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Qiuet Keyboards with Tactile Feedback?
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?"
If you ever find one.. let me know if it has the ability to give more violent feedback. Lord knows I'd like to shock people behind their keyboards for the silly or bad questions I get.
"I put a floppy in the front loading cdrom drive... and I can't get it out."
*zot*
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ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
You're getting a Tablet PC!
"And like that
Specifically, the newer black ones that come with the desktop systems.
The only keyboard that I've tried in the last 4 months that doesn't stick when I'm typing like mad (and doesn't cause any double-types). Quiet, yet responsive.
Alternately, you can try this puppy.
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
where the title is misspelled! Will slashcode v 8.9 come with spellcheck?
http://www.naildrivin5.com/davec
The Customizer
It's made by the same guys who made those lovely clicking IBM keybords, and one of their models is (apparently) designed to give you a similar tactile feel but with less noise. (IIRC from my e-mails to/from one of their sales guys a few years back, they accomplished it by putting a noise-dampening shim into the spring).
True Click without the *Clack*
seems quite difficult to give the actual feedback without the sound. moreover, wouldn't the sound be an important factor in the feedback you speak about?
However, the sound created is rather tiny. The reason it sounds so loud is that the keyboard, especially the underside, acts as a soundboard. Lucky for your marital peace, you can deaden this effect to some degree.
- Place the keyboard onto some sort of mat, so the sound doesn't travel to the table.
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Attach foam or some other sound absorbing material to the back of the keyboard.
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Place sound absorbing materials around (and above) the computer area. Couch pillows are good for this sort of thing.
All of these things will affect the feedback you get from the keyboard. What I really suggest is that you spend time getting used to a different feeling keyboard, preferably USB so you can connect both at the same time.-Adam
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
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!
store
less info than their main page (which is apparently down), but it still gets the point across.
One day when I feel right about spending $50-$60 on a keyboard
I used to feel the same way, then someone asked me a profound question: What parts of the computer do you interact with the most?
the answer is the keyboard, the mouse and the monitor.
I contend that someone should spend a larger percentage of the computer cost on the keyboard and monitor. I love my logitec trackman wheel, and I love my old, IBM full clicky keyboard.
If I had to do it now, I'd spend money on one of those 'happy hacker' keyboards or something similar.
Zapman
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
If you have ever walked into a radio shack to touch on of these things, they are NOT a suitable replacement. The keys "squash" in unpredictable directions. The travel on the keys is more than the 101's 33mm. Plus the fact that the keyboard has no natural role (the upper part of the board is vertically higher than the lower), and one of the worst things, is there is no option of stands that allow you to raise the keyboard from the back. And one more thing... every time I see one now in a store, they are broke.
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.
You want the slashdot editors to die from electrocution don't you?
:)
thats pretty mean
Second, it doesn't have to be loud to have positive feedback. My Logitech keyboard has the exact same feedback as the old IBMs - that's why I bought it - but with less resistance and less key travel. This means I don't have to bang the keys as hard to register a press, so there's less noise.
Third, when you're looking at a keyboard, wiggle the keys around from side to side. Not only does this help select the keyboards that are probably poorly built, a lot of noise can come from the keys sliding around. It's not often that your fingers come down on a key perfectly straight: almost always, you're pushing a little to one side or the other. All keyboards have some looseness, but... well, in my case it was either "a lot" or "very little," with no keyboards in the middle ground. And you'd be surprised at some of the names (and prices) that have a lot of looseness in the keys.
I'm using a usb type 6 on my pc right now. It's definitely my favorite keyboard.The only downside was having to patch XFree86 for it to understand the extra keys.