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Silent Keyboards for Silent PCs?

Posted by Cliff on from the well-if-the-mice-can-be-quiet... dept.

Kethinov asks: "Following up on the question asked in this story, I have a similar problem as he did except my late night coding (typing) sessions, not my clicking, seem to generating excess noise for the people I'm living with. I, as he did, checked out this possible solution, but to be honest, I can't type on anything but a standard-layout keyboard. Now, I too can search Google, but just looking at a possible solution doesn't help much. Does anyone on Slashdot have experience in this matter, from which I could better narrow my choices?"

38 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Easy answer. by DAldredge · · Score: 4, Funny

    IBM Model M!

    1. Re:Easy answer. by xneilj · · Score: 3, Funny

      LOL :) A few weeks of using a model M around people and they'll think your old keyboard IS quiet after all ;)

      --
      rm -rf / is the evil of all root
    2. Re:Easy answer. by lafiel · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is the keyboard that's so heavy and thick you can use it defensively like a bat, isn't it? =)

    3. Re:Easy answer. by mnmn · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I recently replaced all model M keyboards at home (4 systems) to the newer IBM keyboards that come with netvistas. I was browsing around and found my favorite changed from the old model Ms to the newer IBMs and a few dell keyboards. The newer ones are nice and quite, but the problem stays. To find a truly good keyboard that is also quite is next to impossible. Ive seen the really quite types but I couldnt use them... the keys dont seem to bounce back so easily. Some of them had crappy plastic and was completely unusable.

      This thread along with the previous silent mouse is pretty important to me. Beside bothering the crowd around, I feel model M types also bother me as I work. You can concentrate more on your work in complete silence.

      --
      "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
    4. Re:Easy answer. by R2.0 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Can I have your old Model M's?

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    5. Re:Easy answer. by unitron · · Score: 3, Funny
      "Actually, I wonder if you could engineer the springs and such in the Model M keys to only make ultrasonic noise?"

      If you think the folks around you are complaining about noise now, wait 'til every dog for miles around goes nuts whenever you touch the keys. :-)

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

  2. Hmmm... by rastachops · · Score: 3, Informative

    Apple keyboards on the laptops seem to really quiet... I don't know about their desktop ones but maybe someone else could comment?

    1. Re:Hmmm... by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 4, Informative

      So in that vein, the IceKey from Macally features the same scissor key action as the laptop keyboards.

      --

      GPL Deconstructed
    2. Re:Hmmm... by Fulkkari · · Score: 2, Informative

      They aren't. Moving your hand/fingers over the keys makes most of the noice, and I have noticed that you can type pretty quitetly with the right technique, but that's nothing like the quietness of the laptop keyboards. Same goes with the Apple mouse. They should be made more silent, even though they are pretty good otherwise.

      --
      I demand the Cone of Silence!
  3. A noisy keyboard in a soundproof room by shoppa · · Score: 2, Insightful

    IMHO there is no good "silent" keyboard. At the extreme end of silent you have membrane keyboards, but if you hit more than a few keys an hour you'll become frustrated at the poor usability. Most mushy keyboards make some noise, but are on the very low end of usability. Getting back to the first poster's recommendation of the Model M, that breed of keyboard is the one you want. Put your efforts and mone into soundproofing the computer room.

  4. fruit roll-ups by Phoenix+Dreamscape · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What about those roll-up keyboards? ThinkGeek sells some, and I even saw one at CompUSA recently. I've never used one, but I assume they're made mostly of rubber. I'm willing to bet those are silent.

    --
    Scratched Emulsion
    1. Re:fruit roll-ups by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      The roll up style membrane keyboards are very quiet. About the same level of noise as drumming your fingertips on your mousepad, at the very most.

      As far as their usability goes, i prefer it to a conventional keyboard, but it is certainly an aquired taste.
      Once you get used to aiming for the contact under the middle of the keys, rather then any part of the actual keys themselves, they actually become quite nice to use. The surface of the keys are soft, and friendly to fingers hitting them. It makes for some smooth continous typing, and as you've gotta get your accuracy up to type effectively, your typing skills improve faster.

      As a side note, i found this type of keyboard extremely effective for stepmania, as the mass of the keys themselves is a lot lower then a conventional plastic keyboard. And they don't always need to return to the relaxed position before they can accept another keystroke. Very good for the 10 foot songs. ^_^

    2. Re:fruit roll-ups by __aatgod8309 · · Score: 2, Funny

      But they're waterproof (-ish), so safe to add to your hot chocolate without fear of short circuit...

