry MX Brown.
Problem is: the Contour is $360. Yes, you read that right. $360 for a USB keyboard. So yeah. I would never buy a Contour for home.
I was also surprised to read that the old school PS/2 is better than USB for keyboards in several ways. See there, newer (USB) isn't always better! I believe I've mentioned that once or twice.
The G15 is not mechanical. Good information there.
The G19 is the G15's successor. Also not a mechanical keyboard. Good information there.
"Just don't look! Just don't look!"
You all know what I'm talking about.
Fn key on the left? Be glad you haven't been developing on a mac... and their backwards use of the Home and End keys; "clover-leaf + arrow key" for start/end of line? No thank you.