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Qiuet Keyboards with Tactile Feedback?

Posted by Cliff on from the keyclicking-without-the-clicks dept.

zerOnIne asks: "Like many geeks I know, I love good old clicky mechanical tactile-feedback keyboards. I've got an IBM Model M (101 key) on the server, and a Linux CoolKeyboard on my desktop, and I wouldn't want to part with them. The problem is, though, that my wife and I live in a studio apartment, and my desk is necessarily right next to the bed alcove. This poses a problem on nights, like tonight, when I want to get some late-night hacking in, and she needs to get some sleep: my typing can rather loud if I get going. Is there a keyboard out there that can give me the mechanical feel of an IBM-101, but without the noise? As an aside note, whatever happened to the Linux CoolKeyboards company?"

6 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. How about some tactile feedback for spelling error by ni4882 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wouldn't it be great if the spellchecker interfaced with your keyboard to produce a shock whenever you misspelled a word?

  2. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  3. New IBMs by Eagle7 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The IBM KB-9910 provides nice feel, but is pretty quiet. It's the keyboard that came with Netfinities/Aptivas in '99, '00, etc.

    --
    _sig_ is away
  4. Apple Pro Key USB by Craig+Maloney · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I use an Apple Pro Keyboard USB (the clear graphite one) on my Linux machine. My BIOS detects it, so I can use it to do BIOS setup as well. It's a great keyboard, and quiet as heck. The only issue I've had is X will map the Apple keys to the Windows keys, which is where my fingers expect to find the ALT keys. I did a quick re-map on them, though so all is well.

    Hope this helps!

  5. Re:Buy from the original IBM/Lexmark keyboard guys by peeping_Thomist · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I bought two keyboards from pckeyboard.com this past summer, and both of them failed within a month. One of them has several keys that don't register at all, the other has one key that doesn't click any more but still registers if you press it hard enough.

    I sent back the one with many non-registering keys, and when it came back, none of them were fixed.

    Given how much it costs to keep shipping keyboards back to the company, I've given up on it. It was a great idea, but the two keyboards I got don't work, and the company didn't fix them.

    --
    Anything worth doing is worth doing badly -- G.K. Chesterton
  6. BTC 9110 == best keyboard ever by Wonko42 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I spent years looking for a keyboard with the qualities you mention. Good tactile feedback, yet quiet. I code pretty much nonstop 12 to 16 hours a day (sadly), so my hands and wrists complain quite loudly when I use a bad keyboard. Luckily, I stumbled across this goofy little BTC 9110, which turned out to be the best keyboard I've ever used.

    It's a smaller-than-normal keyboard, but the key layout is actually very sensible. I find that for programming, the keys I need most (shift, ctrl, alt, home, end, insert, delete and of course, return) are in the perfect positions. I also do a lot of gaming, and despite the smaller keyboard size it works great for that too. In addition, the tactile feedback is excellent. There's no annoying clicking sound, but there's just enough of a noise to let you (and only you) know that you've successfully hit a key. The keys also have a very light keypress so you don't strain your fingers, and yet at the same time the feedback is just right. It's actually kinda similar to a laptop keyboard in many respects.

    Give it a shot. It's only $30 or so, and I think you'll really like it if you can get past the silly silver design.