  5. Atari 400 Keyboard by AtariAmarok · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's the membrane-style Atari 400 keyboard, pretty silent unless you count the intentional clicking from the motherboard speaker.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
  6. Paradigm shift by skinfitz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The PDA market is the place to look for alternative input methods - there is certainly some development in virtual keyboards.

    Have a look at this.

  7. Touch Stream Keyboards by fean · · Score: 5, Informative

    I use the touchstream LT (in fact, typing on it now...)... it has no buttons so it makes no sound.. it takes a while to get used to, but as long as you can touch type now, you'll be able to get the hang of it (it took my girlfriend a couple days to stop hunt n pecking, but it takes a couple months to get up to full speed again...)

    I really like all of the different special things you can do with it, like closing windows, zooming, using it as a mouse, etc...

    anyways, I highly recommend it

    1. Re:Touch Stream Keyboards by jabberjaw · · Score: 4, Interesting

      In addition, if you happen to have a 15" tiBook you can get a drop in touchstream keyboard

    2. Re:Touch Stream Keyboards by LoneRanger · · Score: 2, Informative

      I too would highly recommend this keyboard. Here is a link for those of you who are Google deficient.

      Fingerworks TouchStream LP

      Anyway, not only do you get a silent keyboard, but it's nicer on your fingers and hands because you barely have to press to get a keystroke to register. It also brings with it a numerous amount of gestures that you can use for common things, the website has flash animations of most of the gestures. The nicest thing by far tho, is the fact that you don't have to move your hand to use the mouse anymore. Dropping two fingers on the right side of the keyboard gets you a mouse. After about an hour of using it it becomes rather natural.

      Anyway, the price point is a bit much for some people (approx. $350), but for me it is well worth the money.

  8. Virtually indestructible keyboard by Space · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are several membrane only keyboards on the market but most are too mushy. the "Virtually Indestructible Keyboard" from Grandtec has semi-solid key tops so you know when you have pessed the key far enough unlike others on the mrket that have keycaps as mushy as the sides of the keys. Radio Shack and Best Buy have carried then in their stores so take a look. BTW this message was typed on their black USB verion.

    --
    I Don't Work Here
    1. Re:Virtually indestructible keyboard by paul248 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I saw that keyboard once at a CompUSA, but it was broken.

    2. Re:Virtually indestructible keyboard by davey_darling · · Score: 5, Funny

      The Virtually Indestructible keyboard comes with a 90 day warranty.
      Hardly instills confidence in the product, does it?

    3. Re:Virtually indestructible keyboard by whorfin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, m-w.com lists 'actual' as an antonym of virtual, so that would mean that a virtually indestructible keyboard is the opposite of an actually indestructible keyboard .

      --
      Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!
  9. Try this... by dynoman7 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...close the door.

    --
    Blarf.
  10. Perfect Solution by cheezus · · Score: 3, Funny

    Get some dictation software and whisper to it.

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    /bin/fortune | slashdotsig.sh
  11. Siemens Virtual Keyboard? by Squideye · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Loath to cite Ananova, but there's a "virtual keyboard" you might be able to look into. Projects light onto a surface, and you type by interrupting the beams.

    From the designer's site: Here

    1. Re:Siemens Virtual Keyboard? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's odd. How do you avoid hitting e.g. 'h' and 'b' when you press 'y'?

  12. Laptops by nicolas.e · · Score: 2, Informative

    I do have a dell lattitude whose keyboard is very silent.
    It also looks like most of the laptops have nice, silent keyboards.

    As of silent keyboards for desktops, the ones that came with dells 2-3 years ago were great, and the one that came with my compaq deskpro 4000 was good too. I guess you can find these quite easily on eBay.

  13. My solution by mrpuffypants · · Score: 2, Informative

    I really don't care much for noisy keyboards either. I picked up one exactly like the one at work: a Dell Quietkey. Sure, it's not *silent* but it has the right 'feel' to it and manages not to wake up my roommate even when i'm coding, and I tend to type like the Hulk:pound, pound, pound...compile error...TOM ANGRY!!!...pound, pound, pound...etc.

  14. A different angle... by oobar · · Score: 2, Funny

    They make all sorts of various acoustical soundproof enclosures... Just find one big enough for you and your computer. That way you can type, click, pound, laugh, scream, moan, sigh, cough, burp, and fart as loud as you want without worrying about waking anyone.

  15. Submitter's comment by Kethinov · · Score: 3, Informative

    After having read all of the comments up to this point I'd have to say that the "Virtually Indestructible Keyboard" looks like the best option so far. Keyboards have to have feedback; either in a physical push, or a click sound. Since the whole point of this discussion is on ways to eliminate the click sound, the physical push is paramount. You said that this specific virtually silent keyboard solves the problems with others of its type being too mushy. Can you be more specific on how it has physical feedback where others fail?

    --
    You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
  16. If you don't need silence by damiam · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Just go to your local Best Buy/CompUSA and experiment with the keyboards they have out. You won't find a silent one, but some are much better than other. If you don't pound the keys, some standard keyboards are barely audible (my MS MultiMedia Keyboard is pretty quiet, although I don't recommend it because the F-keys are castrated).

    --
    It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
  17. change your roommate by ghettoreb · · Score: 4, Funny

    to me, there's a clear solution to your problem:

    if you live with a roommate (or gf, etc) who minds the noise you make with your keyboard during late night coding, then the obvious thing to do is to change your roommate or gf, much more so than go with drastic actions like changing your keyboard.

    hope this helps

  18. IBM Model M: Loud but eternal by reignbow · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've got what is probably the least silent keyboard in the world: The good old "Model M" from IBM which has been mentioned several times already. The version I possess was built in 1985, thus being only one year younger than I am. The first 13 years of its history, it served as my father's keyboard at work. Since he's a researcher with a desk job, you can assume heavy usage 9 hours per work day. Five years ago, he brought it home, exposing it to three computer-happy boys by plugging it into the computer in the house. Now, 17 years after it was build, I'm using it, and it's still a mechanical wonder, with unsurpassed feel. On the downside, it is rather loud. But it's nevertheless impressive, considering that no modern keyboard lasts more than a few years, while this one will probably last for as long as computers support PS2 keyboards.

    --
    Divide et impera!
  19. CoolMac Keyboard by Drakker · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.coolmacstuff.com/catalog/?action=Detail s&sku=8

    This is totaly silent. Water resistant, foldable, etc. It's a very good seller where I work, although it has a Mac layout, it will work on a pc (windows and alt key inverted). Contrary to what most review say, I didnt find it hard to use it, you get used to the feeling pretty quickly. The only drawback is that it has no numerical keypad, but no one uses the numerical keypad for coding anyway. The best news is that it's USB, so you can have it connected aside your old clunky ps2 keyboard if you are a PC user. :)

    Since it's in soft plastic, it's totaly silent. I doesn't emit any sound. :)

  20. Silent is great but... by shaitand · · Score: 2, Insightful

    My problem with all the "quiet" keyboards I've seen is that the key's do not spring back to the fingers nearly as fast as a good old $15 piece of junk. I type over 90wpm when I'm not hurrying and this presents a problem for me. It's hard enough even finding a POS keyboard that responds quickly enough that I don't make typo's due to the keys not actuallying being there when my finger is.

    Does anyone else have this problem? Has anyone found a silent AND responsive keyboard?

  21. Put it on a soft surface by Xolotl · · Score: 2, Informative
    I've been looking the same problem, and I've found that a lot of the harsh noise can be damped by using the keyboard on a soft surface (such as a desk mat) or by sticking soft pads to the keyboard (keyboards often have small pads but they're often inadequate, and the brackets which change the angle are usually bare plastic).

    The noise can also be reduced by changing your style to hit the keys more gently. It takes a little work but often works.

    As for keyboard models, I seem to remember the old Mac keyboards which came with the LC series and other models of the time were pretty quiet. They had "soft" low profile keys much like a laptop, and took some getting used to after the Model M, but once you did they wree pretty good. I haven't found a PC equivalent though. Some Logitechs are pretty quiet too, but I can't remember the model numbers, just try them in the shop.

  22. iMac keyboards. by saintlupus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I like the smaller keyboards that came with the older iMacs -- the ones with the half size arrow and function keys. They're nice and quiet, and have a far better key action than any of Apple's newer "Pro" keyboards.

    Then again, I'm among the only people I know who like the way they feel. And I'm definitely the only one I know with huge, ogrish hands who likes typing on them. Anyway, give it a shot.

    (And before anyone asks, they're just regular USB keyboard. They'll work fine on any computer. I have a couple of them stashed away with my NetBSD machines and no troubles.)

    --saint

  23. Remove the springs by no_such_user · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The IBM M keyboards *can* be completely silent. Just remove the springs. I kid you not -- remove the key caps, pull out the springs, and put the key caps back on. Though the keys don't spring back anymore, the keyboard is still functional -- just the tiniest bit of pressure on a key will cause it to register... silently!